Awake!, June 8, 1995

Awake! — June 8, 1995

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

Sold into Slavery

Millions Become Slaves

How Could They Do It?

Forgive and Forget—How Possible?

Does It Pay to Go Into Debt?

Bible Literature Appreciated in the Former Soviet Union

Why Your Body Needs Sleep

Canada’s “Tainted Blood” Inquiry

Your Car—Shelter or Trap?

Visiting Omdurman’s Camel Market

Is Your Home Earthquake Resistant?

Watching the World

From Our Readers

“Joyful Praisers” Convention

Page Two

The Chains and Tears of Slavery 3-8

Slavery affected the lives of millions of African men, women, and children. What happened to them? Who was responsible?

Forgive and Forget—How Possible? 9

When someone commits a serious wrong against you, can you forgive and forget? Should you?

Why Your Body Needs Sleep 17

How important is sleep? What can be done to improve it?

Sold into Slavery

By Awake! correspondent in Africa

OLAUDAH EQUIANO was born in 1745 in what is now eastern Nigeria. Life in his village was typical of the times. Families worked together to cultivate corn, cotton, yams, and beans. Men herded cattle and goats. Women spun and wove cotton.

Equiano’s father was a distinguished clan elder and judge in the community. It was a position that Equiano was in line to inherit one day. That never happened. Equiano, when a boy, was kidnapped and sold into slavery.

Sold from trader to trader, he did not meet Europeans until he reached the coast. Years later, he described his impressions: “The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship which was then riding at anchor and waiting for its cargo. These filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into terror when I was carried on board. I was immediately handled and tossed up to see if I were sound by some of the crew, and I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits and that they were going to kill me.”

Looking about him, Equiano saw “a multitude of black people of every description chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow.” Overwhelmed, he fainted. Fellow Africans revived him and tried to comfort him. Equiano says: “I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white men.”

Equiano was shipped to Barbados, then to Virginia, and later to England. Purchased by a ship’s captain, he traveled widely. He learned to read and write, eventually bought his freedom, and played a leading role in the movement to abolish slavery in Britain. In 1789 he published the story of his life, one of the few accounts (and possibly the best) written about the slave trade by an African victim of it.

Millions of other Africans were not so fortunate. Torn from their homes and families, they were shipped across the Atlantic in conditions of great cruelty. They, along with the children they bore, were bought and sold like cattle and forced to toil without pay to increase the wealth of strangers. Most had no rights and could be punished, abused, or even killed at the whim of their owners. For most of those oppressed, the only deliverance from slavery was death.

Millions Become Slaves

BY THE time Olaudah Equiano was born, ships from Europe had carried African slaves across the Atlantic Ocean for two and a half centuries. But slavery was much older than that. The enslavement of humans, usually as a result of warfare, had been widely practiced throughout the world from ancient times.

In Africa too, slavery flourished long before ships from Europe arrived. States The New Encyclopædia Britannica: “Slaves have been owned in black Africa throughout recorded history. . . . Slavery was practiced everywhere even before the rise of Islām, and black slaves exported from Africa were widely traded throughout the Islāmic world.”

What made the transatlantic slave trade different was its scale and duration. According to the best estimates, the number of slaves that crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th to the 19th century was between 10 million and 12 million.

The Triangular Route

Soon after the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, European colonists established mining operations and sugar plantations in the Americas. In addition to enslaving the local people, Europeans began to import slaves from Africa.a The shipping of slaves across the Atlantic began as a trickle in the mid-1500’s, but by Equiano’s day, in the mid-1700’s, it had become a flood—about 60,000 captives each year.

Ships from Europe generally followed a triangular route. First they traveled south from Europe to Africa. Next they sailed the middle passage (the middle link in the triangle) to the Americas. Finally they sailed back to Europe.

At each point of the triangle, captains traded. Ships set out from European ports heavily laden with goods—textiles, iron, guns, and alcohol. Upon reaching the western coast of Africa, captains exchanged these wares for slaves supplied by African dealers. The slaves were crammed into the ships, which then set sail for the Americas. In the Americas, the captains sold the slaves and then loaded goods produced by slave labor—sugar, rum, molasses, tobacco, rice, and, from the 1780’s, cotton. The ships then sailed back to Europe, the final leg of the journey.

For the European and African traders, as well as for colonists in the Americas, the trade in what they called live cargo meant business, a means to make money. For those who were enslaved—husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters—the trade meant brutality and horror.

Where did the slaves come from? Some were kidnapped, as was Olaudah Equiano, but most were captured in wars fought between African states. The suppliers were African. Historian Philip Curtin, a specialist on the slave trade, writes: “Europeans soon learned that Africa was far too dangerous to their own health to make direct slave raiding possible. Enslavement came to be a function performed by Africans alone . . . The stream of people fed into the slave trade at its point of origin were mainly captives.”

The Middle Passage

The journey to the Americas was a terrifying experience. Marched to the coast fettered in groups, Africans languished, sometimes for months, in stone forts or in smaller wooden compounds. By the time a slaving ship arrived bound for the Americas, the captives were often already in poor health from the abuse they had suffered. But worse was to come.

After being dragged aboard ship, stripped naked, and examined by the ship’s surgeon or captain, the men were shackled and taken below deck. Shipmasters packed as many slaves as possible into the hold to maximize their profit. Women and children were given greater freedom of movement, though this also exposed them to sexual abuse from the crew.

The atmosphere of the hold was foul, putrid. Equiano describes his impressions: “The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died . . . The shrieks of the women and the groans of the dying rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.” Captives had to endure such conditions throughout the crossing, which took about two months, sometimes longer.

In the appallingly unhygienic conditions, disease flourished. Epidemics of dysentery and smallpox were frequent. Mortality was high. Records suggest that until the 1750’s, 1 in 5 Africans on board ship died. The dead were thrown overboard.

Arrival in the Americas

When the slave ships neared the Americas, the crew prepared the Africans for sale. They loosed the captives from their chains, fattened them up, and rubbed them with palm oil to make them look healthy and to disguise sores and wounds.

