الصوم.. عمليَّة بدون جراحة

مقدمة

عُرف الصيام قديماً منذ آلاف السنين عند معظم شعوب العالم، وكان دائماً الوسيلة الطبيعية للشفاء من كثير من الأمراض. ونحن اليوم نستطيع أن نشاهد ما كتبه حكماء الإغريق منذ آلاف السنين حول فوائد الصيام من خلال المخطوطات القديمة الموجودة في متاحف العالم. ونجد الأطباء منذ القديم يوصون بالصوم مثل سقراط وأفلاطون وأرسطو وجالينوس والذين يؤكدون أن الصوم هو الطريق الطبيعي للشفاء من الأمراض! (1).

وهنا تتجلى معجزة قرآننا العظيم عندما يخبرنا عن وجود هذه الظاهرة عند الأمم قبل الإسلام، يقول تعالى: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) [البقرة: 183]. والله تعالى لا يكتب شيئاً على عباده إلا إذا كان فيه مصلحة ومنفعة لهم.

وسوف نرى الآن ما يقوله الطب الحديث عن فوائد ومنافع الصيام لندرك أن القرآن عندما جعل الصيام فرضاً واجباً على المسلم إنما سبق أطباء العصر الحديث في دعوتهم اليوم إلى هذا الصيام بعدما رأوا النتائج المبهرة التي يقدمها هذا السلاح العجيب للإنسان في مواجهة مختلف الأمراض. حتى إننا نجد اليوم على شبكة الإنترنت مواقع ومجلات بأكملها خاصة بالصوم، مثلاً موقع الصوم: www.fasting.com

إن الدواء لكثير من الأمراض موجود في داخل كل منا، فجميع الأطباء يؤكدون اليوم أن الصوم ضرورة حيوية لكل إنسان حتى ولو كان يبدو صحيح الجسم، فالسموم التي تتراكم خلال حياة الإنسان لا يمكن إزالتها إلا بالصيام والامتناع عن الطعام والشراب. يقول أحد الأطباء: يدخل إلى جسم كل واحد منا في فترة حياته من الماء الذي يشربه فقط أكثر من مئتي كيلو غرام من المعادن والمواد السامة!! (2) وكل واحد منا يستهلك في الهواء الذي يستنشقه عدة كيلوغرامات من المواد السامة والملوثة مثل أكاسيد الكربون والرصاص والكبريت.

فتأمل معي كم يستهلك الإنسان من معادن لا يستطيع الجسم أن يمتصها أو يستفيد منها، بل هي عبء ثقيل تجعل الإنسان يحسّ بالوهن والضعف وحتى الاضطراب في التفكير، بمعنى آخر هذه السموم تنعكس سلباً على جسده ونفسه، وقد تكون هي السبب الخفي الذي لا يراه الطبيب لكثير من الأمراض المزمنة، ولكن ما هو الحل؟

إن الحل الأمثل لاستئصال هذه المواد المتراكمة في خلايا الجسم هو استخدام سلاح الصوم الذي يقوم بصيانة وتنظيف هذه الخلايا بشكل فعال، وإن أفضل أنواع الصوم ما كان منتظماً. ونحن عندما نصوم لله شهراً في كل عام إنما نتبع نظاماً ميكانيكياً جيداً لتصريف مختلف أنواع السموم من أجسادنا.

سوف نعدد بعضاً من فوائد الصيام والتي ظهرت حديثاً وقد يجهلها الكثير من الأخوة القراء:

الصوم أقوى سلاح للاضطرابات النفسية!

من أغرب الأشياء التي لفتت انتباهي في الصوم قدرته على علاج الاضطرابات النفسية القوية مثل الفصام!! حيث يقدم الصوم للدماغ وخلايا المخ استراحة جيدة، وبنفس الوقت يقوم بتطهير خلابا الجسم من السموم، وهذا ينعكس إيجابياً على استقرار الوضع النفسي لدى الصائم.

حتى إن الدكتور يوري نيكولايف Dr. Yuri Nikolayev مدير وحدة الصوم في معهد موسكوالنفسي قد عالج أكثر من سبعة آلاف مريض نفسي باستخدام الصوم، حيث استجاب هؤلاء المرضى لدواء الصوم فيما فشلت وسائل العلاج الأخرى، وكانت معظم النتائج مبهرة وناجحة! واعتبر أن الصوم هو الدواء الناجع لكثير من الأمراض النفسية المزمنة مثل مرض الفصام والاكتئاب والقلق والاحباط (3).

حتى إن إحدى المجلات الطبية اليابانية (4) أكدت في دراسة لها أن الصيام يحسِّن قدرتنا على تحمل الإجهادات وعلى مواجهة المصاعب الحياتية، بالإضافة للقدرة على مواجهة الإحباط المتكرر. وما أحوجنا في هذا العصر المليء بالإحباط أن نجد العلاج الفعال لمواجهة هذا الخطر! كما أن الصوم يحسن النوم ويهدّئ الحالة النفسية.

فلدى البدء بالصوم يبدأ الدم بطرح الفضلات السامة منه أي يصبح أكثر نقاء، وعندما يذهب هذا الدم للدماغ يقوم بتنظيفه أيضاً فيكون لدينا دماغ أكثر قدرة على التفكير والتحمل، بكلمة أخرى أكثر استقراراً للوضع النفسي.

سلاح ضد البدانة والوزن الزائد!

حالما يبدأ الإنسان بالصيام تبدأ الخلايا الضعيفة والمريضة أو المتضررة في الجسم لتكون غذاءً لهذا الجسم حسب قاعدة: الأضعف سيكون غذاءً للأقوى، وسوف يمارس الجسم عملية الهضم الآلي للمواد المخزنة على شكل شحوم ضارة، وسوف يبدأ "بانتهام" النفايات السامة والأنسجة المتضررة ويزيل هذه السموم. ويؤكد الباحثون أن هذه العملية تكون في أعلى مستوياتها في حالة الصيام الكامل، أي الصيام عن الطعام والشراب، وبكلمة أخرى الصيام الإسلامي، فتأمل عظمة الصيام الذي فرضه الله علينا والفائدة التي يقدمها لنا.

هنالك أكثر من 60% من الشعب الأمريكي زائد الوزن عن الحدود الطبيعية! وهؤلاء كلّفوا الدولة 117 بليون دولار في سنة واحدة عام 2002. بالإضافة إلى 300 ألف وفاة سنوياً بسبب مشاكل الوزن الزائد الذي يكون بدوره سبباً رئيسياً في مرض السكر وأمراض القلب والتهاب المفاصل ومشاكل في الجهاز التنفسي والاضطرابات النفسية مثل الاكتئاب، وجميع هذه الأمراض الخطيرة ترتبط بالبدانة بشكل مباشر (5).

