Strength in Unity!

The Falcon and Winter Soldier (Miniseries, E1-6; 2021)
Marvel Cinematic Universe

Just how long did it take for a person to stay in a country for him to be accepted by his fellow countrymen to be one of them? Human beings are innately racists. For a long time, they have generally felt safe being amongst their own kind who share the same sentiments and values. Perhaps it is something that they have not been able to shed off from their tenure as dwellers of the caves. In those days (even now, of course), Nature has been quite harsh for things to be left for granted. The vulnerability of exposure to the elements of Earth made us suspicious of everything. The last thing they want to be is to end up as a meal for others.

So, it is human nature to look upon the other who looks different from them and be wary of their intention. But we also have developed a sense of awareness that teaches good values and conducts. Are these mere decorative motifs to fill books and scriptures?

'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' takes off from 'The Avengers: End Game' when Captain America (Steve Rogers) handed his mantle to Sam Wilson after 'The Blip'. Sam, feeling inadequate, donates Captain America's shield to the Museum. The real reason for his non-acceptance is that he thinks that America is not ready for a Black Captain America. He leads a life as The Falcon. When trouble starts with a group of serum enhanced anti-patriotism soldiers, Captain America's shield is gifted to an ill-prepared John Walker. 

The rest of the story tells how The Falcon teams up with The Winter Soldier to overpower the anti-patriotism group, taking the shield from John Walker to become the new Captain America, puts the names of former black soldiers who sacrificed for the USA in the annals of military hero list. The whole show is basically a social commentary that reminds us that America is neither white nor black, but it comprises a potpourri of colours and shades.

That brings us to our country, Malaysia. Modern Malaya skyrocketed to international fame in the early and mid 20th century in trade, commerce and sports. This happened primarily because of the hard work of various ethnic groups who landed here by choice or by fate. The euphoria of Independence and self-rule propelled them to even greater heights. We were labelled as the emerging 'Tiger of Asia'. The tiger, however, had its developmental milestones stunted by the works of bigoted zealots who were hellbent on purging the country of its people who were not of their selected ethnicity and religion. 

They know we grow in unity but in their blinkered eyes, but it seems that blind faith blinded them. In the meantime, we are spiralling down the ladder of hopelessness and ponder upon the possibility of becoming a 'basket case'. The pandemic is our wake up call.

Going back to the story of a black being Captain America, my friends and I had invested in hours of discussion on the above subject. On the one hand, the great divide is attributed to repetitive restrictive laws and social constructs that segregate and suppress a race the already had a checked start from the starting line. They were enslaved and systematically oppressed over generations leaving scars that left a trans-generational dent in their psyche. Opposition to this type of argument is that 150 years after their emancipation in 1865 is a long time for the oppressed to pull themselves up by the bootstrap. American history has its fair share of black success stories as well. Many black millionaires, entrepreneurs, and many musicians of the Harlem renaissance re-engineered songwriting and music appreciation. One or two success stories are here for perusal...

Harry Pace (1884-1943)
Founder of Black Swans Records and Northeastern Life Assurance Company.

Georgia born, orphaned and passed out as a white to live in a white-dominated housing area under the Jim Crow laws. In his later years obtained a law degree to have a legal practice.

Roland Hayes (1887-1977)

Started singing in his early teenage years in church choirs. After singing in troops, he finally picked the courage to have his own musical recital of classical European music at a time when black music was limited to minstrelsy and getting a sponsor was impossible. Using his good office at the church and kind sponsors, he rented a whole hall for this purpose. His popularity soared. He soon performed in many major US cities. He later performed in London for the British royalty. His magnum opus must be performing Schubert's piece in Berlin in 1924 in front of a jeering German crowd. This was after WW1 when the Germans were unhappy with placing black American soldiers in Germany. There was pin-drop silence once he started singing.

Roland Hayes' 'Were you there.'

(narrating the biblical moment when Christ was on the Cross.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

He who has the gold, makes the rules!

