Obeah and Reparations for Slavery

commentaryDNO recently carried a story to the effect that the Government of Dominica had set up a reparations committee in keeping with a Caricom decision to seek reparations from European countries that held former colonies with African slaves in the Caribbean. The Caricom secretariat’s website lists six broad areas that are the direct result of the crimes associated with slavery. The fourth listed area is stated as follows:

“Cultural Deprivation: The primary cultural effect of slavery was to break and eradicate African commitment to their culture. African culture was criminalized and the cultural basis of identity shattered. Africans were deculturalized and today remain impoverished in respect or cultural legitimacy and supportive appropriate institutional arrangements. These matters represent the colonial legacy of slavery and must be addressed. Contemporary manifestations of these include low ethnic self-esteem; the devaluation of black identity; broken structures and diminished family values; delegitimization of African derived religion and cultural practices, and disconnection from ancestral roots and culture”. (Emphasis added)

http://caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/press_releases_2013/pres285_13.jsp

Some time back I had written an article which was published on DNO calling for the repeal of the law banning the practice of Obeah in Dominica.  My reasoning on the matter was precisely the one stated by CARICOM. As we know Obeah is a clear manifestation of “African Derived religion and Cultural practices”.

While achieving some of the objectives of reparation might prove difficult if not impossible, redressing this aspect of the evil that was perpetrated on Africans in Dominica is easy and entirely within our grasp. All the power and resources needed to achieve this resides right here in our parliament and I hereby call on the authorities to convene a special sitting of the parliament of Dominica with all possible haste to repeal the obeah act so that we can start the process of reparations.

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42 Comments

  1. Francisco Telemaque
    April 15, 2014

    Educator April 15, 2014
    “Francisco, do you have problems with basic comprehension?”

    Madam/Miss/Mr/Sir, Educator I do not believe an idiot would have any difficulty understanding your concept, or meaning of anything you have contributed on DNO thus far. Your theory is as simply as this, if Dominicans are allowed to do whatsoever they wish in our country they should be allowed to practice witchcraft, or as they say in Dominica Obeah!

    You made that quite clear when you added freedom of religion; freedom of religious worship, in a sense is different to the belief in Obeah, or the practice of voodoo, and the worship of satan the devil. If there is a law in Dominica which prohibits the indulgence in such foolishness, and you condone the repealing of such law; that to me is an indication that you believe in the practice of witchcraft.

    The Bible warns of familiar sprits, you may find yourself in a situation where someone may relate something to you which only you know about, as result you may come to believe the person has some special power, or gift from God, that would be false; since we know that such people according to the word of God, are dominated by an evil familiar sprit which dwells in them, that sprit would be familiar to everything which you have done in your life; hence you are hearing it from the mouth of a living human, who if you ask them five minuets later to repeat what they said to you will have no idea of what they told you.

    The reason is the words spoken was that of the dominating demon, the voice you heard was that of a demon, and not of the living human. To be honest with you only ignorant people believe in obeah, no mater their status in life.

    There is a certain person who writes very often here on DNO, if she so desires she can tell you how much money it cost her percents, paying to the obeah to cure her sister of a medical problem; an hereditary medical problem I may add which runs in her entire family, Some of the family now resides in Toronto Canada, they discovered their true problem when they seek medical attention for the problem in Canada.

    By then they were too late to even come close to be treated successfully: I am sure if they had consulted with even one of Dominica’s quack’s they might be told that they had an medical problem. and no one worked any obeah on them! One of the affected did not totally understand the disease until I saw her wrote something here relating to an accident, discovering she was talking about what she did not know, I took the opportunity to explain what may have transpired, causing the accident, I was correct with my suggestion, because someone in Dominica responded and stated, another brother died from the same disease causing him to fall off the roof of a house he was working on.

    She then explain to me the amount of money her parent gave away to these criminals in Dominica who claim they can work obeah. I assure you that there is nothing wrong with my comprehension of the English language when it is written appropriately, and spoken efficiently, so don’t even try to take that route with me; if you are an educator as you claim, such foolishness you should condemned, and not condone!

    Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

  2. winston warrington
    April 15, 2014

    Reparations might not necessarily mean money. The terms would have to be negotiated and could mean returning all ancestral lands to the Kalinago people, who, according to British Law are entitled to full ownership under the the right of first discovery.

  3. John
    April 15, 2014

    Are they also going to seek reparations from Communist China after China makes Dominica a colony and Dominicans have to work for their Chinese masters with the help of their illustrious Prime Minister who has sold them and the island to China?

  4. Francisco Telemaque
    April 14, 2014

    Again I say this is nothing more than a waste of time! This is not an insult intended by any means to the people in Dominica who are involved into this thing. The unsuspecting who are involved are influenced by a few very crooked politicians such as Ralph Gonzales.

    These politicians are looking for free money to line their personal pocket; I hate to be the one to remind these money gluts, these money hungry politicians of the terms “Forty (40) Acers of land and Mule” promised to the Black slaves of the continental United States after they were emancipated.

    That was more than four hundred years ago, black people in America are still waiting to receive their forty acers that Mule, and the forty archers of land which was supposed to be compensation for the period of the they were enslaved. There are no records of any free Slaves ever receiving the promised Mule, and the land. We have another situation where during the time when Japan declared war on the United States, the government of the United States decided to round up everybody who looked Japanese, even born Americans and sent them to concentration camps until the war was over.

    We remember Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Anyway the government promised the same that Dominica hope to gain from the European, blood money they anticipate, to this day every Japanese who were sent to the camps are all dead, not one ever received a dime!

    The day we were cast aside as an old used up old shoe by the British, they gave us all they believed they owed us, and that was in a the amount of fifty million pounds, and part of that came by way of Cane field Airport; it is ironic that whereas they are leaning on the European countries, they have forgotten that America also plundered the Caribbean islands including Dominica, so,why not lean on America also.

    Total waste of time, all the now politicians and their dreams will be dead and gone, before they can inherit single red cent!

    Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

    • Francisco Telemaque
      April 14, 2014

      The promised made to the newly freed slaves: 40 acres and a mule and what happened to the promise?

      In 1865 Congress adopts the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish slavery. In January of 1865; after meeting with freed slaves in Savannah, Georgia in what became known as the Savannah Colloquy – General William T. Sherman responded to their pleas for land.

      In January he issued his famous Field Order 15 setting aside a huge swath of abandoned land along the Georgia, and South Carolina coast for black families on forty acres plots. He also said that army mules no longer in use would be offered to Black farmers, this is likely where the “Forty Acres and a Mule” legend began. Sherman never stated whether this was to be a permanent or temporary land acquisition; however, of permanence was implied and therefore believed to be so.

      In March of 1865 Congress establishes the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen’s Bureau) providing for the allocation of “unoccupied land” to freedmen not to exceed 40 acres, rather than 40 acres as requested, Congress allowed the Freedmen’s Bureau to sell only 5 to 10 acre tracts of land to freed slaves. So, all in the course of a year, promises made by government officials for free land to be given to the newly freed slaves morphed into loans on less land than had been promised for free.

      That should have been their first clue. Actually it probably was. In May of 1865 President Johnson (note we are not referring to the late Texan LBJ) who was vise president to JFK), announces his Reconstruction Plan.

      The plan calls for the Southern States to abolish slavery but does not offer a role for Blacks in Reconstruction. The southern states are to determine the role of Blacks themselves. In June of 1865 Some 40,000 freed slaves were settled on what was referred to as “Sherman’s Land” on some 400,000 acres of land in Georgia and South Carolina. Much of this land was for rice cultivation. The Freedmen created their own government, denied white access to the area and cultivated their land. In the Summer of 1865 President Johnson reverses Sherman’s Field Order 15 by ordering that virtually all plantation lands given to freed slaves be returned to the original plantation owners. By October 1865 a reluctant General O. Howard, Chair of the Freedmen’s Bureau assigned the task to tell freed slaves in Georgia and South Carolina that they must return the land they had settled on to the original owners. Some 2,000 Blacks came to the local church on Edisto Island to hear his comments.

