Africa

I saw a documentary on a blog tonight that tore my heart to shreds, and then gently put it back together.
It was of a small village in a dark corner of Uganda, with two little children whose bodies had been ravaged by starvation and polio. They were left hopeless, and abandoned cared for only by their older sister who walked a few miles just to get water to bathe them. With no food or hope in sight, she knew the least she could do was pick them up out of the dirt and dust and cleanse their broken bodies. I sat here as the tears welled up.

Fortunately, the children were rescued in the nick of time by a charitable organization that took them from the shackles of their deadly circumstances and put them in a home where they received medical attention, and rehabilitation.

I am trying to process the deep confusion I have as to why this is a scene all to familiar from Africa. Why does the continent with the most natural wealth and resources on the planet have so many parts that suffer like this. Why? Civil war, famine, AIDS, dictatorships, polio, rebel fighting, government coups, corruption...the list goes on and on.

I spoke for hours with an old friend of mine last night. They emigrated from South Africa to Canada 2 years ago. His story is amazing. They left their home, (like me) to find a better life elsewhere. He told me that his whole outlook on life has changed. No longer is he living in a constant state of stress, wondering when his house is going to get broken into again, or if he is going to be carjacked on the way to work. His wife can play with their daughter in the park, and he knows they will come home that night.

While I love the USA, there are times when my heart yearns for Africa. The smell of the sweet air after a rainstorm. The feel of the warm, dry Drakensberg winds. The sound of the Indian ocean crashing onto a rocky beach. Looking up at night and feeling the Southern Cross looming safely over me. We left our home for a better life, and we found it but all in all, why did it have to be that way? Why couldn't we have had a better life on the continent of my birth, of 5 generations of my family.

Africa's problems run deep into the earth. I don't know the answer. Perhaps it is the hapless victim of the human nature to take, take, take. Almost as if God gave all humanity this wonderful gift brimming with life, color and variety - and all we've done collectively is to pull it to shreds.

If there is any doubt that man is born with a sinful nature, I present Africa as compelling evidence.

Sean.