e

A — oe
Rew Chinese painting called: “Flowers of the Four. Sea-
by artist Yang Yu-ju.

Dawn In The Heart
~6OF Africa

By PATRICE LUMUMBA

For a thoy

y sand years you, Negro, suffered like a beast,

af no strewn to the wind that roams the desert.
0 wo built the lustrous, magic temples
arbaric ve your soul, preserve your suffering.
You had Sane of fist'and the white right to a whip,
N your ¢ : right to die, you also could weep.
ang yea they carved endless hunger, endless bonds,
Was wat aie the cover of the woods a ghastly cruel death
ion ing, snaky, crawling to you like branches from the
em as and heads of trees
your body and your ailing soul.

a put a treacherous big viper on your chest:
they to = eck they laid the yoke of fire-water,
your ne your sweet wife for glitter of cheap pearls,

om Credible riches that nobody could measure. —
Beare hut, the tom-toms sounded into dark of night
about = cruel laments up mighty black rivers
about cate girls, streams of tears and blood,
Wallows iat sailed to country where the little man
to that ae an ant-hill and where a dollar is kind,
ere yo mned land which they called a motherland.
y frighte, r child, your wife were ground, day and night
tou are He merciless mill, crushing them in dreadful pain.
that = sae like others. They preach you to believe
firey white god will reconcile all men at last
of home Ou grieved and sang the moaning songs

€ss beggar that sinks at stranger’s doors.

A

nd Sipe a craze possessed you and your blood boiled
You oleh the night
Like a you moaned, obsessed by father’s passion.
a cS aie a storm to lyrics of a manly tune :
in Metallj burst out of you for a thousand years of misery
that 1€ voice of jazz, in uncovered outcry

e ee through the continent in gigantic surf.
to the yi € world surprised woke up in panic
th Violent rhythm of blood, to violent rhythm of jazz,
: at cay € man turning pallid over this new song

Tries torch of purple through the dark of night.

The q ag

. . : e
a New aie is here, my brother, dawn! Look In our faces,

r Byte breaks in our old Africa.

Poor Y will now be the land, the-water, mighty rivers

And har was surrendering for a thousand years.

they) a torches of the sun will shine for us again

The mo ty the tears in eyes and spittle on your face.

the Gat ent when you break the chains, the heavy fetters,

A free . cruel times will go never to come again, —

8 free and gallant Congo will arise from black soil,
and gallant Congo—the black blossom, the plack seed!

(As printed in Blitz, Bombay)

(The following text of the
last letter written by Patrice
Lumumba, murdered Prime
Minister of the Congo, is tak-
en from the Tunisian weekly
paper, Afrique-Action.)

e

MY DEAR WIFE:
writing these words to you,
not knowing whether
will ever reach you, or wheth-
er I shall be alive when you
read them.

Throughout my struggle for
the independence of our coun-
try I have never doubted the
victory of our sacred cause,
to which I and my comrades
have dedicated all our lives.

But the only thing which
we wanted for our country is
the right to a worthy life, to
dignity without pretence, to
independence without restric-
tions.

This was never the desire of
the Belgian colonialists and

‘their Western allies, who re-

ceived, direct or indirect, op-
en or concealed, support from
some highly placed officials
of the United Nations, the
body upon which we placed
all our hope when we appeal-
ed to it for help.

They seduced some of ‘our
compatriots, bought others,
and did everything to distrot
the truth and smear our inde-
pendence.

What I can say is this —
alive or dead, free or in jail
it is not a question of me
personally. The main thing is
the Congo, our unhappy peo-

I am |

they |

|

|
|
|
|

PATRICE LUMUMBA

ple, whose’ independence is
being trampled upon.

That is why they have shut
us away in prison and why
they keep us far away from
the people. But my faith re-
mains indestructible.

: - J know and feel deep in my

heart that sooner or later my
people will rid themselves of
their internal and _ external
enemies, that they will rise
up as one in order to say “no”
to colonialism, to brazen, dy-
‘ing colonialism, in order to
win. their dignity in a clean
land.

We are not alone. Africa,
Asia, the free peoples and the
peoples fighting for their free-
dom in all corners of the
world will always be side by
side with the millions of Con-
golese who will not give up

the struggle while there is ev-

The last letter of
Patrice Lumumba

en one colonialist or colon-
ialist mercenary in Our coun-
try.

To my son,s whom I am
leaving and whom, perhaps,
I shall not see again,-I want
to say that the future of the
Congo is splendid and that I
expect from them, as from
every Congolese, the’ fulfil-
ment of the sacred task of re-
storing our independence and
our sovereignty.

Without dignity there is no
freedom, without justiee there
is no dignity, and without in-
dependence there are no free
men.

Cruelties, insults and tor-
ture.can never force me to ask
for mercy, because I prefer
to die with head high, with
indestructible faith and pro-
found belief in the destiny of
our country than to live in
humility and renounce the
principles -which are sacred.
to. me.

The day will come when
history which will be taught
in ‘the countries which have
won freedom from colonialism
and its puppets.- Africa will
write its own history and in
both north and south it will
be a history of glory and dig-
nity.

Do not weep for me. I
know that my tormented
country will be able to defend
its freedom and its independ-
ence. Long. live the Congo!
Long live Africa!

PATRICE LUMUMBA
Thysville Prison

‘Canadiana’ to be
musical experience

On Saturday, March 18th at
8 p.m., in the York Theatre
(Commercial at Georgia Sts.)
muic lovers in Vancouver will
be treated to a new and un-~
ique musical experience. On
this date the combined orches-
tras of the AUUC in Vancou-
ver, under te direction of
Karl Kobylansky, will stage
the 2nd Annual Orchestra
Concert under the title ‘Can-
adiana’.

Perhaps nowhere else in the
AuUC family of orchestras
across Canada, is there such
a varied combination of folk
instruments and talent, as will
be ‘presented at this event.
The junior and senior mando-
lin orchestras, the newly
formed violin group, the
balalaika ensemble with flute

Se

and accordion ‘will combine

‘their forces to present a col-

ourful program of
song and dance.

The production which will
present songs of many of the
National groups who make up
the population of Canada, be-
ginning with the Native In-
dians, the French Canadian,
English, Ukrainian, Jewish
and others will portray not
only their contribution to the
building of Canada, but also
people for peace. and friend-
ship.

In addition to the orchestral
numbers being prepared, vo-
cal solos and duets will be pre-
sented by orchestra members.
with Ukrainian and Russian
folk dances being provided
by the AUUC Kobzar Dance
Group. Highlights of the ev-
ening will be the guest ap-
pearance of the Trinidad dan-

music,

cers, the spirited music of

the Croation folk ensemble
and others, as well as a Span-
ish number by the guitar sec-
tion of the AUUC String Or-
chestra. With new costuming
and lighting effects, and a
specially written commentary.
this production promises to be
one of the highlights in the
current Cultural season and
a prelude to. the Provincial
Shevchenko Festival to be
held in the Exhibition Gara-
ens on June 2nd and 3rd.
Friends are urged to obtain
their tickets early for this
one night performance as seat-
ing capacity is limited. Ad-
mission is only $1.00 and
tickets are available from
AUUC Cultural Group Mem-
bers, and at the AUUC Hall,
805 East Pender St., as well
as at the People’s Co-operative
Bookstore, 367 West Pender

March 10, 1961—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5