Reading: Infidel

My local library book group read Infidel for its March selection. While the book is not about Kenya, per se, many of the chapters are set in Nairobi and others in its neighboring countries. A memoir written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the book tells her story, that of a Somali woman who comes of age in Nairobi and wrestles – in Kenya, Somalia, and Holland – with the impact the fundamentalist Muslim culture in which she was raised has on the lives of women.

Infidel is a controversial book. Publishers Weekly (253, no. 50, December 18, 2006: 57) is among those that consider it a significant contribution: Hirsi Ali "delivers a powerful feminist critique of Islam informed by a genuine understanding of the religion." However, Ian Buruma in the New York Times Sunday Book Review (March 4, 2007) finds her descriptions of western life so idealized as to resemble "a comic book." And Lorraine Ali in Newsweek (February 26, 2007) states, "Hirsi Ali is more a hero among Islamophobes than Islamic women" and "sounds as "single-minded and reactionary as the zealots she's worked so hard to oppose."

Hirsi Ali describes the limited choices available to women in her culture of origin, illustrated by her own struggle to accept an arranged marriage. Most disquieting were her explanations and anecdotes about shunning, physical abuse of children and women with honor killings the most extreme example, and female circumcision or, more accurately, "excision." In addition to the human rights issues she raises, Ali’s many examples of the Somali’s strong clan identification and lack of tolerance for differences within one’s own ethnic group gave me pause for reflection. There are parallels, certainly, in all cultures, although the societal mores regarding violence vary.

Ali’s contrast of her Somali and Kenyan peers, noting the different attitudes and codes for behavior borne out of Muslim and Christian beliefs, and her references to the significant poverty in areas of Nairobi are interesting to consider as we prepare to travel to the region.

Hirsi Ali spoke about the writing of this book, expanded on the issues addressed, and read passages in a sensitive and provocative On Point National Public Radio interview with Tom Ashbrook recorded on February 12, 2007 (43 minutes).

Claudia Daggett

Reading: Kenya Passage

On a lighter note this week, we share an article from the May-June 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler: "Kenya Passage," by Christopher Vourlias. This is a colorful, ultimately optimistic account of overcoming a bit of adversity -- mud, cattle raiders, and the fear of wildlife lurking at nightfall -- while traveling through the Laikipia and Samburu Districts in the Great Rift Valley.

In the telling, Vourlias reminds us of the importance of understanding differences in the cultural views of distance and time and shares a poignant moment when he finds sympathy from Africans who have experienced much more profound hardship. He reaches his destination, of course -- and ingenuity, care for others, and patience triumph.

Claudia Daggett

HIV/AIDS: Why should we care?

In the United States, the majority of us likely still associate HIV and AIDS with the gay community. If you are a person in middle age, it is hard to imagine that, in some way, the terrible sickness and cruel death associated with AIDS has not affected you in some way in the last twenty years. As educators, we probably know well the positive impact of the education around protected sex counter-balanced by young people's desensitization regarding non-penetrative sex. We likely also know that the anti-retroviral (ARV) medications prolong life in amazing ways. People do still die from AIDS-related complications but being diagnosed with full-blown AIDS is no longer the immediate death sentence it was in the late 80’s and 90’s. We may know of the international AIDS Awareness Day on December 1. We still see the red ribbon in many places. Every so often, various businesses sponsor contributions to AIDS research and interventions. Starbucks collected contributions last winter; Nike is currently running a campaign related to the purchase of red shoelaces. So, for the most part, HIV and AIDS present themselves in ways now that make it easy for most of us to believe that we can have a compassionate but distanced understanding as involved U.S. citizens (i.e. It’s a problem but one for “other” people) and make small gestures in support of the eradication of the disease when we can.

It is well nigh impossible to travel to Africa and be similarly removed from the effects of AIDS. Billboards (yes, there are billboards) speak about everything from HIV/AIDS social service messages to ads for clinics and treatment. Newspapers contain numerous articles about public policy initiatives and personal anecdotes. Markets are filled with people clearly suffering from AIDS wasting. Orphaned children, of all ages, are everywhere. The highest rate of infection occurs in heterosexual women and then in their children through mother-to-child transmission. Often these women are unaware that their partners are HIV-infected. Often women do not have the luxury of choosing their sexual partners. Cultural taboos against acknowledging the disease exist in almost every culture, and the myths of effective treatment cloud the ability to treat those who do acknowledge. The intense cycle of poverty renders the ARVs which are available in some regions ineffective as they often require proper nutrition in order to be effective. Families sell the government or NGO-issued ARVs in order to purchase food and then, as a result, don’t have the medication once they have the nutrition. Statistics are difficult to gather as under-reporting and denial are rampant. None of this paints a very optimistic view of the future.

Three summers ago, after spending time in the south of Africa, I became intensely interested in HIV/AIDS and AIDS education. At the time I was Head of a middle school in the DC area and leading a service learning project. I wondered if it would be possible to have respectful conversations with the 8th graders about AIDS and then do service locally. It turned out that nearly one-half of the 8th grade wanted to participate in this year-long project. The positive support of the parents was tremendous; they drove groups of students to deliver meals and used contacts in the community to connect us with people working on AIDS in research and in the community. In the middle of that year, the Washington Post published an article citing new research that the rate of HIV infection in the DC metropolitan area equalled that in the south of Africa. The group with the highest rate of infection proved to be heterosexual African American women. It was a sad and chilling revelation to the students, their parents and to me that this notion that we might have had that AIDS was something that happened to poor people in third world countries far from us was, in fact, simply not accurate. We developed something along the lines of a moral imperative to work harder and become more informed and involved and became rather zealous in our efforts.

With just a few months before departing for my second trip to Africa, I think quite a bit about whether the impact of HIV and AIDS will be visible in Kenya. I wonder about what I can do to make a positive contribution, as a result. I did purchase two packs of red shoelaces yesterday. Deep inside, I feel the smallness of the gesture, and I think about other ways to get involved. Mostly, I plan to keep my heart open.

Laurel Seid

Photo: http://hypebeast.com/2009/11/nike-product-red-shoe-laces/