I sit and watch this world, and my heart grows heavy.
Not because I understand every detail of what is happening between Iran, Israel, and the United States—but because I understand enough.
Enough to know that when powerful nations begin to shake the ground, it is always the ordinary people who feel the earthquake first.
And too often… those people look like us.
From Sudan to Somalia, from Nigeria to Haiti, from Venezuela to Cuba—the fire is spreading. Different places. Different reasons. But the same suffering.
And I ask myself:
Where do our people stand in all of this?
The Silence Around Our People
There are thousands of African workers in places like Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East. Kenyans. Nigerians. Ethiopians. Ghanaians.
But when conflict rises… where are their stories?
Who is counting them?
Who is protecting them?
We hear about missiles. We hear about strategy. We hear about politics.
But we do not hear about the African mother working abroad…
The young man who left home just to survive…
The daughter sending money back to her family…
Are they safe?
Or are they simply invisible?
Africa Must Not Be a Pawn Again
There is something else that troubles me deeply.
For too long, Africa has been used.
Used for resources.
Used for labor.
Used for positioning in global power struggles.
Now, as tensions rise across West Asia and beyond, I see the same patterns trying to repeat themselves.
Military interests.
Strategic bases.
Control of waterways—especially near the Horn of Africa.
Places like Somalia are not just land… they are gateways.
Gateways to trade. To power. To influence.
And when powerful nations compete for control, they don’t ask the people.
They don’t ask the youth.
They decide.
Our Youth Are Watching… and Waiting
And this is where my concern becomes personal.
Because I am not just a citizen of this world.
I am a mother.
I am a grandmother.
And I see our young people—across Africa and the diaspora—struggling.
Unemployment is high.
Frustration is rising.
Opportunities feel limited.
And in times like this, it becomes easy for outside forces to step in and offer something that looks like hope… but is really a trap.
A uniform.
A paycheck.
A promise.
But at what cost?
Are we sending our sons into battles that are not theirs?
Are we allowing our daughters to serve systems that do not protect them?
A Question We Must Answer
We must ask ourselves something difficult:
Are we choosing our future… or is it being chosen for us?
Because history has shown us:
When others fight for power,
Black bodies are often placed on the frontlines…
without power, without recognition, without reward.
And now, at a time when birth rates are falling, when families are already struggling—
Can we afford to lose more of our young people?
Not just to war…
But to systems that drain their strength, their identity, and their purpose?
The Illusion of Control
We are also witnessing a world where powerful nations speak loudly—
telling others what to do, how to act, who to align with.
But the truth is changing.
The world is no longer what it was 50 years ago.
Africa is rising—slowly, painfully—but rising.
And the question is no longer whether others will try to control Africa.
The real question is:
Will African leadership allow it?
And even deeper:
Will the people accept it?
A Grandmother’s Advice
So I speak now, not as an expert…
but as a woman who has lived, seen, and felt enough to recognize danger when it approaches.
To our youth:
Do not rush into battles that do not honor your life.
Do not be quick to take sides in conflicts that do not value your future.
Learn.
Observe.
Question everything.
To our leaders:
Stop trading the future of your people for short-term gain.
Protect your citizens—at home and abroad.
And to our people—across Africa, the Caribbean, and the diaspora:
We must begin to think as one.
Because the world is shifting.
And if we do not stand with clarity, with unity, and with purpose—
We will once again be moved like pieces on someone else’s board.
Final Thought
This is not a message of fear.
It is a message of awareness.
The world may be in conflict…
But we still have a choice in how we respond.
Let us not be used.
Let us not be silent.
Let us not be blind.
Let us be wise.
Because the future of our children depends on the decisions we make today.
