Babygate: trafficking children to cover demand

Malinda, an adoptive mother of two Chinese girls,  writes in her blog Adoption Talk about the lengths some corrupt individuals are going to ensure the steady flow of adoptable babies to people able to pay the pricey adoption fees. In her post Adoption Corruption: Trafficking in the news she highlights recent cases in Cameroon, where children are kidnapped in order to be placed for adoption; Korea, where young parents put their baby on sale on the Internet; Guatemala, where the army abducted and sold more than 333 children for adoption and where recently babies and children were put up for adoption without parental consent; and Ethiopia, where unregulated agencies are convincing families to give their children up for adoption, promising them the children will later return to them or that the agency will help support the remainder of the family. Similar cases have been seen in numerous other countries.

Mothers coming together to secure their human rights

Some adoptive mothers do what they can to ensure one woman's right to motherhood doesn't go against the reproductive rights of another mother.

One such option is open adoptions, a sometimes controversial decision where the child remains in contact with the birth mother and is aware that due to other circumstances, she wasn't able to take care of them.

One woman in the United States, Leigh, writes a blog called Open Adoption Round Table about the challenges of giving her child up for adoption in a semi-open arrangement.

Another blogger and writer Dawn Friedman tells a story in her blog from the opposite perspective of adopting her daughter, Madison, while keeping an open line of communication with the birth mother. Friedman is also an activist for adoption reform in the United States. She believes pregnancy counseling in unplanned pregnancies too easily pushes women towards giving up their babies for adoption without informing them adequately of how difficult it is. Friedman also recommends that the process of adoption counseling should include a post-labor session where women are accompanied through the decision making process and advised of their rights and possibilities after giving birth, in case they are having second thoughts or have additional concerns.

Birth mothers

Lorraine Dusky in the United States, who runs the Birth Mother, First Mother Forum had medical history that made her think that birth control pills she took during pregnancy could have affected the child she placed in adoption, but when she tried to contact the adoptive family through the agency to let them know, they refused to send over the information.

She relinquished her child with no particular coercion, but the laws for “closed records” in adoptions may have cost her daughter's life.

But what about natural mothers in developing countries? Where are their voices? Some of them have written letters to the children they've placed for adoption, as Pam Conell of families.com tells us in her book review of I Wish for You a Beautiful Life: Letters from the Korean birthmothers of Ae Ran Won.

Others are telling their stories through documentaries, or after being reunited with their natural children. And there are some others who tell of women who don't regret giving their children up for adoption, considering it was the best alternative. However some women, like  Malinda in the USA,  adoptive parent of Chinese Girls who writes AdoptionTalk believes that these last representations have to be taken with a grain of salt:

These representations of foreign birth mothers allow us to divorce ourselves from the experience of these birth mothers, to minimize their pain, and to justify how much better off our children are with us than with them.

The Voices of the Adopted:

Mary Grace in China by endbradley

The voices of the adoptees are as varied as any of the other parts of the adoption triad. But in general they share some points of view in common: The desire to know about their origins and the reason for their adoption and the hope that their birth mothers made an informed decision to part with them.  They also believe in the right to know their history if they choose, to know about their adoptee status from early on and have it acknowledged as part of their identity.

For example Susan from ReadingWritingLiving, an adult adoptee born in the 1960's, identified with TV drama Mad Men, particularly in their portrayal of adoptions in that time period, where women hid their shameful unwanted pregnancies until giving birth and how adopted children where seen as discards. She sums it up in her post Mad Men: A Window into my Own Past

Yes, it was painful to hear this but also WILDLY refreshing to have someone just come out and SAY it.

In the I am adopted [es]blog in Spanish, David Azcona writes about his difficult childhood, adoption at the age of 6 and the instability and inability to bond with people [es] he's felt since. It is also a place for other adoptees to post their adoption stories, and to share their experiences. In the comment threads of his about page, stories about apropriated babies [es] with no knowledge of their birth parents, twins separated at birth[es] by nurses who told parents one of the babies had died[es] and requests from birth mothers trying to contact their children as well as the other way around.

An adoptee answers a question asked on a website regarding love between adoptees and adoptive parents:

I was adopted as a baby by the two most loving, caring and supportive parents a child and young adult could ever wish for. I also have a younger adopted brother.

