by phil | Oct 31, 2012 | Camels, Mali
Just a short update here. We hit the mark on this camel drawing campaign. Now the fun begins. In preparation, I am traveling to Kita, a town several hours west of Bamako. An important center of animism, Kita is also home to many nyamakala (sculptors of the universe)....
by phil | Oct 23, 2012 | Mali
Arouna (pictured), a 24-year-old car mechanic who also sells phone credit and raises sheep and chickens. Madina, who is studying to be a lawyer. Mohamed, a high school English teacher who collects water from rivers around the world (he was over a dozen samples...
by phil | Oct 16, 2012 | Camels, Mali
I’m on my way back to Mali as I write this. Bus to New York. Subway to JFK. Flight to Brussels. Hang out for two days. Flight to Lisbon. Flight to Bamako. Despite whatever fatigue I may experience, I am gearing up for a record breaking camel drawing mission that...
by phil | Sep 26, 2012 | Mali
Diplomats, analysts, neocons, ECOWAS, the AU, the UN, and the government of France, among others, are talking about how to best dislodge the armed Islamist groups occupying northern Mali. I have a simple 5 part plan that does not involve negotiation or the use of...
by phil | Sep 15, 2012 | Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories
While waiting for a customs agent to come to an agreement with a man that had many jerry cans of palm oil on our minibus, we stood in the road and listened to Chéché Dramé on my girlfriend’s cellphone. Trucks and busses tore past, slaloming around potholes,...
by phil | Aug 30, 2012 | Cote D'Ivoire
Outside of a trip to Bassam, I have been in Abidjan for most of August. The city — one of the more energetic and nocturnal places I’ve ever spent time in — has felt a bit deflated. Ramadan, cool August weather, a proliferation of police checkpoints...
