As in all life there are good things and there are bad....
we shall begin with the good....
About a month ago, Jon and I were able to take our first vacation out of Guinea to the neighboring country of Mali. We went with two of our friends and had a great time. We were finally able to see the entire stretch of the country; see the amazing contrasts of culture, language, ethnicities ecology, landscape, and architecture that makes up Guinea. We crossed into Mali and found the temperature there very similar to the eastern part of Guinea: dry, flat, and hot! But for us, coming from the coast, having heat that was dry instead of humid was actually a nice change!
We spent some time in the music captial of West Africa (and the capital of Mali) Bamako and treated ourself to delicious pastries, beer on tap, and amazing Italian cusine. We went to the markets and were astounded by the incredible craftsmanship of the artisans. After a stop in Mopti and another crazy day of shopping, we headed north on the Niger River on a big boat. As we made our way north, it was amazing to watch the landscape change from red and dry to sandy and dusty as we continued through the sahel and entered the lands of real desserts. We kept our eyes out for hippos but unfortunately did not catch a glimpse of one.
We got to Timbuktu, that place of myth and ledgends, on the "Fete" day to celebrate the end of the month-long fast of Rammadan. Because it was a day of celebration, everyone always dresses to impress in their long, colorful boubous and complets of shiny bazin. Many of the Tureg men wore their turbans and decorated their horses with colorful saddles. The city felt so mysterious and ancient. With everyone in their fancy clothes, it really felt like we had entered some old fairy tail or story from 1001 Arabian Nights. It was almost like we were in a ruins that people still lived in. We would see these old buildings of mud and brick, peek in the door, and the whole family would be sitting chatting sitting on their sandy floor. All the doors and windows were elaborately carved and beautifully decorated with bits of metal. There was sand everywhere! flowing over the paved streets, blowing on the wind, in your ears and between your teeth! In the evening, we took camels out to watch the sunset on the dunes. We have some great pictues and hilarious memories. And to quote my friend Jesse, " if anyone out there was wondering what sound a camel makes I would say it’s kind of loud warbly groan, pretty much exactly like a bantha from Star Wars." Jon's camels was a little unruly but we all had a great time.
We got to Timbuktu, that place of myth and ledgends, on the "Fete" day to celebrate the end of the month-long fast of Rammadan. Because it was a day of celebration, everyone always dresses to impress in their long, colorful boubous and complets of shiny bazin. Many of the Tureg men wore their turbans and decorated their horses with colorful saddles. The city felt so mysterious and ancient. With everyone in their fancy clothes, it really felt like we had entered some old fairy tail or story from 1001 Arabian Nights. It was almost like we were in a ruins that people still lived in. We would see these old buildings of mud and brick, peek in the door, and the whole family would be sitting chatting sitting on their sandy floor. All the doors and windows were elaborately carved and beautifully decorated with bits of metal. There was sand everywhere! flowing over the paved streets, blowing on the wind, in your ears and between your teeth! In the evening, we took camels out to watch the sunset on the dunes. We have some great pictues and hilarious memories. And to quote my friend Jesse, " if anyone out there was wondering what sound a camel makes I would say it’s kind of loud warbly groan, pretty much exactly like a bantha from Star Wars." Jon's camels was a little unruly but we all had a great time.
The next day we continued on to Dogon Country. Dogon is an area that runs the length of an escarpment or sort of long cliff in the middle of Mali. The area is renowned for its mystery and distinct animist beleifs. We went hiking for three days there. Up in the cliffs there are said to be the remnants of the minature homes of the Tellem or pygmy people. The dwellings are very high in the cliffs and so there are many ideas and myths about how they got up there, what happened to them, and where they went. The landscape was beautiful and everyday we would hike through nice little villages nestled under the cliffs. Every night we slept on the roof under mosquito nets and woke to the sun coming up over the village. We passed through beautiful fields of millet, groves of boababs and besides one small run-in with beeeeees, we all escaped unscathed. During mid day, the sun was soooo hot that we were not supossed to hike so it was a nice paced hike with lots of down time to rest, drink millet beer, and explore.
And so, it was after 2 weeks of exploring and traveling that on our taxi ride back to Guinea that we heard on the radio that there were protests being held in the Capital. Now in a place that is as unstable politically as Guinea is, this is never a good sign. Also, knowing the disposition of the military and those in power, we were definitely worried.
And now the bad...
As many of you may know by now, we are back in the States for a little while.
On September 28th there was a huge opposition gathering at the stadium in Conakry to protest the president, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara's rule and his declaration that he would run in the upcoming elections. In 50 years, Guinea has only had 3 presidents and so people are very used to this game that is played by it's leaders to maintain power. This time, people were not going to let this go without their opposition being voiced. 50,000 people, many young and well-educated men and women from the universities were there to show their opposition. The military and red berets moved in and opened fire. They dropped tear gas and closed off the exits. The beat an assaulted many of the attendees. 157 people were killed and 1,200 were injured. The government has only aknowledged the death of 57 people and many of the bodies seem to have disappeared. We were on our way back from our vacation when we heard the news. Fortunately we were able to go back our village to say some goodbyes before the word came down that we were being consolidated in Mali. We were in Mali for few weeks until we were informed that the program in Guinea had been suspended or in other words, we would not be able to go back until the political situation righted itself.
Here are some news articles to read:
Before we left, we were able to say goodbye to our friends and Guinean family. They will be missed very much and we hope to return soon to visit them. Sierra and Rocky, our goats went to live with my friend and her wonderful family (below) and we were given a very lovely send off by them.
These are the real people behind those headlines that you read. The ones that are struggling day to day and who are only looking for stability and a brighter future for their children. It is these people who are harmed by vicious dictators who are willing to rule at any cost.
