How to stop HIV spreading in Zambia’s prisons May 2, 2010

Moral concerns are stopping condom distribution in Zambia's prisons

BBright spent two years in Zambia's Lusaka Central Prison for selling cannabis but fears he now faces a life sentence.

"I did it because of hunger," says Bright softly.

"There's not much food in prison. Sex has become the way of payment."

The wall prevents an inmate from going outside, but the disease has no boundary Dr Chisela Chileshe Zambia Prisons Service medical director

"Conditions were bad," he remembers. "We had nshima [maize meal] and beans two times a day. I never felt full."

One day, the cell "captain" gave Bright extra food, then asked him for sex.

"I
had never had sex with a man, but I did it. The first time it was
painful, but I joined a group of maybe 20 men who did that.

"Mainly they were people who were condemned, or who had been jailed for 25 years. They hadn't seen women for a long time."

How will Chinese culture influence Africa? February 27, 2010

So far, media coverage of China’s involvement in Africa has mostly been about investment. Stories of Chinese engineers in hard hats standing by roads up mountains in Ethiopia. Stories of Chinese farmers moving to Zambia. 

Image of Change: Cameroon and Cinematography February 2, 2010

What AIDS Leaves Behind: A Heavy Burden on African Women December 28, 2009

 by Kathleen Beegle

Unlike
other diseases in Africa (malaria, tuberculosis, intestinal worms,
etc.), which mainly affect the young and the old, HIV/AIDS takes its
toll on prime-age adults during the most productive years of their
lives. The death of an adult family member can have large consequences
for the surviving family. Given prevailing social norms in many African
societies, the burden may likely be heaviest for women.

Most studies focus on the consequences for orphaned children – their schooling and health. We know less about how older adults are impacted.  In our study,
we track individuals and their households in northwest Tanzania, an
area of high HIV prevalence in the 1990s, over a 13-year period.

We find that, when a family member dies, women (even old women) end
up working more on the farm; men do too, but not as much.  Having an
asset such as goats enables them to work less. 

But elderly individuals’ health is generally no worse off after the
deaths of their prime-age relatives. Surprisingly, if an adult child
living outside the home dies, his/her parents’ health or workload do
not suffer . It appears then that support from adult children is either
replaced by other family members or the support is much lower than is
currently speculated.

 

How [not] to write about Africa May 19, 2009

By Binyavanga Wainaina

Always use the
word 'Africa' or 'Darkness' or 'Safari' in your title. Subtitles may
include the words 'Zanzibar', 'Masai', 'Zulu', 'Zambezi', 'Congo',
'Nile', 'Big', 'Sky', 'Shadow', 'Drum', 'Sun' or 'Bygone'. Also useful
are words such as 'Guerrillas', 'Timeless', 'Primordial' and 'Tribal'.
Note that 'People' means Africans who are not black, while 'The People'
means black Africans.

Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your
book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47,
prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an
African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.

In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and
dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin
people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people
who eat primates. Don't get bogged down with precise descriptions.
Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too
busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book.
The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and
many other things, but your reader doesn't care about all that, so keep
your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.

Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their
souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef
and wheat; monkey-brain is an African's cuisine of choice, along with
goat, snake, worms and grubs and all manner of game meat. Make sure you
show that you are able to eat such food without flinching, and describe
how you learn to enjoy it—because you care.

Taboo subjects: ordinary domestic scenes, love between Africans
(unless a death is involved), references to African writers or
intellectuals, mention of school-going children who are not suffering
from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation.

Throughout the book, adopt a sotto voice, in conspiracy with the reader, and a sad I-expected-so-much
tone. Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and
mention near the beginning how much you love Africa, how you fell in
love with the place and can't live without her. Africa is the only
continent you can love—take advantage of this. If you are a man, thrust
yourself into her warm virgin forests. If you are a woman, treat Africa
as a man who wears a bush jacket and disappears off into the sunset.
Africa is to be pitied, worshipped or dominated. Whichever angle you
take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your
intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed.

Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants,
diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. Or
corrupt politicians, inept polygamous travel-guides, and prostitutes
you have slept with. The Loyal Servant always behaves like a
seven-year-old and needs a firm hand; he is scared of snakes, good with
children, and always involving you in his complex domestic dramas. The
Ancient Wise Man always comes from a noble tribe (not the
money-grubbing tribes like the Gikuyu, the Igbo or the Shona). He has
rheumy eyes and is close to the Earth. The Modern African is a fat man
who steals and works in the visa office, refusing to give work permits
to qualified Westerners who really care about Africa. He is an enemy of
development, always using his government job to make it difficult for
pragmatic and good-hearted expats to set up NGOs or Legal Conservation
Areas. Or he is an Oxford-educated intellectual turned serial-killing
politician in a Savile Row suit. He is a cannibal who likes Cristal
champagne, and his mother is a rich witch-doctor who really runs the
country.

Among your characters you must always include The Starving African,
who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the
benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and
pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly
helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the
dramatic moment. Moans are good. She must never say anything about
herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering.
Also be sure to include a warm and motherly woman who has a rolling
laugh and who is concerned for your well-being. Just call her Mama. Her
children are all delinquent. These characters should buzz around your
main hero, making him look good. Your hero can teach them, bathe them,
feed them; he carries lots of babies and has seen Death. Your hero is
you (if reportage), or a beautiful, tragic international
celebrity/aristocrat who now cares for animals (if fiction).

Bad Western characters may include children of Tory cabinet
ministers, Afrikaners, employees of the World Bank. When talking about
exploitation by foreigners mention the Chinese and Indian traders.
Blame the West for Africa's situation. But do not be too specific.

Broad brushstrokes throughout are good. Avoid having the African
characters laugh, or struggle to educate their kids, or just make do in
mundane circumstances. Have them illuminate something about Europe or
America in Africa. African characters should be colourful, exotic,
larger than life—but empty inside, with no dialogue, no conflicts or
resolutions in their stories, no depth or quirks to confuse the cause.

Describe, in detail, naked breasts (young, old, conservative,
recently raped, big, small) or mutilated genitals, or enhanced
genitals. Or any kind of genitals. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked
dead bodies. And especially rotting naked dead bodies. Remember, any
work you submit in which people look filthy and miserable will be
referred to as the 'real Africa', and you want that on your dust
jacket. Do not feel queasy about this: you are trying to help them to
get aid from the West. The biggest taboo in writing about Africa is to
describe or show dead or suffering white people.

Animals, on the other hand, must be treated as well rounded, complex
characters. They speak (or grunt while tossing their manes proudly) and
have names, ambitions and desires. They also have family values: see how lions teach their children?
Elephants are caring, and are good feminists or dignified patriarchs.
So are gorillas. Never, ever say anything negative about an elephant or
a gorilla. Elephants may attack people's property, destroy their crops,
and even kill them. Always take the side of the elephant. Big cats have
public-school accents. Hyenas are fair game and have vaguely Middle
Eastern accents. Any short Africans who live in the jungle or desert
may be portrayed with good humour (unless they are in conflict with an
elephant or chimpanzee or gorilla, in which case they are pure evil).

After celebrity activists and aid workers, conservationists are
Africa's most important people. Do not offend them. You need them to
invite you to their 30,000-acre game ranch or 'conservation area', and
this is the only way you will get to interview the celebrity activist.
Often a book cover with a heroic-looking conservationist on it works
magic for sales. Anybody white, tanned and wearing khaki who once had a
pet antelope or a farm is a conservationist, one who is preserving
Africa's rich heritage. When interviewing him or her, do not ask how
much funding they have; do not ask how much money they make off their
game. Never ask how much they pay their employees.

Readers will be put off if you don't mention the light in Africa.
And sunsets, the African sunset is a must. It is always big and red.
There is always a big sky. Wide empty spaces and game are
critical—Africa is the Land of Wide Empty Spaces. When writing about
the plight of flora and fauna, make sure you mention that Africa is
overpopulated. When your main character is in a desert or jungle living
with indigenous peoples (anybody short) it is okay to mention that
Africa has been severely depopulated by Aids and War (use caps).

You'll also need a nightclub called Tropicana, where mercenaries,
evil nouveau riche Africans and prostitutes and guerrillas and expats
hang out.

Always end your book with Nelson Mandela saying something about rainbows or renaissances. Because you

care.

Work like you do not need the money!! May 13, 2009

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of
his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely
life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck,
but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could
build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but
in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted
to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way
to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the
house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter.

"This is your house," he said, "my gift to you." The carpenter was shocked!
What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would
have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less
than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to
live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much
differently. But we cannot go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes
and the choices you make today build the "house" you live in tomorrow. Work like you do not need the money!!