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AIDS, Adoptions and Africa
Jul. 6th, 2005 01:59 pmAlthough I would never pay to see Angelina Jolie on the big screen after her Tomb Raider fiasco, I'm impressed that she decided to adopt an AIDS orphan from Africa. So many celebrities attach themselves to a cause because they think it will bolster their profile but Angelina genuinely seems to care. I wish I had the money, or was in a stable situation, where I could do the same. I`ve mentioned before how I would like to one day adopt children and if the process to do so with African children wasn't complicated for a gay couple, I would consider going that route.
I've been thinking lately about Africa after I read in Collapse the causes of Rwanda's genocide. It almost felt like news, or history, from another planet - that's how removed I feel from that entire continent. I suffer from that typical middle-class disease where I gain information about the horrible things going on in the rest of the world but I feel somewhat powerless to do anything about it. I think about donating money, but then the cynical person in me asks whether that money won't just disappear into some bureacrat's pocket. I hear about LIVE8 but I have no intention of joining in because I don't like the musicians involved (but would I have felt any different if the line-up had been made up of African artists?)
Then last night, after I ate a huge plate of spaghetti, I sat down to watch African School on BBC4. It's an ongoing documentary about two schools in Uganda, and the lives of various students. Yesterday told the story of one student who lived with his grandparents and about 20 siblings and cousins. All the adults in the family, apart from the grandparents, had died of AIDS and had been buried behind the house. Every day, the grandparents had to find a way to feed all those children. You can imagine how I felt as I sat there, my stomach stuffed, watching this family boil some rice and fry some tomatoes: it's sick to think that my dinner could have fed a quarter of them!
I`m sure all of you think about these things. Maybe it's easier for some to push it away (and I would say I'm one of those people - I can walk past a beggar without flinching.) I've thought about volunteer work before but I never muster enough will or shame to get off my ass and actually join anything. In the end, I'm left wondering if I have the right to complain about my life.
I've been thinking lately about Africa after I read in Collapse the causes of Rwanda's genocide. It almost felt like news, or history, from another planet - that's how removed I feel from that entire continent. I suffer from that typical middle-class disease where I gain information about the horrible things going on in the rest of the world but I feel somewhat powerless to do anything about it. I think about donating money, but then the cynical person in me asks whether that money won't just disappear into some bureacrat's pocket. I hear about LIVE8 but I have no intention of joining in because I don't like the musicians involved (but would I have felt any different if the line-up had been made up of African artists?)
Then last night, after I ate a huge plate of spaghetti, I sat down to watch African School on BBC4. It's an ongoing documentary about two schools in Uganda, and the lives of various students. Yesterday told the story of one student who lived with his grandparents and about 20 siblings and cousins. All the adults in the family, apart from the grandparents, had died of AIDS and had been buried behind the house. Every day, the grandparents had to find a way to feed all those children. You can imagine how I felt as I sat there, my stomach stuffed, watching this family boil some rice and fry some tomatoes: it's sick to think that my dinner could have fed a quarter of them!
I`m sure all of you think about these things. Maybe it's easier for some to push it away (and I would say I'm one of those people - I can walk past a beggar without flinching.) I've thought about volunteer work before but I never muster enough will or shame to get off my ass and actually join anything. In the end, I'm left wondering if I have the right to complain about my life.