I don't think my biological parents could have loved me more than my adoptive ones.

Other adoptees with similar experiences chime in, some with relationships with both natural parents and adoptive parents and others who have only known their adoptive families. In this particular thread, the experiences are overwhelmingly positive towards adoption.

Some adoptees advocate against adoption. Lost Letters, an adoptee herself who writes in the Anti-Adoption livejournal community believes that instead of using so much money to aid in adoption processes and fees, it should be spent in improving the conditions of the birth parents so they can take care of their family. She adds:

I understand that my actual position on adoption is going to piss people off because people want to believe that adoption is a win/win/win situation for everyone, because people think that middle class white women deserve children no matter what, because people think that our western society is so wonderful that all children should be bought up here.

AmyAdoptee who posts in the Adult Adoptees Advocating for Change forum writes:

The adoption industry intentionally pits us against each other.  We are letting them do it.  In fact, the adoption industry gets a wonderful kick out of this.  Here is an article that supports generally our point of view but they ask that we refrain from attacking adoptive parents.  There is nothing wrong with a healthy discourse.

PhilM, in the same forum thread discussing how adoptive parents perceive them, clarifies:

I’m angry at a society that ignores the problems of adoption, and the harm it causes. I’m angry that when I try to talk about these things, I am marginalized and dismissed with comments along the lines of “well, everyone experiences it differently” and “most adoptees I know love their adoptive parents” and others. I am angry that, because I speak out about adoption, people question my love for my adoptive family. And, I admit, I get angry when individuals parrot these messages.

I don’t need a lecture for how to behave in dialogue. I need people willing to engage in it.

The way forward

As with any delicate issue, it touches a sensitive chord for all those involved: adoptive mothers, birth mothers and adopted children. However, it seems they all meet and agree on one important point: Transparency in the adoption process is vital to safeguard the human rights for the mothers and the children, and discussing adoption openly encourages transparency.

EDITED TO ADD:

We have removed a reference to a blogger who didn't wish to be quoted or mentioned in this post. To her, our apologies, it was in no way our intention to infringe on her or offend, but to provide a multiplicity of visions regarding a sensible subject.

GLO-1 is Africa's newest submarine cable.
Map via Many Possibilities.

In late July, damage to the SAT-3 cable — which until last weekend was Nigeria's only link to the global communications system — crippled bank services and Internet access throughout the country. Approximately 70 percent of the country's bandwidth was affected.

According to the Chief Operating Officer of Globacom Limited, which financed the GLO-1 project, the new system will be able to meet all of Nigeria's broadband needs for the next 15 to 20 years. Bloggers are looking forward to faster speeds and cheaper and more reliable access.

From Cameroon, Bill Zimmerman writes:

The cable is expected to drive down broadband costs and provide faster and more robust connectivity for voice, data and video services. The technology sector in West Africa stands to benefit from Glo-1 as companies will be able to communicate more easily with clients and partners overseas. It equally holds promise to open Internet access to individuals and small businesses who’ve been unable to afford connections of their own.

For Yomi Adegboye of Mobility Nigeria, the improvements GLO-1 promises can't come soon enough:

Before now, the entire country depended on only the SAT-3 cable under the monopoly of NITEL for cost-efficient high-speed access. Industry watchers have been in expectation of Glo-1 for months now, as its launch will undoubtedly impact on the cost and delivery of high-speed internet access in Nigeria.

Now that Glo-1 is here, when exactly do we begin to enjoy the services?

GLO-1 is unique in that is the world's first privately owned submarine cable. Theresa Carpenter Sondjo of Appfrica explains:

Most undersea cables, including the SAT-3 that currently connects West Africa to the rest of the world, are built by consortiums of private and public (national) companies. Glo-1 is unusual because it was financed entirely by Nigeria’s GlobalCom…. Nigeria currently depends on the NITEL monopoly for access to its own SAT-3 landing station and buys extra bandwidth from neighboring Benin.

Munashe Gumbonzvanda of TechMasai adds:

The interesting thing about the cable is that unlike other ventures like Seacom [Editor's Note: Seacom, a cable connecting the eastern African coastline to Europe and Asia, went live in July 2009], this venture was entirely financed by Glo alone. The consequences of the Glo-1 are major, but will probably take a while to take effect. This as with Seacom is a great moment for African technological innovation and development.

