My Ancestors

My Ancestors


My ancestors came from south-western Africa
near the present coastal border of Namibia and Angola.
They were nomadic hunter-gatherers.
They picked berries, edible plants and fruit;
and caught shellfish and turtles on the beach.

As the climate became hotter
they were forced to move east along the sea coast,
of what we now call the Indian Ocean,
to more arable lands
in Sumer in the Middle East, in Egypt,
the Indus River valley, India and China.

Their society was egalitarian,
meaning everyone was considered equal
and they shared everything.
They fed and took care of the children,
the sick and the elders
who were too feeble to search for food
or work around the camp.

Eventually, they learned to grow crops
and raise herds of livestock.
No longer nomadic they lived in villages.
Society became more complex
leading to labor diversification, land ownership,
defense and centralized administrations.

Their egalitarian system
was replaced by stratification,
or a class system that gave power to rulers
who lived in luxury. The middle class
was the merchants, scribes and artisans
while the working poor were the farmers.

Upper classes, today,
enjoy more respect, diversity and power.
Middle classes, feel more alienated
and have lower work satisfaction.
Lower classes and ethnic minority workers
suffer more poverty1, health hazards,
and even death.2

Have we really come such a long way
from the earliest civilizations?
With our common ancestry
is there a valid excuse for ethnic discrimination,
racism or the hate mongering
that passes in media for entertainment?

Footnotes
1  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/oct/19/usa.suzannegoldenberg
2  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class