Stephen Lewis’ “Pandemic: My country is on its knees” is an attempt to reach out to Canadians in order to raise their awareness that AIDS is the most pressing issue facing Africa. The effects of the pandemic have reached into every aspect of life on the African continent. Without overcoming the tragedy of AIDS first, no other issue can be looked at and no other action will succeed.
Lewis strives to connect with everyday Canadians through his lectures and novel. In a very public way his communications share his experiences in Africa over the course of his adult life. His greatest strength is his reflective and informal style of storytelling. His style allows the reader to easily connect with the images he creates. He paints scenes such as the teaching hospital where ‘nothing was more common place than death’, when one PLWA group sells coffins to another or the disabled and helpless aging grandparents outlive eight of their nine children and stepped in to care for thirty-six orphans when no one else would. These emotional and personal case studies really jar the reader as they are a more persuasive argument than any statistic could be.
The least effective passages in Lewis’ article are when we are exposed to a sense of his paternalism. Lewis makes broad generalizations about all Africans and sees them as childlike in their innocence. The fact that one grade ten student did not know what a Jew was does not mean an entire society is free from intolerance. I do not agree with ending his focus on the success stories of western aid groups like the WFP education, the Rockefeller Foundation MSF and Oprah, instead of celebrating the role Africans have played in saving their own lives. I feel this gives the reader the sense that they cannot help themselves and can only succeed with our help. However by doing this Lewis has achieved his purpose of making Canadians aware and nudging them into action.
In recent news, the UN general assembly has debated the failure of the Millennium Development Goals, largely as a result of poor funding from Western nations. Do you think we are more inclined to help out with natural disasters rather than viral disasters?
I think wealthy countries have been more inclined (at least in past years) to provide assistance with natural disasters, like Haiti or Hurricane Katrina, than with viral disasters. Why we are so much more eager to help when natural disasters strike is another question entirely though. What do you think?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think disasters have a sense of urgency about them and are dealt with a one-time effort rather than a long term struggle.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to you question is yes. People are more inclined to give and help after a natural disaster has occurred simply because of the media coverage. When an earthquake or tsunami strikes the media begins 24 hour news coverage of the aftermath and we can not help but watch. Because of this we feel pity and sorrow for the people effected by the matter and generously open our hearts and wallets to help. Aids however is an ongoing tragedy that rarely makes the headlines. Because the media does not report on this pandemic as much as they should, it has become very easy for the citizens of the more fortunate countries to forget about it. We humans have short memory spans and unless we see we do not know.
ReplyDeleteHi Deborah,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog and your courage to call Lewis on a few of his comments. Yes, a paternalistic approach has gotten Westerners in trouble before and we need to learn from our mistakes. We all think something must be done, but what form should it take? This is a good question. Lewis sends a message in his essy that it has to take many forms, from Doctors Without Borders (who recognize no political regimes) to Canadian politicians willing to give more money. Never one solution but multiple solutions.
The mark of a good blog is that it stirs one to write back. That you have so many comments on your board is terrific.