by phil | May 14, 2012 | Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories
In Bambara, Sama = Elephant I have spent approximately 110 hours of my life on the road between Bamako and Abidjan. I first took the trip in October of 2010. At that time, the northern half of Cote d’Ivoire was controlled by the Forces Nouvelles and it was the...
by phil | May 2, 2012 | Biz, Cote D'Ivoire
An “illegal distribution of power” in Yopougon, Abidjan. Quick update: I was supposed to fly to Mali on Monday. The flight was canceled due to a cloud of martian-like dust in Bamako. It would have been the second time I flew into Bamako during a coup, or...
by phil | Apr 23, 2012 | Biz, Cote D'Ivoire
This picture was taken one month ago. See the end of the post for what the maisonette/store house/office looks like now We officially launched our business a couple of months ago, but it was last week that we started operating at capacity (see this post for the early...
by phil | Apr 9, 2012 | Mali
Karate class at Palais de la Culture in Bamako For a bit of background on the political crisis in Mali, please see my last post. UPDATE: Yesterday, the details of the ECOWAS accord were released and they are not promising. Most notably, Sanogo is not going anywhere....
by phil | Mar 25, 2012 | Mali
Niger River sunset By now you know that a group of relatively young, low-ranking soldiers has taken control of Mali’s Presidential Palace and the state TV station ORTM. They also have control of the airport, which they have closed along with the land borders....
by phil | Mar 20, 2012 | Biz, Cote D'Ivoire
I have been self-employed for a year and a half or so. I quit my teaching job in June 2010 and bought a one way ticket to West Africa. I rode out my savings for six months, coming back to the states during the winter months and taking advantage of several free housing...
