3rd World Sisters

[Guest guest]

Re: I wonder what the Afghan women do about their fibroids? I hear that

health care is non-existent there. Do they just bleed to death?

It's not just Afghan women...They are just in the news and they are some of

our most suffering sisters. But the reality is that decent health care for

men and women and children around the world is so pitiful that we cannot

imagine in. I grew up traveling in undeveloped countries and almost nothing

shocks me. I also studied midwifery as a college student in rural Brazil

and worked at a clinic. It was not unusual for a woman to have 10 or more

children and fully expect most to die either in pregnancy or in first year

of life. Babies die for lack of good breastfeeding advice. Women are given

free sample of formula, then dilute it with water containing parasites and

the children either die from malnutrition due to thin formula or the

parasites when they could have done fine if mother had been given better

nutrition and encouraged to breastfeed. Millions of children die each year

because they don't get basic immunizations. Healthy teens die because they

can't afford a few dollars for an appendix operation. People die from

things at a single course of penicillin would cure. So forget about the

extras like fibroids or female issues. Half the population of some African

nations has HIV.

Our life expectancy is in the 80s (women) and we have HRT and by-pass

surgery and hip replacements and kidney transplants etc. to keep us going.

If this WTC nightmare has done anything good, it has 1) united Americans and

2) make the world and its issues more visible. Suddenly Brad Pitt's romance

or the latest CD release are not the hot news anymore and the shallowness

and selfishness of our world view will help us be better citizens of our

country and world.

Gay Courter

gay@...