We will help you get your mom off drugs!

My mother in law was a prison guard and had an affiar with an inmate. She is planning to live with his parents until he gets out of prison in a year. She dropped this news on us at my daughter’s 1st birthday party. She lets her drug addicted daughter crash at her house and has found drug needles in her home. Am i wrong for keeping my daughter away from her. It is really taking a toll on my marriage. My hubby is a mama’s boy! The lifestyles are just too different! There is always drama in her life and it really brings everyone around her down. I love my other in-laws, she just gets under my skin every chance she gets!! I am truly concerned about the effect her life will have on my kids. She has not seen my 1 yr old in 2mths because she will not call ahead of time because she feels like i am making her make an appointment if i ask her to give me some notice before visiting. (Hello, maybe sometimes I try to sneak a few private moments with my hubby when the kiddos are asleep!) HELP!

I am in Tennessee and have hired an attorney. The courts have signed some kind of document stating I have temporary custody until she can prove herself not to be addicted to crack. They can not find her to serve the papers, she is homeless and doesnt have a job. She is threatening to leave the state with my daughter and her other 16 year old daughter who is preganet. It is my weekend to get my daughter but my ex wife wont answer her cell phone. My ex wifes parents are concerned that my daughter will be hurt or molested in the enviroment she is in and the 16 year olds father lives in Arizona and hasnt been able to talk to his daughter for 3 weeks so he doesnt know if she is even ok. The courts will do nothing for me because they cannot find my ex wife. What can I do?

Assyrian from Kazakhstan – 02, 2008

Sharon Harris’ mom was a drug addict. Sharon started using drugs herself at age 10. She was raped and had a baby at 12, then another baby at 14. Sharon became a Christian when her sister called and explained the love of Christ. She had nowhere to turn so she accepted Christ… The Christian Broadcasting Network CBN www.cbn.com

Dad told son to ‘be a man’ – Mom was a heroin addict – Son hated drugs because of Mom’s drug addiction.

Dad told son to ‘be a man’ – Mom was a heroin addict – Son hated drugs because of Mom’s drug addiction.

mymommymanual.com An inspiring story of courage and strength, of what is possible with empowering education and support. This video is on a program in St. Louis helping women give up their drug addicitons. These women are pregnant and have made a choice. They have chosen wanting to mother their children over their addicitons, and with support are getting clean and learning the skills they will use both in childbirth and in parenting.

A day of truths! Lisa believes her ex-husband Donzell is an unfit father who served alcohol to their 8 year old son. Donzell however not only denies serving the boy alcohol, he also questions whether hes really the father of Lisas other child. Both truths will be revealed when the lie detector is administered and a DNA test is taken, and the truth could be more shocking than the allegations.

Ishmael Beah’s Memoirs of Sierra Leone War

– A Long Way From The Truth

By Muctaru Wurie

He may be well known in the western world for a book that portrayed the ruthless war in Sierra Leone from the view of a child soldier, but Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, is known very little here at home.

Before I write this piece I did a random check of university scholars and literature students and journalists across the country, only two people acknowledged they have read his work. Many said they have read about it in reviews in the western media, but have not actually seen the book, let alone read it. Quite a handful said they have not even heard about Ishmael or his work at all.

When you look at the impact of this book, which did not only received rave reviews from New York Times, Washington Post to The Guardian UK and many other mainstream western media, but also reportedly grossed millions of dollars and drew a lot notice. It is ironical that Sierra Leone, a country that has very vibrant media and universities which have a predisposition for literature misses out on this.

The book also catapulted Ishmael to prominence and he has spoken at the UN and according to Wikipedia he has met with leaders including Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela.

Beah currently works for the Human Rights Watch Children’s Division Advisory Committee, he has served as the keynote speaker for several events, including the Global Young Leaders Conference 2007 (July 15-26 session), Oberlin College’s 175th convocation ceremony.

Review

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, brings a tragic reminder of what happened in a peaceful and relatively orderly society which Sierra Leone was.

The story started ominously with what was the case then, refugees running away from danger for their safety and passing through towns and villages, they come with harrowing stories, some of which many at the time found difficult to believe.

But like the majority of Sierra Leonean, the bestial veracity of the war was never far away from the doorstep. And for many, the madness and brutality of the war reached their towns and villages with little or no notice. This was exactly the case for Ishmael, his brother and a friend who left their village for Mattru Jong to participate in a talent show. They left never to return as their village was attacked and their whole area plunged into chaos by marauding rebels who knew no language but that of pandemonium and destruction.

Ishmael and co made a futile attempt to return back to their family, it was clear they were not going to reach their village as many were already running away from there with horrible account and in the end they were forced to make a u-turn.

Since then Ishmael and other groups of boys were desperately wandering aimlessly in search of safety, many were afraid of them as they pass from village to village they were shunned, detained and intimidated by many who thought they were rebels.

Every aspect of life turned upside down, children who were warmly welcome before the war became an object of fear and misgiving as many were used to wreck havoc and do atrocious things. A society that once loves kids suddenly turned into one that fears any unknown kid.

The book which is written in a free flow commanding, heartbreaking and even enchanting way does not only contain the horrors of a war in Ishmael’s native land, it also exhibited another side of Sierra Leone; the Mende story telling culture and Ishmael and indeed many other kids in Sierra Leone at the time love of hip hop rap and Jamaican reggae music.

But for Ishmael and many others it was reality check, they were in the midst of the war. It seems as if it was the end of the world for Ishmael after he was captured by rebels who almost got him summarily executed. As they were about to coerced Ishmael’s friends to kill him and others, the rebels were attacked, that created an escape opportunity for Ishmael and others.

Like the majority of people caught in the war in Sierra Leone; Ishmael was emotionally unsettled with a bleak vision of not knowing actually when or where their misery was going to end. Because they were moving through forests and bypasses clinging on hope which sometimes look very implausible as the war was escalating and it impact being felt far and wide.

Their ordeal was not helped when Ishmael’s friend, Saidu who was wandering with them died. Saidu was apparently overwhelmed after undergoing the miserable ordeal of having seen from a roof hideout whilst rebels raped his three sisters over and over right in front of their mother and father, the latter who was hit by the rebels as he tried to stop them. Saidu’s (who had kept quiet in most of their journey) death came as a shock to Ishmael and his friends.

Unfortunately for Ishmael and his friends as they were about to make a reunion with their family whom they had not seen for months, the reunion was abruptly altered by a staccato outburst of gunfire which signalled a rebel attack in the village in which Ishmael was been guided by a former neighbour whom they accidentally tripled upon to meet his family. His family had been living there, and his elder brother had even gone out fruitlessly to look for him. It was never to be, the whole village was slaughtered by rebels who later boasted that no one survived their surprise assault there.