The speech was published in its entirety on Up Station Mount Club which is fledgling one-stop-shop of Anglophone Cameroonian blogging. The comments give the impressions of a people appreciative of the bright speech but wary of rhetoric.

Augustine S, a Cameroonian based in Canada seems pleased with the speech's direct attack on corruption and bad governance but wants more:

Speech well delivered. It was above expectations. He struck on corruption and good governance, what i wanted to hear. African leaders are stifling the progress of their own nations. I wish his administration goes a long way to exposing corrupt African leaders, punish them by freezing their assets and issuing traveling bans on them and their families. Obama is the kind of leader we need in this world.

Still on the issue of tackling corruption and embezzlement by African leaders Oyez has some advice to western leaders like Obama:
Just two more things are required, and it will go a long way:

1) Deny African rulers, their families and their lieutenants the right to foreign bank accounts and foreign property of any kind.
2) Deny African rulers any kind of medical care outside of Africa.

Those are the only two things we ask the West to do, and we will take care of the rest.

A comment left by Nnokko Johnson brings the Obama speech to Cameroon's door-steps by reminding the country's President, Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982 and in 2008 oversaw the amendment of the constitution to cancel limitation of presidential terms:

Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
MR Biya please take note of this phrase and learn,we dont want u out,but we need strong institutions,please please…

However, reading from many of the comments posted one may come out with the view that Cameroonians see Obama's speech as “good talking” that cannot solve their problems. Emmanuel says:

Home run. Talk, talk, talk, all of it old crap, and ghoulish, to boot.
It does take two to tango. And, Africans are silly to listen to lectures on corruption from the leader of the hegemon of financial, moral and political corruption; it took two to tango with the slave trade, colonialism, and now the era of “partnership.”
Look, this talk of “partnership” is a lie. Only subststantive, not notional equals, can enter into partnerships.

Reex adds:

The same rhetoric… I wonder when people stop believing and start acting… We don't need speeches on hope and pledges -they serve to anesthetize the population, that their problems shall be solved -they should hope for the solutions. When the financial crisis hit the US, the President said something similar about the responsibility of Americans to take the charge…Well contri pipo, most Americans are not even in control of their financial lives, lest responsible for the financial collapse, which were created by a greedy clique of bankers….
Well, Obama's speeches are well-written by an impressive staff to do a formidable job. What else do we expect from him? Speeches from his heart about the realities of our current world?

The trend of thought seems to be that, it is for Africans to solve their own problems. As Reex says,

…let us Africans work out our solutions. We may afterward invite Obama to share roasted corn and groundnuts at the fire side and discuss the politics on the ground - neither Ivy League stuff nor the usual double-talk demonstrated by the Western World, those speeches could be reserved to later occasions, when every hungry stomach in Africa has been filled!

A comment from a visitor called Isat is less diplomatic:

What we should really keep as a reminder are these words:”Africa's future is up to Africans.”
And take note: Obama is not African. His grand-father who cooked for the Brits and his father were Africans. He is American and his country's interests rule supreme - no matter how many songs we sing in his praise.
Man wey yi get ear make yi hear.[In Cameroonian pidgin this means: A word to a wise is sufficient]

The Up Station Mountain Club, collective blog also carries a post - Barack Obama in Africa: “Beyond Yes We Can”, yes we must, from Cameroonian blogger Aloysius Agendia in which he exhorts Africans to make a change:

Yes, Africa can revolt against current misleading leadership and their shady deals that have impoverished the continent. Beyond the yes, we can, yes, we must implement the said changes to move forward

This blog also gives a rythmic flavour to this visit as the video of a Cameroonian musician hailing Barack Obama on his election is posted there. The song was released by Tata Kingue just before Obama's inauguration in January 2009 and Gef's Outlook had done a small translation at the time.
Barack Obama Cameroon Song

Two times before, Late Pope John Paul II visited The Cameroons and the effect on the already impoverished populace was nothing more than a religious euphoria at the expense of their personal financial contributions and the public treasury. The unanswered questions of the Biya's repressive acts were still unanswered.

