NEWSLETTER Anno 5, n. 15 - 30 ottobre 2007

["Circolo Africa - Ancona" <segreteria at circoloafrica.org>]

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Circolo Culturale Africa
Via San Spiridione 5/a
60100 – Ancona
Tel./Fax 071.2072585
Web: www.circoloafrica.eu
Email: segreteria at circoloafrica.org
 


NEWSLETTER DEL CENTRO DI DOCUMENTAZIONE E RICERCA PER LA CITTADINANZA ATTIVA

Anno 5, n. 15 - 30 ottobre 2007

A cura di Gabriele Sospiro
Con la collaborazione di: 
Gabriele Sospiro (GS)
Paolo Sospiro (PS)
Jiske van Loon (JvL)
Bengu Bayram (BB)
Tobias Gehring (TG)
Dora Ioannou (DI)

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INDICE 
1.   CORSO ONLINE
2.   ATTIVITÀ DEL CENTRO
3.   AFRICAN MIGRANT CHURCHES IN THE NETHERLANDS
4.   OUT OF AFRICA
5.   PROTESTANTISM - AN INTRODUCTION
6.   TURKEY CELEBRATES REPUBLIC DAY
7.   RADIOAFRICA.EU


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1. CORSO ONLINE
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Con l’inizio dell’autunno il Circolo Africa in collaborazione con
l’Università di Macerata organizzerà due corsi online su immigrazione e
cooperazione internazionale. Struttura del corso, modalità di valutazione e
certificati post corso sono ancora in fase di organizzazione. 
Per eventuali
informazione inviare una mail a 
segreteria at circoloafrica.org con oggetto: CORSO ONLINE IMMIGRAZIONE oppure
COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE

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2. ATTIVITÀ DEL CENTRO
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Il Centro di Documentazione e Ricerca per la Cittadinanza Attiva è aperto il
Martedì e Giovedì dalle 10 alle 13.00 e dalle 15.00 alle 18.00. Se avete
libri da proporre così che noi possiamo acquistarli fatecelo sapere! Se
state facendo una tesi di laurea o ricerche sull'immigrazione, sull'economia
politica, o su temi riguardanti il terzo settore, etc. presso il nostro
Centro potete ottenere informazioni ad hoc previa prenotazione telefonica.
Per contatti ed eventuali prenotazioni 071/2072585


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3. AFRICAN MIGRANT CHURCHES IN THE NETHERLANDS
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In Leiden I have studied Religious Studies for tree years. My specialization
was Christianity in Africa and therefore I have finished my bachelor in
September 2007 with a bachelor thesis about African migrant churches in the
Netherlands. Most of the research on migrant churches in the Netherlands was
executed in the biggest cities in the north and middle of the Netherlands
(called ‘de Randstad’), so that’s why I choose a city in the catholic south
of the Netherlands, to see how the situation of African migrant churches is
there. I visited four African migrant churches in Breda, a city in the south
of the Netherlands: Victory Bible Church International (English speaking
church with Ghanese roots), Covenant Word Ministries International /
Assemblies of God (English speaking, Ghanese roots),  Mon Rocher (French
speaking, Congolese roots) and Les Messagers (French, Congolese roots). I
visited services, interviewed the priests and made questionnaires which are
filled in by the visitors of two churches. I also met a women who had
contacts in all these churches, especially the Congolese churches and she
could give me a lot of information about the way the churches have developed
from their beginning in the nineties until now. What I wanted to know was
the function of the churches for the visitors, the position of these
churches in the city and how the municipality reacts to the existence of
these churches. In this article I will give you an impression of the
existence of African migrant churches in the Netherlands and I will explain
some results of my research.

What is a migrant church?
When Christian people immigrate to another country, they can choose to join
one of the local, ‘native’ churches of their new country. However, often
they don’t feel at home in these churches. Christianity has many different
forms all over the world, influenced by the culture and history of the
country where it is developed. So when a catholic from Africa goes to a
catholic church in the Netherlands, he may still not feel comfortable with
the Dutch way of worshipping. Next to this there is the problem of language,
what makes that many immigrants can’t understand the service in the Dutch
churches. Because of these reasons immigrants started their own churches.
This happened in the Netherlands like in all the other European countries.
These churches are called migrant churches. In these churches the ethnic and
cultural background of the visitors is important for the identity of the
community and it influences the form and content of the services. The way
they worship is how they worship in the country where they come from. So a
migrant church is a place where mostly immigrants from the same background
come together to worship in the way they were used to worship in the country
where they come from. 

The four African migrant churches in Breda.
In Breda are four African migrant churches. However, there is a problem with
this terminology. The churches themselves don’t want to be called ‘African’.
They prefer the term ‘international church’. They see themselves in the
first place as Christians instead of as Africans and they want to stress
that they are open for everybody, not only for Africans. In reality however
the visitors of these churches are almost only African immigrants and the
African culture is very good visible in the services, so that’s why I call
them ‘African’ migrant churches. The services are very lively and can go on
for hours. There is a lot of African music made by a band, people dance and
clap their hands, people walk in and out and lots of children run around.
Richard Mpembo (priest in Mon Rocher) said the following about the African
churches compared to Dutch churches: 

“Our music is different then the Dutch music from God. In the Netherlands it
a kind of classical music: silent, not rythmic, boring. I think it is so
boring! But in our church it is different, it is warm music and the people
dance. And the Holy Ghost acts in the church. Our church is a warm church.
The people pray a lot. But the Dutch people didn’t have much training in
praying. In the reformed church only the pastor prays!” (Mpembo, Mon Rocher)

Praying is an important aspect of the services in the African churches and
the prayers can go on for a very long time, while sometimes the music is
still playing. The people put their hands in the air and pray loudly with
there eyes closed, sometimes even speaking in tongues (“divine” language for
prayers, used in some Pentecostal churches). They pray for example against
evil powers and for success, progress and welfare. Giving money to the
church is important for the social status and to gain welfare and success.
At celebrations and rituals like a funeral a lot of money is given to the
concerned family or the church. There is also a huge amount of money to send
back to the family in Africa. According to R. van Dijk (Dutch professor) the
churches create their own economic and social system within the broader
system of the Dutch society and according to what I have seen and read about
African churches I want to agree with him. Another characteristic of these
churches is divine healing, whereby people are healed by the power of the
Holy Ghost.  

