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Page 4
WORLD & NATION
Mar. i6, 2007
www.guilfordian.com
Greensboro. N.C.
Natural disasters rain
upon Indonesia
Sarah Blau | Staff Writer
Torrential rain. Spewing mud. Earth
quakes. Landslides. Drought. Bird flu. And
a wall of water four stories tall. Welcome to
Indonesia.
Over the past two and a half years, In
donesia has been victim to a multitude of
natural disasters. From non-stop flooding
to volcanic eruptions and even a freak mud
geyser, Indonesia is seemingly a magnet for
natural catastrophe.
Just two weeks ago, three-quarters of the
nation's capital city, Jakarta, were underwa
ter due to weeks of non-stop rain, according
to The New York Times. At least 80 people
are reported dead from either drowning or
electrocution.
On Feb. 17 and 18, eight people died and
six were missing when floods caused two
separate landslides, according to Reuters.
On May 29, a mud geyser erupted, send
ing mud %ing and causing the evacuation
of thousands from their homes. The mud
geyser or mud volcano continues to belch
forth between 7,000 and 150,000 cubic me
ters of mud every day since the eruption,
according to GSA Today, a journal of the
Geological Society of America.
"Tectonically they're where all the ac
tion is," said associate professor of geology
Dave Dobson. "Indonesia is on the edge of
a trench where the Pacific plates are under
neath the Australian plate, and whenever
that happens you'll see a bunch of earth
quakes, and you also get volcanoes."
In addition to being tectonically active,
Indonesia is climatologically active.
"That area is very sensitive to El Nino,"
said Dobson. "At different times in the El
Nino cycle you end up with a lot of extra
rain falling here, causing flooding. At other
parts of the El Nino cycle you end up with
all the rain that would fall here falling out
in the middle of the Pacific, and at that
point they have a bad drought."
Despite geological reasons for the di
sasters, some Indonesians wonder if the
increase in disastrous events recently may
be the result of supernatural powers. A few
speculate that the president, Susilo Barn-
bang Yudhoyono, has brought a curse to
their country.
"Since the day he took office there have
been unending disasters," said parliament
member Permadi to The New York Times.
This viewpoint presents an aspect of
mysticism that many Indonesians reflect.
The major religion of Indonesia is Islam.
However, Assistant Professor of Religious
Studies Eric Mortensen points out that Is
lamic mysticism is not prominent in Indo
nesia.
"It is not so much about Islamic mysti
cism as it is about the non-Islamic, or per
haps more accurately pre-Islamic, belief
systems continuing to thrive, particularly
in times of crisis," said Mortensen.
In response to the curse theory Dobson
said, "There are enough really obvious
geological and climatic reasons why these
things are happening."
But mystics like Permadi say that Yud
hoyono was bom under a bad sign, and na
ture is directing its anger for the president
towards the country.
"Empirical scientific explanations for
events comprise only one modality of
worldview," said Mortensen. "Scientific
explanations are no more 'tme' than oth
ers. What matters, really, in this case, is
that some Indonesians believe in possibili
ties and causalities outside of the scientific
frame. I think we must be careful to avoid
categorizing such beliefs as necessarily in
correct."
c-DiAtact the Vv'om.giA.'s Lacrosse teaiAi a
kgonzale@guilfoitl.edu
Nigeria considers
anti-homosexual bill
Brice Tarleton | Staff Writer
Homosexual sex between consenting
adults in Nigeria is currently a crime pun
ishable by 14 years in prison. Bayo Ojo, Ni
geria's minister of justice, recently proposed
a bill calling for five years of imprisonment
for any act supporting homosexuality.
"Same-sex relationships are charac
terized by unhealthy behavior including
instability, promiscuity and risky sexual
practices," said Friday Okonofua, Nigeria's
special adviser to the president, to the As
sociated Press. "That means effort to reduce
the consequences of same-sex marriage is
an important public health initiative."
The bill, if passed
groups have been submitted to the commit
tee conducting the public hearing, asking
that the proposed bill be withdrawn. Four
envoys from the United Nations have con
demned the bill as a violation of interna
tional human rights law.
"(The bill implies) serious consequences
for the exercise of the freedom of expres
sion and opinion. (It would) contravene the
Universal Declaration that 'all human be
ings are bom equal in dignity and rights,"'
the envoys said in a public statement, ac
cording to the BBC.
The United Nations have also issued
statements warning that the bill will pro
mote, rather than reduce, the spread of HIV
and AIDS, refuting
into law, will out
law membership in
a gay group, attend
ing a gay meeting
or protest, donating
money to a gay or
ganization, express
ing same-sex love
in letters or e-mail,
attending a same-
sex marriage or
blessing ceremony,
or viewing homo
sexual acts in vid
eos, photographs,
Web sites or books.
Same-sex marriage
licenses conferred in
other countries will
be invalidated, and
any contact whatso
ever between two or
more gay people will become illegal.
According to the BBC, the National
Muslim Center has decried homosexual
relationships as "immoral, (mnning) con
trary to our cultural and religious values."
The Christian Association of Nigeria also
calls for an accelerated passage of the bill
into law, describing same-sex unions as
"barbaric and shameful."
"Sociologists and historians in Nigeria
have access to the same information that we
do, which tells us that homosexuality has
existed since the birth of time," said Kathy
Tritschler, associate professor of sports
studies and teacher for "Human Sexual
ity," an interdisciplinary studies course. "It
is a mystery why the ruling electoral body
has reached a conclusion which says other
wise."
Over 100 petitions from human rights
“Same-sex relationships are char
acterized by unhealthy behavior
including instability, promiscuity,
and risky sexual practices ... That
means effort to reduce the conse
quences of same-sex marriage is
an important pubHc health
initiative.”
Friday Okonofua
Nigeria's special adviser to the president
Okonofua's procla
mations.
Dr. Pierre Mpele,
the U.N. AIDS
country coordina
tor in Nigeria, told
the BBC, "Failing
to acknowledge sex.
between men will
only increase the
vulnerability of men
— and women — to
HIV infection, since
men who caimot
talk about their sex
ual orientation are
less likely to seek
appropriate support
services."
Senior Ted
Wilkinson, vice
president of Guil
ford's PRIDE, said, "The worldwide homo
sexual community has a lot of work to do.
People need to recognize that this kind of
discrimination is not just in Africa, but ev
erywhere."
"In America, we pride ourselves as be
ing on the forefront of human-rights issues,
but the Supreme Court didn't lift the ban
on sodomy until 2003," said senior Kym
Teslik, president of Guilford's PRIDE. "The
quest for equality of the queer community
takes time, and there is still a lot of progress
to be made."
Though South Africa recently legalized
gay marriages, homosexuality continues to
be taboo across most of Africa. The bill is
relatively popular in Nigeria and political
experts expect it to be passed by both cham
bers of the Nigerian National Assembly by
the end of March.
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