The Holocaust in Africa

Ever since the recent rise of religions like Islam and Christianity in Africa, the condemnation of homosexuals has been intensifying with each passing day.

Priests all over the continent have been holding sermons to educate the public on homosexuals. These "educating" sermons teach the public that homosexuals are filthy, disease-infested animals that threaten their every day lives. It is taught that homosexuals deliberately defy god and therefore should not be tolerated within their society.

This alienation has both encouraged and influenced negative actions towards African homosexuals. Gays and Lesbians residing in Africa have undergone alienation and torture. Their rights to health-care have been revoked and countless have been murdered.

Countries such as Uganda have been processing a bill that would result in death penalties for alleged homosexual couples and a 50 year to life sentence in jail for reported homosexual activity. These punishments can be compared to someone who has been convicted of murder in the U.S. A Judge in Malawi has motioned for a 14 year hard-labor camp sentence for alleged homosexuals and Africans who have been accused of committing suspicious or homosexual acts. There are hate-crimes against gays reported daily in Zimbabwe and Senegal. The president of Gambia has motioned to expel all homosexuals from the country.

Priests are often known to hold exorcisms for gays, hoping to cure them. Many African men and women have admitted to undergoing these exorcisms in hopes of being cured. Many are forced to. Many do not want to. But these men and women, who previously identified as homosexuals, now claim that they have indeed been cured. Although, it is hard to tell who is "cured" and who is just speaking out of fear. After all... a so-called "cured" homosexual gets to lead a normal, unprejudiced life.

Gay-rights activists in the West have shown their support by donating money to homosexual communities in need.
These efforts have made prejudice, anti-gay Africans take notice of our culture. American gays are also regularly brought up in the negative sermons held by priests. We are now being portrayed as a culture who allows this god-defying evil to run rampant through our country. What could this mean for our relations with Africa in the future? What could this mean for the future of Africa itself?


"If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed." -Adolf Hitler

New Meningitis Vaccines Introduced in Uganda

     Uganda is one of the many small countries in Africa that we often don't hear much about. The total population is just over 32,000,000 and surrounded by other countries on all four sides: in the east by Kenya, south by Tanzania, north by Sudan, and the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This area is sometimes called the “meningitis belt”, or simply the belt, because this area as well as others are where meningitis is known to be most deadly.



Photo (c) Francesco Zizzola of children in Uganda.

     Though Uganda has never faced any major problems with disease in the past, in 2007 the death toll due to meningitis raised up to 110 deaths in the West Nile area, with over 2,500 reportedly infected. Many schools, disco halls and markets were closed because of the high risk of infection, and churches had to limit services in order to slow down the spread of disease. It is surprising, therefore, that only recently it was announced by the President that the West African region is procuring and giving out vaccines that are capable of preventing and stopping the virus.

     According to New Vision Online, a Uganda newspaper, Dr. Asuman Lukwago, the health ministry's acting secretary, stated, “We always assess the threat before procuring any vaccine. However, we don't always carry out routine vaccinations since meningitis attacks are not common in the country.” These vaccines, dubbed the MenAfriVac, cost less than 50 US cents per dose, and are a safe and cheap remedy for one of the biggest and most widely spread viruses.

     Though it is unusual for the major A epidemics to occur (usually once every 7-14 years) it is estimated over 450 million people are at risk for catching this deadly virus across the African continent. These tightly knit African countries have suffered epidemics for over 100 years that have destroyed many lives, and it is a relief to many that a ready vaccine will soon be arriving.