Some of you may remember that as part of the World AIDS Day roundup I posted a piece from Kid’s Doc in Jos - http://www.ecwaevangel.org/blog/faith-died_72 - on 15th month old HIV+ twins Faith and Favour. At the time Faith was very ill with pneumonia. The heartbreaking news is that baby Faith died on Thursday 1st December – World AIDS Day, 2005 aged 15th months. He is survived by his twin, Favour and their mother.

“Faith died yesterday, in the ICU. Now his mom would like someone to care for his sister. She doesn’t see any way she can do it all herself, and find a job to support the two of them. I am so worn out this week, I’m sad about Faith, at the same time I feel bad that I no longer feel the full impact of a child’s death. And I wonder how I can even be sorry for myself being tired and failing to save Faith, when the mother’s loss is so great. Most of her ‘support team’, counselors from Spring of Life, left for the all-Africa AIDS conference in Abuja the morning after Faith died, so she’s lacking even that support right now.”

The death of baby Faith will leave all of us with a heavy heart but even more than that - anger. Anger at the complete failure of the Western and African leaders to deal with this terrible illness that is killing children and their parents. People with HIV and AIDS NEED DRUGS – without drugs there is nothing but death and more death. Faith never had a chance and neither will his sister or their mother. If he had been in Europe or had access to HIV drugs he would be alive today.

Aqumada - aqumada http://yekolotemari.blog.com/435192 writes about his recent experience of traveling in the West – a Black man with a US passport being detained and interrogated.

“A lone black traveler, however, does not have the same rights as other white travelers. The questions in the interrogation room mainly focused on my cultural and racial identity. Many ridiculous questions such as what my religion was and whether I go to the mosque were posed. Although irritating and embarrassing, I had to answer the questions in a way that would distance me from the stereotypical image of a terrorist (Arab and Muslim). At one point, one of the cops suggested that he remembered arresting me the previous week (a week I was not even in Britain). Not being able to control my anger, I lashed out at the police officers. Although he retreated from this question, I was probed via intentionally constructed misleading questions intended to find out whether I was an Eritrean/Muslim/Somali etc. I believe the fact that two Somali men (still at large) killed a British police officer during the previous week and the recent bombing incident that an Ethiopian man was involved in did not help.”

Nigerian Blog, Grandiose Parlour -
Grandiose Parlour http://grandioseparlor.blogspot.com/2005/12/nigerians-need-to-act-or-shu... writes that Nigerians need to “Act or shut up”. He is referring to the forthcoming 2007 elections which are already being heatedly debated in the Nigerian blogosphere and national media.

“Nigerians including my humble self are darn good critics, but unfortunately our rants hardly get transformed into actions. A good example is the current political nonsense unfolding in Nigeria, despite the outcry from all corners of Nigeria and the world it appears those with the powers to act are not listening or ready to take action.”

Ethiopian blog Weichegud! ET Politics - Weichegud http://weichegud.blogspot.com/2005/12/dedessa-new-waterloo.html has a commentary on the Channel 4 documentary “Ethiopia’s Agony” and the report in last Sunday’s London Observer “Democratic Dawn in Ethiopia Fades as Abuses Come to Light” both of which report on the thousands detained in the Dedesa concentration camp set up my Prime Minister Meles who seems to be competing with Mugabe to see who can commit the worst atrocities on their own people and political opposition.

“Only the minds of the people who run the EPRDF could have thought no one would notice the arresting of tens of thousands of people and dumping them in a detention camp.”

Nonetheless as Wonkette writes

“It will take a few more thousand deaths before the main stream media latches on to this story. That is inevitable. The world will be outraged. One of the imprisoned leaders of the opposition will die in prison. A couple of high-ranking government officials will resign/defect and spill the beans. In order to hide what has happened in Dedessa, the government will commit even more atrocities. And the rest will be history. It's a textbook case of an autocrat who has worn down the welcome mat.”

And that’s about it!

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, http://okrasoup.typepad.com/black_looks

* Please send comments to [email protected]