      Howard said the freed slaves need to “lay aside their bitter feelings. and to become reconciled to their old masters.” They responded “No, never!” “Can’t do it!” “Why, General Howard, do you take away our lands?” Petitions by Blacks were drafted to protest betrayal. The first stated: ” General, we want Homesteads, we were promised Homesteads by the government. If it does not carry out the promises its agents made to us…we are left in a more unpleasant condition than our former….You will see this is not the condition of really free men.”

      Those of us educated in the United States, and took American History, knows that there is a lot more written in history about the promise

      There is plenty of information about this betrayal: It is not as simple as Caribbean governments are trying to make it, as I said it is a waste of time!

      Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

      • Anonymous
        April 15, 2014

        I have always known that you can never trust a white man.

  5. April 14, 2014

    Dominican Christians with a knowledge of the Bible and a commitment to the faith must wonder why there should be an effort to legalize obeah because it came from Africa.

    Certainly there are – or have been – things in Africa you would not want in Dominica. There are things in African culture that would contribute nothing to your country. You are a new nation. A nation on the rise! With one hand you hold the best of your heritage while reaching out with the other to lay hold on your nation’s future! I (a proud Canadian) follow Dominica ‘s progress on DNO. It makes me happy to see your young people doing well, often becoming the best in their fields. I take note of older Dominicans in the diaspora even in Canada who are held in high esteem. You do not need any part of African witchcraft! It is misleading and dangerous.

    Obeah along with voodoo is witchcraft. It involves what is referred to as black magic, including spells and curses credited with harming and even killing people. Some have suffered depression and other forms of mental illnesses either from an obeah curse or because they practiced this occult art. Some of these benighted souls have written to BELLA for advice. Others have seen counsellors or therapists.

    Obeah draws whatever power it possesses from “spirits” which are obviously demons or evil spirits. It is known among those involved in obeah that the more powerful the spirit the more effective the practice (spell) good or bad will be. Of course many obeah workers are absolute frauds and possess no genuine “spirit” power. They largely depend upon psychological suggestion to make things happen which sometimes works among the uneducated and superstitious.

    When the gospel of Jesus Christ reached the African nations obeah and other forms of witchcraft began losing their grip on the people. Today some of the largest and most beautiful Christians churches in the world are in African nations. They are not run by white pastors! Most of these churches are under national (black) leadership. When I visit a black country as an evangelist to preach in their churches or conduct a massive open air crusade I submit to the black leaders. I am there as their servant!

    The Bible forbids all forms of witchcraft and magic in both the Old and New Testaments: Leviticus 19:31, Dueteronomy 18: 9-12, then Acts 19:14-19, Galatians 5:19-21, Revelation 21:8 The Roman Catholic Church does not approve of these things. Neither are they found among evangelical Christians. To seek guidance, healing, or help of any kind from the devil and his demons is a violation of the ten commandments which tell us “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3. Witchcraft practices come from the heathen nations which have no knowledge of the true and living God. They are idolatry.

    Those who take up the practice of obeah tend to be people with little or no sense of their own worth. They are troubled by feelings of inferiority although they seldom identify them as such. Obeah, witchcraft, and magic serve to give them a feeling of power and superiority. But these things sometimes lead to demon possession, murder, and suicide.

    I hope those with the authority to do so will not give obeah the status of a religion or hand down laws that make it a respectable part of Dominican culture. Instead, I pray they will do the homework necessary to recognize it as a carry-over from the past in Africa where it did nothing for the people and even now poses a greater threat. It is not a religion and is NOT covered by any freedom of religion law. It is a substitute for the true religion and attracts certain people because it contains an element of the supernatural. It does not attract those who have been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit because we have something far better – something far more powerful! Obeah pales in significance before the glory of the cross!

    Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill, D.D. International Evangelist.
    Website:
    http://www.livinghopeministries.ca

  6. April 14, 2014

    Nonsense nonsense nonsense! Check Louisiana Haiti and the other African countries that practices witchcraft, do you not see how poor they are?go ahead mess with it and it will mess Dominica up, you all bawling, is then you all will see misery and murders

    • Emile Zapatos
      April 15, 2014

      @takecareofmyheart,…………Thanks for that plain talk. There are some who are leading us away from God. We need to turn back now because we are at great risks of disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes , volcanoes and floods. We need to return to God for his love and protection or we shall perish.

  7. Anonymous
    April 14, 2014

    Have we realized that the story of slavery is Bias. Has anyone asked those greedy African profiteers to give back what they received for their part in Slavery. Has anyone considered that Africa is even more responsible than Europe since they were the ones who sold their brethren into slavery because of greed?

    • Emile Zapatos
      April 15, 2014

      @Anonymous,………I agree with you 100%. The people who wrote our history gave us what they wanted us to believe to hide the real culprits , and bypass the real injustice practice by the plantation system (big land owners vs the rest). Those big land owners controlled life (the minds and hearts) ,while the slave owners had control of property.
      The social revolutionist Hon Edward Oliver Leblanc changed all that , and freed our minds.

  8. Patriot
    April 14, 2014

    I think if Mac has nothing to say he should just keep quiet because what he is saying makes no sense. If he wants to practice obeah just do it behind close doors so he will not be caught but why does he wants the intervention of the authorities. Doesn’t he think we have enough problems especially with the youth? Yet Marie has the audacity suggesting more problems for us. God please deliver him from what ever he is suffering.

  9. UDOHREADYET
    April 14, 2014

    Caricom would have a better chance of obtaining reparations for slavery in the Caribbean if they could effectively focus on the financial and educational effects from the institution of slavery. Start by calculating the amount of people forcibly put into slavery and the plantations they worked on (these books and records still exist in England and elsewhere), multiply the hours, days, weeks and life expectancy of a an individual by the expected rate of pay for such labor during that time period, times an equitable percentage of interest then apply inflation. A 10% income tax should be levied by government (applied towards infrastructure, medical and educational projects). The remaining amount should be put into a bank account for respective families of ex slaves that can only be used towards education or the payment of all outstanding educational loans.

  10. Frank Talker
    April 14, 2014

    I hear you, Mac, and I hear CARICOM too, but even you and CARICOM will agree that not everything “African” is desired here in Dominica. You see Mac, “African Derived Religion and Cultural Practices”, include some things which go against the intent and spirit of Dominica. Culture, for example, has a lot to do with the territory and environment within which the culture was nurtured and grew. Not all aspects of culture can be rooted up and transplanted elsewhere. Even the culture in many current African States has changed over the years to remain relevant to the people. Many African States have parted with Obeah over the years because the art flourishes where darkness prevails. The wide distribution and use of electricity have dispelled many stories about jumbies and loogawoos. Obeah was once depended upon to protect people walking in a dark wooded area, Mac, but once street lights were erected, no one needed Obeah to walk that same path. My point is simply that some religious and cultural practices from Africa may have outlived their usefulness and it would be folly of us to bring them back

  11. Emile Zapatos
    April 14, 2014

    Although we need to show a united front in Caricom , Dominica does not need to be involve in this distasteful waste of time. To me it is not a good diplomatic move . It looks like a shakedown.
    A better idea would be to approach these former Colonials with a comprehensive and sustainable economic plan for the region that they can finance.

  12. Emile Zapatos
    April 14, 2014

    All the islands of the Eastern Carribean were stolen from the Kalinago people and any reparation should be paid to them. They should form the majority on this committee.
    Infact the Kalinago people should be the only members of this committee to seek justice for the attempts to eradicate them. They have suffered discrimination on these islands .Obeah has nothing to with this injustice. In fact instead of passing pro obeah legislation , legislation by the Dominica government to pay some form of compensation to the Kalinago people should be in the next budget.

