A few hours after my interview on Teresa Tomeo’s EWTN Radio show-Catholic Connection, there was a deluge of positive response from listeners , but amidst the cheering, Teresa received an anonymous email that was dripping with resentment towards me and towards Teresa as well.
She forwarded the email to me and I decided to respond directly to the anonymous sender .
So I sat down to write a brief response which I sent to the sender’s email address.
So far , I have not yet received a reply but I thought I should share both the “hate mail” and my response on this blog , with the hope to reach not just Teresa’s angry listener, but also many like-minded people who are in support of the world-wide contraception campaign.
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So here is the anonymous hate mail sent to my friend Teresa Tomeo , as well as my response to it , which I hope will be heard and shared by many …
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2013 10:02 AM
Subject: Contraception
If your friend from Africa is opposed to birth control, she doesn’t have to use it.< It’s none of her business, or yours for that matter, if non-catholics in Africa or anywhere else use it.
Your approach is one of extremism and fanaticism, which I find disturbing at best.
COLAfrica responds:
Date: 6 August 2013 21:48:54 BST
Subject: Contraceptives in Africa
Dear Anonymous,
Many thanks for your candour in stating your opposition to my efforts to dissuade the wealthy western pro-contraception philanthropists who are single-mindedly spreading various forms of artificial contraception among my people.
I noticed that as a way of expressing your displeasure , you have described me as “extremist” for speaking up against the sterilisation of my people.
All I can say in my own defence is that my views are far from extremist. They are the views and values of the typical African mindset given that I was born , raised and trained in Subsaharan Africa .
I worked in a major hospital in my country long enough to see first-hand the detriment of wide-scale government or donor-sponsored contraception programs in Africa. There is something wicked in dumping Group-1 carcinogens in a part of the world where cancer is still a death-sentence . There is something inconsiderate and even imperialistic in forcing the western worldview on Africans.
No , I am not extremist for objecting to the toxic effects of contraception on my people.
Before , I go any further, I would like to say that I found your email to be ambiguous at best , with no substantial reasons for your opinion . And I wish it was not anonymous because , it limits my ability to meet you where you are so as to answer you in the most appropriate tone and from the perspective that is most suitable for you . For instance , I don’t know if you are male or female . I don’t know if you are African or American. I don’t know if you even have any experience or knowledge of the intricate balance and dynamics within the average African society.
In any case I will try to explain to you why the extensive and expensive contraception projects (like Melinda Gate’s) are a real set-back to authentic development in Africa.
Melinda Gates and other major proponents of the contraception-culture are spreading the notion and giving the impression that contraceptive drugs and devices are the most needed and most scarce products in Africa. They have even coined a sharp and piercing term with which to engrave their message on the hearts and minds of people-the “unmet need”.
So now, many people around the developed world have been convinced that the unmet need of the African woman is contraception, not education , not food nor water , but contraception.
The so called “unmet need” is simply a misrepresentation upon which the pro-contraception enthusiasts have built their castle.
There is a constant flow of contraceptives in Africa.
Because in reality , the cheapest products in our African pharmacy stores today are contraceptive drugs and devices (condoms, etc.). It is even cheaper for a woman to get contraceptives for herself than for her to buy life-saving antibiotics for her child.
Why?
Because, contraceptives have been heavily subsidised by the big international aid organisations and pharmaceutical companies as can be seen in this New York Times article
And as they continue to subsidise contraceptives , the price of basic life-saving medicines continues to increase out of reach of the poor because any humanitarian funds or subsidies placed on contraception is funds not used for authentic development projects.
It is indeed a tragedy that there are many rural villages in different parts of Africa where contraceptives and condoms are being blindly distributed by wealthy western donors , while the villagers lack access to clean water or good roads.
Today, in Abuja (the capital of my country), Marie Stopes International (prominent abortion provider founded in the UK) have their family planning clinic located on the busiest street of the city. It is situated right in front of a major market (the most central one actually). A market which is a magnet for women, and tens of thousands of women stop by every week seeking everything from food to fashion. In their location the MSI are even more accessible than the District Hospital.
Their family planning staff are very well paid, their banners are the biggest and their services the cheapest. And they continue to campaign in order to increase the demand for contraception in Abuja.
As for International Planned Parenthood Federation, in their own words, they provided 15.9 million contraceptive services in subsaharan Africa in 2011 alone. And in that same year, they distributed 40.9 million condoms and provided 13 million sexual and reproductive health services to young people. (Please note that these are their own figures from their own website).
The USAID budgeted for Family Planning & Reproductive Services (in 2012) a total sum of $524 million. This was more than their budgets for tuberculosis, public health threats, pandemic influenza, vulnerable children, and nutrition combined. This is the new and disturbing trajectory of humanitarian aid to Africa.
The list of the big contraceptive-based projects is endless and the funds being sucked into them is astronomical.
This is why it is so hard to believe that on top of all this inundation, billions of dollars is still being raised and channelled to provide more implants, injectables, pills and patches, while our classrooms are crumbling and our children are malnourished.
Dear Anonymous , instead of calling me and my friend , Teresa Tomeo “extremists” for trying to raise awareness to the undeniable emergence and systematic propagation of this insidious decadent culture, I believe you will do well to throw that title at the real extremists in our world today who have set their sights upon Africa . For they are the ones trying to drown out the faith and family-oriented values of the African people. They are the ones who are trying to trigger a sexual revolution in Africa. They are the ones who would rather provide the extensive sterilisation programs for the poor rather than the extensive education programs that will engender their growth and development. They are the ones who are pressuring, pushing and prodding our African leaders to enact anti-life and anti-family laws . They are the ones who have set out to reconstruct our African society in conformity to their own design . They are the extremists and they are wielding all the extreme wealth within their reach to achieve their extreme goals.
I sincerely hope that you would step away from any deep-seated western ideology that you may have so that you can see more clearly that what Africa needs at this time is not a sexual-revolution (which has not worked well in the Western world), rather what we need is authentic and sustainable development within the social and cultural frame work of our faith and family-oriented values.
Many thanks for allowing me to explain this. I would be glad to answer any further questions that you may have ,as long as you would not remain anonymous and also as long as your subsequent correspondence is devoid of insults.
Regards,
UJU
Founder & President.
Culture of Life Africa;
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