Aloysius Agendia, a journalist and ex-seminarian in a post entitled Pope Benedict XVI visit to AFRICA : Going beyond spiritual rhetoric seems to suggest that the Church should denounce acts by states and politicains that harm the people's interest instead of being clothed in diplomatic robes:

We understand the Church and the Vatican as a state, and as a religious body, though with political connotations, sometimes has to be diplomatic in its approach. In my opinion, true religion must not be indifferent to injustices, oppression, exploitation, colonialism in all its forms and other vices. The Catholic Church has done much and is still doing a lot but a lot more still has to be done.However, diplomacy though good in its own ways, must not be of too common usage in the Church because, a spade must be called a spade. In trying to always use “subtle” means to explain burning issues, the message is either lost or the meaning/importance, seriously minimized. Church leaders must not choose to dine only with those in power, the rich, and the powerful. They must not necessarily be with the opposition, but, they should stand beside the weak, the oppressed, the sick etc.

He is clear about what he expects from the Pope:

As a spiritual leader who represents hope, he must not only tell us to just keep waiting and hoping. We expect him to be courageous enough to tell those thwarting the hope of Cameroonians and Africans to at least, have some feelings for human beings and or their fellow citizens.

On the other hand, Voice of the Oppressed wonders if the clergy particularly in Cameroon has the moral high ground to demand change from those who govern the country when they themselves are not shinning examples:

What lessons can an already morally impoverished society learn from a bishop or priest who fathers children haphazardly in his community?
What lessons can that society learn from a priest who has numerous ‘girlfriends' in his community, under the excuse that he is only as human as everybody else?
Or sponsored a girlfriend's trip abroad, away from his community, so she can bear him kids, and when he takes his vacation or study leave, he's welcome abroad by ‘his wife' and ‘children'?
Or a Principal of a school,who is a priest, who embezzles school money through fake bills and accounting?
Or priests that have become predators to vulnerable children put at their disposal?

To Aloysius Agendia should Pope Benedict XVI of the perceived waywardness of Catholic prelates in Cameroon:

As the Holy Father visits Cameroon and Africa , he should note this. First and foremost, the Catholic Church and most of its (shepherds) in Cameroon in particular, need serious “redressing” or “overhauling”. The numerous stories about promiscuity, extravagance and gallivanting attitudes of some of our priests including some bishops, some even go as far as bearing children, others fornicating with their students, peoples’ wives, parishioners etc must be addressed…

This blogger belives if these issues of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon are not handled by the Pope then the visit would have no meaning to him:

Mortgaging the Church and its assets for “loans”, as if to sell Jesus Christ again for FCFA 950.000. 000 as Judas did for 30 pieces of silver. Tis follows using a famous Cathedral in Cameroon as a security for a loan taken by one of its bishop. The serious and terrifying cases of embezzlement among others, merit papal attention. These are issues which if the Pope fails to address even in private with his priests, then his mission to Cameroon, I must admit, must have fallen far belowexpectations, and why not, a non-starter.

Will the Pope dare? That may be the next point of interest of the Cameroonian blogosphere.

Note: Part 1 of this post is found here.

1 All small shops, houses, vendor's stalls that don't look nice enough are being destroyed with a large caterpillar. The truck comes by, looks at your stall/house/whatever and if the driver doesn't like, he just destroys it with all its content. It all started about a week ago in the city centre. Suddenly the streets did not house streetvendors anymore, all the local shops at the post office disappeared etc. Now it's been extended all the way to the airport.
2 The road to the airport has brand new streetlights. But then ONLY the way from the airport to the town centre.
3 Tuesday (for sure, other days to be confirmed) the road between airport and town centre will be blocked. Note: the pope arrives in the evening, but the road needs to be blocked from EARLY MORNING. Hence nobody can get to/from work, school etc.

This post also links to another blog by an expertriate family Sander Elke en Milan that has has photos of the destruction to roadside shops in the streets of Yaounde.

This demolition has sparked a debate on the blogs of two expatriates in Cameroon. Συγκακοπαθησον a blog maintained by a missionary in Cameroon posted on the changes to the outlook of Yaounde as a aresult of the Pope's coming.