    • MZUNGU KICHAA
      April 14, 2014

      I fully agree with you. Caribbean Islands belonged to Kalinago people and they are the only part which has to be compensated. I dont believe that there are any other sides which has any valid claims for the compensation. Such committee should consist primarily of Kalinago people. Black Africans traditions are the same guests on those islands as whites or Chinese…. we all guests here except Kalinago people who were oppressed for centuries and now clearly under-privileged…

  13. JoJo
    April 14, 2014

    Just wonder how that would fit in with the opening statement of our constitution, which affirms the supremacy of God?
    Maybe Mr. McCarthy Marie can get obeah registered as intellectual property and collect a royalty! Not everything is better because it is either European or African you know, we should have an open mind and chose whatever is best whatever its origin. I have no obligation to my roots.

  14. Educator
    April 14, 2014

    I have no problems with repealing the law to allow obeah. We have freedom of religion enshrined in our constitution and to pass a law to outlaw certain types of worship would likely be unconstitutional.

    However, how exactly will that advance the cause of our people even in the short run?

    If anything, I think those practices will do more to hold us back. Instead of looking at modern methods to solve problems, I hardly think attributing problems to mythical beings and powers will help us. We have lots of examples in Africa and Haiti. I would rather follow the example of more developed countries than listen to some obeahman whose sole motive is to take my money.

    • Francisco Telemaque
      April 14, 2014

      “I have no problems with repealing the law to allow obeah.”

      How can you name yourself Educator, and you seem to believe in obeah?

      That is nonsense, there is no such thing; any abnormal experience is nothing more than a condition of the mind. I agree that there are evil sprits, and if someone opens themselves to such entities, the evil sprit will enter their body, and dominate them, and destroy their life.

      I do not believe however, that anybody in Haiti, Dominica, Louisiana, or in the darkest dungeons of Africa can work any obeah on people. When I was a kid, there was a man who had plenty of dogs, each time he would be going to his garden, walking pass our house, his dogs would all come into our yard and defecate.

      Everybody in Wesley afraid of that man eh, cause dem say him is obeah man; the kid however was not afraid of him, so one Saturday morning when his dogs came into the yard to do their usual thing, this little boy they called Son, got a bit of hard dark night stick, and I whacked one of the defecating dog so hard, I believe I broke it back. Well, Mr Obeah man got mad like hell, he began to throw his cutlass all over the place screaming, to the top of his voice.

      “Me go help you, mae go work obeah pan you little a.., I just stood there and listen to the clown, the last thing he said to me was, you little a.. go see, you na go larn noten ah school!

      Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

      What do you know as far as I know I am better educated than all of his children, I do not any of them to possess an academic degree, the kid ended up with four. If I was chicken, and an idiot, I would put all what he said on my mind, and let the demons in and that may have cost me my life.

      Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

      • Educator
        April 15, 2014

        Francisco, do you have problems with basic comprehension?

        Where do you see me saying I believe in Obeah? What I alluded to was allowing people the right to worship as they pleased because the constitution guarantees that right.

        My opening statement supports the right of freedom of religion regardless of whether I agreed with it or not. Then I went on to give the reason why I DO NOT support his position.

        Be patient and understand what you read before you oppose.

  15. Annon
    April 14, 2014

    I don’t know or understand obeah, only the negative aspects may be popular so I see this by Marc as a distraction. However, it is more fruitful to put efforts into seriously placing references to Africa that were removed by king james and his gang back into the Holy Bible. The references can be found in many different places/publications such as Book of Job, Edith, McAbee version etc…many of which were banned by James himself (the bible or the sword era) while he and others were preoccupied with enslaving Africans. Obea is also one aspect of the whole systematic put down of Africans in order to keep them enslaved.

  16. Marcus Hill
    April 14, 2014

    Ebeh Mark really behind that obeah business there papa!!

    But seriously, I do not believe in obeah but I hear Mark’s point.

    Voodoo, black magic or obeah, as we call it in DA, is a rich african, traditional and religious act that should not be illegal in a country where the majority of the population are descendants of African slaves.

    My understanding is that it came from Dahomey (modern day Benin, in West Africa) and is alive and well there even today. A variant of this religious practice is also alive in Haiti and to a lesser extent in eastern Cuba ( I guess brought there by descendants of Haitian immigrants).