وليس غريباً أن يكون الصيام سلاحاً ناجعاً ضد السمنة وما ينتج عنها من أمراض، ولو أنهم طبقوا القواعد الإسلامية في الصوم، فكم سيوفّروا من المال والمرض والمعاناة؟

الصوم: هل يخفّض الشهوة الجنسية؟

إن إنتاج الهرمون الجنسي يكاد يكون معدوماً أثناء الصوم، وهذا ما حدثنا عنه الحبيب الأعظم صلوات الله وسلامه عليه بقوله: (فعليه بالصوم فإنه له وِجاء). والوِجاء هو رضّ عروق البيضتين فيكون شبيهاً بالخصاء (6). وفي هذه الكلمة إشارة قوية وعلمية لانخفاض شهية الصائم الجنسية بسبب انخفاض هرمون الجنس عنده حتى الحدود الدنيا.

الصوم يطيل العمر!

الصيام يطيل العمر! حتى إن التجارب قد أظهرت أن ممارسة الصيام على الحيوانات يضاعف من فترة بقائها أو حياتها! (7). ونجد كذلك المئات من الكتب الصادرة حول الصيام وهي لمؤلفين غير مسلمين، وجميعهم يؤكدون علاقة الصيام بالعمر المديد، ويؤكد كثير من العلماء أن الصوم هو أفضل طريقة للسيطرة على جسم صحيح ومعافى.

إن التنظيف المستمر للخلايا باستخدام الصيام يؤدي إلى إطالة عمر هذه الخلايا وبالتالي تأخر الشيخوخة لدى من ينتظم في الصيام. حتى إن حاجة الجسم من البروتين تخف خلال الصيام إلى الخمس! وهذا ما يعطي قدراً من الراحة للخلايا، حتى إن الصيام هو وسيلة لتجديد خلايا الجسم بشكل آمن وصحيح.

الصوم من أجل طاقة أكبر للجسم!

أكثر من عُشر طاقة الجسم تُستهلك في عمليات مضغ وهضم الأطعمة والأشربة التي نتناولها، وهذه الكمية من الطاقة تزداد مع زيادة الكميات المستهلكة من الطعام والشراب، في حالة الصيام سيتم توفير هذه الطاقة طبعاً ويشعر الإنسان بالارتياح والرشاقة. وسيتم استخدام هذه الطاقة في عمليات إزالة السموم من الجسم وتطهيره من الفضلات السامة، ويؤكد الباحثون اليوم أن مستوى الطاقة عند الصائم يرتفع للحدود القصوى!!! (8).

الصوم مفيد حتى لمدمني المخدرات والتدخين!

حتى إن الصوم أعطى نتائج ممتازة لمدمني المخدرات حيث تنخفض شهيتهم لتعاطي المخدرات بشكل كبير! وسبحانك ياربّ العالمين! حتى عبادك من العاصين والبعيدين عن طريقك القويم، جعلتَ الصوم نافعاً ومفيداً لهم، فهل هنالك أوسع من رحمة الله بعباده؟ أيضاً الصوم يساعد على ترك التدخين! فهو يعمل في جسم الإنسان مثل السلاح الخفي الذي لا يُرى فيطرد المواد السامة مثل النيكوتين، وبنفس الوقت ينظف الدم فتنخفض الشهوة للدخان بسرعة مذهلة (انظر موقع الصوم).

الصوم شفاء من آلام المفاصل!

من الأشياء الغريبة في الصوم أنه يساعد على شفاء آلام الظهر والعمود الفقري والرقبة. وقد أوضحت دراسة نروجية أن الصوم علاج ناجع لالتهاب المفاصل (8) بشرط أن يستمر الصوم لمدة أربعة أسابيع (وتأمل أخي الحبيب هذه المدة وكم هي قريبة لصيام شهر واحد هو رمضان)!

أمراض الجهاز الهضمي علاجها مؤكد مئة بالمئة!

كم هو عدد الأشخاص المصابين بالإمساك المزمن وقد تناولوا الكثير من الأدوية دون أية فائدة، ليتهم يجرّبون الصوم وسيجدون التحسُّن السريع لحالتهم بإذن الله تعالى. وكذلك الأمراض المزمنة للجهاز الهضمي يمكن أن يجدوا في الصيام حلاًّ مؤكداً لشفائها. وكذلك التهاب الكولون والتهاب الأمعاء المزمن. ونجد الباحثين يؤكدون بأن 85 % من الأمراض تبدأ في الكولون غير النظيف والدم الملوث (9).

قائمة طويلة من الأمراض يختصّ الصوم بعلاجها!

أثبتت الدراسات الحديثة والتي شملت عشرات الآلاف من المرضى، والتي أجريت في بلاد غير إسلامية، أن الصوم يساعد بشكل فعال في شفاء العديد من الأمراض ونذكر منها:

1- ضغط الدم العالي يعالجه الصيام بشكل جيد.

2- وحتى مرضى السكر فإن الصوم لا يضُرّهم، بل يساعدهم على الشفاء.

3- الصوم وسيلة جيدة لعلاج الربو وأمراض الجهاز التنفسي.

4- الأمراض القلبية وتصلب الشرايين.

5- أمراض الكبد مهما كان نوعها فقد أثبت الصوم قدرته على علاجها بدون آثار سلبية.

6- أمراض الجلد وبشكل خاص الحساسية والأكزما المزمنة.

7- الوقاية من مرض الحصى الكلوية.

8- علاج الأمراض الخبيثة مثل السرطان.

9- كما أن الصوم يعتبر السلاح رقم واحد في الطب الوقائي.

معجزة نبوية!

إن الرسول الكريم عليه صلوات الله وسلامه يقول: (والصوم جُنَّة)، فماذا تعني هذه الكلمة؟ ففي معجم مختار الصحاح نجد أن معنى كلمة (الجُنَّة): هو السلاح الذي يستتر به المرء. والصيام هو سلاح لا يراه الآخرون ولكنه يمارس عمله في الخفاء، فيدمر الخلايا الهرمة والضعيفة وبنفس الوقت يهاجم السموم في مخابئها ويخرجها ويبعدها. أليس التعبير النبوي عن الصيام دقيقاً من الناحية العلمية والطبية؟

إن ما يقدمه لك الدواء في سنوات قد يقدمه لك الصيام في أيام وبدون آثار سلبية. ولذلك فإن الصيام يحسن أداء أجهزة الدفاع لدى الجسم ويقوّي نظام المناعة، فالصيام هو سلاح بكل معنى الكلمة! هذا السلاح يحمينا من هجمات الفيروسات المحتملة ويقينا مختلف الأمراض، أليس الرسول على حق عندما سمى الصيام (جُنَّة) أي سلاح نستتر به؟ أليست هذه معجزة نبوية مبهرة؟!