The captains usually sold their captives by auction, but sometimes they organized a “scramble,” which required buyers to pay a fixed price beforehand. Equiano writes: “On a signal given, (as the beat of a drum) the buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamour with which this is attended and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the buyers serve not a little to increase the apprehensions of the terrified Africans.”

Equiano adds: “In this manner, without scruple, are relations and friends separated, most of them never to see each other again.” For families that had somehow managed to stay together through the living nightmare of the previous months, this was a particularly bitter blow.

The Work and the Whip

African slaves worked on plantations to produce coffee, rice, tobacco, cotton, and especially sugar. Others labored at mining operations. Some worked as carpenters, metalworkers, watchmakers, gunsmiths, and sailors. Still others were domestic workers—servants, nurses, dressmakers, and cooks. Slaves cleared land, constructed roads and buildings, and dug canals.

Yet, despite the work that they did, slaves were regarded as property, and by law a master had absolute rights over his property. Slavery, however, did not survive merely by the denial of rights and freedoms. It survived by the lash. The authority of owners and their supervisors depended on their ability to inflict pain. And they inflicted plenty of that.

To discourage rebellion and to keep their slaves in check, owners administered degrading physical punishment for even minor offenses. Equiano writes: “It was very common [in the West Indies] for the slaves to be branded with the initial letters of their master’s name, and a load of heavy iron hooks hung about their necks. Indeed on the most trifling occasions they were loaded with chains, and often instruments of torture were added. The iron muzzle, thumbscrews, etc. . . . were sometimes applied for the slightest faults. I have seen a negro beaten till some of his bones were broken for even letting a pot boil over.”

Sometimes the slaves chose to revolt. Most revolts, though, were unsuccessful and were punished with ruthless ferocity.

[Footnotes]

The main European nations directly involved in the transatlantic trade were Britain, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

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The dead were thrown overboard

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Culver Pictures

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As many slaves as possible were packed into the hold

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Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture / The New York Public Library / Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations

How Could They Do It?

HOW did people justify the slave trade? Historians point out that until the 18th century, few questioned the morality of slavery. The book The Rise and Fall of Black Slavery observes: “At the time when Columbus stumbled on the West Indies, neither the church nor the writings it accepted had given future settlers an indication that their use of forced labour could be considered immoral, though isolated churchmen had hinted at misgivings. . . . There was no suggestion that the institution of slavery, entwined as it was with the whole of European society, should be challenged.”

After the transatlantic trade was in full swing, many clergymen used religious arguments to support slavery. The book American Slavery states: “Protestant ministers [in America] played a leading role in the defense of slavery . . . Probably the most widespread and effective religious argument was the simple suggestion that slavery was part of God’s plan to expose a hitherto heathen people to the blessings of Christianity.”

But the often cruel and vicious treatment meted out to slaves required more justification than the pretense of offering “the blessings of Christianity.” So colonial masters as well as writers and philosophers in Europe told themselves that blacks were not the same as whites. Edward Long, a planter who was to write History of Jamaica, observed: “When we reflect on the nature of these men, and their dissimilarity to the rest of mankind, must we not conclude that they are of a different species?” The consequences of such thinking were expressed by a governor of Martinique: “I have reached the stage of believing firmly that one must treat the Negroes as one treats beasts.”

Eventually economic self-interest and humanitarian concerns worked to end the transatlantic slave trade. From the beginning African people resisted their enslavement, and by the late 18th century, rebellions were common. Fearful owners found their situation increasingly precarious. They also came to question whether, instead of supporting slaves, it might be cheaper to buy labor when it was needed.

At the same time, moral, religious, and humanitarian arguments against slavery found growing support in Europe and the Americas. Abolition movements became strong. Despite the legal abolition of the slave trade in many countries from the year 1807 onward, the effects of slavery remained.

A television series, The Africans: A Triple Heritage, poignantly gave voice to the sons and daughters of Africa: “Long before slave days, we lived in . . . Africa. And then strangers came and took some of us away. Today, we are scattered so widely that the sun never sets on the descendants of Africa.” The presence of millions of people of African descent in North and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe is an obvious result of the slave trade.

People still debate the question of who bears the blame for the transatlantic slave trade. Basil Davidson, a specialist in African history, writes in his book The African Slave Trade: “Africa and Europe were jointly involved.”

“Let Your Kingdom Come”

There is something to be learned—something that concerns human rulership. The wise man wrote: “I considered all the oppressive deeds which were done under the sun,—and lo! the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter, and on the side of their oppressors is power.”—Ecclesiastes 4:1, Rotherham.

Sadly, those words, written long before the African slave trade began, continue to ring true today. The oppressed and the oppressors are still with us, and in some lands so are the slaves and their masters. Christians know that soon, by means of God’s Kingdom government, Jehovah “will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper.” (Psalm 72:12) For that reason and others, they continue to pray to God: “Let your kingdom come.”—Matthew 6:10.

Forgive and Forget—How Possible?

The Bible’s Viewpoint

Forgive and Forget—How Possible?

“I SHALL FORGIVE THEIR ERROR, AND THEIR SIN I SHALL REMEMBER NO MORE.”—JEREMIAH 31:34.

THOSE words recorded by the prophet Jeremiah reveal something remarkable about Jehovah’s mercy: When he forgives, he forgets. (Isaiah 43:25) The Bible further states: “Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also.” (Colossians 3:13) So as Christians we should imitate Jehovah’s forgiveness.

However, some important questions arise. When Jehovah forgives, does he actually not remember our sins anymore? And when we forgive, must we forget in the sense of being unable to recall? Can it be said that unless we forget in that way, we have not really forgiven?

How Jehovah Forgives

To forgive involves letting go of resentment. When Jehovah forgives, he does so completely.a The psalmist David wrote: “[Jehovah] will not for all time keep finding fault, neither will he to time indefinite keep resentful. As far off as the sunrise is from the sunset, so far off from us he has put our transgressions. As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him.”—Psalm 103:9, 12, 13.

