Mar 2, 2008

U.S. Exchange Student Starved by Egyptian Host Family

This is by far the most ridiculous story I've come across so far this year. 

17 Year old Jonathan McCullum lost 50lbs after being 'starved' by his host family in Alexandria, Egypt. The family, who were Coptic Christians, fasted for the large proportion of his 4 month stay and gave him 'meager' amounts of food and hid treats in their bedroom. He said he never got breakfast and his first food of the day usually was a small piece of bread with cucumbers and cheese that he would take to school for lunch. There was a late-afternoon dinner consisting of beans, vegetables and sometimes fish, and a snack of bread later in the evening. When he returned home to Maine the 5-foot-9 teenager weighed a mere 97lbs and was so weak that he struggled to carry his baggage or climb a flight of stairs. Doctors said he was at risk for a heart attack.

And the reason why this boy didn't go downstairs and buy some shawerma and foul is because...? 

Next up he wants to visit Zimbabwe this coming summer to build homes and trails...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw this kid on Good Morning America. The clip is on youtube. I found it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-FLvAsUCGw

They had all these pictures of him eating. Something's wrong here. I've lived in Egypt. They don't starve Americans...

Hanna said...

Thanks for the link.
Yeah Alexandria is hardly some remote jungle where the family would be his only access to food - the part where they say he stole food from the shop is just ludicrous. Surely this underage kid's lack of money in a country on the other side of the world is a bigger cause for concern?!

Abdurahman Warsame said...
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