Assemblies of God is established in the beginning of the twentieth century
in America as one of the first Pentecostal churches in the world. In the
twenties they started with missions in Africa, where it spread during the
twentieth century. The church in Breda is established in 1993 with support
from a church in Ghana. It is still connected to this mother church, but it
has also relations with the six sister churches in the Netherlands and other
churches in Europe. The headquarter is still in America. Every week about
fifty English speaking Africans come to join the service in the building of
a Dutch church. About 50% of them comes from Ghana. They live in Breda or in
cities and villages in the surroundings of Breda. 

Victory Bible Church International is also a Pentecostal church with a
mother church in Ghana. The church in Breda is established about 10 years
ago with support from a sister church in London. The church has about
seventy visitors from different countries. Most of them come from African
countries, but during the services I also spoke with people from Aruba and
Curacao and native Dutch people. This church has a more international
character compared to the other churches. 

Mon Rocher is a French-speaking evangelical church, which is established in
1997. The mother church is in Congo and most of the sixty member come from
Congo. The church has sister churches in other Dutch cities and other
European countries, like Italy, Belgium and France. The services are held in
French and Lingala.   

Les Messagers is officially registered as church in 2000. This church also
has his mother church in Congo and most of the members are Congolese. The
community has only about twenty-five members, because in the last years many
members migrated to Belgium. 


What are the functions of these churches?
Christianity is nowadays very much alive in Africa. In the last century the
number of Christians on the continent increased rapidly. For Africans who
have migrated to Europe often Christianity has still a central role in their
lives. The function of the African churches is in the Netherlands is a
combination of having a place to worship in an ‘African’ way and to meet
people. Most of the visitors described their church as a place to serve God,
talk to God and worship God. But they also referred to the church as a
family, a place to help and encourage each other and to meet other
foreigners who are in the same insecure position of being immigrant, asylum
seeker or undocumented inhabitant. The church gives these people grip and
strength. The priests stress to live a good live according to the bible.
They tell the visitors what to do and what not to do. The people get a lot
of orders and prohibitions, there is a big social control, but for many
immigrants visiting the church this is important, because their situation is
often very insecure and especially the undocumented immigrants live in the
outskirts of society. It gives them grip when there is somebody who looks
after them and tells them what to do and how to live a good life. According
to the priests many Africans who don’t go to church end in the criminal
circuit. Antiri Samuel (Assemblies of God) told me this: 

“People who don’t know God, they drink, they use drugs, they do all kinds of
things, they put themselves, they hit their families, they hit their
children, the children hit their parents. But the church is able to stand in
the gap and help the community by providing this structure. You can’t see,
it’s not fysical, you can’t touch it, but people live it, they live the good
life. I can assure you all this is how it is, but you can see that now like
the youth here today we are putting in them the ideas that they will know
how to make good choices, how to plan their live, how not to misbehave, how
not to be a problem.” (Samuel, Assemblies of God)

This may sound excessively, but also according to other researches it is
important for migrants to be taken in a social network of people who
strengthen and encourage each other. Antiri:

“We try to help Africans who migrated here. The church is like a family for
them spiritually and emotionally.  And when they need council, when they
need advise, when they need help, the church is there for them. And we stand
with them, especially I do a lot of counceling free. We are a platform,
where they can get what they need, which they can not get from outside.”
(Samuel, Assemblies of God)

89% of the respondents of the questionnaire answered that the church made
them feel better at home in the Netherlands and 77% answered that they would
feel lonely without the church. 90% of the visitors of Assemblies of God
said that when having problems they prefer to go to the church instead of a
Dutch institution. For the visitors of Les Messagers this percentage was
72%. This shows that most of the problems within the African community are
solved within the community, often with help of the church. The churches
give help to the African immigrants just by providing a place where they can
come together and worship, but they also give different kinds of practical
help to members of their church and sometimes also to others. All the
churches give clothes, food, accommodation and sometimes money to their
members, when this is necessary. Richard Mpembo sees it as a task of the
church to give support and help to the asylum seekers in the asylum seeker
centres in the surroundings and victims of human trafficking and
prostitutes. Also Victory Bible Church International tries to reach people
outside of the church. They try to help drug addicts, homeless people,
orphans, widows and people who are ill. This all happens by the Victory
Care, an organisation who coordinates the social work of the church. In this
way the church tries to act also outside the African community, but the goal
remains to give people hope by telling them the Word of God and let them
believe in God and Jesus Christ.    

How is their position in the society? 
Although some African churches try to reach people outside the African
community, generally the churches are very much closed and isolated from the
rest of the society. In Breda three of the four priests don’t speak Dutch
and they are not occupied with the position of the church in the society and
the integration of the church members in society. They say that it is
important that the church members integrate into the Dutch society, but they
don’t organise things to support them with this, like for example a Dutch
language course. Like I said the church often has a central position in the
African community. If the priests would be well integrated in the Dutch
society, speak Dutch and have contacts outside the church, this could be
very helpful for the church members, because the priest could help them
better with finding their way in the Netherlands. Now the African
communities often turned into itself and this can be an obstacle for
integration. The priest of a church has a powerful position, so he can
support his church members. He already supports them by giving them a place
to worship, to meet each other and to give them things like clothes and
money, but the step after surviving is integration. Many African churches
help their members to survive in the Netherlands by taking them into the
social network of the church, but this network is so strong, that it can
isolate the members from the rest of the society. In Breda the African
churches are unknown by the majority of the inhabitants. I spoke with people
from the municipality who work on the field of integration, but they didn’t
even know about the existence of these churches. 