ومن نعمة الله علينا أن جعل خير الشهور شهر رمضان، وأنزل فيه أعظم كتاب على وجه الأرض وهو القرآن فقال: (شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآَنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ)[البقرة: 185].

من أقوال أطباء غير مسلمين عن الصوم

يصف أحد أشهر الأطباء المعالجين بالصوم فوائده المتعددة فيقول (10):

"Decreased weight, clearer skin, increased elimination, tissue repair, decreased pain and inflammation, increased concentration, relaxation, plus spare time and savings in the cost of food. Perhaps the greatest benefit is the satisfaction that you are taking a major role in improving your health."

وهذا الكلام يعني:

"وزن أقل، جلد نقي، إزالة متزايدة للسموم، إصلاح للأنسجة، انخفاض في الألم والالتهاب، زيادة في التركيز، استرخاء، توفير في الغذاء والوقت. وربما الفائدة الكبرى تتمثل في الرضا بأنك لعبت دوراً رئيسياً في تحسين صحتك".

وقد لخّص القرآن كل هذا الكلام بكلمات بليغة ووجيزة، يقول تعالى: (وَأَنْ تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ)[البقرة: 184].

خاتمة (الصوم الإسلامي هو الأكثر أماناً)

يؤكد الاختصاصيون أن الصوم المستمر لفترات طويلة له مخاطر كثيرة وآثار سلبية، ولكن يؤكدون في الوقت نفسه أن الصوم القصير والمتكرر (وهو الصوم الإسلامي من الفجر وحتى المغرب) هذا النوع آمن ومفيد دائماً حتى لمرضى الكبد والسكر!! (11).

كما أن الصوم الذي يمارسونه في الغرب هو صوم ناقص حيث يسمح للصائم بأخذ شيء من العصير أو الأغذية التي يحددونها له، ومع هذه الحالة لا يمكن للصوم أن يقوم بمهمته التطهيرية على الوجه الأكمل، بل إنهم يعترفون بأن الصوم الكامل هو العملية المثالية لتنظيف الجسم من السموم.

هنالك ميزة في الصيام الإسلامي وهي أنه متاح لكل المؤمنين وميسّر ولا توجد له أية مساوئ أو أضرار. بينما الصيام الذي يمارسه غير المؤمن هو صيام تجويع وهو صعب ولا يتحقق إلا بإشراف الطبيب، وهكذا يفقد الجانب الروحي والإيماني وهو من أقوى العوامل في إنجاح عملية الصوم وتحقيق الهدف منها. كيف لا ونحن نصوم شهراً أوله رحمة وأوسطه مغفرة وآخره عتق من النار؟!

الصوم الإسلامي يقبل عليه المسلمون برغبة شديدة بل وينتظرون هذا الشهر الكريم بفارغ الصبر وتجدهم يصومون في معاً ويفطرون معاً وكأنهم أسرة واحدة، وهذا ما لا نجده في الصوم الطبي حيث أنك تصوم والكل من حولك مفطر! وهذا ينعكس بشكل سيء على الاستقرار النفسي للصائم.

إننا نصوم لله تعالى فنكسب أجري الدنيا والآخرة ونكسب مرضاة الله تبارك وتعالى، ونستجيب لأمر النبي الكريم عليه الصلاة والسلام، وهذه الأشياء تجعل عملية الصوم الإسلامي أكثر نجاحاً وفائدة. حتى إن الله تعالى قد جعل الصوم فريضة خاصة به يجزي بها بنفسه، وخصص باباً من أبواب الجنة الثمانية لا يدخل منه إلا الصائمون! فهل نستجيب لنداء الحقّ عز وجل: (وَأَنْ تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ)[البقرة: 184].

Search Engines: Shortening Distances

The Economist made a brash statement in saying that, “IT is supposed to reduce distances and bring people closer.” (Thinkers)While the Economist further wrote in its article that the internet has not achieved this objective to the fullest, it is clear that IT has indeed succeeded to an extent. Search engines have contributed to a greater human cause through its innovative peripheral services in fulfilling their aggressive broadly-defined goals.On a more micro scale, search engines have had a direct impact on the expansion of several existing and new industries in the economy.Lastly, search engines have impacted the national and world economies on a macro scale by contributing to the increase in productivity.
Google, the world’s largest search engine, has a self-proclaimed goal “to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible.”(Pertz 5) This mission nearly runs parallel to the textbook definition of development and therefore the company goes beyond just offering search services but aims to help at a more human level.Google Labs, the innovative branch of the company, takes this task head-on by creating new services that often fulfill its overall mission such as the Google Library project.By essentially bringing a library of books to users, Google will increase the ease of obtaining books. While this advancement in information circulation affects all users, it perhaps affects disabled users the greatest as it brings books to their homes via computer. Furthermore,Google’s Library will go above and beyond the internet offerings as it will offer authorized books in alternative forms (Braille) to people with disabilities through authorized entities (Fruchterman 4).
Google and Yahoo have all provided a significant amount of original content, wider access to internet content, and increased exposure for advertisers.These contributions have allowed several existing industries, most notably sports and music, to significantly expand by using the internet as another distribution channel. Perhaps the most obvious industry expansion came in music as the digital revolution took the internet by storm. Yahoo did not hesitate to provide its music mp3 services in addition to linking to the popular mp3.com and related sites.Yahoo and search engines were a facilitator of the digitalization of the music industry. Similarly, search engines have had a major impact on the expansion of the sports industry on the internet. Yahoo also added a vast sports section to their website and played a key role, through advertising, in the porting of sports television stations ESPN and CBS Sports to the internet. Among the increased awareness of sports sites are “team's websites [which] are used to boost the sales of their products. Most sport teams are creating online websites to create a more interactive online fan community”. While search engines have increased visibility of sports and digital music directly and indirectly, websites have created new business focuses which have in turn increased the popularity of the search engines themselves. For instance, the rise to prominence of blogs was mainly due to search engines. Blogger.com, a Google owned site has risen to prominence as a top blogging service through the supervision of Google. Google and Yahoo run successful eponymous blog sites which they have raised under their own initiatives. Search engines have undoubtedly brought people together through the expansion of music and sports industries as well as the more evident blogs which directly share people’s thoughts.
On a more macro scale, search engines and e-commerce have contributed to an increase in overall economic productivity. By increasing the visibility and accessibility of websites, search engines have been the foremost component of IT which promotes perfect competition. Search engines’ shopping and shopping comparator services such as Froogle and Yahoo Shopping have decreased the prices of most items.
Search engines and e-commerce both have made significant contributions to economies and development on both micro and macro levels. These contributions can be seen through linkages to the disabled, music, sports, blogs and even scarcity of resources. These relations transcend the fact that search engines act as a mere portal to the internet by “reduce[ing] distances and bring[ing] people closer.”