The completeness of God’s forgiveness is further explained at Acts 3:19: “Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted out.” The expression ‘get blotted out’ comes from a Greek verb (e·xa·leiʹpho) that means “wipe out, erase.” (See Revelation 7:17; 21:4.) The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology explains: “The image expressed by the verb here and perhaps elsewhere is most probably smoothing the surface of a wax writing-tablet for re-use ([compare] ‘wiping the slate clean’).” When we repent of our sins, Jehovah wipes the record clean. Does that mean that he no longer remembers our sins? Let us consider an example recorded in the Bible.

When King David committed adultery with Bath-sheba and later tried to cover it over by arranging for the death of her husband, Jehovah sent the prophet Nathan to reprove David. (2 Samuel 11:1-17; 12:1-12) With what result? David sincerely repented, and Jehovah forgave him. (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 32:1-5) Did Jehovah forget David’s sins? Not at all! The Bible writers Gad and Nathan later recorded the whole incident in the book of 2 Samuel (completed about 1040 B.C.E.) shortly before David’s death.

So the record, or memory, of David’s sins—as well as the record of his repentance and subsequent forgiveness by Jehovah—lives on, for the benefit of Bible readers to this day. (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11) In fact, since “the saying of Jehovah [as contained in the Bible] endures forever,” the record of David’s sins will never be forgotten!—1 Peter 1:25.

How, then, can it be said that Jehovah wipes the slate clean when we sincerely repent of our sins? How can we understand Jehovah’s words: “I shall forgive their error, and their sin I shall remember no more”?—Jeremiah 31:34.

How Jehovah Forgets

The Hebrew verb rendered “I shall remember” (a form of za·kharʹ) does not mean simply to recall the past. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, it can mean “mention, declare, recite, proclaim, invoke, commemorate, accuse, confess.” The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament adds: “Quite often, in fact, [za·kharʹ] implies an action or appears in combination with verbs of action.” Thus, when Jehovah says of his wayward people that he “will remember their error,” he means that he will take action against them for their lack of repentance. (Jeremiah 14:10) Conversely, when Jehovah says, “Their sin I shall remember no more,” he is assuring us that once he forgives our sins, he will not bring them up again in order to accuse, condemn, or punish us.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, Jehovah explained the sense in which he forgives and forgets: “Now as regards someone wicked, in case he should turn back from all his sins that he has committed and he should actually keep all my statutes and execute justice and righteousness, he will positively keep living. He will not die. All his transgressions that he has committed—they will not be remembered against him. For his righteousness that he has done he will keep living.” (Ezekiel 18:21, 22; 33:14-16) Yes, when Jehovah forgives a repentant sinner, he wipes the slate clean and forgets in the sense that he will not take action against that one for those sins at some future time.—Romans 4:7, 8.

Being imperfect, we can never forgive in a perfect sense as Jehovah does; his thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8, 9) To what extent, then, can we reasonably be expected to forgive and forget when others sin against us?

How We Can Forgive and Forget

Be “freely forgiving one another,” urges Ephesians 4:32. According to lexicographer W. E. Vine, the Greek word rendered “freely forgiving” (kha·riʹzo·mai) means “to bestow a favour unconditionally.” When offenses committed against us are minor in nature, we may have little difficulty granting the forgiveness. Keeping in mind that we too are imperfect enables us to make allowances for the shortcomings of others. (Colossians 3:13) When we forgive, we let go of resentment, and our relationship with the offender may not suffer any lasting harm. In time, the memory of any such minor offense may well fade away.

What, though, if others sin against us in a more serious way, deeply injuring us? In extreme cases, such as incest, rape, and attempted murder, forgiveness may involve a number of issues. This would be particularly true when there is no acknowledgment of the sin, no repentance, and no apology on the part of the offender.b (Proverbs 28:13) Jehovah himself does not forgive unrepentant, hardened wrongdoers. (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26) When a wound is deep, we may never succeed in completely putting what happened out of mind. However, we can be comforted by the assurance that in the coming new world, “the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart.” (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:4) Whatever we remember then will not cause us the deep hurt or pain that we may now feel.

In other instances we may need to take some initiative to settle matters, perhaps by talking to the offender, before we can forgive. (Ephesians 4:26) In this way any misunderstanding can be cleared up, appropriate apologies made, and forgiveness extended. What about forgetting? We may never completely put out of mind what was done, but we can forget in the sense that we do not hold it against the offender or bring the matter up again at some future time. We do not gossip about it, nor do we completely avoid the offender. However, it may take some time for our relationship with the offender to mend, and we may not enjoy the same closeness as before.

Consider an illustration: Suppose you confide a deeply personal matter to a trusted friend, and you later learn that he divulged it to others, to your great embarrassment or hurt. You approach him to talk things over, and he is very sorry; he apologizes and asks for forgiveness. Hearing his sincere apology, your heart is moved to forgive him. Do you easily forget what happened? Likely not; you would no doubt be very cautious about confiding in him in the future. Yet you do forgive him; you do not continually rehash the matter with him. You do not harbor resentment, nor do you gossip about it with others. You may not feel as close to him as you did before, but you still love him as your Christian brother.—Compare Proverbs 20:19.

What, though, if despite your efforts to settle matters, the offender does not admit his wrong and apologize? Can you forgive in the sense of letting go of resentment? Forgiving others does not mean that we condone or minimize what they have done. Resentment is a heavy burden to carry; it can consume our thoughts, robbing us of peace. Waiting for an apology that never comes, we may only get more and more frustrated. In effect, we allow the offending person to control our emotions. Thus, we need to forgive others, or let go of the resentment, not only for their benefit but also for our own so that we may get on with our life.

