I was appalled by Aminatta Forna's review on AIDS which appeared in the January issue. The Central African theory leaves a lot of questions unanswered, people in Central Africa have been living close to monkeys and other game since their existence. Why did the virus decide to jump across the Atlantic to attract the Americans and not the Zaireans? Or is the virus a racist? Kenyan scientists (some of whom are from the West), have shown that there is no connection between monkeys and AIDS transmission (Weekly Review: 13 September, 1985). The few cases reported have been found mainly among prostitutes in the cities who engage in sexual contact with Western tourists. Those who are closer to the monkeys in the rural areas have not suffered, nor have their ancestors. Most people, especially Africans will have realized that the Western media has engaged in a deliberate and calculated propaganda to lay this "white man's burden" on Africans as usual. What is most disturbing is to see an African falling prey to this propaganda.