THE TEAM

IF You want a great team, be a great teammate.
Team work is less than "EGO" and more than "We Go".
The great companies and teams are those that share the similarities and celebrate the differences.
They seek harmony not uniformity.
They hire talent not colour.
They strive for oness not sameness.
No one goes Alone to the height of Excellence.
Your Success will depend on others and theirs will depend on you.
Remember the meaning of TEAM is
T; TOGATHER
E; EVERYONE
A; ACHIEVES
M; MORE

Its been some time now that we have been getting thos junk mails which clain that they wud bring you the so called "good luck".
I was really fed up with those junkies which were most of the times sent you by your own friends n well wishers, who too fell in the trap or didnt wanted to face the wrath of the so called e-mail, until i recd this piece of beauty.
This is as well dedicated n marked to all those gud friends who wish the so best for you that they keep on forwarding those jubkies to your mail box... here it goes...

Hi folks,
I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your silly chain letters over the past few years.

Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of what's left of my heart for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy. Because of your concern...
I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer drink anything out of a can because I will get sick from the rat faeces and urine.
I no longer date the opposite sex because they will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.
I no longer shop in a mall since trying out clothes risk a hidden camera or double-sided mirror.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
I no longer use margarine because it's one molecule away from being plastic.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a stupid number for which I will get the phone bill from hell with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish. Thanks to you,
I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. (Geez, the BIBLE
did not mention it works that way!)
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their
special e-mail program.
Yes, I want to thank all of you soooooooo much for looking out for me! I will now return the favor.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 1200 people in the next 60 seconds, a large bird with diarrhoea will crap on your head at 5:00pm this afternoon and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpits. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of my next door neighbour's ex-mother-in-law's 8th husband's 2nd cousin's 3rd husband's ex-wife's mother's beautician!

The question of title arises in many of our Indians, who are very much hesitated in participating in many of their activities. Chances are very rare. But we miss all those chances. All those things are owing to hesitation, absense of planning and stage fear. This happens everywhere in world, but India is special.

I can explain it with a story that was happened in my school life. We had an intra school Cricket Match. Green and Red teams were at finals. I played for Green team. We went for field first and Red team batted first.They scored 90 runs in 25overs. Chasing a very easy target our team started batting. We lost our early wickets but middle order batsmen controlled the fall of wickets. But the Red team had a great come back and took the middle order batmens wicket. Myself too failed to shine on that match.

We had lost 9 wickets and we had just 2 runs as target. John was the last batsmen who drived his bat for a single. Unfortunately,the ball was under the control of the fielder. But John started running between wickets. The fielder dirctely hit the stumps,but John has reached the crease.However, the bowler and other team mates appealed with the Umpire, who is also a senior student of our school. He mistakenly said the batsman was out. But everyone knows that it was not out.

Red team won that match due to the poor decision of the umpire. Some of the guys were started scolding the Umpire. They critised him much. I advised my friends to forget it as passing clods. But they didn't. During the study hour, they have tortured him. Umpire(Being a student), suddenly went to chemistry laboratory. He started taking Potassium Cyniade, which is poison for human beings. Fortunately, the chemistry master has identified that he has taken some chemicals and gave the first aid. He was bought again to the existence.

As there was an enqiury conducted by the school management regarding his sucide attempt, Raja seemed to be commeneted much on the Umpire. All the staff members started scolding him and even beatings too. Raja went to the lake nearby and he tried for killing himself. But the civilians helped him to get his life back.

Taking all those incidents in account, nowadays, students are feared to appear in cricket tournaments at that school. Especially for Umpires. The management has advised a lot and gave many chances to the students to participate in cricket tournaments. But both the players and Umpires boycott every tournament. But now they are turing towards the play, however they miss the past 3years district matches.


These story says that we have enough number of chances to share our sport spirit, but we miss them by having fear on past games. Generally saying, We miss lots and lots of fame and awards owing to our non participatement. It may be owing to fear, hesitation, lack of confidence and TIME. A very good example is, Smt.Karnam Malleswari, weight lifter from India. She was the only medalist at 2000' Sydney Olympics. She was expected to get Gold in 2004'Athens Olympics. But she had a severe sprain during her practise session. These made her to miss both the participation and medal at Athens.

The Conclusion is teachers must develope the confidence for student. Nehru says "Children are the foundation of the future nation". If they have been trearted much with confidence, ability and behaviour, every one will participate under their interested area. They must be practised to lose their stage fear and hesitations. They must be prepared to be bold anywhere for any reasons.

Y Day website now comes live in your area.

The site is updated and in Roll of honour we feature Kwanele Makhoba, the world's only teenager that got recognised for doing a quickie. You can also learn a bit about inflation on Economics page, see Me, My Mobile & I on Technology page. Arts and Culture and Poetry pages are as usual awesome!

The news section has articles about Rhodes students magnifying telecommunications history on the web, about Oudtshoorhn se nommer tien, Mpumalanga's school multimedia centres and Museveni's stance on pre-marital abstinence amongst others. There is more on offer, log on to www.yday.org.za and experience it all! If you'd like to assist or get involved, please contact us.

Meanwhile, the broader Y Day project continues to seek ways of PRACTICALLY bridging the digital divide in South Africa and beyond - your input will be appreciated!

www.yday.org.za
yday@ananzi.co.za

WORLD AIDS DAY,1ST DECEMBER
STIGMA & DISCRIMINATION
Love us and let us live.

It does not matter from what angle you look, AIDS is a terrible thing, and it is going to be with us at least for the foreseeable future.
Even if a vaccine were developed tomorrow, the number of people infected is already enormous. Even if a cure were found today, the number of people dead is great and the effect on all those whose lives indirectly have been touched by this dreadful illness will last for decades. How can we bear the pain of this development in world history? How can we deal with Aids and not either engage in full-scale denial or be immobilized?
The world set the 1st of December each year to be commemorated as world aids day. This is a time to reflect on the reality and existence of the pandemic and also to appreciate the impact that it has on human life. No one can deny the existence of the disease as it is affecting everyone either directly or indirectly.