So what’s my take on the whole thing? It’s nice that the city is getting a face-lift - it sure makes things look a lot nicer, and the big street lights make driving at night or trying to get a taxi along the main route so much easier and safer - but it’s sad that this clean-up has to mean the destruction of people’s way of life. Unfortunately, these people were simply ignorant of the “rules,” some willfully so, and are now facing the consequences. The sad part is that it seems the government was content to just let things be (possibly for as long as 10 years or longer) until something big came up, like the Pope’s arrival. If they had taken these structures down as soon as they went up, there wouldn’t be this kind of destruction of people’s livelihood now. Then again, I guess the law is still the law even when it’s not enforced.

This point of view wasn't really shared by British-born VSO volunteer blogging at Our Man in Cameroon. His reaction in a post entitled Impossible Missionary was simple:

Street stalls are a way of life here. They are everywhere. It’s easy just to say they are illegal but they can be pretty solid structures. What’s more, if they are illegal I’d imagine that they have only been allowed to remain because someone, somewhere is taking a regular few thousands Francs in bribes.
People here struggle. You can bet these structures don’t turn over much and in a country where enterprise and entrepreneurship is so minimal…well what a way to reward it.I ask you, if you are in general agreement with what I have written and also find the missionary’s take as ignorant as I do, to leave a comment. Not below but instead on the missionaries own blog.

However, readers still commented on this story on the Our Man in Cameroon blog. The reactions got to a point that, Karis, the wife of the missionary stepped-up in defence of her husband:

Wow! I never knew my husband could cause such a stir. I think sometimes we think that only people that know us read our blogs and those people know how to take what we write instead of tearing it apart line by line without knowing us at all. Trav, thanks for putting in a good word. Dad A, thanks for the humor. You always put a smile on my face. I just wish all of you that commented here and on his blog knew my husband — you wouldn’t be so harsh as you pull apart sentences.
He and I have had many conversations about how horrible it is that people’s livelihood is taken away from them and all for a few days visit from the Pope. When we were in town on Monday and saw stuff being thrown into trucks, it made me sick to my stomach. More than once, we said, “But how are people going to eat tonight? and the next day and the next day?” It goes even beyond that in…
And then today, I saw him helping people move their sewing machines, their tables, their bags of stuff farther down on our road as the government came through with the bulldozer. No, that was not emphasized enough in this post to show all of our conversations and actions, but wow… that doesn’t mean that my husband doesn’t feel for the people here! Maybe I can convince him to write another post, but I’m not sure because it may be best just to leave this rather than getting things torn apart again. I’d better just stop. A wife sticking up for her wonderful husband isn’t much of a mind changer.

The exchanges did not end at that. This Papal visit has quite some twists to it on the blogoshpere!

In mid-November 2008, Cameroon's national TV (CRTV) featured the story of a four year-old boy called Bright Asangwei Fuh suffering from a rare orbital tumor that could not be properly handled in the country. Since then a group of well wishers have created the blog Bright Fuh Supporters, to raise support for the little boy's medical evacuation to the USA. In their own words, this is their mission:

We the supporters and friends of Bright Fuh, have come together to lend our joint efforts to leverage financial, material and human support for Bright Asangwei Fuh, the little Cameroonian child who is fighting for his life at just 4 years of age. He is diagnosed with a rare orbital tumor. Our goal is to help get this child treated in the United States of America. Please join us and volunteer in one of our committees to help get resources together to help Bright and deliver him from such a deadly disease. Join us in Prayers for Brigt and his family. This is a world wide effort for Bright and you may join Bright Fuh supporters in the USA, UK or Germany and more to come

The Bright Fuh Supporters blog has several pictures of the young boy that show the seriousness of his condition, such as the one on the left taken during the early stages of the tumor's growth. These impressive pictures have moved many Cameroonian bloggers to spread the word about Bright Fuh's case to fundraise and to help him get the operation he needs. For example, Mambe Nanje Churchill who wrote:

My eyes are filled with tears as I cry for this little boy and his parents, I guess its realy hard for them to take it. He is a four year old little boy from Bafut currently in Yaounde because he cant see with his right eye because due to an infection called “Right Orbital Tumor”. This picture is what I saw on his article on www.crtv.cm and I have never seen something like this before, so we are all called to see how we can help this little boy either by posting his story around or by just donating some funds so that this Cameroonian can live to be our next President, Doctor or Lawyer.

