Africa

[I had much of this typed up yesterday, but a big storm hit in the afternoon. It was mostly wind, but it took down our internet in the afternoon. At night it took out the power too. I now know what avocados sound like as they rain down on a tin roof. This morning I discovered that the building next to me lost a 90-100 ft. tree that fell down across the road and is blocking traffic. But I am safe and I walk to work, so all is well. This is something I am thankful for.]


So far in this blog, I've focused mainly on Swaziland and my life here. Due to some of the things going on across the continent, however, I thought today might be a good day to use a slightly broader scope.

-Kenya: As many of you know from following the news, Kenya has recently sent troops into Somalia in an attempt to stop the kidnapping of Westerners from inside Kenya (one of my friends is serving with Partners Worldwide in Kenya, so I fully support stopping the kidnappings). They are going after al-Shabab insurgents who have been fighting with the Somali government over the past decade. The Somali government is denying that Kenyan troops are in the country (Kenya claims they are), although al-Shabab is in control in that area of Somalia and the government likely has no way of knowing one way or the other. This is coming as the Somali government is slowly getting to its feet after a miserable decade where they sometimes only controlled main streets in the capital and African Union peacekeepers fought better-armed insurgent groups.

-Uganda: United States soldiers have begun to arrive as part of a 100-strong group that will be assisting the Uganda People's Defense Force with defeating the Lord's Resistance Army. This rebel army claims divine command and protection, but they use mainly child soldiers, and almost the entire leadership is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. They receive some support from Sudan and have been terrorizing Uganda for over twenty years. This is a group that has been unanimously condemned by the US Congress. At the same time, Uganda has arrested an opposition leader and 15 protesters and plans to charge them with treason in an effort to stop domestic protests. The current president Museveni has been in power 24 years and was just elected for another 5.

-Children in much of the developing world: Thrilling results have recently come out declaring a substantial reduction in malaria in the past few years. That said, over half a million people die each year from this parasite (that's equivalent to Denver), and over 200 million cases occur annually. Thanks to some very dedicated people, those numbers are declining, but ending the battle will take billions of dollars and decades of work.


A few words from Henri Nouwen, an author whom I've been reading recently:

Recognizing Christ in Suffering Communities
Communities as well as individuals suffer. All over the world there are large groups of people who are persecuted, mistreated, abused, and made victims of horrendous crimes. There are suffering families, suffering circles of friends, suffering religious communities, suffering ethnic groups, and suffering nations. In these suffering bodies of people we must be able to recognise the suffering Christ. They too are chosen, blessed, broken and given to the world.

As we call one another to respond to the cries of these people and work together for justice and peace, we are caring for Christ, who suffered and died for the salvation of our world.