One gets astounded when one reflects on how grave the scourge has spread within a short period of time since its discovery.
To appreciate the extent to which the pandemic has affected the entire world, Africa and Malawi in particular, consider the following statistics.
The end of the year 2001,40 million people were living with HIV/Aids infected 5 million infected in that year and 3 million died because of the disease. Let us get a little closer to home.
Sub-Saharan Africa only accounts for 10% of the global population, but it
Accounts for 70% of total Aids infections
Accounts for 80% of global Aids deaths
Accounts for 83% of all HIV positive women
Accounts for 87% of all HIV positive children

Getting more down to earth by getting home.
Malawi is one of the countries with the highest number of people living with aids, and the number continues to grow every single day.
For a clear understanding, a few more statistics will do
15% of people of ages between 15 –49 are positive, 60% of whom are females.
A real shock is that 250 Malawians are infected everyday, 60% of whom are youth and of the 60% youth, 90-% are females!!
The male –female Aids contraction rate is 1:6 imagine!
From the year 2000,70,000 people dies yearly because of the disease
7 out of 10 people admitted in government hospitals are due to aids related infections.
More than half a million orphans have been generated because of the disease with 70,000 added every year. Statistics such as the above are so overwhelming such that we cannot afford to keep our mouths shut and watch the killer finish us on by one.

The theme for this year is stigma and discrimination: love us and let us live, which through our actions, most people have made it live and let die. By having the diseased, people are often stigmatized as immoral and discriminated against.
We forget that not everyone is getting the disease through sexual involvement, and even if that be the case, who is man to condemn another person whom God, the creator does not condemn?
The impact of stigma can be as detrimental as the virus itself. The solitude and lack of support it imposes are deeply wounding to those who suffer it. It should also hurt every one of us, for it is an affront to our common humanity. Some people with AIDS are being denied basic rights such as food or shelter, and dismissed from jobs they are perfectly fit to perform, and even denied education opportunities. They may be shunned by their community, or most tragic of all, by their own family. The fear of stigma leads to silence, and when it comes to fighting AIDS, silence is death. It suppresses public discussion about AIDS, and deters people from finding out whether they are infected. It can cause people reluctant to disclose their HIV status - to risk transmitting HIV rather than attract suspicion that they might be infected. By adopting the slogan "Live and Let Live", this year's World AIDS Campaign challenges us to ensure that all people, with or without HIV, can realize their human rights and live in dignity. On this World AIDS Day, let us resolve to replace stigma with support, fear with hope, and silence with solidarity. Let us act on the understanding that this work begins with each and every one of us.

Yours truly

TAYANIE

Development is said to be subject to value judgment but at least it must include an element of improvement and making the living standards of people better. It must be perceptible enough that there has been a positive change that is both in physical and abstract terms. It must serve to at least make available the very basic needs of life to the people that need them.
Todaro (1997) p.18 asserts that development is both a physical reality and a state of mind in which society has through some combination of social, economic and institutional processes secured the means for obtaining a better life .So development is expected to raise the living standards of people including the provision of better education, more employment opportunities and the provision of quality heath services
It can therefore be seen that development and aspects of health are inseparable. For a country to develop there is need to pay particular attention to the health sector and if it accelerates then it means that a particular part in the development process is achieved.
Poverty can be said to be a consequence of underdevelopment among other things. Poverty is defined in absolute terms as depending on US$ 1 per day/person, and in relative terms it is said to be the lack of very basic needs such as food, shelter, and clean water ,all of which are essentials for a healthy living. This only shows that poverty reduction has to be thought of both in terms of development and health wise, for they are all interlinked concepts as we have seen.

To begin with, in Malawi, only 54% of the population has access to clean and safe water and only 40% of the population has access to health care. About 40% to 65% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Malawi has got the second highest death rate pegged at 22.4 people dying out of every thousand people at every point in time. Infant mortality is at 142 per1000 births. Again Malawi has the worlds highest population per Doctor at 50,000,(world Bank,1997) Illiteracy rates are pegged at 58%for females and 28% for males.
It can therefore be seen from the above information that poverty reduction in Malawi cannot be achieved by just concentrating on the naked term of poverty, but that it has to be dealt with an intersectoral approach.
The issues raised above require and necessitates the involvement of the economic, education, political ,social and the health sectors in the combat against poverty. It is only when people have information that they will act in a particular manner, and in this case, when people are knowledgeable about the various dimensions of poverty and that it can only be dealt with using a multisectoral approach that they are going to positively contribute to the development process of their community and thereby fostering a concerted effort for national development.
Poverty has been defined in a number of contexts, for example as a lack of basic human needs, that is the deprivation requirements mainly materials for meeting the basic needs including education, shelter, adequate food, portable water and sanitation facilities, employment opportunities and more importantly access to health services. Let us look at how each of the sectors are affected and contribute to the overall goal of combating against the problem of poverty.

Beginning with the education sector, development is a process that moves in stages .It starts from an individual development process, then family and then community, on to the community and then to national development and the chain continues. So there is first of all need for self-development and this comes about through training and education. It is when people are educated that they are able to earn more from employment as they will be able to have better employment opportunities and can also be self employed .An increase in income thus leads to an increase in money allocated to health investment that is auto investment in health. When people are educated, they know the right combination of foodstuffs to for them to have a balanced diet, which is essential for a health living, they know and realize the need for health care and services. So it is only the health people that are able to contribute positively and with more effort to development. If a breadwinner is in ill health he/she will not be able to provide for his/her family and again the little income that he/she may have may all or substantially be spent on covering health costs instead of improving the living conditions of his/her family. The issue of sustainability here is tackled in that once parents are educated, chances are high that their children will also be educated and vice versa.
So if we have an educated parent population it means that a spontaneous link in the family cycle.
In my own words, I would define sustainable development as the utilization of the available resources efficiently and effectively to uplift the lives of people and enabling a particular community to be self dependent, without jeopardizing prospects for the development strategies of the future generations. Sustainable poverty reduction is only possible with sustainable development because once the resources, especially those that are naturally provided, are depleted then that is an onset of negative development especially so for a country like Malawi which mainly relies on natural resources for a huge part of its economic activities to take place. This means low income for the nation as a whole and consequently low incomes for the individual citizens of the country and their families. This in turn will cause a reduction in the funds available for family maintenance in terms of health services and this will lead to a poor and unhealthy population that is not so productive and this will cause a commencement of a poverty cycle. So there is a two-way relationship between poverty and development.

Political governance and development policies .The Malawi poverty reduction strategy would be irrelevant and unless there is political, bureaucratic and popular will to implement it. There has to be good public expenditure management and fiscal discipline. Government has to take the leading role in promoting and creating an environment that the poor have to be involved in the decision making process so that the public institutions and systems protect and benefit the poor. Funds have to be handled in a transparent manner so that the limited resources theater there should be channeled to priority activities with impact on poverty reduction. When there are high levels of corruption, it reduces funds available for development and delivery of pro-poor services. The development policies that the government has to adopt have to be human capital intensive. This will serve to reduce the unemployment levels and thus distributing out funds to many people and therefore making them more able to take good care of themselves and their families and so enabling them to lead an improved healthy life. But this will also serve to involve the masses in the decision making process. Political will and commitment should promote the development of the core health interventions, particularly in terms of …necessary resources available for their implementation.

