Ghanatta Ayaric

EDITORIAL OF THE FIRST EDITION

(abridged)

Maa puusi ni miena nalim-nyiini, nyin Buluku taam paari sagi ale feli-teng. It delights me to share some thoughts with you in the maiden edition of our journal, Buluk. I hope you are all in sound health and fine spirits.

On my part, the decision to be actively involved in the starting of this journal was triggered off by sober reflection on the predicament and destiny of societies like ours and the need and desire to be part of an effort that can look at the situation squarely, diagnose it and propose ways and means of dealing with it. There is of course no panacea for the ills that plague any society. But one can hope that the negative effects of these on the majority of people can be minimised to a tolerable level. This, however, depends on how individuals view themselves in relation to the society with which they identify. No matter where we live and what nationalities we have acquired, we cannot detach ourselves from our roots - Buluk.

A lamentable fact is that our society is crumbling, and we all seem to be looking beyond the self for magic solutions. These do not exist. The first step in the search for any solution lies in the individual. Then it is in the heart and mind of the individual that the seeds of transformation sprout and spread outside. Unless a psychological and mental inner revolution takes place in each of us, most of our efforts towards positive change at the societal level will hardly bear fruits. Is society not the relationship between individuals?

Not to mince words, I would assert that so far we have not been courageous enough to face the reality of our situation and give it the attention it needs. We should not be complacent with the one step that we make forward. While we can build on this one step, it is a sign of prudence to dissect and examine the other two steps that have, simultaneously, been taken backwards. In this connection, we need a new orientation as a people; a synthesis of the best of our cultural values and those that have reached us from outside. In this we stand the chance of attaining a satisfactory minimum (if not maximum) of self-fulfilment.

The present journal... wishes to attempt - with your cooperation and active participation - to find answers to... questions in the general debate and reflection it hereby opens on Bulsa society. It is the hope of all who have contributed to this very first edition that it will grow into a linking-tie among us, develop into a forum for constructive discussion and reflection on Bulsa affairs and subjects (all of which I think should be of interest, concern and relevance to us): our language, literature, history, culture (music, dances, traditions, norms, values, customary practices, social institutions, etc.). Buluk is a non-partisan and impartial organ of information and communication for Bulsa and their friends at home and abroad.

With the active involvement of people in the district, we can inform ourselves on existing infrastructures for social, cultural, sporting, agricultural, commercial and educational activities in the district, and think of how we can help to improve these if need be. In this connection, we count a great deal on the co-operation of the readership of Buluk for suggestions and contributions (essays, features, poems, short stories, drawings, stories and songs for children, etc.) and especially informative articles from their various fields of experience, occupation, training and knowledge (medicine, law, banking, architecture, social anthropology, education, religion, computer science, music, the fine and performing arts, etc.). The focal point here should be an attempt to reinvent acquired knowledge and experience, adapting them to the Bulsa context.

Buluk will also attempt to function as a useful instrument in community and youth education in the district...

The opinions expressed in this journal are no blueprints. They simply represent the perspective from which each author views his or her subject matter within the specific context of Buluk and in relation to the needs of our society as we enter the new millennium. All positions taken here welcome criticism, the more constructive the better for our common purpose...

Many words do not fill a basket, it is said. On this note, I wish you well, hope the contents make interesting reading and that more articles and contributions will flood in for publication in the next edition. Ku miena le la!