Kenya and Circumcision

The BBC story makes it look like most of them are rejecting a plan for free circumcision.

On the whole circumcision issue I'll readily admit that I am biased, so I'm going to try and be as neutral as possible.

Apparently some studies have shown that circumcision helps in the prevention of HIV/AIDS, an issue that is plaguing Africa at the moment.

The Luo Council of Elders won't sanction circumcision because it is against their culture.

What I like about this story though is not that they might be dooming themselves to an increased risk of HIV/AIDS (who the hell would want that?) but the views of the elders.

The BBC article states:

The elders are afraid that some men will think that being circumcised is an alternative to using condoms, which will put them at a higher risk of infection, our correspondent says.

And:

But individual members of the community who want to be circumcised are free to do so, the council says.

The first snippet is something that I agree with. If you get people thinking that they will become superman and won't get any diseases by getting circumcised will probably ruin any benefit by increasing the amount of unsafe sex that they have.

This is a region where there are accounts of young girls being raped because of some supposed "cure for AIDS" if you sleep with a virgin. Then the girl contracts the disease and the bloke isn't cured.

Education is still one of the most effective methods for preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS. It doesn't matter if you are cut or not, or have that CD4 mutation, you still have a chance of getting the disease.

The latter snippet is good too because although they have said that it is against their culture for people to get circumcised, or to force them, they will let those that want to go ahead and get cut.

As opposed to certain Imams in Muslim countries issuing fatwas and wanting people that disobey to get punished.

Zimbabwe Elections

I'm certain that we have all heard something about Zimbabwe recently. The recent elections have no official results and people are suspecting Zanu-PF (Mugabe's party) of fishy things.

The BBC has reported that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is challenging a recount order by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Now the recount seems a bit funny doesn't it?

Zanu-PF loses the lower house and the ZEC decides to be elusive with the results and now ask for this recount.

It isn't really fair to say "They are rigging the vote", I'll wait until the recount shows that the MDC doesn't have control of the house for that.

Until that time I'll just assume that they are, because the ZEC is acting strange.

However if there is one thing that I understand, it is that until Mugabe decides to stop blaming westerners, or even white people, (especially if this is anything to go by) and just accept the fact that the only person who screwed up Zimbabwe is Robert Gabriel Mugabe. A man who seems to be so up himself that he believes that white people are the cause of Zimbabwe's economic woes.

All I wonder is what will happen if he is declared the new President. Will the Zimbabweans rise up in protest in a similar way the people of that African country that I can't think of at the moment did? Or will they have to wait until Mugabe dies, and Zanu-PF probably falls apart?

Charles Taylor on Trial

The BBC has reported that the trial of Charles Taylor has resumed.

For the world it will be an important event. For those that don't know the Charles Taylor that I am referring to was once the ruler of Liberia.

Now some of his charges relate to his actions during the Sierra Leone Civil War.

During that horrific time, rebels and government troops committed numerous atrocities against the civilians of Sierra Leone. Taylor is believed to have financed the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) by trading guns for conflict diamonds from the RUF controlled mines near the Sierra Leone - Liberia border.

Thanks to his greed he helped to kill 75 000 Sierra Leoneans, maimed probably more then that, and traumatised even more.

With his help he was responsible for the use of child soldiers by both sides, which will, undoubtedly, have scarred those former soldiers for life.

And I think the most unfortunate thing about this is that he will never face the vilification that he deserves.

At least we can see that apparently Africa's most prominent warlord is too poor to pay for his own defence team.

My reason for feeling this way stems from a book.

The book in question is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. In many ways it opened my eyes to what happened over there.

In that book you got to see what the RUF and the Government forces, helped do to a generation of children, deprive them of their childhood and turn them into drugged-up killing machines.

If I were a more eloquent person I would be able to give the book the praise it deserves, but I am not.

I won't tell you too much about it, I would prefer that you read it for yourself.