Obama Love

Like millions of people around the world i followed Obamas' campaign and subsequent inauguration . More specifically at the outset of the campaign i watched with interest (as the mother of mixed heritage children) as to how some in the black community would perceive his 'blackness' since he has never hidden the fact that he is dual heritage.This notion of who has the right to be called 'black' is vividly displayed in Marshall Currys excellent Academy Award nominated documentary 'StreetFight' about the 2002 mayoral campaign in Newark ,New Jersey between the incubent mayor Sharpe James and the then pretender to the throne Cory Booker.There is some interesting commentary on the documentary from Sekou, Dickerson and Cose with the opposing view on Afronetizen. Do make sure that you read the comments that follow the article.

I mention Obama now because I'm often asked about him and until thursday the deep significance of his election for all people worldwide and not just black people had never struck me as fully as it did on then.I was in a 'gypsy' cab and a more busted beaten up car you couldn't imagine. I thought that the taxis that i had used in Freetown were awful but looking back now they were a luxury compared to what i sometimes travel in now. I go to the same Metro station regularly and all the drivers there know me now and I'm safe.

Anyway, thursdays journey was in a rust bucket Lada, covered in mud and with a beautiful crack across the windscreen . Inside thick dust covers every available surface and there are some cords
wrapped worryingly around paces you'd rather not see them ! My driver scoots along ,swerving in and out of driving lanes i assume he finds an inconvenience. So does the rest of Moscow. I have my foot on the imaginary foot brake more or less permanently. When he takes a break form cursing everybody else's driving , he suddenly says 'And what about Obama then ?He's a good man isn't he?'

'I hope so.Alot of people believe in him .'

'Oh yes don't you worry about him. He's at the G-20 summit now and then he's going to Turkey.'

I couldn't help but smile . I hadn't checked up on the news for a couple of days and i had no idea Obama was due to go to Turkey and there i was being told by someone who looked the antithesis
of a newshound.

'Yes Obama is a good man. He's земляк (zyemlyak)'

I recognised the origin of the word- земля (zyemlya)- which means earth, land, so i had a vague idea of what he meant but i asked him to explain.

'He's one of us. Imagine a black man ,the President of USA sitting at the table with all those whites. '
He laughed out loud and said joyfully 'Now those whites will listen to us.'

He used the word черный ( chornii) which means 'black' and i have translated it as such.However, in today's Russian society it is a very loaded word because out on the streets and in the homes of the amoebas -and lets face it Russia has some magnificent examples- the word черный,черная ( chornaya) for a female means 'nigger'.

It is a offensive word used to describe people from the Caucasus and indeed the CIS- who, if we believe some of the remarkable right -wingers that are allowed on to Russian TV-are no better than animals, who have taken all the jobs from Russians and should be forced back home.The fact that the men and women from the Caucasus are generally doing jobs that no Russian would dream of doing in the boom years seems to pass them by.This is a story that has played out in the history every 'first' world country and still does so Russia is now different . However, you'd have to go a long way to match the venom here .

So,in Russia, you won't see 'Caucasian' being used by 'white' people to describe their ethnic identity because over here the word is so loaded with historic tensions that go back years and also because that would mean being a identified as a 'nigger' and you can't get any lower than that.

My taxi driver is from Azerbaijan.I have been asked about Obama by Azeris, Georgians,Uzbeks, Dagestanis, and a rather lovely stately looking Moldovan gentleman on the Metro.No Russian ever asks me about him and i realize (admittedly somewhat belatedly) now that for all those who ask me Obama is земляк.... a fellow country-man.. he's family. His victory is theirs and when he sits in the big house and at big tables around the world so do they, they couldn't be prouder.This is Obama love.