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Rapid Responses: Rapid Responses published:
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![[Read Rapid Response]](/icons/misc/sectionDOWN.gif)
Are the worst tragedies not politically correct ?
- Francesco Carelli (15 November 2004)
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Christmas, Ethiopia, and Sir Bob
- Astier M Almedom (15 November 2004)
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The basic necessities of life.
- Hugh C Sharp, Nil (1 December 2004)
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The power of women, community... and UK citizen.
- Andre R Troiano (4 December 2004)
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Globalization demands localization
- Claudia Christen (25 July 2005)
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Francesco Carelli, EURACT Council ,National Representative - RCGP 43017 - GMC 4256757 - Professor University of Milan 20123 - Milan - Italy
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The population in Southern Sudan has been oppressed, killed, massacred for more than 21 years. It's one of the worst examples in Africa. Is it so " shocking " ? I'd say: no! Who really cares about this ? UNICEF, all right, denounces this. But who, I could say from Italy, is " really " denouncing this ? Where to find a strong political debate on that, so strong in a " politically correct way " on all wars, and rights, and developing countries, and poor populations, and tortures and so on ? where in newspapers, where in media, where in the medical debate ? I know volunters, doctors and not, trying to do something ( really their best ) to support anyway these christian and animyst population. Although the so declared stopping in the " conflict " ( conflict is between two ...) their lives are still and more at danger. What a frustration, just as a family doctor, to see that UNO is so unable to do " really " something and that, inside it, the Northern Government is seated to sentence on " human rights "....! Competing interests: always writing and debating on people's human rights |
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Astier M Almedom, Henry R. Luce Professor in Science & Humanitarianism Tufts University, Boston, USA
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Dear Editor, This issue is a most welcome contribution to our teaching about and learning from the South. Our students will now be prompted to discuss the question of Christmas, Ethiopia, and Band Aid #3. Why can't Sir Bob and his artist friends sing a new song? As reported by the BBC last month, Ethiopians (and others including some of the singers themselves) loathe the lyrics of 'Do they know it's Christmas'. Christmas in Ethiopia is celebrated in January and it is not about excessive eating and drinking. Rather, it is a solemn commemoration of the birth of the "Saviour of the World" (Medhanie Alem) into poverty, the early Christian church has recognised eversince its inception in the 1st century - way before anyone in the West had any inkling of the teachings of Yesus Kristos. Do Sir Bob and his friends know that the Ethiopians have moved on anyway? Can they think of other lyrics? Would they be happy perhaps to hand over their microphones to 'Ethiopians' (all aid recipients in the South) and let them sing their own song in one big group? Wouldn't that make for a merrier Christmas whichever month it is celebrated? What is Band Aid really about anyway? These are some of the questions my students will be asked to discuss. We shall look forward to your readers' input, especially those in Africa, as we continue to learn. Competing interests: None declared |
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Hugh C Sharp, General Practitioner Glastonbury BA6 8BH, Nil
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I read with interest the November 13th BMJ -"Learning from low income countries" - whilst working in Lalibela in the highlands of Ethiopia - one of the poorest areas in one of the poorest countries in the world. The children and young adults of sub-Saharan Africa - the continent`s future - who live in dire poverty are well aware of their lack of basic necessities. They want "good" and sufficient food to be fit, healthy and strong. They need safe water. They have a huge desire to learn, to be taught, to progress in life. A major part of that education must be health promotion regarding improved hygiene and sanitation, malaria protection (especially insecticide treated nets) and HIV education. The empowerment of women and widespread availability of family planning are absolutely essential. The successful introduction of these basic and primary care measures will have far greater impact on their - and the continent`s - quality of life and longevity than any medical intervention. Competing interests: None declared |
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Andre R Troiano, clinical/research fellow Univ of British Columbia, V6T 2B5
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I read with enthusiasm you editorial on "The power of women, community and Bob Geldof" [1], although I felt somewhat perplexed with its naïveté. As the editor of a medical journal, I agree that you may not focus on political issues. However, to leave the question "what have we done for the world’s poor?" unanswered is misleading and offensive to readers from underdeveloped countries. The answer is rather simple: you haven't done much, but your government has made them poorer. The ironical part of it all is that the common, working-class United Kingdom citizen hardly benefits from the overseas aggressive policies that make him unpopular. The population shares the price, the elites share the profits [2]. By far, the most efficient way to help people's health in peripheral countries is supporting prime ministers that do not conduct warfare policies for the privileged few (as we currently see). The critical standards of BMJ should meet its scientific qualities. 1. Abbasi, K. The power of women, community, and Bob Geldof. BMJ 2004;329 (13 November). 2. Chomsky, N. Year 501: the conquest continues. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1993. Competing interests: None declared |
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Claudia Christen, student (sociology & environmental engineering) Technical Univ Berlin 10623, Germany
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As a (prospective) sociologist I´m interested in what Kamran Abbasi wrote
about the power of women and particularly the power of
community [1]. Which, I like to affirm, is more present in poorer
countries (I don’t like to use terms like newly industrialising countries
or developing countries – until I can find a satisfactory definition for my
own) than in our countries – meaning rich countries.
I don´t want to say only that thereby we could learn something from the
people in Ethiopia or somewhere else – not pretend that we had never
known this before - rather I´d like to affirm that we could reclaim it,
bring it to mind again.
Didn´t we lose the power of community in the course of the often discussed so called globalization? Social relationships are going to be replaced by “object relations”, one of many theories current in sociology. Myself, I have a different opinion. After the initially lost networks (broken families, high divorce rates etc.) a "reclaiming" of the roots (which I call family, friends and other social networks as well as communities) will have a revival in an interlaced world suddenly shrinking with inventions such as the web. In short, globalization demands localization. So shouldn´t we try to help poorer countries into a kind of balance? Into a balance, in which we - eroded by capitalism and bureaucracy - have to return also? "As standardisation is implemented, creativity disappears - to build a healthful society both system and community are needed."[1] This quotation used by Kamran Abbasi at the end of his article is one of the best that I have read for a long time. [1] Abbasi, K. The power of women, community, and Bob Geldof. BMJ 2004;329 (13 November 2004) Competing interests: None declared |
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