Thoughts on Africa

I haven't been able to fall asleep yet. Maybe it's my heart racing or a guilty conscience. Maybe it's because of what's going on with the election in Zimbabwe or the nice treat I received from Amazon today with some amazing books about Sudan...

It's been six months since I returned safely from Africa. I was sick most of the trip (I had malaria), met amazing people, shared meals and had memorable fellowships with my brothers and sisters there, and fell in love with the most joyful and beautiful kids in the world. It's been an emotional roller coaster from the moment I stepped off the plane in Entebbe, Uganda until, well, now. I don't expect it to get any easier since the journey has only begun. I've been wrestling back and forth in my mind so many thoughts about where to begin to do all the things I want to accomplish. As soon as I got back to Puerto Rico I couldn't help but start thinking about when I was going back to Africa. Not because I don't like being here, because I do... it's a beautiful island, it's where I grew up, all my family is here, and you gotta love the food! But after having a life-altering experience, you can't come home and not do something about it. I have a sense of responsibility to act, to not be a by-stander. I have pictures of the kids in Uganda and Sudan on the walls in my bedroom. They are a reminder of the most amazing month I've had in my life so far. They keep me grounded. They don't let me forget the hardships they've endured, the sacrifices they've made, the civil war and displacements they've been through, and how blessed I am to hang those pictures on concrete walls in an air-conditioned room in a nice neighborhood in Puerto Rico.

When did they become just a statistic to us? I mean, we're aware of the genocide in Darfur, we've seen the movies Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, and The Last King of Scotland, but then...nothing. We watch CNN and read the news online, but what else? We say: "oh, that's too bad" and then change the channel. Meanwhile my heart breaks. I'm here feeling helpless. I long for the day I can go back and see them and kiss them and hug them and play with them again. I started a non-profit organization last week to promote awareness in Puerto Rico about what's going on in Africa. It's a small step. I'm planning my second trip to Africa for the end of this year. Another small step. I yearn for the year 2025 when our generation eradicates extreme poverty in the world (Read: The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs). I want us to CARE. I want us to not just be aware of the injustices of the world, but to DO something about them. I want it to HURT. I want it to TROUBLE you and for us to be SHAKEN by it. We complain about the heat this summer, we complain about our politics, we complain about family issues, money, food... but at the end of the day we have a roof over our heads, a queen sized bed, air conditioning, we eat and indulge delicious food and then over-eat and over-indulge... Why can't we care about our brothers and sisters in Africa as much as we care about our pet parakeet?

I went to see Chris Rock tonight. He had a show in San Juan and was absolutely brilliant. He said something that really hit home for me. "How is it that when you see a homeless guy on the street with a puppy you feel more upset about the puppy than the homeless guy? You say: Aww, poor puppy. I hope it has food tonight. Someone should take the puppy away from him and feed it. Maybe I'll wait 'til the guy falls asleep." It could be a bit extreme, but we all do it. We all cross the street and avoid eye contact with a homeless person. But WHY? Are they really going to attack you and steal your purse? OR are we just so ashamed that we don't care to smile at them or buy them a slice of pizza and we're so consumed with ourselves that we choose to avoid them and pretend they don't exist in order to not be confronted by this reality: We're emotionally numb. If it doesn't affect us directly, we don't care. We're numb to the millions of people displaced by the genocide in Darfur. We're numb to the orphans around the world that have no warm food in their stomachs tonight. We're numb to the sick and malnourished, the homeless and the widow... but we jump at any opportunity to take advantage of a good sale at the mall.

Now I just sound like I'm complaining a lot, maybe I'm bitter. But I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of being part of the western world that doesn't care. I'm tired of waking up in the morning to the sound of the air conditioner, instead of the Sudanese kids playing outside my window.

Thanks for reading this. I'll try to fall asleep now.

(written June 30, 2008 @ 3:22 AM)