l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 by Rick aka Mr. Brutally Honest
A month ago, we covered the story of Melinda Gates claiming her $4 billion
campaign to bring birth control to poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America was not controversial.
Today, I bring you the story of Obianuju Ekeocha, a 32 year old Nigerian
woman who's written a letter to Ms. Gates imploring her to spend the
earmarked money differently:
I trained and worked for almost five years in a medical setting in
Africa, yet I never heard of the clinical term “postpartum depression”
until I came to live in Europe. I never heard it because I never experienced
or witnessed it, even with the relatively high birth rate around me. (I
would estimate that I had at least one family member or close friend give
birth every single month. So I saw at least 12 babies born in my life every
year.)
Amidst all our African afflictions and difficulties, amidst all the
socioeconomic and political instabilities, our babies are always a firm
symbol of hope, a promise of life, a reason to strive for the legacy of a
bright future.
So a few weeks ago I stumbled upon the plan and promise of Melinda Gates
to implant the seeds of her “legacy” in 69 of the poorest countries in
the world (most of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa).
Her pledge is to collect pledges for almost $5 billion in order to
ensure that the African woman is less fertile, less encumbered and, yes, she
says, more “liberated.” With her incredible wealth she wants to replace
the legacy of an African woman (which is her child) with the legacy of “
child-free sex.”
Many of the 69 targeted countries are Catholic countries with millions
of Catholic women of child-bearing age. These Catholic women have been
rightly taught by the Church that the contraceptive drug and device is
inherently divisive.
Unlike what we see in the developed Western world, there is actually
very high compliance with Pope Paul VI’s “Humanae vitae.” For these
African women, in all humility, have heard, understood and accepted the
precious words of the prophetic pope. Funny how people with a much lower
literacy level could clearly understand that which the average Vogue- and
Cosmo-reading-high-class woman has refused to understand. I guess humility
makes all the difference.
With most African women faithfully practicing and adhering to a faith (
mainly Christian or in some cases Muslim), there is a high regard for sex in
society, especially among the women. Sex is sacred and private.
The moment these huge amounts of contraceptive drugs and devices are
injected into the roots of our society, they will undoubtedly start to erode
and poison the moral sexual ethics that have been woven into our societal
DNA by our faith, not unlike the erosion that befell the Western world after
the 1930 Lambeth conference! In one fell swoop and one “clean” slice, the
faithful could be severed from their professed faith.
Both the frontline healthcare worker dispensing Melinda’s legacy gift
and the women fettered and shackled by this gift, would be separated from
their religious beliefs. They would be put in a precarious position to defy
their faith – all for “safe sex.”
Even at a glance, anyone could see that the unlimited and easy
availability of contraceptives in Africa would surely increase infidelity
and sexual promiscuity, as sex is presented by this multi-billion dollar
project as a casual pleasure sport that can indeed come with no strings –
or babies – attached. Think of the exponential spread of HIV and other STDs
as men and women with abundant access to contraceptives take up multiple,
concurrent sex partners.
And of course there are bound to be inconsistencies and failures in the
use of these drugs and devices, so health complications could result; one of
which is unintended abortion. Add also other health risks such as cancer,
blood clots, etc. Where Europe and America have their well-oiled health care
system, a woman in Africa with a contraception-induced blood clot does not
have access to 911 or an ambulance or a paramedic. No, she dies.
And what about disposal of the medical waste? Despite advanced sewage
disposal in the First-world countries, we hear that aquatic life there is
still adversely affected by drugs in the system. In Africa, rest assured
that both in the biggest cities and smaller rural villages, sewage
constitutes a real problem. So as $4.6 billion worth of drugs, IUDs and
condoms get used, they will need safe disposal. Can someone please show us
how and where will that be? On our farm lands where we get all our food? In
our streams and rivers from whence comes our drinking water?
I see this $4.6 billion buying us misery. I see it buying us unfaithful
husbands. I see it buying us streets devoid of the innocent chatter of
children. I see it buying us disease and untimely death. I see it buying us
a retirement without the tender loving care of our children.
Please Melinda, listen to the heart-felt cry of an African woman and
mercifully channel your funds to pay for what we REALLY need.
She goes on to spell out those needs.
Will Ms. Gates answer Ms. Ekeocha? Will she consider the voiced concerns
and the expressed needs honestly and with an open-mind?
Or will she succumb to the political pressure to further an ideology?
I pray she prays genuinely about it. | P*********0
发帖数: 4321 | 2 where was this brutally stupid when Bush launched the Iraq war? |
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