wfn.org | Tanzania ambassador will work on healing

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

August 11, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
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By United Methodist News Service

When the Rev. Charles Stith is sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Tanzania
on Sept. 8, his tasks will include more than the usual diplomatic
duties.

"Obviously, I'll have a little pastoring to do, too," he said, referring
to trauma caused by the Aug. 7 U.S. embassy bombing there, which left 9
dead and more than 70 wounded. The blast occurred almost simultaneously
with a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which killed more
than 200 people and injured nearly 5,000.

The United Methodist clergyman from Boston wants to provide an
opportunity for both Tanzanians and Americans affected by the blast in
Dar es Salaam "to do some venting, to do some grieving and to do some
healing."

Stith, who arrives in Tanzania on Sept. 10, was vacationing in the
Caribbean when the bombing occurred. He was notified immediately by the
U.S. State Department and spent Aug. 9 attending briefings in Washington
D.C. before returning to Boston.

"I've been on the phone all day talking to my deputies in Tanzania," he
said during an Aug. 10 telephone interview with United Methodist News
Service. 

Stith said he reacted with shock, anger and surprise to the news of the
bombing. He added that he particularly was angered because the magnitude
of the blast indicated "it was clearly done in a way to maximize the
danger zone and the kill zone. 

"It really is a miracle that no Americans were killed," he said. "It's a
miracle that more lives were not lost."

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/

Tanzania ambassador will work on healing