Community News
Community News, Events, Calls to Action
For far too long news outlets, television program directors and politicians have had open season on disrepecting or spreading misinformation about Diasporic Traditions, mainly because there was no way to sperad the information about such things to the wider community. That changes now...
Bird Flu Case in Benin
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article
H5N1 bird flu hits Benin, home of Voodoo ritual
Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:58am EST
By Samuel Elijah
COTONOU (Reuters) - Benin, the home of ritual Voodoo sacrifice,
became the latest in a string of West African states to report cases
of H5N1 bird flu after laboratory tests confirmed the deadly virus on
two poultry farms.
Agriculture Minister Robert Dovonou said in a statement late on
Sunday test results from a laboratory in Italy confirmed the H5N1
virus in cases discovered this month north of the capital Porto Novo
and on a farm in the commercial capital Cotonou.
Benin's immediate neighbors, Nigeria, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso,
have all reported H5N1 cases. Other regional states hit include
Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.
Eastern neighbor Nigeria is one of the regional nations worst
affected by bird flu. It reported sub-Saharan Africa's first
confirmed human death from the disease early this year.
Health experts have said they fear Benin's Voodoo priests could be
particularly at risk because of their practice of tearing out the
throats of live chickens in ritual sacrifices.
Voodoo "convents" are found across Benin and the ancient religion was
also carried to the Caribbean, especially Haiti, by slaves shipped to
the Americas by European captains and traders.
Benin first announced its suspected bird flu cases on December 7.
Health Ministry officials said several hundred birds were slaughtered
as a precautionary measure in a 5-km (3-mile) radius around the two
separate locations. All farms in a 15-km (3-mile) radius were also
disinfected.
The import of poultry into the former French colony on the Gulf of
Guinea was banned and restrictions were imposed on the movement of
birds between farms.
"The tests carried out on samples sent last week to Italy have shown
positive ... The two suspect locations are indeed infected by the
group A and type H5N1 flu virus," Dovonou said.
H5N1 bird flu has killed more than 200 people around the world,
mainly in Asia, since the disease re-emerged in Hong Kong in 2003,
according to the World Health Organization.
So far, most human cases can be traced to direct or indirect contact
with infected birds and hundreds of millions of birds have died or
been culled.
Outbreaks in Africa have raised alarm bells because epidemiologists
fear the continent's widespread poverty, lack of proper veterinary
and medical facilities and huge informal farming sector could allow
outbreaks to go unnoticed for longer, increasing the risk of the
virus mutating.
(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
http://www.reuters.com/article
H5N1 bird flu hits Benin, home of Voodoo ritual
Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:58am EST
By Samuel Elijah
COTONOU (Reuters) - Benin, the home of ritual Voodoo sacrifice,
became the latest in a string of West African states to report cases
of H5N1 bird flu after laboratory tests confirmed the deadly virus on
two poultry farms.
Agriculture Minister Robert Dovonou said in a statement late on
Sunday test results from a laboratory in Italy confirmed the H5N1
virus in cases discovered this month north of the capital Porto Novo
and on a farm in the commercial capital Cotonou.
Benin's immediate neighbors, Nigeria, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso,
have all reported H5N1 cases. Other regional states hit include
Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.
Eastern neighbor Nigeria is one of the regional nations worst
affected by bird flu. It reported sub-Saharan Africa's first
confirmed human death from the disease early this year.
Health experts have said they fear Benin's Voodoo priests could be
particularly at risk because of their practice of tearing out the
throats of live chickens in ritual sacrifices.
Voodoo "convents" are found across Benin and the ancient religion was
also carried to the Caribbean, especially Haiti, by slaves shipped to
the Americas by European captains and traders.
Benin first announced its suspected bird flu cases on December 7.
Health Ministry officials said several hundred birds were slaughtered
as a precautionary measure in a 5-km (3-mile) radius around the two
separate locations. All farms in a 15-km (3-mile) radius were also
disinfected.
The import of poultry into the former French colony on the Gulf of
Guinea was banned and restrictions were imposed on the movement of
birds between farms.
"The tests carried out on samples sent last week to Italy have shown
positive ... The two suspect locations are indeed infected by the
group A and type H5N1 flu virus," Dovonou said.
H5N1 bird flu has killed more than 200 people around the world,
mainly in Asia, since the disease re-emerged in Hong Kong in 2003,
according to the World Health Organization.
So far, most human cases can be traced to direct or indirect contact
with infected birds and hundreds of millions of birds have died or
been culled.
Outbreaks in Africa have raised alarm bells because epidemiologists
fear the continent's widespread poverty, lack of proper veterinary
and medical facilities and huge informal farming sector could allow
outbreaks to go unnoticed for longer, increasing the risk of the
virus mutating.
(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Disrespectful News Story- A call to action from Eleda.org
This was sent to me via the eleda.org group. Please take the time to read and watch the story before you unleash a verbal lashing on the reporter. I found it to be condescending to say the least. It is stories like this that perpetuate the notion that the Orisha/Lwa are genies in pots waiting to do our bidding. The onus is on us to be taken seriously, not to give into these cheesy requests by desperate news directors.
http://cbs4.com/sports/Voodoo
The author is Jim DeFede, his contact information is (305) 639-4500 x 4106
Below is the original message from the Yahoo group.
Willie,
Please forward this message, as people need to voice their complaints
to this individual.
For anyone wishing to voice their complaint to Jim De Fede, here is
his contact number: 305 -639 -4500 x 4106. Mr. De Fede is the sports
person who made that disgraceful sports feature report regarding
ceremonies being done by sisters, who are Voduoun priestesses,so that
the Miami Dolphins might win. His tone was condescending, and he was
mocking the ceremony and the power of the ritual.
Sports figures have often been shown to seek blessings and masses
from the Roman Catholic Church. Fighters make the sign of the cross
before a fight and baseball players do the same before a game or the
World Series. Why then have their religious practices not been
subjected to the same condescension? As a community who practices an
African heritage based religion, our discontent should be heard. The
media needs to practice more religious and diversity tolerance. Jim
De Fede owes the Haitian community an apology. Let our voices be
heard, so we can be reckoned with as a United Religious front with
dignity!
Kathryn Forestal,Chicagol
Olorisha of Yemonja
--- In Eleda-org@yahoogroups.com, "Miguel Willie Ramos" <ilari@...>
wrote:
Hello.
I think many of you would be offended by the story on CBS4 for
which I
am providing a link. The story is offensive to practitioners of
Vodou as well as to olorishas, based on a final commentary by the anchor.
Maybe we should write them a brief commentary and let them know our
position.