Feathered Cocaine: The Story of Money, Terrorism and Falconry (2010)

Is not interesting that fifteen years after the apprehension and killing of Osama bin Laden, this documentary is making its round. Perhaps, it is the flavour of the month as the US Elections are just around the corner. Probably because Joe Biden is associated with the old administration, it is a subtle reminder of the evil deeds of the past Government.

Watching this Tribeca Film Festival screened a documentary about falconry, it gave a kind of a deja vu feeling. It reminded me of the many so-called altruistic non-governmental organisation working on humanitarian cause getting a free pass into third world countries and starting to dictate how the host country should be run. Think Red Cross and the Bolshevik Revolution, think IMF and the 1997 economic crisis, think missionaries and the Nicaragua Contra rebels.

Here, in 2010 documentary, Alan Howell Parrot tells the story of his life. Becoming obsessed with falcons, at the age of 18 years, he bought himself a one-way ticket to Teheran. He left his serene life in the lush of Maine, New England to train professionally in falconry in the naked deserts of Iran. Here, he got a revelation of sorts. He realised the high status that falcons commanded in this region. A visit to the Golden Sikh Temple and the last Sikh Guru's, Guru Govind Singh's fascination with falcon made him assume a Sikh identity in appearance and way of living. Historically falcons played essential roles in international diplomacies. Even in Europe, falcons were gifted between kingdom to sweeten business transactions and shipping passage.

He returned to Cornell to study and returned halfway through his studies to the Middle East to legally catch, breed and sell wild Icelandic Falcons (Jer Falcons) to the filthy wealthy Arabs at up to $1 million per bird. Parrot (ironic) found himself mixing with the who's who of the upper echelon of the ruling class of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran as well as the infamous fugitive, Osama Bin Laden. The falcons were such priceless commodities, even more, valuable than cocaine. There was a massive demand in the black-market, but surprisingly most Governments are relaxed about curbing this illegal trade. In fact, many countries turn a blind eye to it as it is done in high places. 

Alan Parrot @ Hari Har Singh Khalsa

Many makeshift camps are built in the middle of nowhere in the desert terrains of Afghanistan and Pakistan called Falcon Hunting Camps. Here, Islamic radicals like Al-Qaida meet Arab royalties, and many deals are made. Obscene amounts of cash are given by the opulent royalties to the terrorist group as zakat as an atonement. Osama is known to have presented exquisite purebred falcons as gifts to the members of the Arab royalties. The 9-11 attack was allegedly agreed upon in one of these camps.

At the heights of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, he was a guest of the Iran government. Parrot and US intelligence were aware of his whereabouts. Despite repeated contact with the US authorities, the message somehow got lost in a bureaucratic maze. Or did it?

Parrot and his agents believe that there is a general malaise to stop this type of clandestine dealings. The black market of falcons has led to corruption against military leaders, political murder, and international terrorism. What is stopping them is money.  There is an apparent shady connection between this falcon trade and royal dynasties, the CIA and KGB, the oil industry, American government, and Al-Qaeda. Even the enforcement officials have to line their pockets during the short tenure of their earning life. 

" Ultimately, the message that Feathered Cocaine wants to deliver to its audience is not strictly about falcon smuggling or the uncovering of evil plots conceived for ideological reasons. It is by far more pessimistic than that. Feathered Cocaine is one of many untimely records of corruption and greed. Untimely, but at the same time well-rooted in our turbulent globalized age. Power is one and the same anywhere, and terrorism is not but an excuse and a disguise to put the public opinion under pressure. All mechanisms are in favor of the profit of few. Escalation of terror is not going to stop, because involved interests are increasing their magnitude every day. Evidence of this trend is what happened in recent times, with tragedies whose connotations are still unknown to common people; facts like 9/11 are bound to happen again and again, because nobody among those holding power — not only the governments, but the lobbies and the organizations connecting them all — is at this point different in pursuing his main interests. And of course, this interest can be summed up with one name only: Money."

https://icelandchronicles.com/2011/01/feathered-cocaine-review/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. 

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