Blog Assignment One.

Rashid Ali                                                                                                                                        

     In his "Letter to Thomas Jefferson", Benjamin Benneker remindes the former President of the U.S. of the time of British Rule on America to recall those times in which their Human Rights were being violated. He asks Thomas Jefferson to "put your souls in their souls' stead" to have some mercy on his bretheren while showing him his sympathy towards them, who are being physically and mentally oppressed, abused and are being treated like animals. He pleads earnestly to the President to help relieve them from being the victims of forced labor. He addresses to him that it is the duty of those who are in the Christians who possess the rights of human nature to use their power to relieve the oppressed ones from the burden of forced labor.

     From "The Interesting Narrative", Equaino experienced fascination upon the view of the Sea and a ship full of slaves waiting for more to be brought. His state of mind experienced a sudden transition of emotions from being astonished into being terrefied when it was his turn to get on-board. The visual of the Sea for first time in his life was quite astonishing to him. At the same time he was nervous thinking about what would happen to him once he's on the ship.

    It' hard to explain the horrors that Equaino witnessed on the slave-ship because he was exposed to some of the most horrific and worst conditions of slavery at such an early age. He didn't have words to describe his feelings at certain times on that slave ship. He literally witnessed people dying in front of his eyes. It was not less than nightmares which actually took place right in front of his eyes.

    Despite the fact that all humans are born as children of One Father, meaning One God, and belong to the same Family, there are some who follow their vain desires by listening to the whispers of the devil, who, stated in Quran, "Shatan is an open enemy to mankind who misleads them and creates mischief in the land" by leading us astray sometimes makes us follow our own lusts and other times using us against eachother. Equiano's journey was somewhat ironic to me because of his vast range of emotional transitions. I was amazed  to know that at one point he was treated liek family after he was bought by a Mistress who shared the same manners as Equiano was raised with which reminded him of his mother.