    So yes, whether Obeah is legal or not in DA, I will not partake in this ritual but I support Mark’s point that our Parliament must act to decriminalise Obeah.

    The same for the Dread Act (it is still on the statute books and should be repealed) and the decriminalisation of Marijuana. I still will not wear dreadlocks or smoke Marijuana though :)

  17. April 13, 2014

    “While achieving some of the objectives of reparation might prove difficult if not impossible, redressing this aspect of the evil that was perpetrated on Africans in Dominica is easy and entirely within our grasp. All the power and resources needed to achieve this resides right here in our parliament and I hereby call on the authorities to convene a special sitting of the parliament of Dominica with all possible haste to repeal the obeah act so that we can start the process of reparations.”

    How can the authorities convene in repealing “obeah”? If this is possible, what might happen to those performing this act? Cleanliness is Godliness.

    • Natiwel
      April 14, 2014

      @Well, “Cleanliness is Godliness” Wha happn: dont Obeah people bathe?

    • April 15, 2014

      Those people (and no one else) who had slaves and benefited from their free labor should pay those very slaves (and no one else).

      However, the slave owners are long gone. The slaves are long gone. So obviously you would have a problem with this.

      What you are asking for is for people who never had a slave, never saw a slave, to pay other people who never were slaves, for labor they never did but have only heard about.

      You may have a problem with this.

      Slavery was one of the worst evils in history. It was criminal beyond words. It was also stupid. If I ever find my family dealt in slaves I would change my name. God is my witness. As far as I know none of my own people in Canada were involved and it did not exist in our part of the country.

      However, it is history. And because none of the people involved are with us now – and no amount of money could repay you for he wrongs that were done – you may have to let it go now. Help us build a better world.

      I spent ten weeks in Jamaica preaching the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ in churches. Much of this time I lived with black pastors and their families. No place in he world have I been treated any better. But there was once the church boarded me out in a home for the week that took people in. It just happened that they had one other boarder. He was a young black man, a police detective. His maturity and education made him a delightful person to talk to and he graciously gave me his time. There was one day we sat at he table and discussed slavery. He told me there were several times in history when the shoe was on the other foot. Times when blacks actually owned white slaves.

      Then he asked me if I realized that where situations when blacks owned black slaves. Of course some of your DNO readers may challenge these things. I cannot help you there because I have not yet researched any of it. I am only reporting what I was told by a very serious and I believe honest black cop!

      Life goes on and there is a new world coming! :lol:

      Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill, D.D., International Evangelist.

  18. forreal
    April 13, 2014

    there is a saying that a small axe can cut down big trees,sure it can be done,but it has to be done with the man that is behind it,same as money,the so said root of all evils,but i say not so,again it’s who’s hands they are in,and what manner its used,if you get my drift,i strongly disagree that obeah is source of evil,otherwise you would have to define the difference between obeah,majic and the healing powers that christ used,bearing in mind that all manner of powers was created or comes from god,thus i strongly believe obeah is not evil but a power source that can be used for both good or bad,stressing again the man or woman that is behind it

  19. ##Dominica.#
    April 13, 2014

    AL Sharpton! Jesse Jackson, and a number of other, now Dominica good luck. It would be nice to start at home RE: Geneva Estate, Rosalie Estate, and others. My hope is we succeed its about time I received my 40acres and my Mule.

  20. Eyeballs
    April 13, 2014

    Look at all those who practice obeah….they my prosper but for a very short while and when the wrath of God falls on them, it strikes them good. They end up poor and it goes from generation to generation

    • April 14, 2014

      Eyeballs:

      You are right. Jesus said a tree is known 8-O by the fruit it bears.

      The fruit of Obeah is not good. :cry: Those want to give it the status of a religion simply have not done their homework.

      Those who practice this occult art do not receive the favor of God. One does not have to go far before finding an obeah worker whose life – public or private – is a mess! :oops:

      You have lightly touched upon a fact that is not well understood. The displeasure (curse) of God upon those who traffic with the devil :twisted: as those in the witchcraft practices do is indeed a generational curse that produces bad results from generation to generation!

