Apoptosis and social humanization
Jacques K. Simporé, Biologiste,
Enseignant de Génie Génétique à l’université de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso),
Centre Médical Saint Camille 01 B.P. 364 Ouagadougou 01 Burkina Faso
Tel. 00226/50361236 Fax 00226/360349 E-Mail:
Nowadays, the right to live which is a fundamental one has some serious violations: contraception, abortion, genocide, suicide, euthanasia...[1] By taking into account the different types of cellular death and by glancing on certain African customs, one could firstly think that Euthanasia or suicide are some normal biologic processes. However, the thought of the humanism with which the MOOSE, one of the Burkina-Faso ethnic groups cope with sick person in critical stage is very surprising and allows us to see that the practice of euthanasia is nothing but a shameful deviation of their previous customs. On the one hand, we shall try to draw a comparison between cell life organisation with human social life and on the other hand, we shall develop the theme about Moose’s way of taking care of patients.
I-Apoptosis and social relation
A-Natural dynamism of death in man: cellular death
Consisting of several billions of cells, man can be likened to a cellular city. He can be considered as a society or an ecosystem in which cells are individuals, increasing by cellular division and organised in co-operative sets of tissues, of organs, of systems, which make up the organism.
The following are exemplicafications of divisions of cellular death.
1-Apoptosis and social relation
Apoptosis or planned cellular death is different from necrosis which is a violent or accidental death of cells. The latter, after a certain number of divisions, detect an apoptotical message, saying that they should abandon their social place to despair. When this message is sensed, they just obey and provoke some queer proteins to be recognised in order to be phagocytosed and eliminated by macrophages. Normal cells death is a suicide in which, cells engage a death plan and kill themselves. The best proof which shows that animal cells have an internal plan of apoptosis comes from the genetic investigation of Caenorhabditis elegans where ced-3 and ced-4 genes have been identified as necessary to kill 131 normal cells[2]. In the vertebrates, the apoptosis is welcomed because it controls the number of neurones during the neurogenesis, and eliminates the undesirable lymphocytes; it arranges the cells that have already finished their task and helps to form the different organs during the morphogenesis. Therefore, apoptosis is useful and necessary for a harmonious development of the organism. An inadequate planned cellular death is as dangerous for a pluricellular organism as for an excessive cellular proliferation which leads to an oncogenesis.
2-The infected cells are destroyed by macrophages.
In the organism, some cells like macrophages, lymphocytes T killer kill any infected cell and relieve the organism of the old cells and those that are ill or already dead.
3-Self sacrifice of cells
A fact we can describe as cellular altruism: inside man’s organism, the whole line of somatic cells has to die at the end and no descendant will be spared. They devote their whole life to take care of germinal cells that are the only ones to have a chance to survive through fertilisation and embriogenesis. In thinking about this fact, we realise that it does not constitute a real mystery because «the human organism is a clone and the somatic cells genomic is the same just like that of germinal cell; thus, self-sacrifice for the safety of germinal cells, the somatic cells help spread copies of their own genes»[3].
4-Suicide of infected cells.
When a Eucaryote cell is infected by the poliovirus, the former can have two attitudes:
nPassively await death.
In this case, the virus which has a cap-independent translations system, has time to code its proteins, develop to infect other cells.
nThe cell can also decide to commit suicide.
To do so, it only has to provoke a chemical reaction(phosphorelation) in its EIF2 GTP- dependent system to stop importing amino-acids. At this period, the rate of protein synthesis collapses. The drawback is that the host cell quickly dies and the virus has no time to develop. Is it altruism? self sacrifice? cellular automatic regulation? or instinct?
What is sure, the cell may choose to die to save its companions.[4]
Here, we are in front of a kind of euthanasia, of suicide and cellular eugenism regulated by laws of nature where the strongest cell is always right and can submit the weakest one for the sake of common interest and protection of the majority. At a higher level, could we find such regulation clues in human social life ?
B-«Social apoptosis» among the Moose
The Moose are one of the several ethnic groups of Burkina Faso, a country situated in western Africa. In the old days, this society had some euthanasia practices for eugenic purposes that can be considered as «social apoptosis».
nTwin babies, persons with genetic deformities and babies born from incest were systematically killed.
nHuman sacrifices were often allowed. At the death of an Emperor, his favourite wife, was killed and buried with him in the same grave whether ill or not. Some pages were also killed to accompany him.
nA king who committed a serious social offence was called on by his advisory council to commit suicide.
nPeople publicly known as witches were to be eliminated or banned from the family and even from the village.
Most certainly, the Moose killed people with genetic deformities and twin babies because they thought they were not human beings but bad spirits that could bring misfortune in the society. The King who committed a serious offence as far as social rules were concerned was expected to commit suicide for the same reason. Apart from these pathetic cases, the Moose respect and help children, old people and the sick.
II-How the Moose take care of the sick
A - Relationship between a sick person,
his family and society among the Moose
In the traditional Africa, the significance of family life is of paramount impotence as it is extended to the whole village in which each individual is considered as a brother or a sister. «In that Africa, the concept of hospital did exist but was nowhere to be found.There existed no old people’s house, nor asylum for the demanded, the latter bring socially alienated because they were first rejected in terms of economic and moral conditions before being physically excluded.»[5]
For the hygienists, the traditional African life style was unhygienic because there was no distinction between infectious sick persons and those in good health. Lepers, tuberculars, those who were suffering from chickenpox, measles, meningitis, cholera, everybody lived together.
Any idea about isolating the sick was unthinkable. People probably had no idea about microbial speading or they considered it as a sacred duty to stay bay the side of tier sick.