Conclusion
The African churches are in the first place important because they give the
African Christians a place to worship, where they feel at home and where
they can meet and share their experiences and culture with people from the
same background, who are in the same difficult situation outside the country
where they come from. The churches provide the basic needs of immigrants
when they are in need for this and in this way their well-being is
increased. The bible, the sermons and the other people in the church give
them grip and strength and information can be exchanged about the Dutch
society and policies and procedures concerning immigrants. On the other hand
the African churches are often closed communities, especially when the
priest doesn’t speak Dutch and is not well integrated in the society. This
is where in my opinion things can be changed. The priests should try harder
to learn the language (for example Antiri Samuel doesn’t speak any Dutch
after living in the Netherlands for more then ten years) and participate
more in the society. I don’t know how the situation is in other cities and
other countries, but in Breda the municipality should in my opinion also pay
more attention to the existence of these churches and try to involve them
more into the activities of the city. The churches are a good way to reach
the African community, so it would be useful if there would be more contacts
between the African churches and other institutions, like the municipality
and other churches. 

Of course this paper concerns only the four African churches in Breda, but
in all European countries African churches are established. They form
networks in Europe and when an immigrant doesn’t get a permission to stay in
one country, he tries in another country, where he will often join the same
church. I wonder how the situation of African churches in other European
countries is, but I think it will maybe be like the situation in the
Netherlands. The function of the churches for the members I suppose will be
the same, but the position of the church in the society can be different
then in the Netherlands. This position depends on a lot of factors like who
is priest in the church, but also what is the attitude of the government and
municipality towards religious institutions. However until so far I didn’t
visit an African church in Ancona, so at this moment I can’t say how these
churches function here. Maybe later I will be able to give an impression
about the situation of African churches here in Ancona.

(JvL)

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4. OUT OF AFRICA
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Massive emigration of physicians disadvantages developing countries in
global competition and aggravates health problems for the local population.