Forgiving others is not always easy. But when there is sincere repentance, we can try to imitate Jehovah’s forgiveness. When he forgives repentant wrongdoers, he lets go of resentment—he wipes the slate clean and forgets in that he will not hold those sins against them in the future. We too can work to let go of resentment when the offender is repentant. There may, however, be instances where we are not even obligated to forgive. No victim of extremes in unjust or cruel treatment should be forced to forgive an unrepentant wrongdoer. (Compare Psalm 139:21, 22.) But in most cases when others sin against us, we can forgive in the sense of letting go of resentment, and we can forget in the sense of not holding the matter against our brother at some future time.

[Footnotes]

See the article “The Bible’s Viewpoint: How Complete Is God’s Forgiveness?” in the December 8, 1993, issue of Awake!, pages 18-19.

Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, page 862, says: “Christians are not required to forgive those who practice malicious, willful sin with no repentance. Such become God’s enemies.”—Published by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

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Joseph and his brothers

Does It Pay to Go Into Debt?

“NEVER spend your money before you have it.” Since going into debt is for many people a way of life today, does this advice given by former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson sound old-fashioned?

In many lands wages remain low in comparison with prices, and inflation eats away savings. Also, the economic climate affects people’s sense of values. Yet, honesty is important. Because such things as cheating on taxes and failing to repay debts are widespread, it is indeed a challenge to maintain a good conscience. No wonder, then, that the economy is often the talk of the day, and stories on saving or making money abound in newspapers and magazines and on television as people try to figure out how to deal with economic complexities. At the same time, you are rightfully concerned about how to provide for yourself and your family.—1 Timothy 5:8.

Since relatively few people enjoy economic stability, what can you do to avoid hardships for your family? For one thing, there is a vital lesson to keep in mind.

Avoid Too Much Debt

Why do some go into debt? Borrowing is not always due to a dire situation, such as illness. The desire to possess certain material things may be very strong. On the other hand, the inducement to go into debt may not in itself be wrong. In fact, it may be better to pay a mortgage on a house than to pay rent, or it may be necessary to buy a car. A breadwinner wants his family to be happy. He wants to be a success as a husband and father. Likely, he feels that his family is entitled to enjoy many of the material things that others possess.

Admittedly, it may be tempting to borrow money to purchase a desired but nonessential item. Acquiring things makes one feel good, does it not? Who does not enjoy a beautiful dress, a new pair of shoes, or even something like a brand-new car? And who would not like to have a more attractive home? Yet, beware! Businessmen can be persuasive, and a lot of money is made selling items to people who do not need them and cannot afford them.

Remember, too, that keeping up on payments can cause a strain on family relationships. Disagreement and bitterness may result. Playwright Henrik Ibsen was right when he said: “Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt.” If you do not make your payments on time, your good name may be tarnished. Since it is much easier to spend the borrowed money than to pay it back with interest, many discover that what they bought does not bring the joy they had anticipated.

Commonly, governments persist in borrowing more and more, increasing their interest payments. Although this may be normal, why imitate the debt-ridden nations? Rather than creating riches for the people, too much debt can increase poverty and insecurity. As a Danish proverb puts it, “it is hard to pay for bread that has been eaten.”

Happily, stress due to the burden of debt decreases greatly when you learn to spend wisely. So take the time to plan your shopping carefully to avoid pressures to borrow. Even in countries with hyperinflation, there are ways to save money—by shopping for bargains and by buying only necessities. It requires living within your means, being willing to wait or to do without.

Ask yourself: Will my going into debt cause hardship for my family? What about my reputation if I cannot repay the loan? It may take a long time to be trusted again! In this regard, practical, solid counsel is available. Why not examine the Bible to see whether it can help you and your family to deal with the matter of debt?

Can the Bible Help You?

Most important, the Bible can help all of us to cultivate implicit trust in Jehovah. Surely we need help in these “times hard to deal with.” (2 Timothy 3:1) We are admonished: “Let your manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things. For he has said: ‘I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.’ So that we may be of good courage and say: ‘Jehovah is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5, 6) How vital it is to develop strong faith in God as our Provider!

Although the Bible does not tell each person how to make a living, it does provide sound guidelines. Jesus Christ urged his listeners to care first for their spirituality: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need.” (Matthew 5:3) We are also told to set goals: “Make it your aim to live quietly and to mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we ordered you; so that you may be walking decently as regards people outside and not be needing anything.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12) To live quietly and enjoy a measure of tranquillity, does it not require living within our means?

God’s Word can help us to adjust our thinking. The writer of Proverbs showed a balanced viewpoint in requesting of God: “Give me neither poverty nor riches. Let me devour the food prescribed for me, that I may not become satisfied and I actually deny you and say: ‘Who is Jehovah?’ and that I may not come to poverty and I actually steal and assail the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8, 9) So do not feel ashamed if you have to get along with a little less, at least temporarily. Never let your happiness depend on material things, as many do, comparing themselves with others or unduly worrying about material possessions.—Matthew 6:31-33.

In addition, the Bible can help you to cultivate good habits. Learn to be thrifty without being stingy, finding satisfaction in the things you can afford. If you are a youth, do not expect to get instantly what adults have obtained by years of work. Avoid being enslaved by materialism. Aptly, the Bible warns us about, not money, but “the love of money,” saying: “Those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.” (1 Timothy 6:9, 10) How essential that you recognize the difference between what you really need and what you merely want!

Do you feel, however, that your income is too low? True, it is not easy to bear privations without becoming frustrated. Nevertheless, be willing to go without some nonessentials rather than going into debt for them, which may cause you heavy burdens and even financial loss. Plan carefully, and be economical. You may get practical suggestions by talking with an experienced friend. Would it help to learn a new skill? Remember: Following Bible principles, putting spiritual matters first, and trusting fully in Jehovah are vital—whatever the circumstances.—Philippians 4:11-13.

Yes, going into debt may not pay. It has been said: “A man in debt is caught in a net.” The burden of debt can be damaging to family life, health, and spirituality. Debt may make the borrower even more poor. Says Proverbs 22:7: “The rich is the one that rules over those of little means, and the borrower is servant to the man doing the lending.” Hence, avoid unnecessary debt. We can still benefit from the principle involved in what the apostle Paul recommended to Christians: “Do not you people be owing anybody a single thing, except to love one another; for he that loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”—Romans 13:8.

