Urgent deadline for suffering journalist.

I appeal to all my friends and contacts – and to everyone reading this – to help save a friend and colleague, young and very talented journalist who has been doing great work in cultural journalism in Africa over the last 10 years. Thanks to that work, many African musicians got their first exposure to European audiences. Now my friend has been hit by serious illness, resulting in a very difficult situation.

In the African country of my friend, there is no access to any medical help or support without paying very high fees for treatment. My friend does not have any family support, as parents and other close relatives are dead. There is now a desperate need for very expensive regular treatment. This has been the case for months now. At the same time, because of the illness, work and self-support have not been possible. This has led to a towering hospital bill and a situation of having been brutally thrown out of hospital, and experiencing inhuman pressure to pay, including threats of imprisonment.

My friend’s health is rapidly deteriorating, the illness is now life-threatening. With this initiative, I will try to get enough money to settle the hospital bill and resume vitally necessary treatment. I am not publishing the name of my friend here. This is necessary in order to get back into active participation in the profession without any stigma after getting well again.