22,894 doctors for 123 million people or 18.5 for 100,000. These are the
numbers for Nigeria in 2004 collected by the US National Institutes for
Health . And compared to other African countries like Ethiopia, Liberia or
Malawi, where there are only two doctors for 100,000 inhabitants, the land
is even in a good situation. But “good” hardly seems to be the right word to
describe the health situation of a country in which a mother of five
children will probably burry one of them after a death in childhood, in
which most people don’t live to see their 50th birthday, and which was
ranked 187th out of 191 in 2000’s World Health Organisation (WHO) report on
the performance of health care systems.
Concurrently, at least 2158 Nigerian physicians (around 10% of the amount
working in Nigeria) are working in the United States alone, “of the 800
doctors who have been trained in Ghana within the period from 1993 to 2002,
600 have emigrated”  and “even from the relatively wealthy South Africa, a
third up to the half of the absolvents of medical lyceums emigrate to
industrialized countries” , the Süddeutsche Zeitung ascertains in an article
with the apposite title “Continent without doctors”.
The overall lack of doctors in Africa is directly connected to a lack of
native doctors in Europe and North America. The rapid aging of their
societies entails that more and more people, in absolute as well as in
relative numbers, belong to an age class which is extraordinarily prone to
any kind of disease. Shortage of movement is regular throughout the entire
population with most works being done in a sitting position and with the
computer and the television playing a very important role in the youth’s
spare time. And a mental desire to be young and beautiful which has taken
possession of a remarkable part of the people brings a boom to medically
needless beauty operations. “In Europe, in the USA and in Canada, people
have simply missed to train enough doctors, nurses and midwives and to keep
them in the profession“  to deal with these new phenomena. A five figure gap
between available and needed medical personnel is predicted to many
countries of the western world for the near future. Many African doctors
look forward to participate in filling this gap, because the working
conditions, the payment and much else is better than in their African home
countries. And western employers receive the newcomers from the south with
open arms, since they are “a lot more flexible than the western colleagues
and regularly prepared to work for much less money, to undertake night
shifts or to work overtime.”  Taking into consideration only the western
countries, the African doctors – and, not to be forgotten, the recruitment
corporations which make their money with taking the bureaucracy off the
emigrating – it is a win-win situation par excellence. The big loser is
Africa and almost each and every of its hundreds of millions of inhabitants.
The most obvious and self-explanatory negative effect of the physicians’
mass emigration – according to Physicians for Human Rights “a manifestation
of massive underinvestment in the health system and inadequate attention to
HRH policies and management”  (HRH = human resources for health) – is that
the less doctors there are, the more diseases remain untreated and the more
people die deaths which could have easily been prevented with an adequate
health care. But there are many more ways in which Africans are harmed by
the brain drain.
In globalized competition, the instruction of physicians who emigrate
afterwards means a double financial disadvantage to poor countries. For it
is the future doctor’s home country which bears the costs for the whole
instruction, but it is not repaid. Instead, the physicians pay their taxes
in their destination country, which didn’t pay a cent for educating them.
Like this, the developing countries indirectly transfer large sums to the
industrialized countries which cannot be used for other things, like buying
equipment for hospitals, improving the hygienic situation in the cities or
performing information campaigns about AIDS prevention. Investments in
medical instruction are a huge losing bargain for Africa, which,
nonetheless, has to be sustained, because without them, there would be even
less doctors, less nurses, less midwives caring for the masses in need.
Furthermore, for reasons such as empty national cash boxes, such as
complying pressure by IMF and World Bank which interlink the initialisation
of development aid with the adherence to their economically liberal
guidelines, the health sector is, amongst others, imperilled to a
privatisation wave. The WHO states that “for-profit services are often of
poorer quality, more costly, and subsidized by lowering the wages of
workers” . The latter consequence of privatizing health care strengthens, of
course, the brain drain tendencies. And in addition to an augmentation of
prices often being a result of privatizations, the lack of physicians
deprives the poor layers of society of access to medical service, despite
them being the social group having the biggest troubles with hygienic
circumstances and epidemics. “In the most African countries, [the]
inadequately equipped and paid forces have to long money from the patients
to have at least the resources for elementary health performances at their
disposal.“ 
The insufficient supply with basic equipment speaking out of these lines is
another reason for why so many physicians decide to leave their country.
“It’s the work conditions, the absence of the most fundamental means for the
treatment of the patients – and than all the men who die. It is
demoralizing. It’s not only about the salary, it is hard to see people die
and stand next to them helplessly.“  This is how a young nurse from
Swaziland explains the brain drain out of Africa. By this, she points out
that there is not only a positive stimulus for people like her to go to a
“first world” country, but also plenty of negative stimuli against staying
at home. Before leaving the physicians holding the baby and blaming them for
how they can leave their countries while knowing at first hand about the
suffering of the ill and the urgent need of doctors, we should honestly ask
ourselves who of us would be altruistic enough to endure working under those
circumstances with the alternative “emigration” ahead. Arbitrary measures
bludgeoning the doctors to work in their home countries are thus no eligible
way to solve the problem, the more so as their inefficiency has already been
proved in practise. “The effect […] consisted mainly therein that the
medical personnel migrated abroad and that inside the country, doctors and
nurses for example went on strike.“ 
Topically, African countries try to create more positive stimuli for staying
in the home country. “For example, the health ministry in Uganda has
augmented the salaries of the doctors of 60 percent in 2001 […] and the
government of Malawi could make foreign investors finance a relevant
heightening of the medical personnel.”  Much more than repressions, this is
crowned with success, yet it is not enough by far, facing the situation
“that the continent needs one million of additional specialists until 2015
if the Millennium Goals of the UN shall be achieved.”  Additionally, other
determining factors of the brain drain can only be changed more hardly and
lengthier than the physicians salaries.
The mentioned Goals include point 4 to reduce the child mortality of
children younger than five of 66%, point 5 to reduce the maternal mortality
rate of 75% (both in comparison to 1990), and point 6 to push back AIDS,
malaria and other grave diseases. Since the Millennium Goals are of an
obliging character, it is certain that their achievement is a global
responsibility and that not only Africa, but e.g. also the European
countries are in duty bound to take concrete steps to solve the brain drain
problem.
At the moment, however, it appears that the Millennium Goals concerning
health issues will probably add to the row of broken promises to developing
countries. “The Global Health Communiqué released at the 2007 Group of Eight
(G8) meeting […] fell far short of the mark [set by the Millennium Goals].”
The industrialized world, to be sure, is not doing nothing at all, for
example, England “declared ready to forgo hiring medical specialists in
Africa. The Belgian government offers all doctors and nurses from the
Democratic Republic of Congo to leave their job for several years while
receiving full payment in order to work in their home country.”  But what it
does is not enough and not suitable to the extent of the health crisis. The
English initiative will not make one physician repatriate, and the Belgian
one only helps one country. For becoming master of the situation, bigger and
more resolved steps are urgently necessary.
At the same time, Africa can’t and mustn’t bank on European and American
help, and should make more attempts on going the Ugandan and Malawian way
and, in fields in can influence more strongly than the brain drain, do in
its part what’s in its power. The gravity of the situation doesn’t admit of
cases like in South Africa, where in this year’s summer the deputy minister
of health was fired for her AIDS policy which runs counter to the one of
minister Tshabalala-Msimang who “leaves hardly any opportunity to give the
nutrients embodied in garlic and beetroot priority to the AIDS cocktails of
established pharma enterprises.”   And also they can and shall join the
solution of the problem. If for example it would be possible more easily for
African countries to create and cheaply distribute generic drugs, maybe
doctors would see a greater chance to successfully combat AIDS and decide to
make use of this chance where the problem is gravest.

(TG)

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JENSEITS VON AFRIKA

Massenauswanderung von Medizinern benachteiligt Entwicklungsländer im
globalen Wettbewerb und verschlimmert Gesundheitsprobleme für die lokale
Bevölkerung.

22.894 Ärzte für 123 Millionen Menschen oder 18,5 für 100.000. Dies sind die
Zahlen für Nigeria 2004, die vom US-National Institute for Health
zusammengetragen wurden. Und verglichen mit anderen afrikanischen Ländern
wie Äthiopien, Liberia oder Malawi, wo auf 100.000 Einwohner nur zwei Ärzte
kommen, ist das Land sogar in einer guten Lage. Aber „gut“ scheint kaum das
richtige Wort zu sein, um die gesundheitliche Situation eines Landes zu
beschreiben, in dem eine Mutter von fünf Kindern höchstwahrscheinlich eines
von ihnen nach einem Tod in der Kindheit begraben wird, in dem die meisten
Leute ihren 50. Geburtstag nicht erleben, und das im Bericht der WHO über
die Leistung von Gesundheitsfürsorgesystemen aus dem Jahr 2000 an 187. von
191 Stellen geführt wurde.