Regardless of the condition of the economy in your country, look forward confidently to God’s new world. Soon mankind will no longer be divided into lenders and borrowers. Under God’s Kingdom, no one will be poor. Jehovah’s promise will come true: “He will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper. He will feel sorry for the lowly one and the poor one, and the souls of the poor ones he will save.” (Psalm 72:12, 13) Rather than struggling merely to survive, earth’s inhabitants will then “find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Psalm 37:11.

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Thomas Jefferson

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Painting by Gilbert Stuart. Courtesy Bowdoin College Museum of Art/Dictionary of American Portraits/Dover

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Going heavily into debt can put a strain on your marriage

Bible Literature Appreciated in the Former Soviet Union

By Awake! correspondent in Russia

EARLY in 1991 the then existing Soviet Union was made up of Russia and 14 other republics. Since then, the republics have become independent countries. However, Russia has a greater population than the other 14 countries combined and has well over three times the land area that they do. By September 1994, there were 117,276 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the former Soviet Union who were sharing Bible truths with their neighbors.

Today large quantities of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines in Russian are printed each month for use in the former Soviet Union. In addition, many tracts and bound books are being distributed there. That this Bible literature has been deeply appreciated is clearly seen from letters received at the Russia office of Jehovah’s Witnesses near St. Petersburg.

Colorful Magazines Appreciated

A man from central Siberia wrote: “By complete chance I saw The Watchtower in the hands of my fellow worker. I asked her to show it to me. First I simply glanced at the bright, full-color illustrations. Then I read more and more . . . Before I realized it, I had read the magazine from cover to cover. The questions were asked in an interesting, lively, and conversational manner.”

Another man from Siberia explained: “By chance I received an issue of your magazine. I do not want to flatter you, but this is the best information that I have ever read about faith.”

A nurse from St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, wrote: “Thank you very much for the wonderful series of articles in the January 8, 1995, Awake! on burnout. These articles did not take away my problems but gave me the support for which I had been waiting and seeking.”

A 17-year-old school student wrote: “I am very grateful to all who are publishing such wonderful literature. When my friends and I were leaving a movie theater, we saw a few of the magazines left on an empty seat. We picked them up. . . . As I read The Watchtower, I could not believe my eyes. Will the future really be so? Now I am reading the Gospels and trying to understand them. Your magazines very thoroughly explain what the Bible says.”

A 26-year-old man said: “I am very grateful for the article ‘Is Suicide the Answer?’ in the April 8, 1994, Awake! Because of my inclination toward depression and the habit of masturbation, I have many times considered suicide. But God’s Word and prayers to Jehovah held me back from ending my life. This article strengthened my belief in God’s mercy and my belief that God will help me handle my problems. He sees my repentance. He wants me to live. I thank him for his support given by means of this article.”

Regarding the same Awake! article, a 15-year-old girl explained: “This magazine has played a big role in my life. When I was eight years old, I started feeling that nobody needed me. My parents did not have time to speak with me, and I tried to solve my problems by myself. I withdrew into myself. I quarreled constantly with my relatives. Then the thought of suicide came into my mind. How happy I was to meet Jehovah’s Witnesses!”

A woman from the European part of Russia said: “I once overheard a Bible discussion between two young men at a bus stop. I became interested and approached them. These young men gave me a copy of The Watchtower. With pleasure and interest, I read the magazine, and I want to know more about the Bible. I would like to have contact with you by means of your magazines, and I want to learn and study the Bible regularly.”

Other Literature Appreciated

A young woman from the Caucasus wrote: “A woman came to our office and began telling about some kind of an assembly. I saw the joy and the enthusiasm that she had, and I became interested. The next day she gave me the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. I devoured it. It was something stupendous. I felt that after wandering in darkness, I had found the door that leads to light. After seeking for so long a time, I found answers to all my questions in just one book. This is a joy that is impossible to describe.”

A man from Central Asia noted: “I am a parishioner of the evangelistic Good News Church. We feel an acute shortage of spiritual literature. We urgently ask you to send us books, brochures, and booklets for study and further distribution.”

A person from Armenia, near the Black Sea, wrote: “I read the brochure Does God Really Care About Us?, and it was like a breath of fresh air. At last I have found literature that will help me to study the Bible. I kindly ask you to send me books for such a study.”

A woman from Siberia said: “One of Jehovah’s Witnesses visited our house and left a copy of the book The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived. Although I have been an atheist since school, what I read encouraged me to meditate deeply and to start studying the Bible.”

A mother of two children expressed her gratitude for this same book about the life of Jesus Christ and explained: “It is understandable to children and of interest to them. It arouses a further desire to study the Bible and read religious literature. The book is splendidly published and made.”

Last year, 34,608 people in the former Soviet Union showed their appreciation for what they were learning by being baptized. May the Bible-based literature published by Jehovah’s Witnesses receive a full and liberal distribution in this part of the world, and may many thousands more respond to the Bible truths that it contains!

Why Your Body Needs Sleep

“WHAT I would give for a good night’s sleep!” That complaint is common these days. Many people constantly push themselves, and the daily stress and tension of modern life takes its toll.

Doctors, police officers, fire fighters, truck drivers, workers on rotating shifts, mothers with young children, and many others are among those who are vulnerable to being robbed of the sleep their bodies need. The millions of people who experience the frustrations associated with lack of sleep are keenly interested in knowing how to get sound, refreshing sleep.

The Role of Sleep

Sleep, or at least a period of rest, seems to be universal among living creatures. If you have had pets such as cats, dogs, or birds, you have no doubt observed that cats and dogs regularly curl up and drop off to sleep and that birds become quiet and go to sleep when darkness comes. Just about all animals, birds, and insects have a need for sleep, or at least periods of reduced activity. For humans, sleep is an absolute must.