Despair was briefly replaced by a brief sense of hope at the town of Yele where Ishmael like many other orphan children found refuge. Suddenly Ishmael was thrusted into the war. Unlike many other children in Sierra Leone, Ishmael was not recruited by the RUF rebels. Had he, his story could have been much worse. He was recruited by the Sierra Leone army in Yele, because after coming under an all out siege and losing many of his men, Army commander, Lieutenant Jabati had no option but to mobilise civilian men and boys to defend the town. With a charismatic speech aided by the bodies of a man and his son killed by rebels after they tried to escape, Ishmael and other boys were inspired to fight alongside the Army.

Ishmael story during his time as a child soldier in the book was synonymous to many others, drug infatuation, killing, mass pillage and arson was the order of the day. Positively for Ishmael his romance for bloodshed and drugs was suddenly interrupted by the intervention of UNICEF who rescued him and 14 others from their squadron. This was treachery to Ishmael who saw his commander as a betrayer for handing him over to civilians. He planned escape back to the warfront, but was prevented from doing so by the many checkpoints along the way to Freetown.

Upon arrival in Freetown, another war took place in the war children’s home that they were brought; there was a confrontation between the RUF children and Ishmael’s group from the Army that leads to six deaths and injuries.

As a result of this they were separated and taken to Approved School, Kissy.

Ishmael underwent a painstaking rehabilitation process with the help of workers at the Home in Kissy, and particularly Nurse Esther who personally aided his psychotherapy by continually showing compassion, handing gifts to him and assuring him it was not his faults and all would be well.

As luck may have it, Ishmael came into contact with his uncle and for a very long time in his life, he had an opportunity to have a feeling that after all he had undergone, he has a family. At last someone referred to him as a son, he had the dejavu of experiencing a family as he settled with his uncle’s poor but very loving family.

Further blessing was to come for Ishmael; to his uncle disbelief he had a relishing experience in New York City where he was afforded the opportunity to attend a UN conference on children issues.

That experience was to be the catalyst for a benignant escape from war torn Freetown. After he returned back, thereafter, there was a devastating setback for Ishmael; there was a coup that turned everything upside down. There was a bloody standoff in Freetown as anarchy descended; this forced Ishmael to look elsewhere as he lost his very loving uncle who died in the midst of the mayhem in natural circumstance. He was already saving money that was being sent to him by Laura Simms (A woman he had met in New York) – with the aid of that money Ishmael fled to Guinea where he was able to return back to New York.

Shortcomings of a Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

When one who has a true sense of the war in Sierra Leone looks at A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, the story of Ishmael’s experience as a child combatant is not strange neither too horrible by the standards of what happened here during the war. There are stories worst than his (See the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, TRC Report, go to www.trcsierraleone.org); truth is that kids who fought with the RUF have a more barbaric story to tell. From the way his war experience was told, it could have been genuinely coming from a child combatant. I say this because most of the interest in the book stemmed from Ishmael’s experience as a boy who lost his family, hooked up with friends to find safety and ended up fighting and expediting terror as child.

Ishmael’s Claims of Being Forcefully Conscripted by the Military

As long as you were in the war zones in the provinces there was a great chance that you would be captured by one of the fighting forces and conscripted. I see no problem with Ishmael’s account of his fighting description and the horror he witnessed (even if you don’t, it would be very hard to counter). But his claim that he was conscripted after Yele was heavily besieged by the national army together with some other kids in the town has been ruled out as a forged by some military people, TRC people and observers on the ground. A military officer (prefers to be anonymous because he is still in the army and not permitted to talk) who was deployed around the Yele area from 94-96 period, said it was very odd for the army during those period to make organised recruitment of children under their command post as was described by Ishmael in his book. “No matter how besieged we were, we would prefer to do a tactical withdrawal or call for reinforcement or back-up from nearby regiments. It was something that was seen as very dangerous to do at the time for various reasons,” he said. Also, Lieutenant Jabati (Commander at Yele who conscripted Ishmael and other children) described in the book is not known to him. “I still remember my former army officer colleagues even those that are dead or retired from the military now.” The information that offensively upset the officer was that of Ishmael’s assertion that; “We also attacked civilian villages to capture recruits and whatever else we could find.” Reacting to that, the military officer said, “That is the most terrible accusation I have heard about the role of the army in the war. I will tell you that the army never attacked civilian villages to capture recruits. Go to the provinces now and ask people who witnessed the war, they will tell you that we did this and that but we never captured civilians for recruitments purpose. We use to capture rebel suspect or informants and send them to Freetown for interrogation, but to say we coercively conscript civilians and kids openly in front of other members of the community just to defend a town is ridiculous. It makes me think this boy (Ishmael) has another agenda,” said the officer. He however acknowledged that it was after 1996 that he started seeing some signs of child combatants fighting alongside the military, which was eventually exacerbated as the military temporarily fused with the RUF and later Civil Defence Forces (made up of Kamajors, Kapras, etc), two forces that used a lot of child fighters during the war. However, Mamud Mansaray, a business man who was risking his life during the war by selling goods across villages in the south of Sierra Leone said that the army sometimes attack villages but that was mainly for looting when they sometimes ran out of food supplies, on the contrary he said he’s never witnessed or heard of reports of the army attacking villages to capture civilian recruits. “That was very strange then; it was after the Johnny Paul coup that we started seeing the national army fighting alongside children or men in civilian outfits,” said Mamud, who was captured several times and accused by the army and Kamajors of selling goods to rebels and acting as an informant for them.

Another soldier, Patrick Mambu, now retired said he wished Ishmael would have been precise on his date as he was stationed in Yele around that period twice when it came under sustained attack from rebels. “There were refugees in the town from elsewhere, but we never thought of recruiting children to fight alongside us at that time. The other important thing was that most of the refugees that passed by don’t stay for long, many prefer to move ahead, I’m surprised to hear children were recruited at Yele around that time, also, the thing that would make it very hard for us to recruit children and others indiscriminately is that weapons were not even enough for us. If you can recall during the war you would be aware that there was shortage of weapons, so how could we just go out and recruit people like that? What would they fight with? Any claim that we openly conscript children at Yele just to defend the town is a complete trash,” said Patrick.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about Ishmael’s claims came from Alhaji Samura, who was a transcriber for the TRC, “I have read reviews of A Long Way Gone, and from what I see it appears as if the whole book is a fictional. “I don’t recall a time when anybody gave a testimony that they saw the national army recruiting children openly in a town to fight alongside them before 1997, there were plenty of instances relating to organised and mass child recruitment involving the RUF, Kamajors, Kapras and others but definitely not the military, there were obviously some serious accusation against the military but not that one,” said Alhaji.

Another former TRC staff, Emmanuel Koivaya Amara, who was a TRC Researcher, said that at the beginning of the war the military was caught by surprise, so there was what he referred to as ‘indiscriminate recruiting’ nationwide. But he said these were done in a structured manner and there was no record of a deliberate forceful recruitment before 1997. “All of the recruitments were done voluntarily in huge numbers, and a lot of unemployed youths turned out, but there was not an instance of a deliberate attempt by the military to attack villages deliberately to capture recruits or forcefully conscript people under their command posts,” said Emmanuel.

Confusion with Dates

There is definitely a problem with the dates on the book; there is a big misgiving about Ishmael’s assertion that his troubles started in 1993 when his village and surrounding areas was attacked and plunged into chaos by rebels. Mohamed Koroma who was living at Mattru Jong but left after 1995 with his father said that there were intermittent attacks by rebels in that area from 1993 upwards, but was very doubtful that there was any mass movement of people from that area in 1993. “More so, attacks by 1993 were very rare and not always successful. Even if someone whose village was attacked around that time got displaced. I don’t think they would have moved up to Yele, because there was no need for that when other main areas were safe. It was in 1995 that we saw real mayhem around that area which even forced thousands others and my father who was a businessman to run away for our lives,” said Mohamed.

Although this can be seen as a big miscalculation on the part of Ishmael, I wouldn’t want to delve into that too much because I can recall that as a boy myself growing up during the heat of the war, there were times in which I don’t even bother to know the dates. Because there was no schooling at some time, and the main concern then was life and death, that said, Ishmael should at least know when the whole chaos erupted because he was going to school then. And the time gap of two years exposed Ishmael and raised serious doubt about his account. There is another part that that exposes Ishmael’s date problem in his account, since he was already in Freetown where it was easier to know how time passes; I expect there would be no excuse on this. Ishmael said soon after he witnessed the student demonstration that gunshots continued constantly in the city for the next five months. And according to his account he left for Guinea on October 31st, whereas the actual student demo took place on 17th August. So if his five month assertion was anything to go by, he left January.

Another statement that showed Ishmael inaccuracy with time is that of his statement which he claimed that he saw a dead rebel boy wearing a Tupac Shakur t-shirt with the “All eyes on me” inscription on it. As a youth growing up in those days with Tupac obsession I knew that those Tupac t-shirts which were particularly popular with RUF rebels hadn’t hit the stalls yet by the time Ishmael mentioned that incident because Ishmael himself said that he left for Freetown January 1996 which means that he saw that Tupac t-shirt before it reached Sierra Leone. Med Bangs, a garments seller at Victoria Park told me that those Tupac “All eyes on me” t-shirt actually came to Sierra Leone mid 1996, “People use to come from the provinces and purchase a lot of these t-shirts from us, which made them very expensive at the time. But it was later that we discovered that RUF rebels particularly cherished the Tupac t-shirts, they were never in the market in Sierra Leone around January 1996, I would challenge anybody who says those t-shirts were here by even January 1996,” said Med Bangs. Another man, Kashoe, who is still called Tupac by some of his old friends because of his love for the rapper said that he was an ardent follower of Tupac. “I use to save all my money then just to buy Tupac’s latest cassettes, t-shirts and even his favourite bandanas. And I can tell you that All Eyez on Me album was released on February 1996, I still have the magazine and a complete Tupac biography. And for the All Eyes on Me t-shirt they came to Sierra Leone around June 1996, I was one of the first to get one and I would never forgot that I bought one for Le 15, 000. It was a huge pride to put on one by then,” said a smiling Kashoe.

View of Freetown After the May 25 Coup

Ishmael also painted a very wide of the mark scene in Freetown in the aftermath of the May 25 coup; he created a far more chaotic condition in Freetown that wasn’t actually the case, as he writes: “For the first three weeks people were so afraid that they didn’t dare leave their houses.” This was a clear amplification, the coup happened on Sunday and me along with my brother and thousands of other Freetownians went to the centre of town the next day to survey the ruins of the treasury building in the centre of town and a partially burnt Bank of Sierra Leone top floor. Andrew Fatoma who was an O’level student taking his exams then said he’s shocked by that claims; “I was taking my exams then, I use to leave all the way from Kissy to Kingtom to take my papers, it was the Monday, June 2, 1997 fighting incident at Mammy Yoko Hotel that forced the authorities to cancel our exams. Even then we use to go out and take strolls,” said Andrew.

The Corporal Gborie Coup Announcement

At the early hours of Sunday 25th May, it was the crooked and disjointed blend of Krio and English voice that we heard of the late Corporal Tamba Gborie, a junior army recruit that announced the coup, but Ishmael stated in his book that it was Johnny Paul Koroma who came on air and announced that Tejan Kabbah had been overthrown, Ishmael points out that Johnny Paul’s English was as bad as the reasons he gave for the coup, clearly everyone who was here at that time knew that what has been referred to as the most embarrassing coup broadcast of all time was delivered by the late Corporal Gborie, who was later convicted of treason and shot by firing squad. Sheik Daud Fofanah, a reporter for Kalleone Radio, who has actually read the book, said he is shocked at the way Ishmael wrote his story. “The whole book is a false make-up, look at this one, it was Gborie that announced the coup, but Ishmael claimed it was Johnny Paul. I really don’t know where he got his tales from,” said Sheik.

Freetown’s Secret Food Market

Ishmael also painted a situation as if food was not available and extremely inadequate, yes there was scarcity but not like the one he presented indicating there was a secret market where food was sold to civilians secretly for fear of armed men interrupting the sales in broad-day light. Mabinty Koroma, a trader who used to sell goods for some Indians during the ‘Revo’ period says; “Prices went up, and some shops were closed during that period, but it was not that dire and chaotic. There were also incidents when armed men would sometimes harass us for money but they never robbed us in broad day light or create pandemonium whilst we sell our goods” said Mabinty.

Also there were instances when civilians were attacked, murdered or robbed at night. But broad daylight instances of such incidence were not so prevalent. Infact there were even marriages and other social events during what was referred to as the ‘Revo’ (period covering the May 25, 1997 coup to the liberation of Freetown on February 1998). That said, the city was not safe, and many don’t venture too far away from their homes, and those who did, make sure they returned before dark.

Five Months Non-stop Firing

In Chapter 21, page 204, Ishmael presented a case where armed men ran after and fired at a crowd of people in broad daylight. In page 206, he writes, “In the morning, families (In Freetown) sat on their verandas and held their children close, staring at the city streets where gunmen roamed in groups, looting, raping, and killing people at will… Sometimes during the day there were several plumes of smoke rising from houses that had been set on fire by gunmen.” This scene is more fitted for January 6 1999, not for the period under which the much loathed AFRC/RUF regime were trying to convince a resolute public that they had brought ‘peace’ and they were ‘fit to rule’. Also contrary to what Ishmael pointed out, gunshots never continued constantly in Freetown for the next five months after the student demo. There was a lull that halted during the October ship bombing incident in which many believed that the rebels went up the mountain and rained rockets down the city on the pretext that it was ECOMOG’s missile attempt to stop one sanction-breaking ship from violating the UN embargo that was passed on the Junta. The other major firing incident before the liberation of the city on February 1998 was when a military plane secretly scaled the city’s airspace one night. “That was the most ferocious non stop firing incident in the city many witnessed as we fired from all angle in Freetown towards the air, many civilians were caught by stray bullets that night, I emptied over fifteen case of bullets that night,” recalled Mark, a.k.a. Makanaky who was then a child combatant with the RUF but now runs a poda-poda (mini bus) as a driver in Freetown.

Family Slaughter at New England Ville

Also, there are other incidents presented in the book that never happened. Ishmael correctly mentioned in his book several times the dominance of the BBC as a reliable news channel Sierra Leoneans trusted. Apart from the BBC African Service which comprehensively covered Sierra Leone during the heat of the war, there was a pluralistic and vibrant print media in the country that covered variety of event from different angles and interests. There were certain events that would never go unreported, especially those that happened in Freetown (Even during the ‘Revo’, most newspapers boldly and defiantly continue to publish). Furthermore the boisterous underground Radio Democracy, FM 98.1 which was being fed by mainly journalists in the country gave daily update about events across the country, especially the ones that showed the mass defiance on the part of the majority of Sierra Leoneans to accept the AFRC/RUF regime of Major Johnny Paul Koroma. So therefore one incident mentioned by Ishmael that never happened was this: “One evening, a neighbour who lived a few doors down my uncle’s house (At New England Ville, Freetown) was listening to a pirate radio station that accused the new government of committing crimes against civilians. A few minutes later, a truck full of soldier stopped in front of the man’s house dragged him, his wife, and his two older sons outside, shot them and kicked their bodies into the nearby gutter.”

The incident that actually happened (but not mentioned in Ishmael’s book) and caught the attention of the public and international media was the one concerning the woman at Kissy who was listening to FM 98.1 and later confronted by a soldier whom she defiantly challenged before she was shot. It was the talk of the town and several people flocked to see the dead woman lying dead on the ground and bleeding profusely. So an incident which saw a whole family being massacred would have raised more public notice. To ascertain this I called former minister of information, Dr Julius Spencer who was the then head of FM 98.1, he told me quite clearly that there was not a time he recalled anything like that happened. Spencer who also happens to be one of the leading literature scholars in the country said he has not read the book, but from the reviews he had read, he doubt it very much whether Ishmael depicted the truth in his work.

Shoot-out at a Mysterious Freetown Children’s Home

Moreover, an incident that Beah also highlighted in the children’s home where he claimed that six people lost their lives after they (army child combatants) clashed with RUF kids on their arrival on January 1996 never occurred. I checked newspapers clippings at the renowned Fourah Bay College Sierra Leone section library and spoke to many journalists and NGO workers at the time who said that they have no doubt that event never occurred. The fact that Ishmael wilfully omitted the name or location of the said centre in Freetown raised further doubts about an event no one here seems to recall.

Sierratel Lines Down

There are several other issues that were clearly wrong such as his assertions that that the Sierratel phones weren’t working anymore by October 1997, a journalists who prefers to be anonymous because of his links with the present government says, “I use to send information for the clandestine FM 98.1 radio station using Sierratel lines, so I’m surprise to hear from someone that their lines were off. There were times when the lines would go down, but repairs were promptly done. Surprisingly we also had more electricity supply more than usual because the illegal junta regime was trying to woo the defiant majority. There was even electricity supply on the eve of ECOMOG invasion of the city; when the Nigerian ECOMOG troops triumphantly entered the city many people came out serving them very cold water from their freezers.”

All Hospitals and Pharmacies Closed

Another obvious fabrication was his claims that when his uncle fell ill during the ‘Revo’, all the hospitals and pharmacies were closed. Ishmael claimed most of the doctors and nurses had left the country and those who were still around fear that if they left their homes they would not be able to return back to their families. I put that to Dr S Kamara who was practising then, he was shocked to hear that and couldn’t believe until I showed him a copy of the excerpt in the book. He agreed that there were times that they feared and couldn’t get to work, but that the main hospitals in the city were always opened throughout the ‘Revo’ period. “People use to come to my house and go to the hospitals, clinics and other places for treatment, but to say all the hospitals and pharmacies were closed during the ‘Revo’ and that we feared to leave our houses, that is a huge fabrication. I cannot purchase this book for a dime,” he said. According to Patricia Collier, who was a nurse at the PCM Hospital, some of the doctors made a lot of sacrifice at that time, pointing out to Dr Nicol who was very regular, sometimes working overtime. “Because most of us saw it as a crisis period we gave our deep commitment and worked under hard circumstances, it would interest you to know that I was at the hospital working when the ECOMOG liberation of Freetown started in February 1998. Most of us however, left for our homes for our safety then,” said Patricia.

Questionable Landmarks

Even some of Ishmael’s account of streets and landmarks like ‘sitting at the jetty in the wharf at the end of Rawdon Street’ showed that he really got things mixed up, because there is the well known bus station building at the end of Rawdon Street and when you go behind the bus station there are other buildings, and you will need to walk down a long step and meet a fenced naval base that the public is barred from.

Le 300 – Two Months Average Wage

He also erroneously claimed that Immigration officers on his way to Guinea demanded Le 300 which was according to him around two months salary in Sierra Leone at the time. The fact is that the average monthly salary was far above that, and that Le 300 could only get you a pint of soft drink then, by then a single US dollar cost around Le 800. Head of the Mass Communications Department FBC, Isaac Massaqoi told me that at that time he was earning around Le 145, 000 a month at the SLBS. Isaac who has also not read the book was stunned by some of the claims he made in the book and said even the average monthly wage was far above Le 300.

Less Precision

Ishmael also tactfully avoided being clear-cut or detailed in some of his statements, for a person that witnessed the war here, one should have expected more. For instance, he never stated the exact place he put up at New England Ville and he said he attended St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown, the only explanation he offered about the school was that other pupils distanced them on their first day of schooling, that explanation quickly diverted backwards to his experience in his village.

Another aspect of exaggeration was when Ishmael went to the US embassy and was asked for his account, Ishmael (aged 16 then) said no one his age in Sierra Leone has a bank account, which is an exaggeration because there were few out there that does have an account. There are several other weak links in Ishmael’s work, but I thought that these are just some of the ones that one should focus on.

Questions not answered

I felt disappointed I could not get the view of Ishmael or his publishers on so many of the contentious and distorted information on the book, it appears as if they were just not ready to answer the critical points I was about to test them with. I did all my best to contact Ishmael through his publishers Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (FSG) whom I mailed three times and called twice, they promised to get back to me and I waited in vain. I would have loved to talk to Ishmael personally in Krio. I would have loved to ask him many things including, where in New England Ville was he living and why he got so many things wrong in his work. According to The Post Standard Ishmael gets back to Sierra Leone at least twice a year and he told the paper that he feels safer in Sierra Leone than in Brooklyn. I would have enquired why there was no attempt on his part during his visits to personally promote his book in Sierra Leone?

Surprise

For the publishers, I would have asked them whether they do not have any system in place to cross-check a writer’s story in a book that was marked as a non-fiction.

After I had spoken to most Sierra Leonean, the feeling I get is that the more many Sierra Leoneans know about this book, the more they grow stunned or incensed that someone who claims to be a native of the country and also participated in the war could have got it so wrong on so many very easier aspect that should be so easy to recall. I got the feeling during my investigation that had so many Sierra Leoneans known about this book which was marked as non-fiction at the time of publishing there would have been a mass criticism of it at home.

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Darvocet-N contains Propoxyphene Napsylate [opiate type which acts on specific brain centers to give relief from pain] and Acetaminophen [non-opiate, non-salicylate analgesic and antipyretic] that are both white, odorless, crystalline powders having a bitter taste; Acetaminophen is a little less bitter.  Propoxyphene is known to cause constipation, so it is important for the patient taking Darvocet-N to drink plenty of water, at least 6-8 glasses every day.  Darvocet-N can be taken with water, even food – if your physician advises.  Make sure that your food is rich in fiber content to overcome the problem of constipation, and exercise daily.  Set the time for your dose of Darvocet-N – as indicated by the doctor – and take it at the same time each day.  A missed dose can be taken as soon as you remember, but if it’s shortly going to be time for the next dose, then leave out the missed dose.

Darvocet-N, an opioid agonist, has a tendency to encourage psychological and physical dependence, and must be taken under a physician’s advice.  Once treatment has started, patients should not stop taking the medicine on their own; only the doctor can decide when to do so.  Before treatment with Darvocet-N begins, the treating doctor must be informed of all the medicines the patient is taking, including vitamins-minerals-herbal remedies.  The physician must also thoroughly know the patient’s entire medical history, especially if there has been any serious disease related to any organ, if there has been a history of seizures/ depression/head injury, if the patient has difficulty in urinating, is addicted to alcohol, is above 65 years, is allergic to Propoxyphene or Acetaminophen, or if the patient is taking anti-depressants/sedatives/water pills/birth pills [by mouth], so that the doctor can decide the precise dosage to be given.

As with any other medicine, Darvocet-N also has side effects, which may include dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, skin rashes, headaches, diarrhea, euphoria, dysphoria, fatigue, influenza-type of illness, visual blurring, hepatomegaly, gastrointestinal bleeding, hallucinations, convulsions, confused state leading to abnormal behavior, cardiac or respiratory arrest.  

The maximum prescribed dose of Darvocet-N 50 [50 mg Propoxyphene Napsylate and 325 mg Acetaminophen] is 12 tablets a day [2 tablets once in every 4 hours]; while the maximum prescribed dose of Darvocet-N 100 [100 mg Propoxyphene Napsylate and 650 mg Acetaminophen] is 6 tablets a day [1 tablet once in every 4 hours].  An overdose of Darvocet-N alone, or combined with alcohol/any CNS depressants, can be fatal.  Patients should heed their doctor’s advice and never increase the stipulated dosage on their own.

Those who drive or operate heavy machinery should avoid doing so until they are sure of how Darvocet-N effects them, as this medicine makes people feel sleepy.  For the same reason, elderly and debilitated patients are given the lowest prescribed dose.  Doctors don’t usually give it to pregnant women or nursing mothers.  This medicine should be kept away from children, pets and drug addicts.  The medicine should be stored as instructed.  Darvocet-N benefits you by providing relief from that horrible pain, but follow your physician’s advice.

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Drug addiction can happen to anyone at anytime, regardless of race, sex, or age. The thought of drug abuse normally conjures images of teenagers ditching class to smoke weed, the middle-aged man who snorts cocaine just to cope with his life, or the dirty old hotel room filled with young adults shooting up with heroin. Few people imagine Molly Homemaker, with her white apron and perfect smile, sneaking a few pills from her son’s Adderall prescription every day.

However, the reality is that many seemingly perfect mothers have become addicted to drugs and alcohol as a result of the pressures and situations they face every day. Unlike men who tend to become addicted through peer pressure or as an escape from their lives, women are more susceptible to addiction when they are victims of emotional, mental, and physical abuse, or when they need feel they need a boost of energy and coffee no longer has any effect.

The addiction eventually takes its toll, not only on the female, but also strains her family and friends. Treatment eventually becomes a necessity, but just as the initial addiction is caused through different triggers than men, drug rehab for women must offer a specialized program to meet their particular stressors. This means finding a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic specifically for women that focuses on the detox, individual and group counseling, and post treatment follow-up to not only cure the addiction, but also help the woman to cope or remove the initial causes.

As clinics that focus on women’s only treatment, luxury drug rehab provides a more comfortable setting so the recovering client can feel at ease while bonding with other women who are going through the same difficulties she is. Meanwhile, caring staff provides emotional support as they have intimate knowledge of the painful situation a recovering addict must go through. Additionally, special activities and amenities are provided that focus on a woman’s interests, while family programs help the affected family to understand the long-term needs of the client.

Due to the social implications of drug abuse and rehabilitation, most women prefer a private drug rehab facility that will help them get back on their feet. While the biological and mental causes and treatments of a female’s addiction different from a males, one thing is similar, all drug addict need to find the necessary help to return them to the family that loves them.

v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2006-Was it worth the effort?

“Common sense often makes good law though the lack of it doesn’t”-By William Orville Douglas

Violence and domestic abuse are considered a man’s most heinous, intolerable and deleterious weapon and rightfully, violence in a relationship is inhuman behavior in its most pernicious form, which would be anything but acceptable. There had been a significant lacuna in the legal system to accommodate for cases of everyday domestic violence in the lives of women, something that has been restricted to the private domain. But this Act now seeks to eliminate this lacuna and eradicate the evil of domestic violence. Nonetheless, while providing for remedy, the Act has created various openings and prospects for abuse and misuse of this Act.The Domestic Violence Act is the latest mischievous sprite introduced to conform to the concept of protective discrimination by making special provisions for women. The Act certainly provides for shielding women from any sort of domestic violence in a relationship and the Act has specifies a comprehensive definition of domestic violence. In S.3 of the 2005 Act, domestic violence is defined in terms of mental, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse. But despite of having such a virtuous intention, its ambiguous realization has paved way for a great controversy with feminist groups and men contributingly harping for equality as this Act has the potential of being used by women to harass men. This law was enacted by keeping in view the rights guaranteed under Articles 14,15 and 21 of the Constitution to provide for a remedy under the civil law, which is intended to protect the woman from being victims of domestic violence and to prevent the occurrence of domestic violence in the society . But this Act on the contrary, has provided for an elaborate mechanism for abuse by women and has certainly become a glaring example of inequality. The feminist groups unequivocally and unanimously hail the implementation of the Act while men think of being ransacked of all of their marital rights. The likelihood of it being misused is so immensely incalculable that it has given wakeful nights to men and has left his fate to the whims and fancies of their counterparts. This article will provide and insight into the Act and highlight the draconian nature of the Act through its anomalies and inherent ambiguities.

Legislative History
Before the inception of this Act, there was no specific Act for protecting women from undue discrimination and unjustified violence.
Though the Indian Penal Code had provisions, namely sections 304B and 498A, but they weren’t adequate and satisfactory in checking the atrocities committed against women. Thus, a desperate need was felt for an Act which could specifically cater to this cause and help women attain a dignified status, and henceforth the bill was passed by the legislature in 2005 and it was brought in application in 2006 and was touted by union minister Renuka Choudhary as a the most progressive gift for women.

Inception of the Act
Domestic violence is undoubtedly a human rights issue and serious deterrent to development of a nation. This particular Act has been enacted in keeping with the various guidelines given by several International conventions and declarations. The Vienna Accord of 1994 and the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action 1995 have acknowledged this. The United Nations Committee on Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in its General Recommendation No.XII (1989) has also recommended that State parties should act to protect women against violence of any kind especially that occurring within the family.

The phenomenon of domestic violence is widely prevalent but has remained largely invisible in the public domain. This enactment purported to be an additional violence curbing mechanism to the already existing sections 304B and 498A in IPC, which lay down the punishment for dowry death and cruelty and harassment against a women by her husband or his relatives.

Creditable features of the Act
An important advance made by the Act in understanding the nature of domestic violence has been in the combination of civil and criminal remedies. While civil remedies can be tailored to meet the circumstances of each case, criminal sanctions provide a greater deterrent effect among perpetrators.
The preamble to this Act reads like a definition and covers the entire subject matter of the Act. Apart from stating that the Act is intended to effectively protect the rights of a women and to give them a decent and dignified status, it stresses on the need of an ‘aggrieved women’ to seek immediate relief, compensation and also rehabilitation.

The Act establishes adequate machinery to ensure effective protection. The Act creates an extraordinary post of a Protection officer who is charged with the responsibility of taking expeditious steps for providing timely relief and it also grants authority to the Magistrate to give sufficient relief in the form of maintenance orders, custody orders and compensation. The Act also creates a novel agency called the ‘service providers’ who are entrusted with the job of filing Domestic Incident Reports with the Magistrate. The act by itself does not punish the perpetrator of domestic violence. But if a case discloses any offences punishable under IPC, CRPC or Dowry prohibition Act, the Magistrate may then, frame appropriate charges to either try the case himself or he may commit it to Sessions Court if he may deem fit.

This act contains five chapters and 37 sections. Its main features are firstly that the term ‘domestic violence’ has been made wide enough to encompass every possibility as it covers all forms of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse that can harm, cause injury to, endanger the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, either mental or physical of the aggrieved person. This is a genuinely wide definition and covers every eventuality. Secondly, the definition of an ‘aggrieved’ person’ is equally wide and covers not just the wife but a woman who is the sexual partner of the male irrespective of whether she is his legal wife or not. The daughter, mother, sister, child (male or female), widowed relative, in fact, any woman residing in the household who is related in some way to the respondent, is also covered by the Act . The respondent under the definition given in the Act is “any male, adult person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person” but so that his mother, sister and other relatives do not go scot free, the case can also be filed against relatives of the husband or male partner.

S.18 of the same chapter allows the magistrate to protect the woman from acts of violence or even “acts that are likely to take place” in the future and can prohibit the respondent from dispossessing the aggrieved person or in any other manner disturbing her possessions, entering the aggrieved person’s place of work or, if the aggrieved person is a child, the school. The respondent can also be restrained from attempting to communicate in any form, whatsoever, with the aggrieved person, including personal, oral, written, electronic or telephonic contact”. The respondent can even be prohibited from entering the room/area/house that is allotted to her by the court.

The Act allows magistrates to impose monetary relief and monthly payments of maintenance. The respondent can also be made to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered by the aggrieved person and any child of the aggrieved person as a result of domestic violence and can also cover loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss or damage to property and can also cover the maintenance of the victim and her children . S.22 allows the magistrate to make the respondent pay compensation and damages for injuries including mental torture and emotional distress caused by acts of domestic violence.

The Act provides for penalty up to one-year imprisonment and/or a fine up to Rs. 20,000/- for and offence . The offence is also considered cognizable and non-bailable under Section 31 while Section 32 (2) goes even further and states, “Under the sole testimony of the aggrieved person, the court may conclude that an offence has been committed by the accused”.

The Act significantly ensures speedy justice as the court has to start proceedings and have the first hearing within 3 days of the complaint being filed in court and every case must be disposed of within a period of sixty days of the first hearing.

A critique of the Act
Women favoring Aspects
In the garb of providing protection, this legislation in fact, strikes at the very foundation of marriage by promoting intolerance and encouraging unnecessary litigation even for petty domestic disputes. The law is based on a totally wrong notion and assumes men as the sole perpetrators of domestic violence. This is altogether a wrong impression and only confirms the gender bias in favor of women created by this law. “Giving of such sweeping legal powers to women while withholding protection to male victims is tantamount to systematic legal victimization of men “. The law is wholly gender specific and rules out any possibility of domestic violence against a man . The law confers rights in a woman without imposing any liability, while a man is overburdened with discriminative liabilities with total denial of rights.

The slack drafting of this law will allow cunning and unscrupulous women to teach a lesson to any of her male relative at her sole behest. Moreover any such frivolous claims will be treated as words of god or gospel of truth by virtue of this law . This has virtually empowered all women to punish men at their will. This law not only recognizes but also gives legal sanctions to apprehensions no matter how insignificant and fizzy, they are. The mere belief of a person, even a stranger, will be sufficient for reporting the matter to the protection officers. It can very easily become a weapon for women to extort money, as in such cases usually the police arrests the husband and in-laws. “This arbitrary decision of the police to favor the daughter-in-law is a newfound ethic, to protect the rights and liberalization of women, even though it violates the principles of natural justice “. A bizarre aspect of this Act is that it does not distinguish between actual abuse and threat of abuse and gives equal weightage to even a likelihood of abuse . Also in regards to the notion of “emotional abuse, insults and verbal abuse” enshrined in the Act, the terms in itself are extremely relative and subjective, often depending on one’s mindset and shockingly, the husband does not have any recourse in case of any abuse by the wife.

Unlike other women protection laws, the Act almost gives a legal sanction to extortion of money by women under the guise of economic abuse . Refusal to pay any sum of money for whatsoever reason will attract the provisions of this law. Non-payment of rental related to the shared household will also constitute economic abuse even if the husband himself is devoid of sufficient resources or even if he is in jail. Another pertinent laxity that can be pointed out as also recently reiterated by the Supreme Court is that the definition of “shared household” as mentioned in the Act is vague and laid that the parents independent property in which the husband does not have any share will not amount to “shared household”.

Other Anomalies in the Act
Another substantiation of the Act being unreasonable and excessive is that in relation to the right of residence wherein by including the divorced wives, former girlfriends and former live-in partners in the list of women facing domestic violence, this Act gives enough leeway to women to harass innocent men and turn the heat on their former partners. Now even a traitorous woman cannot be thrown out of house as she can easily threaten her husband or in-laws of false domestic violence charges as the Act expressly mentions that incase of absence of any other evidence, her sole testimony shall be relied upon by the Magistrate in deciding the existence and extent of violence. The Act almost gives a legal sanction to any relationship, which is not at all socially acceptable like the live-in relationship. In addition to this the respondent is totally deprived of his legitimate rights over his property as he cannot alienate or dispose if an order is passed under the Act. On the contrary there is an added liability on his part to arrange for an alternate accommodation or pay the rent for the same.

Another certain home breaking implication of this Act is that as consanguinity is a necessary aspect of marriage, and as matter of fact a ground for separation under the marriage laws, one of the provisions of this Act bars the husbands from even asking, leave apart pressurizing, their wives for sex . Another perturbing feature is that as a protective measure or more so a biased feature conferred by this Act in the form of prohibition of any sort of communication to be made by the husband if there is a prima facie case

An unusual oddity in this enactment is that the Magistrate has been entrusted with unaccountable power as he is invested with the responsibility to take cognizance of the case and also for executing his own orders in favor of the aggrieved women even without being approached for their execution. An additional disturbing aspect is that the Magistrate trying the case is required to evaluate not the individual incidence of violence, but the overall circumstances as well.

The major inappropriate implication would be that it would play down the chances of reconciliation in future. On one hand the Act punishes a man for forcing her wife to leave job while on other it provides maintenance to the very same wife. But the law does not provide for any such remedy to a male in any similar circumstance.

All the provisions of this Act, however, do not serve the purpose of effective implementation as the above examples, sometimes due to a lack of resources or due to extraneous factors. S.12 (4), for example, is a laudable provision, which makes it mandatory for the magistrate to hear a case within three days of the complaint being filed. The idea of prompt relief is carried on in s. 12(5), which directs the magistrate to finish hearing the case within six months of it reaching court. However, the overcrowding of courts makes it difficult to see if they can be practically realized.

A further criticism of the Act is with respect to S.14, which may prescribe counseling for either of the parties, and delay proceedings up to two months. As has been discussed earlier, addressal of domestic violence has always tended to focus on conciliation between the perpetrator and the victim, even within the criminal justice system. This is due to the judicial perceptions regarding the importance of preserving the family unit, even to the jeopardy of a victim of domestic violence. In recognition of this fact, a provision such as S.14 can be counterproductive in two ways. Firstly, it might jeopardize speedy disposal of the case, and secondly, it may also convince the aggrieved to continue in that situation without taking any further action.

The Act makes provision for the appointment of protection officers. Protection officers, as per the Act, are a group of officers whose duty is to assist the aggrieved party with the processing and completion of the domestic violence suit. The institution of protection officers is a useful one, emphasizing the need for societal intervention in order to prevent domestic violence, by directly addressing from an external standpoint the relationship of power and control in an abusive relationship. The problem however lies with the resources required for the creation of such a rung of officers

The Supreme Court verdict
Since the Act is written in a negative language, it is essential to consider the Supreme Court judgement in respect of such statutes. The SC has aptly stated in a recent case that if a provision of law is couched in negative language implying mandatory character then the Courts shall interpret the provision, keeping in view the entire content in which the provision came to be enacted, and shall hold the same to be directory though worded in negative form.

Also in the first case on this Act before the Supreme Court , the Court has admitted and established certain evident ambiguities in the Act.The court in this particular case discussed the scope of sections 2,12,17 and 19. As provided by section 17,the court can now order that she not only reside in the same house but that a part of the house can even be allotted to her for her personal use even if she has no legal claim or share in the property. The Act also ensures speedy justice as the court has to start proceedings and have the first hearing within 3 days of the complaint being filed in court and every case must be disposed of within a period of sixty days of the first hearing.

The facts of the case were that respondent was married to son of Appellants and after their marriage and Respondent and her husband were staying in house owned by husband’s mother. When Husband filed a divorce petition against the Respondent, the Respondent shifted to her parents place. She was prohibited to enter house of Appellants. She filed a Suit for a mandatory injunction to enable her to enter the house. The Trial Court granted temporary injunction restraining Appellants from interfering with right of Respondent to reside. On appeal, Senior Civil Judge dismissed temporary injunction application. The Respondent then filed a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution. The Single Judge held that Respondent was entitled to reside in house, as that was her matrimonial home. Then the husband’s parents appealed and the SC held that the house in question belonged to mother in law of Respondent and not to Respondent’s husband and Respondent could not claim any right in said house. The Court also redefined the scope of various provisions relating to ‘shared household’ and compensation in the form of residential accommodation by stating that “Wife is only entitled to claim a right to residence in a shared household, and a ‘shared household’ would only mean house belonging to or taken on rent by husband, or house which belongs to joint family of which husband is a member.” The Court while deciding on the issue of alternative accommodation laid down that in regards to “Alternative accommodation under Section 19 (1)(f) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, claim for alternative accommodation can only be made against husband and not against in-laws or other relatives.”

Conclusion
The Act presently is heavily in favor of women. Chances of it being misused and scandalously abused are enormous. It can therefore, be well stated here, that this act could become a pawn in the hands of the “so called aggrieved” who can easily manipulate it for her advantage which can be well supported by these statistical researches, the most alarming of it being that in case of married couples, the male to female suicide ratio is 63:37 thus confirming that men are the ultimate targets. This Act should have ideally included stringent penal provisions for curtailing the instances of abuse and mishandling, but herein, instead various opportunities have been made available which can ultimately lead to its grave misuse and can thus act as a catalyst for breaking homes. Thus, this Act does not contain any provisions for creating awareness or for strengthening and preserving family as an institution or even providing chances for reconciliation or even scope for improvement to “the husband”. The main beneficiaries of this Act will obviously be women of propertied upper class. But there is no doubt that given the hypocritical, patriarchal and insensitive nature of the society, this Act would definitely be instrumental in putting an end to all the degradation and brutality meted out to women.

It is eventually, the neo collectivist and neo socialist approach which is needed in the society that can essentially free both men and women from shackles of brutality and ultimately put them on an equal pedestal in all respects. Women, who have for decades been silent victims of oppression and enslavement will now have a better chance of fighting the injustice without slightest of hesitation and it can be well summed up with the quote by Marx-that equal laws cannot be applied to unequal people . Thus, any enactment, which forcefully subjects a section of society to conduct and “serve” the other section at its willful pleasure, would only enhance the level of oppression in the society and leave incurable marks on the face of the most democratic society.
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End Notes:
1) Section 3 defines the term domestic violence.
2) See, Bare Act, Statement of Objectives of the Act
3) See, Home is where the Law is” by Indira Jaisingh, Indian Express, 8 Sept. ;05
4) Bare Act-History of the Act and see,http//www.hindustantimes.com
5) See,(Ch.II, S.3) of the Act
6) See, (Ch.I, S.2 (a) of the Act
7) See, (Ch.IV, S.20) of the Act
8) See chapter V Sections 31 and 32
9) See, (Ch.IV, S.12 (a) (4) and (5)).of the Act
10) See, The Domestic Violence Law of India – A Shield or a Sword?
11) Various studies in India and other countries have shown that even men suffer domestic violence at the hands of women. See, Anne Bransdon, “The Nature of Domestic Violence Against Men”; Charles E. Corry and at al, “Controlling Domestic Violence Against Men” Patricia Pearson, “When She Was Bad – Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence”.
12) A breach of protection order can be concluded at the sole testimony of the aggrieved. See, Section 32(2) of the Act.
13) Section 4 of the Act allows any person having reasons to believe to report that any act of domestic violence is or will be committed.
14) Even a person having any gripe can misuse it to settle his personal scores.
15) See, Amjad Maruf, Domestic Violence Act, 2005 – A recipe for broken marriages and relationships, November 03, 2006 (www.sulekha.com).
16) Section 4 of the Act.
17) See “Verbal and Emotional Abuse” under section 3 of the Act.
18) Section 3 of the Act defines as to what all constitutes economic abuse.
19) See “Sexual Abuse” under section 3 of the Act.
20) Section 18 of the Act.
21) S.B. Ghosh, “Contextualizing Domestic Violence”, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA (Rinki Bhattacharya ed., New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004) at 54
22) See S.18 of act
23) Ravi Kusum v. Kanchan Devi, AIR 2005 SC 3304
24) 136 2007 DLTI SC, SR Batra v. Taruna Batra,Secs 2,12, 17 and 19 also referred
25) See, Srilata Swaminathan, On the Protect of Women from Domestic Violence Act (http//www.cpiml.org)
26) See, Karl Marx, Gotha Programme.

Preparation for the Ayahuasca Experience

In the West there are lots of stories like ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ reminding us that plants have spirit power, Alice in Wonderland explored this world too. There is a large body of knowledge of power plants even if the form has been adapted to fairy tales and ‘domesticated’, not to under rate the richness of Grimms’ tales.

When a person drinks Ayahuasca, especially with a trusted shaman, there is a chance to learn and trust the plant. You discover that it works in its own way. It is a great moment getting to this point. Then there is the question of whether the plant trusts us, because it can be abused and used for getting the wrong kind of personal power. Without intention, vision, preparation, and a shaman, it is a drug not a healing medicine.

A major difficulty for Westerners is the diet and the living conditions in the rainforest. There is also the care clients need afterwards, as one is extremely vulnerable after drinking Ayahuasca. Also some of our attitudes need to change, for example some people find vomiting unpleasant.

In the Ayahuasca ceremony purgative cleansing of the physical body is an essential preparation for the new level of emerging consciousness. Vomiting and occasionally brief diarrhoea are common effects during the initial sessions.

The Shaman’s Diet

An integral element of this preparation is to undertake a diet intended to reduce excessive sugar, salt, oils, pork, fat, and spicy food in the body in

preparation to be in communion with the spirit of Ayahuasca. Reduction of these should commence as soon as one commits to the experience.

Pork in particular is considered to be impure and is studiously avoided by Ayahuasca practitioners. Complete abstinence from pork and lard for at least two weeks prior to the first ceremony is recommended to participants to reduce the impact of the purge. It is also recommended that this abstinence continue for at least two weeks after the final ceremony.

In the initiatory diet for those seeking personal cleansing and healing, chicken, fish, wild game meat, fruits, and vegetables may be eaten but with little if any salt, sugar, oils or spices. The cleansing effect and strength of the visionary experience can be greatly enriched by one’s commitment to these preparations.

Sexual abstinence also forms part of the diet and is a traditional requirement of Ayahuasca cleansing and healing. We recommend abstinence from sexual activity for a few days prior to the ceremony, and to continue a day or two after the last ceremony.

As all Amazonian shamans will tell you, and in the words of Dona Cotrina

“ Sex is bad. The ‘mother plant’ loves you and if you make love to another person, you are being unfaithful to her”. For this reason it is often said that Ayahuasca is jealous, and if you do not respect her, she makes you ill instead of healing you. You will also not be able to see any visions. The ill effects from not respecting the diet are called cutipa and range from a sense of trauma and stress to skin problems.

Menstrual cycle.

This is a complex issue in the Amazonian tradition. Basically women in their menstrual cycle are not permitted by Amazonian shamans and curanderos to be present in the preparation of the brew, drink Ayahuasca or attend the ceremonies. This is an ancient tradition rooted mainly in safety considerations rather than sexism, as female shamans in the Amazon also follow these prohibitions.

Some shamans say the presence of a woman in menstrual flow prevents them from “seeing” the causes of illness among those present in the ceremony, thus obstructing their ability to make diagnoses and facilitate healing.

Although Eagle’s Wing are unable to make any exception as this rule is observed by shamans in the Ayahuasca tradition, our experience is that shamans have a degree of flexibility and can perform a special chacapa session with participants to address this.

Medical Precautions

It is important to know that, in some cases, the consumption of Ayahuasca in combination with some groups of prescription & non-prescription medicines can bear health risks.

1. Prescription Medicines

If you are taking prescription medication (including antibiotics), are subject to high blood pressure, have a heart condition, or are under treatment for any health condition), please consult your GP.

1.1 Anti-depressants

Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis Caapi) contains MAOI’s (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) generally in the form of harmine and harmaline therefore Medical consultation is essential if you are taking Prozac or other antidepressants affecting serotonin levels, i.e. serotonin selective re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI).

SSRI’s block the reuptake of serotonin in the brain and because MAOI’s inhibit breakdown of serotonin, the combination of MAOI’s and SSRI’s can lead to too high levels of serotonin in the brain. SSRI’s are much more common than MAOI’s which are found in some anti-depressants. Consult your GP about the use of temporary monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI).

These medications generally require a period of six to eight weeks to completely clear the system and must be reduced gradually.

2. Non-Prescription Medicines

Non-prescription medications such as antihistamines, dietary aids, amphetamines and derivatives, and some natural herbal medicines, i.e. those

containing ephedrine, high levels of caffeine, or other stimulants, may also cause adverse reactions. We recommend that you discontinue all such medications, drugs, and herbs for at least one week prior to and following work with Ayahuasca.

3. Recreational Drugs

Avoid all recreational drugs, in particular MDMA (Ecstasy), cocaine, heroin. Also do not drink alcohol on the day of the ceremony.

4. Herbal Remedies

Use of herbal remedies for depression such as St John’s Wort (which also influence the serotonin levels) need to be discontinued as per 2 above.

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