It is always a pleasure to read a truthful opinion about any issue that might have in the past been reported in a controversial manner.
The media and especially Western ones have always portrayed Africa as a place that nothing good can be derived or found. In the middle of all the poverty and need, it wonderful to read that the refugees in Ghana are still able to carry on with almost normal lives as described by Andy in his visits. The same scenario is repeated in other camps for example in Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya, a home of Somali and Sudanese refugees. Andy has done Africa proud by reporting objectively the situation as it prevails. We are glad that the refugees would like to be self sufficient and not willing to stoop with a begging bowl in hand. It is my prayer that peace will return to their country - Liberia and that they will be able to return to rebuild their country that has been shattered by war. As for the story about the mutilated body in quest of destroying the spirits that inhabit them, I was utterly shocked. In Kenya I have read in the press and even watched in TV boys who have had their "private parts" mutilated or should I write chopped off by people who use them for evil purposes such as witchcraft or treatment for AIDS. Down south, another form of abuse of girls has been widely reported: men believe that sexual contact (mostly rape) can cure AIDS. I was saddened when a south African national mentioned that Thabo Mbeki believes that AIDS is a figment of imagination. I congratulate Mandela for speaking out and affirming that AIDS is a reality following the death of his son. We need to change our ways in Africa, especially destructive ways such as Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) that is widely practiced albeit illegally even in my country Kenya. At the same time, we have other positive things to report on such as the discovery that male circumcision can minimize males contracting the virus. Henry Cheruiyot P.O. Box 38706, Ngara 00600 Nairobi KENYA Tel: +254-20-3748668 Fax: +254-20-3748928 Cell: +254-722605767 "Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible,and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Francis of Assisi __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