Some people think sleep is simply a period of rest. But it is more than that. “Sleep is actually a complicated process of muscles tensing and relaxing, pulse and blood pressure rising and falling and the mind churning out its own home movies,” says The Toronto Star. “When a person falls asleep,” states The World Book Encyclopedia, “all activity decreases and the muscles relax. The heartbeat and breathing rate slow down.”

Although scientists, doctors, and researchers have studied sleep for many decades, basic mysteries remain about its vital role. These investigators have not even discovered what sleep actually is or why we sleep. Says Dr. Eliot Phillipson of the sleep research laboratory at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital: “We don’t know the critical biological events that occur in sleep that restore us.”

During sleep, changes occur in the body that affect our immune system. Body parts relax and get rest, counteracting the wear and tear of the day’s activity. The general clean-up work carried on through the bloodstream operates efficiently, and the chemical balance is restored. So sleep may be compared to a night crew that comes in to get things repaired and cleaned up for the next day.

One of the most important functions of sleep is to allow the nervous system to recuperate from its use during the day. As The World Book Encyclopedia says, “sleep restores energy to the body, particularly to the brain and nervous system.”

How Much Sleep?

Most adults need seven or eight hours of sleep every night. Some require less, others more. There are some who say that they do reasonably well on four or five hours, though some of them may take naps during the day. Infants need much more sleep than adults.

Particularly when people get older, they may find that they awaken several times during the night. Some may feel that this is a sign of the onset of serious sleep problems. However, while older people may not have the same quality of sleep that they did when they were younger, experiments have shown that waking up a few times during the night is not a cause for alarm. Usually, the waking time for most who do this is brief, perhaps only a few minutes, before they fall asleep again.

No matter what one’s age is, though, one should not expect to have the same soundness of sleep all night. Sleep works in cycles of deeper sleep alternating with lighter sleep. In the course of a night, a person may have a number of these cycles.

Dangers From Lack of Sleep

“Researchers are becoming increasingly concerned about the number of people who get far too little sleep. Chronic lack of sleep, they warn, can have dire consequences both for ourselves and the people around us,” reports The Toronto Star.

“People deprived of sleep lose energy and become quick-tempered. After two days without sleep, a person finds that lengthy concentration becomes difficult. . . . Many mistakes are made, especially in routine tasks, and attention slips at times. . . . People who go without sleep for more than three days have great difficulty thinking, seeing, and hearing clearly. Some have periods of hallucinations, during which they see things that do not really exist,” relates The World Book Encyclopedia.

Tests have found that after four days of sleeplessness, a test subject could perform only a few routine tasks. Those tasks requiring attention or even minimum mental agility became unbearable. Loss of concentration and mental agility were not the worst factors. After four and a half days, there were signs of delirium, and the person’s visual world became quite grotesque.

Lack of sleep can lead to major problems. More than one sleepy person has fallen asleep at the wheel while driving a car and has become involved in a fatal accident. Sleeplessness can also lead to family and marriage problems, since persistent lack of sleep makes one more irritable and harder to get along with. Getting a good night’s sleep is more important than some may realize.

Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep specialist Dr. Jeffrey J. Lipsitz of the Sleep Disorders Centre of Metropolitan Toronto suggests the following for getting a good night’s sleep. Sleep in secure, quiet, dark surroundings and on a comfortable bed. Do not nap late in the day, even if you slept poorly the night before; try to stay awake and to go to bed at your usual time. Avoid caffeine before bedtime. Do not use the bed for reading or watching TV. Avoid heavy exercise and large meals just before bedtime. Maintain regular sleeping hours, as this will help the body acquire a constant sleep-wake rhythm.

Get into the routine of winding down before you go to bed. Avoid doing things that may tend to get you wound up and wider awake. For instance, avoid exciting movies, TV programs, or reading material. Having stimulating discussions just before going to bed may also tend to keep you awake.

For some, taking a warm (not hot) bath or reading light material that is not stimulating is helpful. So may be sleep-inducing helps, such as warm milk, buttermilk, a little wine, or herb teas of hops, mint, or chamomile—but not teas with caffeine.

It is generally agreed, however, that just winding down before going to bed may not be enough in itself. A sound, balanced life with regular exercise and that is free from the anxieties and frustrations caused by greed, jealousy, hostility, and ambition contributes to the ability to get a good night’s sleep. So does a life free from overindulgence in food and drink and a life free from the unhappiness caused by immorality.

Satisfying our spiritual need can play an important role in getting sound, restful sleep. It will help us to understand the complex world in which we live and to pursue a balanced, satisfying way of life. A wise servant of God encourages us to develop insight and to hold on to the wisdom of Jehovah, for this will lead to “a pleasant and happy life.” Then he adds: “You will not be afraid when you go to bed, and you will sleep soundly through the night.”—Proverbs 3:21-24, Today’s English Version.

[Blurb on page 18]

Most adults need seven or eight hours of sleep every night

[Picture on page 18]

Chronic lack of sleep can have dire consequences

[Picture on page 18]

Many people have great difficulty falling asleep

Canada’s “Tainted Blood” Inquiry

By Awake! correspondent in Canada

VICTIMS of contaminated blood in Canada are dying from AIDS in growing numbers. Why the increase? More than a thousand Canadians contracted the AIDS virus from “tainted blood” and blood products in the 1980’s. These disturbing facts moved the federal government to set up a Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada. A public inquiry would determine the safety of Canada’s blood system.

One of the country’s most highly respected senior judges was named commissioner of the inquiry. The commission is holding hearings across Canada. Hearings began in Toronto on February 14, 1994, and the Honorable Mr. Justice Horace Krever of the Ontario Court of Appeal was commissioned to report his findings in due course and to recommend improvements.