      Only powerful preaching and a deliverance ministry 8) can turn things around when satan takes hold in a nation, and then only if the people heed the Word of God. Bad fruit will be found in the third or fourth generation unless the cycle is broken by Divine intervention.

      There is a real shortage of Christians today who know anything about spiritual warfare, and too many political pastors afraid of losing their pulpits. We need more anointed men and women of deliverance who God can use to pull down strongholds and demolish fortresses!

      Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill, D.D., International Evangelist.

      Website: http://www.livinghopeministries.ca

  21. Baygas
    April 13, 2014

    Really? Repeal the Law? If you can convince me that the several hours spent by the obeah man or woman to cast evil spells on an opponent is of tremendous value, e.g. ordering one’s feet to swell, aka “giving one a big foot”, wishing a neighbor’s child to fail an entrance or scholarship exam, taking cash from the naive and gullible as a pretext to enable them to amass wealth, and otherwise inculcating fear in the minds of the victims, and concocting fake medicines with assorted bushes, then you have my support….Well, maybe you can provide this simple reader, short of a basic right to practice any religion that engulfs the imagination, documented evidence of the good that emanates from the practices of obeah.. Til then I suggest that you follow “The Golden Rule.”

    • Emile Zapatos
      April 14, 2014

      @Baygas,…………. I cannot believe that an educated Dominican would promote the propagation of devil warship.
      Our constitution is based on a belief in God. In having faith and keeping hope alive. We are a Christian people
      Right now God is asking us to return to him, to remember his promises . All kinds of distraction and temptation is blinding our vision and this article by Marie is one them.
      What we need is for us to say the Our Father every day and pay attention to what we are praying for .

      • April 15, 2014

        Emile:

        Your short comments are intelligent and well written

        Yes, your constitution does recognize God. It places Dominica on a rock solid foundation. That is God not gods!

        It is the God of Abraham, the od of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is the Holy One of Israel who said in Isaiah 44:6 and 7 –

        THUS SAYS THE LORD, THE KING OF ISRAEL, THE LORD OF HOST: I AM THE FIRST AND I AM THE LAST: BESIDES ME THERE IS NO GOD.

        It is the same God who said in the ten commandments in Exodus 20:3

        YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.

        Many Dominicans must be wondering why any man would want to legalize not just the worship of another god but in reality the worship the devil :!: Those who practice obeah admit they are drawing power from devil spirits (although many obeah workers are absolute frauds. Some of them make their bad luck curses happen without any help from the spirits

        Many are wondering how any man could want to legalize and give the status of a religion to such practices which defy the God of the Bible and go contrary to the constitution because obeah is NOT a religion.

        Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill, D.D., International Evangelist.

  22. Dominiquen
    April 13, 2014

    I agree with you Mac!!!

  23. Anonymous
    April 13, 2014

    when D N O published that article last week ,I said that looking at some of the names on the list of the committee members are people i thought knew that was a waste of time and a publicity stunt like the Al Shapton and jessie jackson who use these kinds of rubbish to enrichen themselves whlie keeping the black community in poverty while looking up to them. I also mentioed that this should have been taken up in 1978 independence negociations.and i still think all those who advocate this are looking for a pay day which will never come. Singing for your supper long after the pots and dishes have been washed and put away.Leaches looking for blood from a dead cow

    • Emile Zapatos
      April 14, 2014

      @ Anonymous ,………….I like when you stick to the issues with positive information. The British gave Dominica an economic package on independence, but the party that overthrew Patrick John did not know how to use it. Patrick John was not there to implement it.
      At the independence negotiations no Kalinago representative participated, but there was a Kalinago person who was a member of the House of Assembly in the PJ administration. Patrick John promised him the title to the Carib Reserve , and on independence day this promise was kept. T he idea was floated that the Carib area would be given special consideration for development funds.
      This proposal for reparation looks like a witch hunt.
      Just look at the comments made by @ CHANGE IS A MUST.

