The Underground Man - Part 6

Günter Erden stopped for a moment standing still. Anna and Alexa thought the same sitting across from each other. Birds were to be heard singing the same old melodies learned from their parents being part of their very own DNA passing the songs on to any coming future generation without any change.

“We can…”, did Günter Erden end the silence and started to walk again among his pupils, “change our destiny…change our reality with our minds. No one of us is ever bounded and limited by his past or present to think and act on his conviction to change life for himself and the society around him. It is up to us to accept our shortcoming or to raise up to the occasion and come out in the end as time heroes of humanity and mankind.”

Silence filled the air. The numbers on the blackboard were speaking a clear message to the students and their future children and grandchildren. Latest in sixty years from today Africa´s population would be twice of today´s powerhouses that think they are superior to the African continent taking advantage of the wicked minds that are haunting African leaders and their societies alike. Climate change will boost food production cost and empty soil will die out state budgets facing an overwhelmingly increased population causing migration, civil unrest, wars, fighting for the last drained natural resources to see Xenophobia causing destruction like never seen before. The White Man does not have to move a single finger to cause destruction, Africans themselves can do this much better.

Anna`s heart was squeezed, took her breath to think clear. Moments of confusion passed before she was able to ask: ”When the time has come for Ghana to lead Africa that will be the new power house of the world and be its ruler as you say, how to manage the process?”

Günter Erden turned to her answering with low and slow voice: “History cannot be stopped, only delayed for which reason it is a bad idea of us in the developed world to treat Africa in a wicked fashion. On the other hand Africans themselves as for now are not able to manage their own countries well and lead them in an orderly manner to their destiny from which all of us in the developed world eventually are going to benefit from. When I am sick, I mandate the best doctor I know to heal me. And I do not care about colour, race or believes but only for my strength. Why in football coaches, managers and players in private clubs and national teams chose people only by their performance while in politics all these aspects matter. We are beyond national economic and political isolation setting political and economic standards we want to see enforced all around the world. Yet in politics, especially former colonies on the African continent, the same practices should not apply even the blacks cry for it accepting African countries were mostly unprepared for their independence and have messed up their historic chance completely. If this would not have drastic negative effects on White People we better stay away and let them do their job. But reality is, when it affects us more and more in a harmful way, we have to step in and solve the problems on the ground before the problem hits us in our own societies back home….not as Colonial Masters, but as servants to the black nations. Ghanaians would love to stay in their own beautiful country if only the living conditions would favour them. No one of them likes snow or cold weather too much. So it is the job of the White Man to make his black fellows feel comfortable in their own countries and establish a long lasting productive relationship on all levels of society with them.”

The students applauded. Günter Erden looked around and smiled victoriously.

It was not allowed by the local Minister for Education to set off that Friday morning worshipping the young girl Greta from Scandinavia. Severe punishment was supposed to be the answer for all students not to be in class but on Rathausplatz, the place before Hamburg Town Hall. Thousands of young boys and girls gave interviews to the media in front of their Mayor´s Office. They did not care about the order given. To stop polluting the environment and save the planet from the devastating consequences of climate change was on their agenda; their main concern for their future.

Students revolts of the sixties, peace movement of the seventies, fighting for a greener planet in the eighties followed by a generation only interested in selfish acts were again woken up by a little girl used by adults to be the face of a new start to save the world from disappearing as a place worth living in, on and for. The scenery was comparable to the peaceful happening their parents and grandparents had celebrated years back in their own time. Greta, a girl never noticeable in the streets by her features, was lifted up to be seen as a potential candidate for the next Peace Nobel Prize not yet even years on the campaign trail to better our lives.

“Is this really the answer to our future?” asked Anna that had refused to participate in the first place. Having given it a thorough thought, in the end, she came along. She wanted to understand her generation better, get to know what others of her age from many walks of life were thinking of times to come. Anna wanted to hear and see first-hand, what these teenagers had on their mind really; she wanted to dig deep down.

Fred from a school located south of Hamburg, asked her: “What do you mean?”

Anna stood among a group of ten people, most of them holding self-painted banners demanding more efforts of the generation in power to stop negative effects on climate change.

…to be continued