A bereaved mother whose son died of AIDS from contaminated blood appealed to the judge: “They took my son and all I got was this inquiry. Please make it count.” She was anxious to see that a thorough investigation would be made so that the necessary steps would be taken to avoid the dangers associated with blood transfusions. She was not the only mother who lost a son in death from tainted blood. The commission heard heartbreaking testimony concerning this tragedy that shattered the lives of many Canadians.

Headlines in Toronto’s Globe and Mail have reported: “Anger, Tears as Victims Tell of Blood Horror”; “Blood Inquiry Hears Chilling Testimony”; “Ignorance of MDs Detailed”; and “Officials Judged AIDS Risk to Be Tiny, Blood Inquiry Told.”

Victims who contracted HIV from blood have said they were not warned about the risks. In several cases they did not know they had received a blood transfusion until they learned they were infected with the AIDS virus.

A teenager with AIDS got HIV from a blood transfusion during open-heart surgery when he was three years old. An HIV-positive man with mild hemophilia used blood products prior to 1984 at a time when he was playing hockey. He would have changed his life-style had he known the risks. A mother was transfused with HIV-contaminated blood in 1985, and now she, her husband, and their four-year-old daughter are all infected.

There have been heartbreaking accounts of people infected from only one or two units of blood. “Just to put a little red in his cheeks,” said one woman bitterly of the transfusion that infected her husband with HIV. Now she has the virus too.

As more witnesses testified, attention has turned to another tragedy of great proportions—hepatitis from blood. According to The Globe and Mail, it is estimated that “as many as 1,000 Canadians a year die of hepatitis C.” The newspaper adds that “up to half of them may have contracted the disease from blood transfusions.”

One man told how he contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion during back surgery in 1961. After his surgery, he became a regular blood donor. He found out in 1993 that he has cirrhosis of the liver. “What about the people who received blood I donated all those years when I didn’t know I had this disease?” he asked the inquiry.

Justice Krever listened intently to more than a hundred Canadians whose lives have been shattered by HIV and other tragedies resulting from tainted blood. Medical experts have testified that it is impossible to make the blood supply totally safe from disease transmission and other dangers. They have admitted serious risks and misuse associated with blood. Dr. J. Brian McSheffrey, medical director of a regional blood transfusion service, testified that he draws attention to the problem by saying in lectures: “If you have to give a transfusion, you’ve either failed in diagnosis or failed in therapy.”

There have been accusations of politics and rivalry among those whom the government committee called “major stakeholders” in Canada’s $250-million-a-year blood system. The Red Cross and government agencies have come under fire. No one seems to be in charge of the complex national blood system.

Happy Contrast

In contrast with the disheartening evidence, a happier account was put before Justice Krever on May 25, 1994, in Regina, Saskatchewan. William J. Hall, a 75-year-old man with severe hemophilia, told how he successfully manages his condition using alternatives to blood products. And he does not have AIDS. As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mr. Hall has avoided blood and blood factors because of his religious conscience.—See box on page 22.

More is yet to come. The government has extended the inquiry to the end of 1995. The commission could have time to examine effective nonblood treatment used in thousands of cases for adults and children who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. These alternatives apply to other patients as well.

Doctors using such alternatives have expert evidence they could share with the commission. Dr. Mark Boyd of McGill University told The Medical Post in 1993: “We really should be somewhat grateful to Jehovah’s Witnesses because they have shown us how well we can do without blood transfusions.” A U.S. presidential commission noted in 1988: “The surest preventive measure with regard to the blood supply is to eliminate the exposure of a patient to the blood of others, whenever possible.” By obeying God’s law to “keep abstaining . . . from blood,” Jehovah’s Witnesses have been blessed with the “surest preventive measure” against tainted blood and other dangers of blood transfusions.—Acts 15:20, 29.

Education Needed

Sadly, most victims of the tainted blood transfusions were not informed about alternatives that could have prevented their tragedies. Patients were not given the choice of informed consent—to accept the risks of blood or use safer alternatives.

Evidence before the commission reveals a need to educate doctors and the public about alternatives to blood transfusions. Such a high-level government inquiry could have a great impact in Canada. Justice Krever’s recommendations could set the stage for needed changes in attitudes and education in Canadian medicine about transfusion practices. The findings of the Commission of Inquiry will be of interest to all who want to avoid the dangers that go with blood transfusions.

[Box on page 22]

HEMOPHILIA MANAGED WITHOUT BLOOD

William J. Hall of Nipawin, Saskatchewan, told the commission how and why he manages his severe hemophilia without blood products. Here are excerpts from the court transcript of his testimony:

□ “My parents became aware that I was a hemophiliac when I swelled up from my toe to hip one time, and the doctors diagnosed it as hemophilia. . . . I would guess I was about one year old.”

□ “I have never taken blood or any blood product of any kind. . . . It is against my religious beliefs to take blood because I feel it is sacred.”

□ About his brother who also had hemophilia: “He didn’t have the same faith [religion] as I have, so he took a blood transfusion and he died from hepatitis.”

□ For a duodenal ulcer in 1962: “The doctor said that, if I didn’t use blood, I would die. . . . I was treated fine [without blood] in the hospital.” The bleeding was brought under control.

□ Regarding surgery in 1971 to pin a broken hip: “It was just a careful operation without blood. . . . The operation was successful.” Repeated blood tests at the time found no Factor VIII (clotting factor) present in his blood.

□ How he manages: “Lifestyle . . . , being careful.” He includes diet, rest, exercise, and careful treatment of swellings, bruises, and bleeds.

□ “I believe in relaxation and to meditate on the good things that our God has supplied us with and forget about our worries. This seems to help a lot.”

William Hall is 76 years old and is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

[Picture on page 20]

Justice Horace Krever, head of the commission

[Credit Line]

CANPRESS PHOTO SERVICE (RYAN REMIROZ)

[Picture on page 21]

William and Margaret Hall drove 230 miles [370 km] to appear before the Commission of Inquiry

Your Car—Shelter or Trap?

“After almost every disaster,” warns FEMA (U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency), “rescue teams find victims who might have survived if they had known whether to stay with or leave their cars.” Yes, a wrong decision can cost you your life. Do you know what to do in case of a disaster? Take the following quiz, and then compare your answers with those given below.