Every morning files of relatives come to pay visit to the sick person; long and expensive trips to look for medicine or grigri are not taken in to consideration.
Some healthy relatives could often be found at the bedside of a sick person at a critical stage, in head to head conversation, breathing repulsive snelling emanating from horridly infected sick relatives. For them, any sick person must be taken car of. As the saying goes: «Wend pa kù, Naab pa kùùd ye!»(If God does not kill, neither can the king nor the physician».
nAt a patient’s bedside, some women and men are present. They sit behind the patient propping him against their legs or holding him against their chests to relieve him, to feed him, to give him something to drink just like they do during circumcision, delivery or initiation. In the case or an old dying Nyo-noaga, it’s an old woman who sits and praises his ancestors; «Don’t be afraid; go in the glory of your ancestors. They weren’t afraid of fire or water. The ancestor Nanema appeared and disappeared in front of his enemies and put them to rout. He never accepted disgrace. Thus was his device: «Rather death than disgrace».Worthy son of Nanema, you are a real Nyo-nyoaga… Then, struggle the struggle of life. For you, going to the ancestors’ doesn’t mean dyeing; it means having a better life. go, go, go...» While the patient’s life is ebbing away, the old woman lowers her voice and when the person is dead, she shuts his eyes»[6].
Moaaga woman is inescapably the person who works a lot for the ill person. She gives up everything to look after him. Except for persons publicly known as witches, a sickness of your enemy necessarily brings peace between you and this person because disease is men common enemy.
B-Relationship between sick person, healer and medicine among the Moose.
The Moose say: «health is everything»; «Laafi la bumbu». Someone who works in a health service shouldn’t be remunerated because he works in God’s place. Healers’ remuneration was symbolic: Three kolanuts or some salt. To speak about a rich healer is a kind of contradiction in the words, because the fact of being able to cure a disease is viewed as a social service, a gift for the group, therefore, a responsibility for the community.[7]
There is a relationship between the sick person, the healer and the natural environment which is the source of medicines. Health should be found thanks to these elements. The traditional option concerning therapy consists in putting together all these parameters where nature is used and associated, where the whole community is involved to the cure process. So, the ill person is never sentenced to be alone when facing emptiness.
The spirit takes on a particular importance in the moaaga’s conception. More than anywhere else he relies on medicine because he trusts the healer. In this condition the whole cosmos takes part to the healing process. A dance, a song, a word uttered, a gesture could turn in medicines.
Among the Moos, brotherhood is clearly expressed not only during sickness, but also in the way they dance with the dead kinsman; simple but wonderful songs are sung with tenderness and real gentleness.
The mystery of Man lies hidden in this way of caring for the dead person, his whole being, in respect of the sick person’s dignity walking across the valley of death
In view of what has been said, what can we state as a conclusion?
CONCLUSION
It’s certain that apoptosis which is a kind of euthanasia and eugenism is nothing but a cellular natural regulation process and cannot be applied to social life. We call instinct what is natural in man. The human being who is also called reasoning animal must be guided by his spirit rather than his instinct.
Unfortunately, nowadays, we bitterly realise that humanism which should lead man’s action depends on social development. From the time being, everything is calculated and evaluated in terms of cost and profits: utilitarianism.
In some pathetic situations man refuses to recognise his brother who needs him. He becomes what Romans call: «Homo homini lupus».
We sharply condemn euthanasia, genocide, abortion even in a therapeutic way. As Moose, we strongly assert that the sick person is a brother and should have our attention, and our support. He has the right to die serenely with human and christian dignity[8]. He should not be a simple number without personality nor dignity we label and give up on a sickbed.
«It should be strongly stated once more: nothing and nobody can give permission to kill an innocent human being: foetus, embryo, child, old people or any person with incurable disease. Nobody can no longer ask for the homicidal act to be committed for himself or for another person who is under his responsibility or agree it explicitly or implicitly. No authority can impose it»[9]. We would like to spell it out here: Euthanasia is a violation of divine law, an offence to the person’s dignity, a crime against life, a murder attempt against humanity.
III-Bibliography:
Alberts B., Bray D., Watson J., Biologie moléculaire de la cellule, Medicine
Sciences 3 édition, Paris 1995
Gaudium et Spes n°27; G. Caprile, Il Sinodo des vescovi 1974. p.708
Ki Zerbo, conférence non publiée de 1982 sur le charisme camillien
Sgreccia E. Manuale di Bioetica, 1994 Vta e pensiero
Simporé J., Conférence non publiée de 1997, Processus de mort chez les moosi
Site Internet: Mort cellulaire, http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/ ;PMID:7479831 ; 8098776
1
[1] Gaudium et Spes n 27; G. Caprile, il Sinodo dei Vescovi 1974, Roma 1975. P.708
[2] B. Alberts; D. Bray; J. Watson, Biologie Moléculaire de la cellule, Médecine-Sciences, 3ème Edit., Paris 1995, p.1076
[3] Ibid, p. 1255
[4] http//www.ncbi.gov/htbin-post/entrez/query
[5] A. Ki-zerbo, Conférence non publiée de 1982, charisme camillien et culture africaine.
[6] J. Simpore, Conférence non publiée de 1996, processus de la mort chez les moose
[7] A. Ki-Zerbo, Conférence non publiée de 1982, charisme camillien et culture africaine.
[8] E., Sgreccia, Manuele di Bioetica, 1994, Vita e pensiero p.640.
[9] Congrégation pour la Doctrine de la foi, déclaration sur l’euthanasie, 1980