Gleichzeitig arbeiten mindestens 2158 nigerianische Ärzte (rund 10% der
Anzahl, die in Nigeria arbeiten) allein in den Vereinigten Staaten, „von den
800 Ärzten, die in Ghana im Zeitraum von 1993 bis 2002 ausgebildet wurden,
sind 600 ausgewandert“ und „sogar aus dem relativ wohlhabenden Südafrika
wandert ein Drittel bis zur Hälfte der Absolventen medizinischer
Ausbildungsstätten in Industrieländer aus“, stellt die Süddeutsche Zeitung
in einem Artikel mit dem treffenden Titel „Kontinent ohne Ärzte“ fest.
Der allgemeine Ärztemangel in Afrika ist direkt mit einem Mangel
einheimischer Ärzte in Europa und Nordamerika verbunden. Die rasante
Alterung der dortigen Gesellschaften bringt es mit sich, dass mehr und mehr
Menschen, in absoluten wie in relativen Zahlen, einer Altersklasse
angehören, die aussergewoehnlich anfällig für Krankheiten jeglicher Art ist.
Bewegungsmangel ist die Regel durch die gesamte Bevölkerung hindurch, da die
meisten Arbeiten im Sitzen ausgeführt werden und Computer und Fernseher eine
sehr wichtige Rolle in der Freizeit der Jugend spielen. Und ein mentaler
Drang, jung und schön zu sein hat sich eines merklichen Teils der
Bevölkerung bemächtigt, welcher den medizinisch unnötigen
Schönheitsoperationen einen Boom beschert. „In Europa, in den USA und in
Kanada hat man es schlicht versäumt, genug Ärzte, Krankenschwestern und
Hebammen auszubilden und sie im Beruf zu halten“, um dieser neuen Phänomene
Herr zu werden. Eine fünfstellige Lücke zwischen vorhandenen und benötigten
wird vielen Ländern der westlichen Welt für die nahe Zukunft vorhergesagt.
Viele afrikanische Ärzte freuen sich darauf, daran teilzunehmen, diese Lücke
zu füllen, denn die Arbeitsbedingungen, die Bezahlung und vieles andere ist
besser als in ihren afrikanischen Heimatländern. Und westliche Arbeitgeber
empfangen die Neuankömmlinge aus dem Süden mit offenen Armen, denn sie sind
„deutlich flexibler als die westlichen Kollegen und in der Regel bereit, für
viel weniger Geld zu arbeiten, Nachtschichten zu übernehmen oder Überstunden
zu machen.“ Betrachtet man nur die westlichen Länder, die afrikanischen
Ärzte – und, nicht zu vergessen, die Rekrutierungsfirmen, die ihr Geld damit
verdienen, den Emigrierenden die Bürokratie abzunehmen – liegt eine
Win-win-Situation par excellence vor. Der große Verlierer ist Afrika und
beinahe jeder seiner hunderte Millionen Einwohner.
Der offensichtlichste und selbsterklärende negative Effekt der
Massenauswanderung der Mediziner – laut Physicians for Human Rights eine
„Manifestation massiver Unterfinanzierung des Gesundheitssystems und
ungenügender Aufmerksamkeit für HRH-Politik und –Management“ (HRH = human
resources for health; menschliche Ressourcen für Gesundheit) – ist, dass, je
weniger Ärzte es gibt, desto mehr Krankheiten unbehandelt bleiben und desto
mehr Leute Tode sterben, die mit adäquater Gesundheitsfürsorge leicht hätten
abgewendet werden können. Doch es gibt viele andere Weisen, auf welche
Afrikaner vom Brain Drain geschädigt werden.
Im globalisierten Wettbewerb bedeutet die Ausbildung von Medizinern, die
hernach auswandern, eine doppelte finanzielle Benachteiligung für arme
Länder. Denn es ist das Heimatland des künftigen Arztes, das die Kosten für
die gesamte Ausbildung trägt, aber ihm wird nichts zurückgezahlt.
Stattdessen zahlen die Mediziner ihre Steuern an ihr Zielland, das keinen
Cent dafür ausgab, sie auszubilden. Auf diese Weise überweisen die
Entwicklungsländer den Industrieländern indirekt erhebliche Summen, die
nicht für andere Sachen zur Verfügung stehen wie, Ausrüstung für
Krankenhäuser zu kaufen, die hygienische Situation in den Städten zu
verbessern oder Informationskampagnen über AIDS-Praevention durchzuführen
Investitionen in medizinische Ausbildung sind ein riesiges Verlustgeschäft
für Afrika, das dennoch aufrechterhalten werden muss, denn ohne sie gäbe es
noch weniger Ärzte, weniger Krankenschwestern, weniger Hebammen, um für die
Massen der Bedürftigen zu sorgen.
Aus Gründen wie leeren Staatskassen, wie entsprechendem Druck des IWF und
der Weltbank, die die Bereitstellung von Entwicklungshilfe an die Befolgung
ihrer wirtschaftsliberalen Richtlinien koppeln, sieht sich der
Gesundheitssektor zudem nebst anderen einer Privatisierungswelle ausgesetzt.
Die WHO gibt an, dass „profitorientierte Dienstleistungen oft von
schlechterer Qualität und kostspieliger sind und subventioniert werden,
indem die Löhne der Arbeiter gesenkt werden“. Die letztgenannte Konsequenz
des Privatisierens verstärkt natürlich die Brain-Drain-Tendenzen. Und
zusammen mit einer Erhöhung der Preise, die oft ein Resultat von
Privatisierungen ist, entzieht der Medizinermangel den armen
Gesellschaftsschichten den Zugang zu medizinischen Diensten, obgleich sie
die gesellschaftliche Gruppe sind, welche die groessten Probleme mit
hygienischen Bedingungen und Seuchen hat. „In den meisten afrikanischen
Ländern müssen [die] unzureichend ausgestatteten und bezahlten Kräfte von