The economic development path that a country adopts must be pro growth while at the same time being pro poor. There is need to strike a balance because it is possible to have pro growth strategy while leaving the poor unattended to and viceversa.It is emphasized that the poverty reduction strategy should not be done for the poor but with the poor, that is an element of involvement.

Growth that benefits the poor involves offering the poor an opportunity to generate their own incomes.
When the farmers produce, they must have access to inputs for agricultural production; they must have adequate access to markets for the goods and services that the poor can sell.

Improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable. Some sectors of the population need direct assistance to improve their living standards. Its overall goal is to ensure that the quality of life of the most vulnerable is improved and maintained at an acceptable level by providing moderate support transient poor and substantial transfers to the chronically poor. Under this strategy, there is the targeted input program. This assists malnourished children as well as lactating and pregnant mothers. This aims at increasing the health status of the population so as to reduce child mortality. There is also Targeted Input Program, which will help to enhance productivity of capital constrained poor by developing distribution of free agricultural inputs.
Human development is another strategy of Malawi poverty reduction strategy .A healthy and educated population leads to increased productivity. Its goal is to develop human capital to participate fully in social –economic development of the country. This is done through provision of basic education to the masses.

GIVING
It can never happen that way he said
Can man give what he does not have? He queried
Silence reigned allover
He continued,
What you have is what you give
What you give is a reflection of you
It will always be a part of you
I nodded.
Of course of this I was told
Then it must have been unconsciously
Am happy, my spirit could get it even without my permission
What a man gives is what he has
And what one has shall be given to him
For it is written
Give and it will come back to you…
So be careful what you give!.
He warned.
You may end up getting what you never intended to give
Funny Huh!
Give the best so you can get the same
Humble yourself where possible
if that is what it takes for you to give the best
Step number one, he continued
Know what you have then
Know it’s destination then
Know the best medium then
Give out freely with this in mind, that
Freely you received, freely give
Discover the joys of giving your very best freely
Satisfaction guaranteed.
Virtues all around us, giving may be one
Success all around us, giving is at It’s core
I shall be satisfied for life
Because for once I know the secret
When you want to give first know your stuff
Because whatever you give
Shall surely come back to you
Because you reap what you saw
He concluded.
Tayanie Vincentio Bandah,28thMarch ,2002, 12:15am at The Polytechnic 101

Empowering Aids Orphans

This is an Abstract for the Project Proposal for Empowering Aids Orphans

HIV/AIDS is neither an abstract reality nor an underestimated event in the history of this age. It is something that is real and we live with it. Almost everyone is either infected or affected by the disease. The toll that this pandemic has had on every one of us cannot in anyway be overemphasized. To say that we are going to have this problem for the next foreseeable future is not a pessimistic view per se, but rather a realistic one, and hence the need for sustainable strategies to deal with the problem.

What do we do then after coming to terms with the reality of the scourge? We cannot manage to sit down and watch while the monster eliminates us one after another. E.A.O. is therefore trying to play an active role in the fight against the disease. The problem is that the pandemic is multifaceted and thus requires a multidimensional approach. There is therefore a need to mobilize the Social, Economic and the Spiritual aspects in order to have a consolidated approach. The project so purposes to incorporate the youth in the fight because they are the most vulnerable group as far as this scourge is concerned and especially so the Aids Orphans.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has caused a lot of damage to our world and Malawi in particular. To this effect it has generated more than half a million orphans in the country. Statistics show that 70,000 orphans will be generated each year if the current statistics prevail. We cannot therefore overlook this material figure and portion of the country’s population in the development process of the nation.

We believe the philosophy that the concerned party has to be included in any problem solving process and so the youth and Aids orphans, in particular should be instrumental in the fight.

The project aims to empower the orphans Economically, Socially, Spiritually and in the knowledge about AIDS, so that they can also contribute in the fight and development process of the nation as a whole. This is supposed to be a spontaneous and “contagious” cause in that these empowered Orphans will also be challenged to assist in the subsequent empowerment of other orphans and the chain is expected to go on and on and…

So in the wake of all this scramble and noise it seems that all hope is gone and that all is lost. But there is still hope for orphans, even though they may have lost both parents, guardians and relatives, there is still someone who loves and cares about us all. He is a God who loves us all. He does not condemn nor forsake anyone for whatever reason, even sin. God is love and he promises to be there whenever we need him. So who is man to condemn what God, the creator does not condemn. This is the message of hope that we want to give out to all orphans and the affected.

So this is what the project aims to do in contributing to the big picture in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We believe that as the youth we are in the right place and doing the right thing at the right time and for the right cause and to the right people.

Please, it is worth noting that the orphans that we may be working with or assisting may not necessarily be directly affected or their state being caused by HIV/AIDS but still they fall within our brackets of people that are disadvantaged and somewhat in dire need of love and assistance. But our main concentration is on Aids Orphans though.

The activities in the financial market are affected both by the domestic and international economic activity. Affecting the markets also is the political activity and political leadership under which the economy is operating. Changes in the monetary policy are dictated by external situation, that is the relationship between the country’s exports and imports. If imports are considered to be excessive it becomes imperative to slacken domestic demand by contraction of credit in order to reduce the demand for imports.

An Economy is always dynamic as there are a lot of activities taking place, allocating and re allocating resources. The Malawi economy at the moment is undergoing a number of economic activities aimed at stimulating the economy and raising investor confidence.

This paper will, however focuses on just a few that are currently in the limelight of events in the Malawi Economy, therefore it will be limited to the following;

The recent slashing of the base-lending rate.
The ongoing tobacco sales.
Withdrawal of International aid and prospects of resumption.
Political leadership in the country and fiscal discipline.

The reserve Bank announced the lowering of the bank rate to 25% from 35% with effect from the 1st of June. This move has caused the subsequent lowering of the lending rate by the commercial banks. This therefore means that the cost of loanable funds has been lowered and thus easing borrowing for consumers, businesses and other banking companies. This development therefore will serve to stimulate economic activity thus leading to the boosting of the real sector by redirecting investment to the sector, which is good for the Economy.

Again the money market rates within the same period dropped by an average 38% on all the fixed deposits, which is very significant indeed. The market average base-lending rate also dropped from 36%, before the adjustment of the bank rate, to about 27% at the adjustment, representing a 25% drop. This then means that commercial banks must embark to have enough funds to lend out, as investors will now be able to borrow more, and invest.