The contributors to the blog include medical doctors, such as the one that provided a medical description of his condition in the first post on the blog:

Bright is a jovial 4 year old, suffering from an aggressive Retinoblastoma, per initial discussions with his doctors in Cameroon. Retinoblastoma is a rare form of cancer that begins in the part of the eye called the retina, which is a thin layer of nerve tissue that enables us to see. Most cases are unilateral (involving only one eye) as in Brightʼs case, but some may be bilateral. If the retinoblastoma spreads, it can spread to the lymph nodes, bones, or the bonemarrow. Rarely, it involves the central nervous system.

The doctor-blogger further indicates what has been done to the boy and what still has to be done to save his life:

In Bright's case, his tumor is unilateral, and per conversations with the doctors taking care of him in Cameroon, it is growing aggressively. He had surgery 2 years ago to remove the tumor but it has recurred with a rather aggressive growth, now involving over half of his face, extending into his facial bone structures and also some involvement of his brain tissue.
We are also informed he began chemo therapy to slow down the growth of this tumor with very little success as you can see from the pictures. At this point, intervention will not only be a shot at improving his quality of life but also at saving his life.

The most recent post has two pictures taken by a journalist from Cameroon's national TV (CRTV), one of them reproduced below, with a note suggesting that Fuh Bright's condition is worsening:

The tumor is visibly larger that what we saw before and he is in a lot of pain and distress. We are asking all supporters of Bright at home and abroad to join forces so that together we can chanel all our energy towards helping this child. Please continue to keep Bright in your prayers, to make a donation for Bright please go to our website www.africanwomensfoundation.org and make your kind donation.

I am missing a dry, dusty Cameroon and the holiday season over there. It was always a magical time for me. My siblings and I would torture ourselves with excitement the days leading up to Christmas. We would wake up bright and early that day just to make sure the gifts were there. We would count them quietly, long before the household stirred. We would construct a deep foundation of resentment for those who got the lion's share of presents. We would cry injustice, then crawl back into bed and wait for things to unfold. “Maybe Brother has more gifts than me but mine will be sweeter gifts than his.” There was church on Christmas morning. If we could avoid it, we did, but if Father said it was necessary, then we were (at best) reluctant churchgoers. But the shiny dresses and shoes–the crisp, new Christmas outfits people wore–were always a delight. And we wore ours, too, fresh from the Chinese bubble wrap or the Bamenda tailor's shop. Then the presents and the delicious food were kissed and adored with our eyes, fingers, and mouths.

Bamenda Babe was certainly touched by the singing from a group of kids caught on video by a VSO volunteer based in the town of Bamenda in her native Cameroon who blogs at Our Man in Cameroon. Below you can see the video that he posted on his blog:

In the comments section of that post, Our Man in Cameroon explains a bit more about the kids on the video:

….to clue you in the 2 kids on the right just turned up on that day, and the kid on the left isn’t around much - the rest of them are regulars at my door - where they knock and holler till the whiteman comes to play.

It’s beats a Christmas card anyway.

BB - the kid in the middle is Mimi - quite a little local superstar - despite having just turned 3 on the day I filmed this, she seems to be one of those kids that everyone loves.

I bumped into here, as I normally do, on my way to work this morning and she hugged me around the knees. She then waits till I walk 10 yards away and says bye, then another bye after another 10 yards - until she is hollering it into the distance.

I bought a load of tinsel for the VSO Xmas party so they’ve all had bits of it - that particular piece in the film was the last - they couldn’t decide which of them should keep it - so it was cut into 6 tiny pieces.

Have a good xmas everyone…

From another expatriate's blog in Mbingo, a village in the heart of Cameroon's North West Region, we get another point of view about the Cameroonian Christmas. Christine of Mbingo Was its Name writes about the celebration at the local hospital in which she works:

And yesterday was the party of all parties! It was a combined Christmas celebration / retirement for 9 hospital employees, including our hospital administrator, the fathers of two of our anaesthetists, and the expat physio Pat (here since 1973!). I went down to the kitchen at 7am to see how they could cook (over open fires) for 1000 people. People had been working since 5am, most of them as volunteers. My photos are all blurry because of the amount of smoke in the kitchen! One can only be impressed at what folks here pull off.

