Author
Stephen Lewis, the author of Race Against Time, is a renowned man who has dedicated his life to improve mankind. He has performed many important roles throughout the course of his life such as politician, diplomat, United Nation’s Secretary-General’s envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and humanitarian. Due to his passionate efforts to fight for the rights and needs of women and children and due to his many accomplishments in his various positions, Lewis was awarded with the title of Canadian of the Year in 2003, and was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005.
The following are excerpts from Stephen Lewis's journal:
July, 2003.
I just visited Uganda, and on my travels, I met one particular family who had a profound impact on me. The oldest sibling was 14, and she was the head of the household. She was responsible for her 2 sisters, ages 12 and 10, and her 2 brothers, ages 11 and 8. She had a tremendous load on her shoulders. Can you imagine a 14 year old who had to cook, clean, put everyone to bed, and who had never experienced an act of mothering? In Canada, 14 year olds are too busy on MSN, and Facebook
, and have no conception of any hardships. It is so unfair to see the huge discrepancy between the standard of life in Canada and Africa. But it all boils down to where you are born. If this 14-year old teen was born in a G8 country, her life would be entirely different. This 14-year old “mother figure” is also continually surrounded by death, including the traumatizing death of her own parents. There exists in her eyes a profound despair. It is our human responsibility
to give children all around the world, irregardless of what continent they live on, new hope for the future.
We are far too rich, and they are far too poor. We desperately need a compromise so that there would be enough for everybody. If we can clear the world of greed, only then can we achieve the perfect balance.
Feburary, 2006.
I have returned from a meeting with the King of Swaziland. We talked in private, where I unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him about his unacceptable behaviour. He is a king who practices polygamy and travels across Swaziland in extravagant automobiles. Meanwhile, his country has a highest prevalence rate in the world and more and more citizens are dying. Yet, no one has uttered a word! What gives us the right to speak out about African countries and leave out Swaziland? There is no excuse. And amongst our silence, there is hypocrisy. No one has bothered to point out that polygamy spreads the deadly virus of HIV and AIDs, which we are trying to prevent; early marriage goes against UN conventions that were actually ratified by Swaziland; and luxurious cars are definitely redundant in a powerless and dying country. Both the unacceptable behaviours of the King of Swaziland and the United Nations have infuriated me. This silence is slowly disintegrating the country and I cannot emphasize more that action needs to be taken now. It goes for the entire continent of Africa.
