Karim my Friend

I´ve made a new friend today. His name is Ibrhm Karim.

Mr. Karim has sent me an e-mail. Prior to this e-mail, I had no knowledge of the existence of Mr. Karim. I´m very glad he chose me as a friend, though.

You might think strange I call Mr. Karim a "friend", having merely received an e-mail from him with no previous contact established between us. But I wasn´t the first one to offer friendship: read for yourself the message below and you will see he addresses me not only as a "friend", but a "good friend".

And not only that: I am to him "my good friend". We belong. We are true friends. Together we can face the hardships and the cruelties of this world, for they are many and you need good friends to endure. You need family. You need love. I have friends, but true friends are always hard to come by - and very few people close to your heart can indeed be called "friends" in the true sense of the word.

These days, for someone to take a leap of faith and send an e-mail to a complete stranger and to show amicability towards that person... well, it takes guts.

Mr. Karim, he tells me, is from Burkina Faso. Unfortunately, I only know three things about Burkina Faso - it´s a West African country that was colonized by the French, its capital is Ouagadougou (no, really) and, finally, it was called Alto Volta before becoming independent in the 1960s. I feel saddened I know so little about Burkina Faso, but I´m sure my new friend will teach me more. We will talk about Brazil and Burkina Faso. And we will make some sense out of these crazy globalized times.

He also tells me he works as an accounts officer in a bank in Burkina Faso. Apparently, there was a development regarding some transaction that took place in his bank about which he wants to talk about "for my personal edification". I don´t know much of Mr. Karim, but he sure has a charming way of writing about the mundane.

This transaction involves 9 million dollars (from the size of the amount, I can only conclude that Mr. Karim is an accounts officer of some importance within the ranks of that bank), and he tells me that I will be gently paid half of that amount for my "ASSIST ANCE". I have no idea what kind of "ASSIST ANCE" he refers to, but I´m more than happy to help a friend in need. 

He ends the note stating that, if the offer has struck my fancy, I should reply to receive more details, and he even provides me with his telephone number: +226 78 36 90 83.

This is indeed a lucky day. Not only I get to meet a new friend, completely out of the blue, I´m also offered the opportunity to help him and earn $ 4,5 million in the process. I will definitely give Mr. Karim a call.

Thank you, dear Ibrhm. With your simple yet touching gesture, you have renewed my faith in the human race. After all´s said and done, the world is still a wonderful place.

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From:

"Ibrhm Karim"

To:

undisclosed-recipients

Subject: WITH DUE RESPECT FROM MR KARIM +226 78 36 90 83

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 10:53 AM

GOOD DAY MY GOOD FRIEND

LET ME START BY INTRODUCING MYSEIF,
I AM MR IBRHM KARIM,
AN ACCOUNTS OFFICER WITH AN AFRICA BANK IN BURKINA-FASO OF WEST
AFRICA.

I AM WRITING YOU THIS LETTER BASED ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT AT MY BANK WHICH I
WILL LIKE TOBRING TO YOUR PERSONAL EDIFICATON.($9MILLION TRANSFER CLAIMS).

THIS IS ALEGITIMATE TRANSCTION AND YOU WILL BE PAID 50% FOR YOUR
"ASSIST ANCE".IF YOU ARE INTERESTED,PLEASE WRITE BACK FOR MORE
EXPLANATION.

YOU CAN ALSO CONTACT ME WITH MY PHONE +226 78 36 90 83

KIND REGARDS
MR IBRHM KARIM.

P.S. - I have just called Mr. Karim. A man answered, speaking French. I don´t know French, so I hung up.

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