1. EARTHQUAKE

□ Stay in the car

□ Get out of the car

2. TORNADO

□ Stay in the car

□ Get out of the car

3. BLIZZARD

□ Stay in the car

□ Get out of the car

4. FLOOD

□ Stay in the car

□ Get out of the car

ANSWERS:

1. Earthquake: STAY IN THE CAR.

Although the car’s suspension system will cause it to shake violently, you are probably safest inside—provided you are not near buildings, overpasses, or utility wires.

2. Tornado: GET OUT OF THE CAR.

In a car is likely the most dangerous place to be in a tornado. But what if there are no safe shelters nearby? FEMA says: “Lie flat in a ditch or other ground depression with your arms over your head.”

3. Blizzard: STAY IN THE CAR.

Unless you see a safe haven within a reasonable distance, it is best to await rescue. The engine may be turned on for brief periods to provide heat, but keep a window slightly open to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Leave on an inside light as a signal for rescuers.

4. Flood: GET OUT OF THE CAR.

“If a car stalls in floodwater,” warns FEMA, “get out quickly and move to higher ground. The floodwaters may still be rising, and the car could be swept away at any moment.” Do not take chances. Water can be deeper than it appears, and levels can rise rapidly.

FEMA advises that you keep this information in the glove compartment of your car. And it recommends that in all situations, “the most important rule is: Don’t panic.”

Visiting Omdurman’s Camel Market

“WHERE is the Mowaleeh?” we ask. Our four-wheel-drive vehicle has taken us from the capital city, Khartoum, to the western edge of old Omdurman, the largest city in Sudan.

There are no road signs, only a maze of sand tracks. So we make the above inquiry of some men who are riding their donkeys. Their beasts of burden are laden with drums of drinking water. The riders are helpful and point us in the right direction. After five more miles [8 km], we drive our vehicle over a high sand barrier and see a remarkable sight, Omdurman’s camel market, the Mowaleeh.

Why Here?

This is a far cry from the air-conditioned shopping malls in the West. The market operates outdoors under the hot sky of the Sahara Desert. About one square mile [3 sq km] in size, with no clear boundaries, it has no trees or plants. In fact, there is sand as far as the eye can see. But you can also see camels by the hundreds and shepherds clad in the traditional national costume called jalabeeya.

As we watch fine yellowish dust blow across the unrelenting desert, we wonder, ‘Why did they put the market here?’ The answer soon becomes obvious. Breaking the monotony of the flat horizon, a huge suspended water tank that is fed from an artesian well can be seen. This source of precious water makes this an ideal location for such a market. From here, most of the beasts will be exported to Egypt and Libya.

As we approach, we are welcomed by smiling Arab shepherds. Each camel owner groups his camels together. We notice that many of the animals have their left front leg tied up in a bent position. Why do they inflict this temporary lameness on their animals? There is a superstition that the left leg belongs to Satan! Superstition notwithstanding, tying one leg does keep the animal from moving about and makes it easier for customers to examine them.

Much Sought After

Why is the camel such a sought-after commodity? Because it is superbly equipped for the hard desert conditions; it serves well as transportation in this arid region. Its long, slitlike nostrils quickly close in a desert storm. Its ears are toward the rear of its head and are filled with hair fringes that keep sand out. Its large hump, composed mainly of fat, serves as food storage during long journeys. Callous pads on its chest and knees protect it from the hot sand and the harmful insects. Furthermore, camels are able to eat the toughest and thorniest desert plants one can find and can journey for several days without drinking water.a

Interestingly, many camels do not serve as transportation. Some are bought simply as investments. Why, until recently, camels were used to pay the bride-price for marriages! Many of these beasts will even end up on the dinner plate. Right in Omdurman itself, a number of eating establishments specialize in grilled camel meat. Another popular dish, a salted camel dish called basturma, is often made from camel meat and is viewed as a delicacy in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries.

Little wonder, then, that the Omdurman camel market becomes a flurry of activity when these one-humped Arabian camels are brought in twice a week, mostly from western Sudan. Buyers are virtually mobbed by Arab shepherds who are bent on displaying their respective flocks.

Intense Bargaining

A prospective purchaser will first look the animals over with a trained and critical eye. He will touch the hump to see if there is a healthy store of fat. However, camels are priced according to their size and age. One-year-olds are called heowar, two-year-olds are called mafrood, and wad laboon is the designation for three-year-old camels. The most valuable animals, though, are those that have reached puberty. Females do so at about four years of age, and males at about eight. These are called heek and sudaies respectively. Upon being shown one of these full-grown beasts, the prospective buyer will examine them to determine whether the animal has indeed reached puberty.

Once a camel has won the buyer’s fancy, the bargaining begins. The ability to bargain is an indispensable skill in the Middle East! “Be esm Allah” (By the name of God) are the first words spoken. Now the war of prices begins. The discussions are carried on calmly, without any shouting, and at leisure. If buyer and seller fail to come to an agreement, they conclude simply by saying “Yeftaah Allah” (God will open another opportunity).

We have come to observe, not buy, however. Having stayed but a short time in the blazing noonday heat, we are ready to go home. The camels, though, seem unperturbed by the heat. We are reminded, therefore, of how well adapted these ‘ships of the desert’ are to their environment. No doubt this will mean continued business here at Omdurman’s fascinating camel market!

[Footnotes]

See the article “The Arabian Camel—Africa’s All-Purpose Vehicle” in the June 8, 1992, issue of Awake!

Is Your Home Earthquake Resistant?

By Awake! correspondent in Japan

“HELP me! Help me!” In the early morning darkness of January 17, 1994, a man cried out from the first floor of an apartment house into which the top two stories had collapsed and lay like a stack of pancakes. An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale had struck Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., taking the lives of 16 people in that building. The death toll in the area was over 50.

…

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Awake!, June 8, 1995