By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Upon her death last month, Rosa Parks made history -- again! She became the first woman ever to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC, sharing the honour bestowed only on great presidents and military leaders like Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy and General Douglas McArthur. The Senate resolution to pay such a tribute to this slight, unknown 92-year-old, was "a testament to the impact of her life on both the nation's history and future". What act of genius did Rosa Parks perform to deserve such national homage? Half a century ago on 1 December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a very ordinary 42-year-old black woman boarded a bus through the back door and sat in the designated "Coloured" section, as was the law. When a white man got on the bus, the driver asked four seated black passengers to give up their seats so that the white man can sit alone, as was the law. This was the America, whose Declaration of Independence: "that all men are created equal," was written almost 200 years before. Three passengers complied; the fourth, Rosa Parks refused. Rosa Parks was tired. She was tired of oppression, injustice and fear; tired of a ruthless segregated society which robbed her of all civil rights, and she was also physically tired. A simple act of refusal to bow her head in submission and acquiescence, reverberated around the globe. Rosa Parks, by preferring to keep her seat, quietly entered the pages of history. Her subsequent arrest and imprisonment inspired a young Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr, to lead a boycott of the bus company. A year later, in 1956, the Supreme Court banned segregated buses. King's mass movement culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, giving blacks equal rights, dealing a blow to segregation, but by no means eliminating it. That very year of 1964, suffering under the yolk of Apartheid, one Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in defiance of the injustice of his country's white rulers. He walked out to freedom after 27 years of incarceration. Three years later in 1994 he became the first black president of South Africa. At the same time, in another place in Africa called Rwanda, one million Tutsis were massacred by the Hutu militia. Both killers and victims were black. Since pre-historic times, man's struggle against injustice, oppression and enslavement has been unending. Born free, his freedom has been put to the test at every stage in history, as man persists in his abuse of his weaker brother. The practice of slavery began around 10,000 BC with the development of farming. Men put criminals, prisoners of war, and others to work on farms, forming the lowest classes of their communities. The first known slaves were found in Sumeria in 3,500 BC and existed throughout the Mediterranean region, in Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, as well as Persia, China, and India. Even the early blacks of Africa and the Indian natives of America practiced slavery. It reached its peak during the great Empires of Greece and Rome. Though it declined during the Middle Ages, the colonisation of the New World resulted in great expansion of slavery. Millions lived as non-humans in total servitude to others; but how can the powerless exert power over the powerful! History credits Spartacus, a gladiator enslaved by Romans, as the first revolutionary against slavery. Spartacus led an uprising of thousands of rebel slaves from the farms of Italy, and was successful in defeating several foreign legions (73-71 BC). He was finally overcome and died in battle, and thousands of his followers were crucified. Still, the slaves demonstrated their opposition, and left their mark. This is the stuff that movies are made of, and movies have captured the struggle of the rebellious slave in Spartacus (1959), among others. In recent times another revolutionary was glorified on the screen, William Wallace (1272-1305) the Scottish patriot who led a bitter revolt against the English invaders and their King, Edward VI, Known as Braveheart (1995), the film earned Mel Gibson his first Oscar. The story of Wallace's struggle for freedom has stirred the national pride of Scots for 700 years. The simple act of saying 'no', maybe the hardest act for mankind, allowing men to suffer injustices for over 30 centuries. The reasons are multiple, vital and complex. While the desire to be free is a strong instinct, the desire to survive is stronger. Yet the powerful act of protest of one man can change the fate of the whole world. Such a man, regarded as the most influential German that ever lived, was Martin Luther (1483-1546). A dedicated Catholic priest, Luther struggled with issues of faith, penance, and redemption, and was incensed by the pomp and extravagance of Pope Leo X (1475-1521). To pay for his excesses, Pope Leo had encouraged the sale of "Indulgences" to relieve its purchasers from eternal penalties. An outraged Luther dared to challenge the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church and called upon the pope to return to the teachings of the Bible. In so doing, Luther performed perhaps the most influential religious act of the millennium when he nailed 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Church door on 31 October 1517. This led to his excommunication, and the formation of new traditions within Christianity. This date is often celebrated as the "birthday" of the Protestant Reformation. At the Nuremberg trials, following WWII, 200 German citizens were charged with crimes of murder, enslavement, torture, looting, and other atrocities. Their main defence was their inability to disobey orders, but they were just as guilty as their superiors for taking part in a depraved and evil process. Had one man said "no", the world may have never heard of the Holocaust! France, a pioneer in its support of human rights, and its fundamental principles of "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité" has been experiencing lawless rioting for weeks, with no end in sight. The plight of a disillusioned and oppressed minority group, jobless, aimless, hopeless, and now fearless, continue to protest against the unequal treatment by their government. Similar problems exist in Germany. After importing cheap labour from Turkey in order to rebuild the country following the war, a new social minority of second-class citizens emerged, that were never fully integrated. Poor, uneducated and lacking in professional skills, they have nowhere to go, but down. Has this become modern man's new form of enslavement? There are many ways to address discontent, all protected by law. Marches, protests, boycotts, strikes, rallies, fasts, and other methods of peaceful demonstrations attract the media and shed light on the predicament of the downtrodden. Violence is not one of them. Mahatma Gandhi taught us that non- violent protest can change history. A simple shipyard worker in Poland, stood with his compatriots in "Solidarity", and brought down the Communist regime. Within a decade he was president of Poland (1990). His name is Lech Walesa. It is the courage of honourable men to oppose injustice that is effective, not the violence. The courage of a frail, feeble figure, standing alone, facing gigantic, ominous tanks, firing indiscriminately at the peaceful demonstration of students, in Tiananmen Square ( Gate of Heavenly Peace ) Beijing 1989, is seared in our minds and hearts forever. Noble without pretence, regal in her simplicity, Parks changed the course of history one cold winter morning, 50 years ago, igniting the eternal flame of freedom around the world. Rest in peace Rosa Parks. Rest in peace Spartacus, William Wallace, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Jr, and all "bravehearts" throughout history, who possessed the courage to raise their solitary voices, and exercise their right to protest. How many of us can stand up, or sit down, and reclaim the God-given dignity due to all mankind: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