  24. CHANGE IS A MUST
    April 13, 2014

    OBEAH will not save Pm Skerrit at all.
    Man call the freaking elections and stop that unnecessary distraction and if you think its really 18 to 3 and you so powerful then call it ma boy. WE awaiting for you to win your 21 like la Gre=nada……..bring it on……..Obeah waw.

  25. slave leader
    April 13, 2014

    perfectly articulated……now can I suggest we begin to teach psychology at schools? the only way to free our ppl from mental slavery

    • Rastafari
      April 14, 2014

      the only way, really? 8-O Not sure what you intended to say here but, there are tons of (African (all black people)) psychology majors who are locked down in mental slavery…and can’t see past their noses. Let’s start with reversing what western religion has done to us…Look up the Roman Piso family, then come back and ask yourself, is it the only way?

      • Frank Talker
        April 15, 2014

        Actually, the serious western religions are rooted in African civilization. We often rule that everything “western” is contrary to our African heritage and should therefore be dropped. But let’s go easy on this thought for a while. The Bible is actually set is the East, and if a western religious order is grounded in the Bible, then Rastafari has nothing to fear.

    • April 14, 2014

      Good grief! Teach psychology in schools to free your people from mental slavery?

      years ago one study showed psychologists and psychiatrists had the highest suicide rate of any of the professions. To be intellectually honest I will say you have a right to challenge this. It was years ago. I cannot tell you now where or when the study was done.

      However, psychology is not the answer to our woes. A while ago I had lunch with a man who had been a teacher and guidance counselor in a high school on his way to becoming a psychologist. He lectured in psychology in a well known Canadian university. Roger told me he had left psychology because he had seen the failing of the profession to effect change. In particular he had been disappointed by what he had observed in the families of psychologists he knew. This man is now the pastor of a large Pentecostal church in a Canadian city.

      You would do better to teach the Holy Scriptures in the schools. Teach them as the Word of God! The Bible DOES change lives. If you think the good old book is outdated and that Darwin buried it you are the one who is outdated! Sorry! Nothing personal, but you need to catch up. I recommend that you read a book called CREATION by Grant Jeffery, Ph.D. then read THE SIGNITURE OF GOD and THE HANDWRITING OF GOD b y the same man.

      Does the Bible deliver people from mental bondage? Don’t ask for documentation but the following is said to be true.

      A distinguished looking business man from America was in Africa on a big game hunt. He noticed an African native sitting under a tree reading a little book. “What are you reading” asked he American? “It’s a Bible” the African replied. “That book is out of date in my country” sneered the American. The native chuckled. “If it was out of date here you would have been eaten long ago,” he said. “My people were cannibals before this book came.”

      Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill, D.D. International Evangelist.

      website:

      http://www.livinghopeministries.ca

      • April 17, 2014

        I still read comments from people who say we should teach psychology in the schools – not as a subject to help prepare students for professional work – but to free the students themselves from their mental bondages. I assume this means from the restrictions of the traditional morals and values they have been taught.

        Here in Canada we are in the midst of investigating the largest mass murder in the history of one of our major cities. Between 20 to 30 university grads were celebrating an end of school party in a house. All was going well until a clean cut looking student in his early twenties arrived. He had been invited. He appeared to be in a good mood. After a short time he went to the kitchen and returned with a large knife. For no apparent reason he quickly stabbed to death five of his fellow students. He had been doing well and no motive has been discovered. He had just graduated with a major in psychology.

        Psychology is a valid and useful discipline. But as a means of freeing or liberating the minds of our young people it is over rated. What they need is the truth of he Word of God;
        not situational ethics, and relativity. They must know that people feel guilty because we were created with a conscience not because of religion or a restrictive upbringing. We do not help the younger generation by teaching them how to break he laws of God and avoid feeling guilty by rationalizing.

        A college professor was lecturing a class in sociology. Believing that repetition is the best teacher he hammered home his point that NOTHING IS ABSOLUTE. EVERYTING IS RELATIVE! IT ALL DEPENDS .. .. .. Finally, a young lady raise her hand with a question. ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE OF THAT she asked.

        Class dismissed!

        Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist.

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