by phil | Jun 24, 2013 | Mali
After an extended period of mourning following the death of Maimouna – have I shared that yet? Maimouna died. When I asked my partner Arouna what killed her, he said “fresh air.” Well, he said “fraicheur,” a French word that can refer to...
by phil | Jun 6, 2013 | Mali
I could easily make an entire blog of bamako taxi interiors. I could do the same for West African barbershops, minibus proverbs, and dibiterie sheep drawings. But, you have to start somewhere. Every now and then, you will come across a taxi interior in Bamako that is...
by phil | May 28, 2013 | Mali
If we had held these kinds of gatherings in the early 90’s, we would not be in the position that we are today. That quote comes from the dugutigi (neighborhood chief) of Bankoni, the neighborhood where we held our most recent SOS Democracy community event (help...
by phil | May 14, 2013 | Mali
Earlier this year, I was emailed by a Malian woman named Coumba. She was trying to get in contact with Bruce Whitehouse about a post he had written, in which I was quoted. His post linked to my site and she ended up writing to me thinking that I had authored...
by phil | May 2, 2013 | thoughts, W. Africa
As the words were coming out, I knew I was making a mistake. I knew because I had made the same mistake before, in front of the same friend whose eyes were now widening. “Hεrε sira?” (did you pass the night in peace?). Under most circumstances, this is an...