den Patienten Geld verlangen, um wenigstens die Ressourcen für elementare
Gesundheitsleistungen zur Verfügung zu haben.“
Die unzureichende Versorgung mit grundlegender Ausstattung, die aus diesen
Zeilen spricht, ist ein anderer Grund dafür, dass so viele Mediziner
entscheiden, ihr Land zu verlassen. „Es sind die Arbeitsbedingungen, das
Fehlen der grundlegenden Mittel zur Behandlung der Patienten – und dann all
die Menschen, die sterben. Es ist demoralisierend. Es geht nicht nur ums
Gehalt, es ist hart, Menschen sterben zu sehen und hilflos daneben zu
stehen.“ So erklärt eine junge Krankenschwester aus Swasiland den
Brain-Drain aus Afrika. Dadurch hebt sie hervor, dass es nicht nur einen
positiven Anreiz für Leute wie sie gibt, in ein Land der „ersten Welt“ zu
gehen, sondern auch viele negative Anreize dagegen, daheim zu bleiben. Bevor
wir also den Medizinern den schwarzen Peter zuschieben und sie anklagen, wie
sie ihre Länder verlassen können, während sie aus erster Hand um das Leid
der Kranken und den dringenden Bedarf an Ärzten wissen, sollten wir uns
ehrlich fragen, wer von uns altruistisch genug wäre, es zu erdulden, unter
solchen Bedingungen und mit der Alternative „Auswanderung“ vor Augen zu
arbeiten. Zwangsmassnahmen, die die Ärzte drängen, in ihren Heimatländern zu
arbeiten, sind daher keine wählbare Art, das Problem zu lösen, zumal ihre
Wirkungslosigkeit in der Praxis bereits unter Beweis gestellt wurde. „Der
Effekt […] bestand vor allem darin, dass das medizinische Personal ins
Ausland abwanderte und dass im Inland Ärzte und Schwestern zum Beispiel in
Streik traten.“
Momentan versuchen afrikanische Länder, mehr positive Anreize für einen
Verbleib im Land zu schaffen. „Zum Beispiel hat das Gesundheitsministerium
in Uganda die Löhne der Ärzte 2001 um 60 Prozent erhöht […] Und die
Regierung von Malawi konnte ausländische Geldgeber dazu bringen, eine
erhebliche Aufstockung des medizinischen Personals zu finanzieren.“ Viel
stärker als Repressionen ist dies von Erfolg gekrönt und ist doch bei weitem
nicht genug angesichts der Situation, „dass der Kontinent bis 2015 eine
Million zusätzlicher Fachkräfte, wenn die Millenniumziele der UN erreicht
werden sollen.“ Zudem können andere Rahmenbedingungen des Brain-Drains nur
schwieriger und langwieriger als die Gehälter geändert werden.
Die genannten Ziele beinhalten Punkt 4, die Kindersterblichkeit für unter
fünf jährige Kinder um 66% zu reduzieren, Punkt 5, die Müttersterblichkeit
um 75% zu verringern (jeweils im Vergleich zu 1990), und Punkt 6, AIDS,
Malaria und andere schwere Krankheiten zurück zu drängen. Da die
Millenniumziele verpflichtenden Charakters sind, ist es sicher, dass ihr
Erreichen eine globale Verantwortung ist und dass nicht nur Afrika, sondern
z. B. auch die europäischen Länder in der Pflicht stehen, konkrete Schritte
zu unternehmen, das Brain-Drain-Problem zu lösen.
Zur Zeit sieht es jedoch so aus, dass die Gesundheitsthemen betreffenden
Millenniumziele sich wohl in die Reihe der gebrochenen Versprechen an
Entwicklungsländer einreihen werden. „Das Global Health Communiqué, das beim
Gruppe-der-Acht-Treffen (G8) 2007 veröffentlicht wurde, verfehlte die [von
den Millenniumzielen gesteckte] Marke bei weiten.“ Die industrialisierte
Welt tut zwar nicht gar nichts, beispielsweise „erklärte sich [England]
bereit, auf die Anwerbung medizinischer Fachkräfte in Afrika zu verzichten.
Die belgische Regierung bietet allen Ärzten und Krankenschwestern aus der
Demokratischen Republik Kongo an, ihre Arbeitsstelle bei voller Bezahlung
für mehrere Jahre zu verlassen, um in ihrer Heimat zu arbeiten.“ Aber was
sie tut, ist nicht genug und dem Ausmaß der Gesundheitskrise nicht
angemessen. Die englische Initiative wird keinen Mediziner in die Heimat
zurückkehren lassen, und die belgische hilft nur einem Land. Um Herr der
Lage zu werden, sind größere und entschlossenere Schritte dringend
notwendig.
Gleichzeitig kann und darf sich Afrika nicht auf europäische und
amerikanische Hilfe verlassen, und sollte mehr Anstrengungen unternehmen,
den Weg Ugandas und Malawis zu gehen und in Bereichen, die es stärker als
den Brain-Drain beeinflussen kann, seinerseits tun, was in seiner Macht
steht. Der Ernst der Lage lässt Fälle wie in Südafrika nicht zu, wo im
Sommer dieses Jahres die stellvertretende Gesundheitsministerin wegen ihrer
AIDS-Politik gefeuert wurde, die der von Ministerin Tshabalala-Msimang
zuwiderläuft, die „kaum eine Gelegenheit auslässt, den in Knoblauch und
Roter Bete enthaltenen Nährstoffen Vorrang vor den AIDS-Cocktails
etablierter Pharmaunternehmen einzuräumen.“ Und auch sie können sich an der
Lösung des Problems beteiligen. Wenn es zum Beispiel für afrikanische Länder
einfacher möglich wäre, Generika herzustellen und billig zu verteilen,
würden Ärzte möglicherweise eine größere Chance sehen, AIDS erfolgreich zu
bekämpfen und sich entscheiden, diese Chance dort zu nutzen, wo das Problem
am schlimmsten ist.
 