In Cameroon it is customary to have an after-party at the home of persons celebrating an event and Christine recounts how she stepped into dancing mood:

There was another great party going on there – huge amounts of food (the women had been up til 3am cooking), and the venacular church choir members were singing their hearts out, with assorted drums and shakers audible from half a mile away. Once again I was ushered inside to greet Pa, and have my coke – and when I went out, the dancing had begun. The singers were now dancing in a circle while the drummers were in the middle, and all the kids (some carrying infant siblings on their backs) were dancing in their own smaller circle in the middle. More and more people joined in, and finally one of the older expat women joined and pulled me in too. It was just so much fun – not much to it except moving your feet and going in a circle, but the atmosphere is what is delightful, just the sheer joy of being alive to recognize the goodness of God. These people really know how to celebrate, and we westerners can learn so much from them!

Back in November 2008, Meenosha of Pink Post was already giving some thought to Christmas. She revealed how she ended up not believing in Father Christmas anymore:

I was about 5 or so, and I just heard about news Mr. HoHo coming to our school. Can you imagine how I felt? I was beaming, like I was told God was coming or something. I remember the day before I didn't sleep. We all dressed up how we wanted, no uniform (I was a Hawaiian princess, with my yellow two-piece outfit and my pink flower stuck in my kinky hard-to-comb hair). We sang Christmas carols on the way to school, and eagerly waited for our hero to come….

So Santa Claus shows up in the classroom…

HE IS BLACK!

HE IS LANKY!

HE SWIMS IN HIS OUTFIT!

And last but not least: He doesn't say “HoHoHo”! He lazily says: “Bonjour les enfants”, and hands over a thin bag full of… candies! Who told him I wanted candies? I got enough of that from my mom! Didn't he get my request list? I wanted a Barbie Doll in a mansion, a princess dress, and a playhouse! My world crumbled down in a few seconds…

Speaking of shocks related to Santa Claus (Father Christmas in Africa) Jess in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon has this to say in her blog Jess does da ‘Roon:

Forgive the pun, but every Christmas in Africa’s a white one for me… just without snow. I just walked into the internet joint and next door they’re playing fantastic hits such as “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” and “I saw mommy kissing santa claus”. I’m shocked. Lately my neighbor’s been playing this famous Nigerian gospel singer and talking back to this CD she’s heard a gazillion times. The singer talks on the track, ranting about how people are “enemies of progress” and are jealous, and there’s some long spiel about her getting a pregnancy test… I don’t know. But anyway, my neighbor is sitting there sewing on her foot-pedal machine, just preaching back at the CD, “Hmm-mmm that’s right. Jealous fools. That jealousy will hold you down! Amen!” I’m glad that peaceful Christmas music might be replacing it soon…

While Jess is a US volunteer is living Christmas in Cameroon, Eric Tambe is a Cameroonian is re-visiting how the Day is celebrated in the US in his blog Infotambeblog:

The built up to the day itself is treated differently than say in Cameroon.In the US it is a day celebrated quietly at home with a few friends and family members.People spend money on Christmas trees,including decorating the tree.It is also a cold period in most of the US,so you would not see people dancing in the streets and children moving from one house to the other to visit with their neighbours as in the case in the African countries.People spend a lot of money buying gifts though for friends and family members.This is one period when you do not want to be broke.People will remember you for not providing them with a Christmas gift…

Merry Christmas to all then!

For Zambian Economist the short answer is:

… because if we don't blog about Africa for ourselves, others would do it for us.

And he also has a long answer very worth reading, involving learning, influencing and sharing experiences.

Simunza S. Muyangana, from Zambia, enjoys sharing good news:

While I am not in denial of our need as continent to address the numerous social injustices that set us back, I do fervently believe that it would be a tragedy if we didn't acknowledge our successes or celebrate the unique circumstances that make Mother Africa the gracious benevolent lady that she is.

Mulumba of Mweshi, another blogger based in Zambia, also wants to share positive stories about Africa:

Africa is my home and a land of immense beauty, great food, fantastic sights, captivating music, and amazing people. We have our problems, but I believe we have many more success stories than failures and I remain overly optimistic about the future. […]

I blog about Africa because I want to share some of the amazing experiences I’ve had and continue to in living and working on the continent. This is a continent steeped in rich history with an equally prosperous future ahead.

