1/26/05

A few weeks ago I wrote about how my counterpart, Louassigue Dargue Enoch had just lost his infant daughter due to malaria. As he told me, less than one week after her death, I remember thinking how incredibly composed he seemed, considering the situation. I can't begin to imagine the grief I'd feel in his place, if I were a parent. Although I understand that life must go on regardless, it'd be tough for me to seem as collected about it as he appeared, I suspect. So, when death found him again, less than one month later, I imagined that this might be took much to take, that perhaps he'd appear more affected.

This time it was his 12-year-old adopted daughter, who suddenly became sick for no apparent reason and was dead less than 72 hours later. Perhaps it was something she ate or drank, as God knows there are plenty of possibilities for contaminated food and water here, but even by Chadian standards it seemed quick. I remember when I first visited Gounou-Gaya in November, I had dinner with Enoch, and his daughter was the one serving us, normal in the Chadian social hierarchy. She seemed completely healthy, but then again, so did his baby daughter- there was no way of knowing that they would both be dead less than 90 days later.

I wouldn't presume to say that a child's death is any less tragic in Chad, but perhaps it's simply accepted as a fact of raising a family here. I can't think of anything else to explain Enoch's almost supernatural sense of calm at the whole situation. In a country where one in five children doesn’t live to the age of five, and where an average adult life expectancy is below 50, maybe it's simply considered inevitable that most families will lose a child. That could also explain why Chadian families are so large, with 8-10 kids seemingly the standard- if one or two don't live, others will be needed to take care of their parents in their old age.

Recently I wrote about gratitude, and how thankful I am to be a resident of the developed world, even if I am temporarily in Chad. After hearing news like this, I can't help but think of the vast advantage a country like the US has over Chad, and again, just how lucky I really am. With proper sanitation, and even halfway adequate health care, would Celeste, the baby, have died? Would Enoch's adopted daughter? It's hard to say for sure, but something we in the industrialized world would do well to think about the next time we feel like complaining that there aren't enough bike paths, or they're out of crunchy peanut butter at Trader Joe's.

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