We wish to petition the Telegraph, Amazon and every media house giving Louise Linton coverage and a platform to masquerade as an AUTHOR of a book about her experiences in Zambia when volunteering that we find are fictions and unpalatable. Louise has made several claims of her experiences of incidents and places that we can not seem to place and others that have never happened. The book reads like the plot of a movie and portrays our country in a very bad light. Louise has portrayed our country as a warzone with rebels, machetes, teenagers slinging AK47, escaping from scampering villager with monsoon season, jungles and being close to death with lions and tigers. We would like her to show us were she was. We are a peaceful and loving people who accommodate anyone that comes to Zambia which other nationalities can attest to. We have not suffered any such atrocities since independence in 1964. It is an insult to the country for a young girl to come there pretending to help the local people needing help but instead use the opportunity to use non-existence to make money. We as Zambians and friend's of Zambia are not here to be exploited but a people who solemnly believe in fair and just treatment. For the sake of clarity we are petitioning to have this book pulled from the shelves/retracted until Louise can tell us where she was and were these incidences happened. Unfortunately Louise, we don't have a jungle neither do we have monsoon wether, rebels or Militia manning roadblocks in Zambia. Where was she based to have seen those animals that people have gone from birth to death in their 80s not experiencing WilD animals. Unless Louise was based in a wild reserve could she have experienced her being in danger. Louise goes on to portray her self as this white saviour with angel hair offering an HIV +ve child a bottle of Coca Cola. She talks about being in fear of being killed based on her skin colour. If any foreigner has been to Zambia, they will tell you how well and friendly Zambians are especially in the Villages where they do not see foreigner much. To think our people would murder her based on her skin colour is ridiculous. We as a nation are yet to hear of a foreigner/visitor of any colour being harmed. We humbly ask for a decent apology and the sale of this book off shelves and retracted. It is not a true reflection of Zambia and harms our country. Zambia depends on tourism and will deter people from visiting. As most reviewers have pointed out on her book reviews on Amazon, there are a lot of inaccuracies in what must be a life experience. Some of the lies in the book include:. LOUSE mentioned that she experienced Monsoon weather in Zambia which is far fetched as Zambia does not have monsoon weather. It is very bad of volunteers going abroad and faking their experiences just to look like heroes. Some of our countries are poor hence the reason we seek help but please do not exploit them. I call upon all agencies sending volunteers abroad to please get their candidates. Sign an agreement indicating that legal procedures would go to anyone lying about their experiences. It should also be taken upon media houses to also contact Representatives in the said countries to confirm facts before taking it to press. Louise claimed that she rode in the back of a van going North from the airport when two hours outside of Lusaka they encounter a roadblock manned by gun-slinging militia men, including a 12 year old child soldier which a machete at his waist. Which Zambian has ever seen a child soldier or army carrying machetes or any offensive weapons mounting roadblocks? These fake stories must be challenged and rubbished The "12 inch" rain spiders do not exist as the spiders in Zambia only grow upto 3 inches. L#Lintonlies has been the hashtag used on Twitter and all media houses used to question Miss Linton and challenge her on which part of the country she was based. We do not live in an animal kingdom with a jungle. The only thing missing from this story was Tarzan swinging from tree to tree and looking to go back to the city to learn how to dress which I believe would have been the only thing sounding truthful in this naive girl. Although not impossible to find a child called "Zimba" which a name usually given to kids in the Eastern province, it is very unlikely to find this in the Northern province although not impossible. This rings bells in our head as natives take pride in naming after their ancestors, themselves etc. I believe that Louise on her travels had come across someone called Zimba and in her lack of knowledge used this name in her book. Can we also challenge not only Louise but her publisher to please produce a signed health disclosure signed by an informed adult to this child called Zimba if truly she existed and her permission not only to disclose her HIV status but also to appear in her book as you would expect to happen in the West or is this irrelevant to Zambia/Africa.. A statement from Louise's location and in charge of her visit have rubbished these claims and explained how Louise only heard some of these as stories happening in DR Congo and not Zambia. He speaks of how much of a nightmare to live with she was and was at a different bay and not a dole as her book states. Louise has now turned around and stated that it was a different time. Inconsistency in her story reads from start to finish. Her claimed years at age of experience and now do not add up. Louise said “Hutu-Tutsi conflict in neighboring Congo began to escalate and spill over into Zambia with repercussions all along the lake”. Which Hutu –Tutsi conflict was in Congo and spilled in Zambia. This person must be called to order and her book withdrawn from the shelves. The western media as well must learn to check the details of anything given to them instead of promoting non-factual Stories based on a over privileged young woman looking to portray herself as a survivor and hero in a peaceful country. I am urging all Zambians, friends of Zambia,Congolese and the entire African Continent to stand up and petition against the sale of this book. We must counter every lie in her book with full detailed facts to make sure that damage done by Louise is reversed. We fight against this atrocity as a people to avoid anyone from the West exploiting poor people and claiming to be delivering services they do are not quealified to give. We as a nation call upon charities to fight for this great service that benefits countries worldwide from genuine Volunteers. An apology with the retraction will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

STAND UP FOR AFRICA STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH

Greenwell K Nyirenda