NOT MY RAGE.  by Toni Duruaku.

In looming streets I surge
A thunderous roar I bear
It’s not my way to be the guest
But so compelled by quakes and slides

So, not for me to turn the blame
As fire under sears my feet;
Not for me to turn the blame
For oft my feet are made to sear.

I’m all but worry for you
Giving life aplenty too.
For where I’m not you cannot dare.
I bear, I care, I rear for you.

Clear me clean for all the deeds
And cease to give me names
For earth in rage and malice steers me to land.

I’m not the one to blame.

Taken From: Water Testaments: Anthology of poems on water and water-related issues.
Edited by Greg Mbajiorgu.  (2008) ISBN 978-049-921-0
Africa Helps Haiti

The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced it is sending $2.5m (£1.5m) in emergency aid to Haiti, to help it cope with last week’s earthquake.

Some Congolese have criticised the offer. After years of conflict, which is still raging in the east, millions of people live in poverty.

The country depends on foreign aid and civil servants frequently go unpaid.

But Information Minister Lambert Mende told the BBC that DR Congo would contribute within its means.

“It’s a contradiction to see a country which is facing serious financial problems giving away $2.5m”

Academic Ntanda Nkere

Should Africa help Haiti?

“Congo isn’t bankrupt, our own problems shouldn’t prevent us from helping a brother country,” he said.

But political scientist Ntanda Nkere from the University of Kinshasa told the BBC:

“It’s a contradiction to see a country which is facing serious financial problems giving away $2.5m but at the same time, it’s a purely diplomatic reaction, the Congolese government wants to appear like any other government.”

On Sunday, Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade said he was offering free land to any Haitians who wanted to “return” to Africa.

Most of Haiti’s population are descended from slaves.

“The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin,” said Mr Wade’s spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye.

Responding to the Senegalese offer, Mr Mende said the government would certainly not reject any Haitians if they wanted to move to DR Congo.

The earthquake killed tens of thousands in Haiti, with many bodies still stuck in the remains of buildings.

Aid is slowly arriving but aid workers are struggling to distribute it to all those who need it.

Source; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/8466275.stm

Pray for Haiti and Donate Funds Now to the Clinton Foundation: http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org/

Photo: Cypress trees blow in the wind during a cloudy night in Nyeri, Kenya.