As a result of the adjustment of the bank rate, Government Treasury Bills’ and Reserve Bank of Malawi Bills’ yields also dropped significantly, going down by an average of 29% and 28% respectively by the end of June 2004.
The chain reaction resulting from the adjustment of the bank rate has served to reduce the gains derived from purchasing financial instruments, thereby reducing their demand. It is therefore anticipated that with the lower money market rates, funds initially invested in financial instruments will be available for re-investment in the real sector, thus stimulating real sector growth.

OUTLOOK for the SECOND HALF OF 2004

The exchange rate of the Malawi Kwacha with regard to the United States Dollar (USD) and other major trading currencies stabilized still June 2004 at MK108.9093 to the United States Dollar, at the end of the month.

If the current economic trends are to continue, and indeed they seem to, then the money market rates will drop all the more even during the second half of the year 2004.

The tobacco season is expected to extend up to the month of October because of the disruptions that occurred in the grading and quality assurance. This extension, coupled with the commencing of the tea season, is going to ensure a continued inflow of foreign currency. This therefore means that the exchange rate of the Malawi Kwacha with regard to the United States Dollar is expected to continue to stabilize for the most part of the last half of 2004. On the other hand, is likely to soar in July and subsequent months 2004.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi announced that it is targeting a Bank rate of 10% by December 2004.The current government’s priority is to curb corruption and promote of fiscal discipline. If they succeed then it will open doors for donor funding, which will in turn assist in the stabilization of the interest rate.

CULTURE: SHOULD IT DETERMINE WHO YOU MARRY?
Tayanie Vincentio Bandah
Midnite30th September 2002
I can vividly recall from my maiden sociology lectures that culture is the way living of people in a particular society at a given point in time. This encompasses the peoples’ beliefs, norms, values, customs and even the art and music. Longman Contemporary English Dictionary adds to the definition that it is also an aggregate of all the other products of human thought.

Well let us come down to earth because the above definition alone will only serve but to bring some kind of abstract veracity.
Malawi is blessed to have diverse peoples with diverse cultures. One would not believe how the social values and customs vary just from one district to the next. This is the splendor of the richness of the aggregate Malawian culture one thing that is of essence here is that people have to learn to appreciate that there are other cultures different from ours and that they have to be respected still. Failure to have this virtue is what leads to tribal wars. We do not need that around here do we? It is funny how people get teeth to teeth, eye-to-eye, weapons up over these conceptual issues and aspects of cuture, but this has something to say at how much grip these aspects can have on human life and how they can dictate its course.
Do you realize how things can change by just deciding to believe or not to believe?

Still more I feel I have not clarified much or have I? Let us get even more down to earth. There is still an underground tribal war, a cold war of some sort if you like. What is the arena? You may ask. Answer, MARRIAGE.

Wavisanga (aka wavi) is the only child from the Gondwe family right from phoka in Rumphi.Upon announcing to his parents that he has got a girl from mchinji who he intends to marry, he is met with a firm No!” wamwana, mphaka mpa jenda” retorted the father. “Ukukhumba ise tiwenge nambumba yaye?” Interrogated the mother in clear reference to the Chewa custom that says, children belong to the maternal side.

Chiyembekezo is a young lady doing her final year at some college. She comes from Lilongwe Mpenu and she is serious about her boy friend from Mzimba solola, a fine young man by the name of Chigomezgo.Her parents make their stand clear that, “Ife sitikufuna kuti mwana wathu adzalowoledwe, you mean you want to be an asset to your husband?” Queried the father “In our culture children belong to the ladys family and if you accept lobola we are going to lose everything, you and the children! He will not even build us a house”, the mother warned.

Assuming you were in the shoes of these two guys, what would you do? Choose to disobey your parents and go on with your plans (Ephesians 6vs 1-3) or take your parents’ wish and risk loosing the apple of your eye (proverbs 31vs 10) and …

Well, let me begin by pointing out that culture is an integral part of each and every society and that its impact cannot be neglected
We have to appreciate the gravity of the effect culture gap and culture shock that is, the difference in culture and the reality of facing a different culture respectively. Every social grouping would love it if the entire world had a single culture and that culture being theirs. That is why conflicts arise even when it comes to who you marry.

God ordained marriage right from the Garden of Eden and he created them man and woman just the two of them
I believe that if two people are in love and have decided to exchange vows in holy matrimony the first determining factor should be whether one is a believer or not, other issues come later.

As Christians we are all born in one big family of God. (Globalization in church?)
and as such we all share the same culture of God and that is the culture of love.

According to one Dr musopole, sin perverts the culture of God and it is responsible for the subculture that is prevalent in most societies (Gen 3). This subculture unfortunately has been normalized and is what we think and term to be the normal culture. This has led into loving for a specific reason (conditional love) and gives so much value to power.

Getting back to the scenarios we had before. Wavi is forbidden from marrying from the central region because the parents are afraid of losing children their son and subsequently the children to the maternal side. Indeed they are expected to have such fears because they are bound by that custom.
Looking at that scenario, one wonder at the fact that people should scramble and fight over the question of to which side, paternal or maternal do the children belong to. Well, I think I have the best answer to the question, THE FAMILY. The children are born into the and not to the paternal nor the maternal sides as claimed The bible says that children are a gift from God into the family. This verse then invalidates the whole argument because it shows that even a couple does not have a title deed to own children, but they receive them as a gift from God. Suppose that a couple does not have children, what do you fight for in that case? Whether the man belongs to the paternal or maternal side? (Selah)
Usually it is the third parties that cause the entire wrangle and tussles. In chichewa there is a saying, which goes… “Banja ndi anthu awiri, wachitatu ndi kapasule.” Let me leave it at this point…

Coming to the second scenario where chiyembekezo is denied to marry a young man from the north just because sakufuna kuti mwana wawo adzalowoledwe.
Lobola, next victim…
Sometimes I fail to make ends meet about this lobola thing.
I hear it is like reparation to the maternal parents for their toils in raising their daughter, like educating her and grooming her into womanhood.
Instantaneously we ask, Kodi mwamunayo kwawo sanamuchengetere?
Because the impression that it leaves is that the man does not actually deserve the girl just by being him and so he has to complement himself with something, he has to face it in order to have the lady.
Well, I understand it all, this custom evolved at a time when parents had to choose who you marry for you, whether the lady loves you or not. (Irk!) So long as you have a kraal full.
But nowawadays people actually fall in love or climb up the love hill, as some prefer.
In this case then I feel that they both deserve each other and so what the heck!
One of my close friends vowed never to marry from the north where he comes from as a gesture of his ant regionalism campaign and I can see he is going right in that direction, thumbs up Bro!
On a stiffer note, this lobola thing actually found root when a woman was seen as an asset in a home. Just like the man uses a cup for drinking water, an armchair to sit on, the woman was used to satisfy sexual desires and as a child producing machine. This is typical of the subculture, which gives too much power to men, and women are viewed as receptacles and as a field in which people plant and expect to reap the produce.
Just to point out quickly, this is what leads to domestic violence.