(TG)

***********************************************
5. PROTESTANTISM - AN INTRODUCTION 
***********************************************

Protestantism traces back to Martin Luther (1483-1546), a Catholic monk from
the Holy Roman Empire who wanted to reform the Catholic church which he
believed to have deviated from the Bible and the doctrine of Jesus. While
several noblemen and clericals joined Luther’s criticisms, the pope refused
to realise the reforms. Hence there took place no reformation of the
Catholic church, but a schism in Catholics and Protestants. Today,
Protestantism is prevalent in northern and central Europe and northern
America. In itself, it is no homogenous alignment, but divided into
Lutheranism, Calvinism, Evangelicalism and more.
Protestants don’t recognize the pope as Christ’s deputy (in fact, there is
no head of the Protestant church at all), nor do they know saints or an
adoration of Mary (“solus Christus”), which are all seen as not of biblical
origin. According to Protestantism, only the Bible (“sola scriptura”), not
traditions, can lead every individual Christian to faith, which is why
Protestants were the first to translate the Bible from Latin to the spoken
languages. The four Protestant solae are completed by sola gratia, which
means that men cannot deliberately influence their afterlife destiny by good
or bad deeds, but that God judges autonomously, and sola fide, meaning that
someone’s faith in God is no own choice, but given by God. Consequently,
compared to Catholicism, Protestantism knows less rituals and set rules, so
that there is larger flexibility in shaping the divine service, so that also
women can become priests and so that priests are allowed to marry and have
children. Being myself the son of a female Protestant priest, in the
article’s following section, I’ll provide you with an insight in this way of
life so uncommon in Catholic Italy.

Son of a preacher woman
For beginning this non-representative report, I’d like to refute some
associations which I believe to arise amongst many when hearing about living
as son of a priest. I did not have to go to the divine service every Sunday,
even not every month, even not on every important Christian holiday. My
father, in fact, has to accompany my mother to some important divine
services for representative reasons, such as when her colleague retired, yet
for me, every divine service – maybe except for one on Christmas Eve –
wasn’t compulsory. And in fact, I don’t know whether the Christmas Eve’s one
was, because for me, it is an important part of the Christmas ritual to
attend a divine service before the distribution of presents. Knowing this, I
think you might not be so surprised about the following lists of what else
doesn’t exist at our house too: common prayers before eating? None. Crosses
hanging on the walls? None. Religiously motivated dos and don’ts beyond the
rules established for reasons of a good living together as a family? None.
All this deduces from my mother’s attempt to – as far as possible – separate
also spatially between her official life as priest and her private life, a
separation which, of course, can’t be complete (and which shall not mean
that my mother would see religion just as her job), so there were indeed
some ways in which my mother’s profession influenced also my life stronger
as another profession likely would have had. For example, we never could go
on winter holidays because for my mother, the time between Christmas Eve and
New Year’s Day is one of the busiest. And with the spatial separation being
incomplete – after all, we lived in a house provided for us by the church
(and had to move whenever my mother went to work at another church, which,
however, didn’t happen often) – I congruously got to know a lot of other
people involved in church issues, as well as I got to know how and why
church as an institution means much more than one divine service every
Sunday. And my mother having the profession she has finally added some very
unique experiences to my childhood and youth, such as being taught in
religion class by my own mother in my first four school years.

(TG)

--- --- -- -- -- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- --- -- -- -- 
PROTESTANTISMUS - EINE EINFUHRUNG 

Der Protestantismus lässt sich auf Martin Luther (1483-1546) zurückführen,
einen katholischen Mönch aus dem Heiligen Römischen Reich, der die
katholische Kirche reformieren wollte, die seiner Ansicht nach von der Bibel
und der Lehre Jesu abgekommen war. Während sich zahlreiche Adlige und
Kleriker Luthers Kritik anschlossen, weigerte sich der Papst, die Reformen
durchzuführen. Infolgedessen kam es nicht zu einer Reform der katholischen
Kirche, sondern zu einer Spaltung in Katholiken und Protestanten. Heute ist
der Protestantismus in Nord- und Mitteleuropa und in Nordamerika weit
verbreitet. Er ist keine in sich homogene Glaubensrichtung, sondern
aufgeteilt in Lutheranismus, Kalvinismus, Evangelikalismus und weitere.
Protestanten erkennen den Papst nicht als Stellvertreter Christi an (es gibt
in der Tat kein Oberhaupt der protestantischen Kirche) und kennen auch keine
Heiligen und keine Marienverehrung („solus Christus“), welche alle als nicht
biblischen Ursprungs gesehen werden. Gemäß dem Protestantismus kann nur die
Bibel, nicht Traditionen, den einzelnen Christen zum Glauben führen, weshalb
Protestanten als Erste die Bibel vom Lateinischen in gesprochene Sprachen
übersetzt haben. Die vier protestantischen Solae werden vervollständigt
durch sola gratia, was bedeutet, dass Menschen ihr Schicksal nach dem Tod
nicht durch gute und schlechte Taten selbst gezielt beeinflussen können,
sondern das Gott unbeeinflusst sein Urteil fällt, und sola fide, wonach
eines Menschen Glaube an Gott nicht die freie Wahl, sondern von Gott
geschenkt ist. Folglich kennt der Protestantismus verglichen mit dem
Katholizismus weniger Rituale und feste Regeln, sodass es größere
Gestaltungsfreiräume für den Gottesdienst gibt, sodass auch Frauen Pfarrer
werden können und sodass Pfarrer heiraten und Kinder kriegen dürfen. Da ich
selbst der Sohn einer evangelischen Pfarrerin bin, werde ich im folgenden
Teil des Artikels einen Einblick in diese im katholischen Italien so
ungewöhnliche Lebensweise geben.


