See the eclipse of the sun and die; this was how I feel after reading page 11 of Matinal daily information Benin
in its edition of Tuesday, March 28, 2006, the eve of the long-awaited event in Benin, ''eclipse of the sun''. Page 11 of the newspaper was entirely devoted to this event through an interview of Mrs. Barikissou A. Ogbé, national coordinator of the national program to fight against blindness in Benin. The eclipse of the sun occurs when the the moon, sun earth are on the same axis. This creates the moon to veil a portion of the sun and the sun''s rays cannot reach the regions where the moon completely veil the sun, causing the dark at some points of the earth. A full day, the sky is dark and night falls over the country. We have learned through this interview that the eclipse of the sun consists of three phases: - first, when the moon begins to veil the sun''s rays, and this can last half an hour . -- The second, when the moon completely veil the sun. this magic moment of total eclipse lasts three to four minutes and depends on where you are, -- Finally the third phase, which lasts about thirty minutes is the reapparition of the sun. we have learned that the last eclipse of the sun in Benin was held in 1962, and the next will take place in 2034. Ms. Barikissou warned people about the danger to observe the phenomenon to the naked eye and that 53000 pairs of glasses have been ordered,non enough for an estimated population of about 6 million people. Awareness sessions are taking place throughout the térritoire of the Republic of Benin to inform the public about the dangers of watching the eclipse of the sun without adequate glasses. For my part, I never leave my pair of special glasses for eclipse. ZANKPIN