Have you ever considered the fact that in countries like the USA, there is no such thing as “kumudzi kwathu?”Guess that is why they do not have so many problems as regards culture when it comes to marriage. From my view point I can bet my thumb on the fact that not more than 20% of our generation will build houses “kumudzi kwawo”Whether this is a welcome development or not, it can be attributed to both development and the decline in the mortality rate. The few that reach retirement age refuse to go back to the villages, as it is such a big upheaval, while most people die before 60, as the mortality rate is pegged at 39 in Malawi.

I am not saying that people should stop practicing lobola, but I think its motive and some of its aspects have to be looked at from a spiritual point of view. Again, I do not wish to imply here that I cannot be bound by these customs, no, but that these should not be central in determining a person’s destiny. These may be found to be trivia when viewed in light of Gods word.
The Bible says that we should be transformed by the renewing of the mind.
So if ones mind is renewed, succumbing to lobola would not be subjecting oneself to an act of selfishness but in this light it can be deemed to be an act of appreciation, care and love.

To sum it all, if two people want to spend the rest of their lives together, and they find themselves in a culture shock and gap situation, this should not be reason enough to terminate the relationship or failure to commence one. But let me be swift to point out that the two must evaluate their cultures together, reviewing all areas of conflict, and if they decide to go on they must be ready to face the implications of their cultures because to be candid, this thing has a taut grip on us all and we cannot act as if we are ignorant of its implications. There is a saying in english, which goes where there is a will there is a way, and another, which says love, always finds a way.
If two people love each other and they put God before everything, I say go ahead and for a moment forget yourselves and get together and embrace the culture of God, which is the culture of love.

The two should be bound by the cords of love and not of some subnormal culture .Our God is not a racist, not tribalistic nor is he chauvinistic, in fact we are all the same in his sight, black, white, pink, blue, northerner, southerner we are all the same.
So next time someone tries to pester you over an intertribal or interracial nuptials, go ahead and tell’em “we are all the same in God’s eyes and what matters to me is what God says about me, tell you what, I have embraced the culture of God, that is a culture of love.”
So whether you are from Mzimba solola, Lilongwe Mpenu, Chitipa Wenya or Nsanje Lalanje, donot be bound, for whom the son sets free is free indeed!!

Tayanie Vincentio Bandah
Midnite30th September 2002

“Give me 100 young and energetic people, I can change this world”, these are the words of Swami Vivekanda, a great philosopher of India. The words of Vivekanda show that Youngsters are the powerful weapon to change this cruel world. Every man aims for earning much money. He made himself to do anything for money! So, we the youngsters much preach them the minimum level of satisfaction.

But the present world of youngsters has got a very bad reputation. Most of the young people have become addicted to televisions, video games, movies and so on. Also we got the impression that the teenage boys are like gangsters. For example, one of my neighbours will drop his daughter to the school in the morning and pick up her from the school in the evening. I asked him why he does it, even if his daughter has aged 16. He replied me that the teenage boys have a bad eye on girls and so he wants to protect his daughter. We cannot blame him. What he said was correct! Most of the young people, especially teen ages have got much affection on opposite sex. Nowadays it roots for violent activities too. The affection has become over affection. Also they involve in smoking, drinking and other unwanted activities which turns their mind to do violent activities. They never turn upon the society too. We can see the basic reasons for it.

The life style of a child from a middle class family:

In India, everyone wants their children to sit at a high position with a good graduate. It is quite natural among everyone. But many of the people never want to send their children on their wish. The parents aim their child to be either an engineer or a doctor because both are the better fields to earn much money. TamilNadu, a state among 27 states of India, has more than 300 engineering colleges. The total number of seats of engineering colleges has nearly equal to that of total number of out coming students every year. But the government never turns on it! We can proudly say that “India produces maximum numbers of Engineers”. But we miss out in the other departments.

Most of the parents never leave their children to take part in any extra curricular activity as their wish. They say that their children must be studying always. They want the children to be much disciplined. This makes the growing child to rely on family rather than on society. They always scold the children. But they do it for a right sense. But the young people bother only on their scolding! This makes them to show the angry in the other sense of brutal.

Literature’s Knowledge:

However, the modern world has got much equipments and technology for communication, in cities, we are lack of communication. Basically, if you enter into a village of 200 or 300 families and ask where the house of Mr. John is, everyone in the village will give you the correct address. But in the city, we don’t get the response. Also People never want to know who is situated on the next door. Even, there are some people from the same apartment, who never know themselves. If we ask them they say us that, they go to work in the earlier and returns back home late. So they can’t get the neighbour.

Even the well educated people do the same mistake. This makes the robbers to enter into the politics. In republic countries like India, People should nominate their leaders by consulting with the neighbours. But no one does it here. The reason is lack of communication with the neighbours and the next doors. This will be an added advantage for those robbers. They just divide us and conquer us. That’s what the riots happen. So, first of all we have to educate every literate people to be active. We must show our unity. Every literate must preach the other illiterate to help the society. Else our youngsters cannot emerge into an energetic world!

New York is in the United States, right? United States is/was a democracy right? Democracy upholds freedom of press among other freedoms right? And - ummm, democrats do not discriminate on the basis of nationality and language - inter alia - right? You have to be Arabic-speaking to get marching orders from New York Stock Exchange....

Right! Below is an AFP article

"Arabians banned from NYSE"
NEW YORK - The New York Stock Exchange says it has banned reporters from the Arabic-language TV network Al-Jazeera from its trading floor, sparking charges of retaliation for the channel's coverage of the Iraq war.

NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia said the decision to rescind the accreditation of two journalists from Al-Jazeera's New York bureau had been taken to try and accommodate a surge in requests from television networks for access to the stock exchange.


"We've had to prioritise requests that we've gotten and focus our efforts on those who focus on providing responsible business coverage, and as a result we cannot accommodate Al-Jazeera at this time," Pellecchia said.

"If we can develop more capacity in the future and they are interested in coming back, they may be allowed back," he added.

Al-Jazeera - based in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar - has given extensive coverage to widespread Arab criticism of the American war effort and US military officials have
criticised the station for broadcasting Iraqi television images of American prisoners of war.

The satellite channel has made daily broadcasts from the New York Stock Exchange for several years.

On its regular morning financial broadcast, Al-Jazeera said the accreditations had been withdrawn "because of al-Jazeera's coverage of the war on Iraq."


Pellecchia confirmed that Al-Jazeera was the only network to have its existing accreditations rescinded, but refused to comment on the charge that the move was purely retaliatory in nature.


However, a stock exchange official who declined to be identified said the decision had been taken "with events in Iraq in mind."

-AFP