Well, Momodou Camara, are you there?

Posting this spiel from Spiegel is one thing, and is easily done. For a change, sharing your thoughts on the article is another. 

" A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?" 
( Albert Einstein)

" I am prepared for the worst but hope for the best." 
( Benjamin Disreali)
> 
> From: Momodou Camara <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2007/03/11 sö PM 05:48:10 CET
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Ämne: FWD:THE QUACK IN GAMBIA -  African Despot 'Cures' AIDS
> 
> The folowing article is the English version of an article from the German
> Magizin "Der Spiegel".
> 
> URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,470231,00.html
> 
> THE QUACK IN GAMBIA
> African Despot 'Cures' AIDS
> By Marco Evers
> 
> The president of Gambia is causing a stir with his claim to be able to cure
> AIDS. Hardly anyone in the country dares challenge him and, unfortunately, many
> actually believe him.
> 
> It's hard to make a name for yourself as a tyrant in Africa; the standards are
> pretty high. Jean Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, believing
> himself to be the thirteenth apostle, had himself crowned emperor and is said
> to have enjoyed the occasional meal of human flesh. In Congo, the kleptocrat
> Mobutu Sese Seko built an airstrip for his chartered Concorde jets in the
> middle of the rain forest. Now, the president of the West African state of
> Gambia is doing his best to add his name to the list.
> 
> Yahya Jammeh, 41 years old, has been the president of bitterly poor Gambia
> since seizing power in a putsch in 1994. In the three so-called elections since
> then, he has not relinquished his seat. Among his achievements to date have
> been giving Gambia's 1.6 million citizens an impressive triumphal arch -- just
> like Napoleon gave the French -- as well as founding Gambia's first and only
> university.
> 
> Now he has gone a step further. A few weeks ago, Jammeh summoned his followers
> and a few ambassadors, dignitaries and TV reporters to announce in a garbled
> address that, having made some fantastic discoveries, he is now capable of
> curing AIDS (as well as asthma). The president admitted to his astonished
> audience that the therapies still had a few limitations -- he could only cure
> AIDS on Thursdays. Asthma, on the other hand, could be treated only on Fridays
> and Saturdays.
> 
> An estimated 20,000 Gambians -- about 1.2 percent of the population -- are
> infected with HIV. Jammeh claims to have successfully treated nine of them in
> January, and 27 more in February. He takes equal pride in the 500 asthma
> victims that he's cured. And he promises to take action soon to eliminate other
> diseases, since he claims to have a "mandate" -- apparently from none other
> than God himself.
> 
> International aid organizations are horrified to find that thousands of
> infected Gambians are hoping to be treated by the president. Jammeh says he'll
> heal anyone, young or old. He won't take payment, but he does make one
> stipulation: those who are taking anti-viral medication must stop doing so
> immediately. Two respected HIV/AIDS experts promptly handed in their
> resignation in protest.
> 
> Dressed in white from head to toe, the head of state stands before his
> patients, mumbling prayers and waving the Koran. Then Jammeh rubs green glop on
> their skin, sprinkles them with gray liquid from an old Evian bottle and gives
> them something yellow to drink. Bananas -- administered orally -- round off the
> treatment. After repeating the procedure for several weeks, he proclaims the
> patients healed. All of them. Without exception.
> 
> The trouble with despots
> 
> Jammeh explains that the method, based on the healing properties of seven herbs
> and Koranic prayers, is "foolproof." While he prefers to perform the healing
> sessions in public in front of TV cameras, he's willing to grant religious and
> social dignitaries private audiences.
> 
> Critical questions, on the other hand, are not welcome. A British correspondent
> from the Sky News network suggested Jammeh ought to have his method tested by
> independent experts. The president snapped back at her: "I don't have to
> convince anyone. I can heal AIDS and don't have to explain anything." He was
> visibly flustered by her request to analyze a sample of his herbal mixture.
> "Not in a million years," was his reply.
> 
> The trouble with despots is that no one dares disagree. The Daily Observer, a
> Gambian daily, commented without the slightest hint of irony that the
> president's "invention" was "the greatest ever witnessed in our modern world."
> Soon, the paper wrote, millions of people would be coming to the country to be
> healed. Gambians can look forward to an economic boom that could put them light
> years ahead of countries whose wealth is based on mere diamonds, gold or oil.
> 
> The country's health minister is a gynaecology graduate, trained in Ukraine and
> Ireland. Forty-three-year-old Tamsir Mbowe is always present when the statesman
> tries out his healing skills -- and even though he really ought to know better,
> he too praises what he calls the "president's intervention in the health
> sector." Mbowe even claims that Jammeh's ability to heal any patient has been
> "medically proven."
> 
> Far from it: The health ministry collected blood samples to prove Jammeh's
> wondrous healing powers and sent them to a laboratory in neighboring Senegal.
> While the ministry insists that the results offer clear proof of the
> president's healing powers, the Senegalese scientist who carried out the tests
> disagrees emphatically. He says no conclusions can be drawn because the
> Gambians didn't test the blood prior to the president's pseudo-medical
> intervention.
> 
> A United Nations representative in Gambia dared to assert that there was no
> proof of successful healings. She also cautioned the supposedly cured patients
> not to believe that they're no longer capable of spreading HIV.
> 
> President Jammeh responded promptly to these remarks: having branded the UN
> representative persona non grata, he gave her 48 hours to leave his country --
> which she did. In the view of the Daily Observer, her comments had been
> "irresponsible".
> 
> 
>  No continent is as badly ravaged by AIDS as Africa. Roughly 25 million people
> have been infected, and 12 million children are AIDS orphans. The epidemic has
> been spreading for decades. In many places, traditional healers are paid more
> heed than university-trained doctors. Millions of men believe sex with a virgin
> will cure them of AIDS. South African president Thabo Mbeki has openly
> questioned whether the HIV virus in fact causes AIDS. His former vice president
> Jacob Zuma had unprotected sex with an infected woman in 2005 and later told a
> court that, having showered after the act, no risk was involved.
> 
> Some members of Gambia's parliament are cautiously voicing concern that the
> president may be insane. Doing all he can to confirm this impression, the self-
> styled AIDS healer is now claiming to have discovered his fortune-telling
> skills. He claims to be able to predict a person's moment of death, after a
> single look in their eyes.
> 
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