Wanna know a secret?
It’s not just me in here.
If the history of Africa in the last 200 years has been one of colonization, war, independence and rebuilding, then that history has been playing itself out in miniature inside of my body these past few weeks.
Not only have I been colonized, the colonial powerhouses are warring with each other over territory.
Playing the roles of exploitative interlopers: Giardia lamblia* and Taenia saginata. (Better known as a nasty parasite and a tapeworm.)
And, cast as Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, and Leopold Senghor: Flagyl, Albendazole and Tinidazole (Independence movement leaders in South Africa, Ghana and Senegal, and some strong drugs, respectively).
The fight is on. As with many independence struggles, things are getting worse before they get better. To (almost) quote Colonel Nasser, a leader in the Egyptian struggle for independence, “The liberation movement should get rid of (the tapeworm) as quickly as possible in order to deal with what is more important- namely the need to purge the country of the corruption that (the parasite) will leave behind him. We must pave the way towards a new ear in which the people will enjoy their sovereign rights and live in dignity. Justice is one of our objectives.”
My sovereignty has been violated; my dignity is not intact. Fortunately, unlike many freedom fighters in the past, I have technology on my side. Biomedicine and strong pharmaceuticals are the AK-47s and anti-aircraft guns of this war. I will triumph, I will emerge stronger, I will expel these aberrations from my body and begin the work of rebuilding.
If the history of Africa in the last 200 years has been one of colonization, war, independence and rebuilding, then that history has been playing itself out in miniature inside of my body these past few weeks.
Not only have I been colonized, the colonial powerhouses are warring with each other over territory.
Playing the roles of exploitative interlopers: Giardia lamblia* and Taenia saginata. (Better known as a nasty parasite and a tapeworm.)
And, cast as Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, and Leopold Senghor: Flagyl, Albendazole and Tinidazole (Independence movement leaders in South Africa, Ghana and Senegal, and some strong drugs, respectively).
The fight is on. As with many independence struggles, things are getting worse before they get better. To (almost) quote Colonel Nasser, a leader in the Egyptian struggle for independence, “The liberation movement should get rid of (the tapeworm) as quickly as possible in order to deal with what is more important- namely the need to purge the country of the corruption that (the parasite) will leave behind him. We must pave the way towards a new ear in which the people will enjoy their sovereign rights and live in dignity. Justice is one of our objectives.”
My sovereignty has been violated; my dignity is not intact. Fortunately, unlike many freedom fighters in the past, I have technology on my side. Biomedicine and strong pharmaceuticals are the AK-47s and anti-aircraft guns of this war. I will triumph, I will emerge stronger, I will expel these aberrations from my body and begin the work of rebuilding.
*Note: for those of you who have been following not only my adventures of the last several years... but the adventures of my intestines... you'll recall that Giardia is what made me so sick in Mongolia. Luckily, this time I recognized the signs and knew what to look for...
Yikes! Did the water catch up to you??
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