(Graphic made by White African)

Sci-Cultura, from Kenya, emphasizes the cultural diversity of Africa :

We are young nations that make up Africa and I strongly feel that we need to define Africa for ourselves.

[…] I blog about Africa to observe and scrutinise the past in order to understand the present, as well as the dawning future. To explore the Africa of here and now. To explore the links that Africa makes with the rest of the world. To challenge and dispel the untruths of what this mythical singular place called Africa is. To showcase the diversity and depth that Africa has to offer; both on the continent and around the globe, by people who call themselves Africans and those of African ancestry either in recent memory or distant past.

For Juliana of Afromusing, also from Kenya, it's all about the music:

…because it is fascinating, fantastically diverse culturally, beautiful and cool […] I am fascinated by the different types of music from Cameroon (Zangalewa!! eh eh eh - Kibe Zangalewa!), the chilled romantic grooves of Madagascar, Tabu Ley of the country then known as Zaire, Jolie Detta of Congo -even though I thought that was only music for my parents, to my current obsession with Kizomba music from Angola.

What an African woman thinks offers a very poetic explanation:

Africa is under my skin. Africa is the voices in my head. Africa is the itch on my back that I can’t quite reach.
[…] She’s beautiful and she’s strong and she’s got so much to give, she inspires me and I love her truly madly deeply.
She’s battered and bruised and sometimes broken and I love her even more.
She’s always on my mind and in my heart.
It’s not so much, then, that I choose to blog about Africa. It’s that I can’t not.
I really wish the world would see in her all that I see in her.
That’s another reason why I blog about Africa: To make this wish come true.

Dulce Camer, from Cameroon, writes in a similar vein:

I am an African first before anything else!
“Africa” is like the blood that runs through my veins, the thoughts that fills out my brain, the medecine that keeps me sane.

Sokari of Black Looks, from Nigeria, Africa “is like a contrary but charming friend“:

… she makes me angry and frustrated, lets me down, goes on walkabouts and is influenced by some pretty horrible characters many from distant lands. But I cant help loving her deeply - she is alive, she is real and wise with so many wonderful meaningful stories of humanity and life. She is rich in stature and spirit. I love the way she moves, her facial expressions, the taste of her food and the smell and colours of the earth but most of all I write about her because I so much want her to be OK to be right to prosper and to be in control of herself and to be confident enough to love herself!

For Osize of Mootbox, from Nigeria, it's simply therapy:

There is no grand reason behind me blogging about Africa. I do not blog for hungry kids or to broker peace between warring factions. My blog does not influence which African child will receive an OLPC and one that will not. Blogging about Africa is therapy for me.

For Rafiq Phillips of Web AddiCT(s), from South Africa, it's about the innovation :

The fact that we are finding solutions to our own difficulties that those outside do not report on in most cases even those on the African continent choose to ignore. The various perspectives intrigue me. The patterns, fractals, huge divide between the haves and have-nots inspire me. The feeling of knowing that with a bit of tweaking of tech, education, design and some progressive partnerships that the divide in our society can be shrunk.

For Bill Zimmerman of 27 months, an American expat in Cameroon, it's the African tech Renaissance:

… because I’m intrigued by the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship I see here in Cameroon and the continent as a whole. I’m passionate about technology, and I truly believe we’re on the verge of witnessing a Renaissance that will largely be fueled by ICT and led by pioneering young Africans. It’s an exciting place to be, and blog about, for this reason alone.

Mwangi of The displaced African, wants to be part of the solution:

My reason is not as glamarous. Nor popular. Nor poetic. I started blogging about Africa because one day I looked in the mirror and realized that of all the socioeconomic, spiritual, physical, wordly or “insert way of categorizing people here” groups I belonged to, the one which was weakest was the African side.

[…] Now the list of things that are wrong with African people is endless. The theories are endless: we are the cursed sons of Noah meant to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. We are simply cursed for the sins of our ancestors and so on and so on.

I didn’t want to be a part of that conversation anymore.

[…] I wanted to be a part of the solution. All my heart and soul knew was it wanted to be a part of the solution.

Sci-Cultura concluded her post with a music video of Salif Keita's Africa, and so do we: