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NewslettersCrises stalk all of Africa
Submitted by jcato on Mon, 2005-08-08 10:39.
Evelyn Venable, a reader who lives on Fripp Island, wrote Sunday seeking an address to correspond to help alleviate the extreme hunger crisis in Niger. Unfortunately, no address was supplied.
The article that sparked her interest, Crises stalk all of Africa, was written by Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, who won the Nobel Peace Price in 1984 for his role in fighting apartheid. He wrote the column in Friday’s Gazette on behalf of the U.N. World Food Program.
To help, readers may go to the Web site: wfp.org/how_to_help; or readers may write to: U.S. Friends of the WFP, P.O. Box 11856, Washington, DC 20008.
— Jim Cato, editor
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On Sunday morning, I stopped and chatted with a young man sitting next to his bicycle on a curb in the Publix parking lot on Lady's Island. The crude cardboard sign on the bike read, and a brief conversation with him revealed that he had left from Louisville, KY some days ago and had pedaled down State Highways to and through Columbia to Beaufort, and his ultimate destination was to take a job in Jacksonville, FL. He was an affable, presentable man who claimed to have had only one untoward incident on his journey so far. Passing through Columbia, he was set upon by two armed guys who assaulted him and robbed him of his cash, leaving just about all else, apparently. He reported this to the Sheriff's office in the Columbia area, and they took sympathy with him and gave him a nylon tent for some shelter for the rest of his trip.
He said he was headed out to Route 17, which would take him all the way down to Jax. Whether true or not, I thought his was a fascinating story, and offered him moral, as well as a small amount of cash support.
It is a fairly creative story if it isn't true, but I have heard better. Did the young man try to locate any charitable organizations? It's interesting that the Sherriff's office in Columbia didn't help guide him to one for victims after his unfortunate incident. On the other hand maybe he is returning to the South after spending the hottest time of the year further North. You can't blame a guy for wanting to get away from the heat. Believe it or not there are professional panhandlers who migrate according to the season. Regardless, many of us are taught that we will be blessed for our generosity and panhandlers depend on us. It is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.
Regardless of its truth, I was fascinated by it. And if he were panhandling, "just to get some peanut butter and crackers", that was also OK by me. He showed me two of his fingers that he said his assailants had stomped on during the supposed incident. They did indeed look like that had been recently stomped on. He claims that he diverted from Columbia on his way to Jacksonville because he thought he had a friend who lived here, but couldn't find a trace of him/her. But is it logical that as part of an armed robbery (one waved a pistol at him, he said), they would take his money but not his bike, etc.? I wish I had asked him that. Anyway, by now, he should have reached Rt. 17 at Garden's Corner and should be peddling south toward Savannah. Maybe the local media there will take notice of him and do a feature. I think it is a great yarn, true or not.