Son of a preacher woman
Um diesen nicht repräsentativen Bericht zu beginnen, möchte ich einige
Assoziationen widerlegen, von denen ich glaube, dass sie vielen kommen, die
vom Leben als Sohn einer Pfarrerin hören. Ich musste nicht jeden Sonntag zum
Gottesdienst gehen, nicht einmal jeden Monat, nicht einmal an jedem
wichtigen christlichen Feiertag. Zwar muss mein Vater meine Mutter aus
repräsentativen Gründen zu manchen wichtigen Gottesdiensten begleiten, so
etwa, als ihr Kollege in den Ruhestand ging, für mich jedoch war jeder
Gottesdienst – vielleicht mit Ausnahme eines Gottesdienstes an Heiligabend –
keine Pflicht. Und tatsächlich weiß ich nicht, ob der an Heiligabend eine
war, denn für mich ist es ein wichtiger Teil des Weihnachtsrituals, vor der
Bescherung einen Gottesdienst zu besuchen. Mit diesem Wissen dürfte auch die
folgende Liste von Dingen, die es in unserem Haus nicht gibt, keine große
Überraschung sein: gemeinsame Gebete vorm Essen? Keine. Kreuze, die an den
Wänden hängen? Keine. Religiös motivierte Verhaltensregeln, die über die
zwecks eines guten Zusammenlebens als Familie eingeführten hinausgehen?
Keine.
All dies folgert aus dem Bemühen meiner Mutter, auch räumlich – soweit
möglich – zwischen ihrem beruflichen Leben als Pfarrerin und ihrem
Privatleben zu trennen, eine Trennung, die natürlich nicht vollständig sein
kann (und die nicht bedeuten soll, dass meine Mutter Religion nur als ihren
Job sähe), und so gab es auch einige Arten, wie der Beruf meiner Mutter auch
mein Leben stärker beeinflusst hat, als es ein anderer Beruf wohl getan
hätte. Beispielsweise konnten wir nie in Winterurlaub fahren, denn für meine
Mutter ist die Zeit zwischen Heiligabend und Neujahr eine der
arbeitsreichsten. Und aufgrund der unvollständigen räumlichen Trennung –
immerhin leben wir einem Pfarrhaus (und mussten jedes Mal umziehen, wenn
meine Mutter in einer anderen Kirche zu arbeiten anfing, was allerdings
nicht of geschah) – lernte ich folgerichtigerweise viele Leute kennen, die
mit kirchlichen Angelegenheiten zu tun haben, so wie ich auch lernte, wie
und warum Kirche als Institution mehr bedeutet als ein Gottesdienst jeden
Sonntag. Und dass meine Mutter den Beruf hat, den sie hat, fügte
schlussendlich meiner Kindheit und Jugend einige sehr besondere Erfahrung
hinzu, wie etwa, von meiner eigenen Mutter in meinen ersten vier Schuljahren
in Religion unterrichtet worden zu sein.

(TG)

************************************
6. TURKEY CELEBRATES REPUBLIC DAY  
************************************

Waving the national flag and pictures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered
founding father of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923, thousands took to
streets to mark the 84th anniversary of the founding of the republic on 29
October , while expressing their pride as citizens of the republic and
support for the government. 
In Ankara, the celebrations started with President Abdullah Gul and state
dignitaries laying a wreath in Ataturk's mausoleum, and then continued in
the Ataturk Cultural Center arena at the Hippodrome, where thousands rallied
amid heightened security. 
In a message issued ahead of the day, President Gul stressed on Sunday that
unity and integrity is the most important thing necessary to overcome
obstacles and to be stronger as a nation. "Just as we stood together as one
people in the War for Independence, we continue to struggle today to
overcome all obstacles in unity," said Gul. 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a separate message on Sunday, also
called for unity between Turks and Kurds and reiterated the government's
determination to fight northern Iraq-based PKK terrorists. The terrorist
organization of PKK is not the representatives of Turkish citizens of
Kurdish origin, he stressed. 
The premier vowed that Turkey will maintain the atmosphere of confidence and
stability, its unity and solidarity and the fundamental values of the
Republic.

(BB)

************************************************************************* 
7.  RADIOAFRICA.EU
*************************************************************************
Il Circolo Culturale Africa ha acquistato il sito internet Radioafrica.eu ed
ha iniziato ad organizzare la futura radio online dal nome
www.radioafrica.eu, la quale trasmetterà musica, notizie, interviste ed
esperienze sui temi caratteristici della nostra organizzazione. Dalla
prossima settimana iniziano i primi test, nella speranza di andare in onda
in forma ufficiale dall'inizio di dicembre. Qualora foste interessati,
inviateci una mail con oggetto: RADIOAFRICA.EU.

The CCA bought the www.radioafrica.eu's website and starting to organize our
future online radio called www.radioafrica.eu. The radio will broadcast
music, interviews, news and best practices concerning our organization's
main topics. Since next week will start the test and we hope to start
officially at the beginning of December. If you are interested please send
us a mail with ob: RADIOAFRICA.EU.  
*************************************************************************

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Novembre 13th 2007

For suggestions please contact: 

Circolo Culturale Africa
via San Spiridione, 5/a
60100 Ancona
Italia
Tel. +39/071/2072585
Email: segreteria at circoloafrica.org 

Web site: www.circoloafrica.eu

****************************************************************************

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