And in the news....

It's odd how something so common seems out of place.

I decided to indulge in a little afternoon luxury...a cup of tea and the newspaper.  The good type...made of paper and where the ink still stains your hands.  It was the cover story that intrigued me as the photo was taken at the hospital where I volunteer.  After reading the article about a local political leader who had been kidnapped an assaulted, I flipped pages looking, eager to find out what else had been happening in the "neighborhood".  I listed the highlights below...a stark reminder that my current "home" is much different...

"13 people killed by hippos".

It appears that in 2013, while attempting to earn a living fishing, thirteen unlucky young men were victims to Africa’s deadliest creature – the hippo.  The statistic itself is entirely believable as hippos are notoriously territorial and grumpy, the article expands to say that, just last week 3 more people succumbed in hippo attacks with a further 2 being severely injured.  I do believe that the article did use a tad of dramatic licence when stating that these individuals were "killed and devoured" by hippos as hippos tend to prefer grasses to human flesh but nonetheless, the point is solidified that whether it be in the crabbing in the Bearing Sea or perch fishing in Lake Victoria – fishing is a dangerous profession. 

Wildlife officer in trouble over two guns, flamingos”

It was a Good Samaritan that tipped off local police in the Singida region that a Wildlife Officer was in possession of 2 guns – a rifle and a shotgun.  A search of the man’s home revealed additional contraband in the form of 3 bullets and a dozen flamingos.  The man is now in prison.

“Police advise public to shun witchcraft beliefs”

Apparently when reviewing the homicides from 2013, police in the Mbeya region discovered that 10% of the killings were related to superstitious beliefs.   This seems like a small number considering that 56% of the murders were related to motorbike theft.  No further explanation into the rationale for the witchcraft killings was provided – apparently it was obvious to everyone reading the paper but me. 

“Two people reported dead, one killed by angry mob”

It looks like the Musoma region also elected to weigh in on their recent deaths.  The first, the headline grabber, was beaten to death after allegedly being caught stealing cassava from a local farm.

(Side note: 1. Cassava is a root that makes up a large part of the carbohydrate diet here.   2. It is very common for thieves to be beaten to death.). 

The second and apparently less interesting, bottom of the article death was a man gulped down by a crocodile. 

“Three found dead in Iringa”

Absolutely unrelated incidents but reported in the same article.  The first was a 25 year old woman found hanging – her husband is in custody.  The second is a 50 year old man who died after committing suicide by taking a poison named “Thonex” (I have no idea what this is and an internet search revealed it to be an area of Geneva Switzerland).  And the third, and my personal favourite, a woman aged 105 died when her home caught fire (NB. it’s not my favourite that the women burnt to death but that she managed to live to 105 and did not die of natural causes.  Just to clarify). 

It would behoove me to note that the paper did have other articles pertaining to elephant poaching, illegal immigrants, foreign trade and diplomatic relations.  There is also large sports section that seems devoted to soccer with a few random articles about rugby and, surprisingly, golf.   

Overall my impression is that the news in many areas has replaced the North American obituary pages.  This, if my mother is any indication, is what most people seem to read first and foremost anyway....