Malaria updates, crime and empathy

It's official, I'm bored of being sick. With so many important and interesting things going on in the world I hesitate to spend time talking about it - but this blog serves as a sort of venting mechanism and I feel the need to vent!

As my site is one of the farthest from Pretoria (which is where the Peace Corps office is), a 10 hour khumbi ride, I have not been personally examined by the Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO). She has, instead, been calling me daily to check up on my progress. After our most recent conversation I'm feeling less than enthusiastic and more confused than ever. I told her that even on medication my symptoms haven't improved much, especially the dizziness and now it is accompanied by a complete loss of appetite and inability to sleep. I don't know what this means but apparently it concerned her. She said to take the rest of the week off from work (try explaining that to the teachers...) and if things don't improve by Friday she's going to put me in the hospital. Here's the thing: I WANT TO BE AT WORK! Schools have been closed since December 4 and I've been DYING to get back to work. I don't want to sit in bed all day reading or studying. Those of you who know me well know that I am a very active person and I LOVE being busy. It's very difficult for me to sit here, doing nothing, when there's so much to be done in the village.

So, there you have it, the Malaria update.

CRIME. Newsweek Magazine did a spread in early January about my lovely South African home. I was SHOCKED by what I read. Most of it isn't "news" to me, but the figures were staggering and with recent events in Kenya (the other one of Africa's most "stable" democracies) I realize just how far the pendulum can swing.

"Many South Africans have started to feel that their country - recently an exemplar of democracy and enlightened leadership- is gradually tilting in the wrong direction. During the 1990s, the nation's AIDS epidemic was serious but no worse than that suffered by much of Africa. The same for violent crime.

"Today the AIDS crisis - WHICH KILLS UPWARDS OF 900 SOUTH AFRICANS A DAY - has become one of the world's worst. And crime is so bad that South Africa is starting to resemble SIERRA LEONE or COLOMBIA.

"In fact, the country suffered more violent deaths per capita in 2007 than AFGHANISTAN - the supposed front line in the war on terror."

Shocking. The article then went on to discuss the current political situation, Mbeki's steps toward authoritarianism and Zuma (the new ANC President and hence next President of South Africa in 2009) is "a poorly educated populist who critics fear could drag down the economy and hurt South Africa's image." Zuma is the man who was accused of rape and fraud and has yet to be found innocent or guilty. (Interestingly Mbeki has also repeatedly denied that there is any link between HIV and AIDS and denied the distribution of anti-retroviral treatments in the rural clinics)

That being said I wanted to conclude by sending my empathy and support to the PCVs who are being evacuated from Kenya (especially Patrick). These unfortunate events have had a huge impact on all of our lives. Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight, whether in the field or on the home front. For what it's worth Kenya is in our prayers!