YOUR SAY: Parisian lives matter and African lives matter, too

I read with great interest Charles Richardson's column in the Sunday, Nov. 22, edition of The Telegraph in reference to why black lives matter, which I enjoyed reading, and agree with its basic premise. But his column also prompted me to expand the premise to a global perspective as a result of the terrorists attacks in Paris and its aftermath.

Let it be clear that Paris is one of my favorite European cities. I guess I could say that I kind of grew up in Paris. I arrived in Paris in September 1964 as a young paratrooper in the U.S. Army, one year removed from the dusty and muddy streets of Unionville in racially segregated Macon. I immediately fell in love with the city, its people and the French culture.

As a matter of fact, it was in Paris, for the first time in my short life that, not only I felt like a complete human being, but I was also treated like one by the French people. It was in Paris where I had my first real relationships with white people and came to understand that not all white people thought so little of people because of the color of their skin.

How refreshing it was to stroll down the Champs Elysees, or Rue de Rennes, knowing that I could enter any restaurant, or coffee shop, or for that matter any other place that I could afford and not to be asked to leave because I was black. Something I could not have done at the Krystal back in Macon.

It was in Paris that I became curious and fascinated about Africa, for it was there where I met and befriended many young Africans from the former French colonies of Mali, Senegal, Niger and Algeria, just to name a few.

It was also in Paris where I was introduced to french bread, french girls and french wine. There was no age limit on drinking wine in France. As you can see I have nothing but love and admiration for French people. The point I wish to make is, just as french lives matter, so do African lives matter.

I have read and listened to the 24/7 coverage about the lives lost in the Paris terrorist attacks, yet when the Boko Haram terrorists kidnapped several hundred innocent school girls in Northern Nigeria, or when Al Shabaab, the terrorist group from Somalia killed hundreds of university students in Kenya, it was reported in the Western media for a couple of days. Some of us noticed, but most did not, and it was back to business as usual.

There were no candlelight vigils, chapel memorial services, or condemnation from our political leaders. Our very own esteemed Mercer University held a memorial service for the dead in Paris, and rightly so, but where were they when those college students were murdered in Kenya while sleeping in their dorms, or when those school girls were kidnapped in Nigeria, or when more than a 100 innocent soccer fans were blown to pieces in Uganda while watching the 2010 World Cup in its capital Kampala? Yes they were mentioned at the memorial service at Mercer, but it was as though it was an afterthought.

I'm well aware of Mercer's good works through its Mercer on a Mission program in various African countries, including Uganda, the country I represent as its Honorary Consul General for the state of Georgia. I have no desire to condemn Mercer, for we all know of its work to make a difference in the world both in our community and abroad, but I only point out that African lives matter, too.

We should all be enraged and outraged when terrorist take the lives of innocent people anywhere on the globe, including Africa. We should be reminded of Dr. King's words when he said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

So I join those in mourning the dead in Paris just as I have mourned all of the young African lives that have been lost only because their countries have joined the fight to stamp out these cowards who are killing innocent noncombatants in the name of the peaceful religion of Islam.

C. Jack Ellis, is a former mayor of Macon, and serves as the honorary consul general for Uganda in East Africa.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 9:44 PM with the headline "YOUR SAY: Parisian lives matter and African lives matter, too ."