Why you, why me?

• Author: Adou, Kinsky
• Position: Upfront - Letter to the Editor

Thank you for your thought-provoking article on the Wayuu culture. I couldn't help but notice that the tribe's name is similar to that of the Guaymi people of Panama. Whether it is "why you?" or "why me?" the ladies in the story typify the culture shock many women like myself deal with.

My tribal roots are in the rural Cote d'Ivoire, not Colombia, but I felt a tremendous identity with the girls in the article. Like them, I grew up eating cassava as a staple, like them my people's culture was threatened by invading colonists, like them our major export was threatened by outside forces, like them I left my village to better myself in college, and like them I am still restrained by marriage customs in my homeland. I am pleased to see that...