Why Mali Matters:Center for National Policy

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A year ago today, I wrote about the surprise engagement party Cassie & Laura threw for Abdoulaye and me.  Today, Cassie and I attended a panel presentation hosted by the Center for National Policy and the Truman National Security Project on Why Mali Matters: Economics, Extremism, and Energy in North Africa.  So much has changed in a year.  Last night, Abdoulaye, Cassie and I were sitting in our living room thinking about what has changed (and how a year ago we had no idea we'd be roomies together in DC!).  Hard to imagine what the future holds in store when life changes so quickly.

I think about Mali a lot - from reading stories online to listening to shows on the radio to watching the news on television.  It is unsettling to see images from a country I called home, and places I visited - the scenes I remembered before for their beauty or maybe how uncomfortable the bus ride was (i.e. our trip to Hombori and Gao in 2009) - dotted with tanks and AK-47s.  So much bad news coming out of a country that is filled with so much good.  A trite statement but it still seems unfair.

And while I continue to assiduously follow Mali's news, I want to make sure I remind myself, and others, of reasons that Mali is important other than her resources or the potential for terrorist groups to impact the US (or the price on oil).  When I think of Gao I will remember the quirky men Cassie and I met on our trip - one man looking for a camel caravan to join and another, Christopher Kirkley, on a mission to collect music from the North of Mali.  (Imagine my surprise when I saw his name in this article about Malian music and culture!).  I'll think of Malick Sidibe (and this post - aptly named 'Mali Matters').  New Yorkers make sure you check out Portraits of a Continent's Vitality, Past and Present, now showing!  I'll think of Annie and Esayi and the whole Coulibaly family and Zana.  I'll think of my third-year with PHARE and meeting my cutie-pie husband.  I have a lot to be thankful for and my life will forever be tied to Mali.

I hope a year from now I will be writing a blog post about the advances Mali's new government has made and that internally and externally displaced refugees will be back home.  I hope I will be writing about how the region is more stable, jobs more secure and peace more prevalent.  I have a lot of hopes though my hope is tempered.  One thing I do know is that a year from now, and for many more, Mali will still matter.

I love this picture!  Celebrating Valentine's Day with some real cuties who love Mali and know she matters.

Black Out: Studying by Lamplight in Guinea

This morning, while perusing my Google reader for articles of interest (i.e. Mali, Guinea, Virginia, international education), I stumbled upon this article on a documentary about kids studying by streetlight in Guinea.  The documentary, Black Out, follows students during exam time in Conakry, Guinea's capital.  The film has been featured at film festivals around the world and scooped up a number of awards.

What struck me in the trailer is how much these kids study and for what - there is no guarantee they will have a job, or go to college, following graduation.  I think of Abdoulaye, and all the studying he did by lamplight or with inconsistent electricity and of course of Zana, Mali where my host siblings similarly studied by kerosene lamp.

It's too bad there aren't any Guineans on the team who produced the film and I can't tell from the director and producers' blurbs how much experience they have in Guinea/West Africa/Africa.   Nonetheless, looks like an interesting piece, hopefully it will come to E street cinema.

an adventurer looking for treasure.

Image source. 

 "People from all over the world have passed through this village, son," said his father.  "They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.  They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now.  They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here"  (The Alchemist, p. 9).  

Four years ago today, I rode a bus from Philadelphia, PA to New York City and then boarded a plane with 78 other Peace Corps volunteers bound for Mali - a country I had never been to and one I knew little about (aside from Malick Sidibe).  I was excited, nervous and eager to begin a new chapter in my life.  I had no idea what laid in store.


Working in Zana as an environment volunteer with Annie and Esayi (on shea butter production and a cereal bank) changed the way I think about cross-cultural work environments.  Third-party mediation?  I've been in the middle of it.  Functioning (and trying to thrive) as a woman in a male-dominated society?  I made a crack at it.  Learning and speaking Bambara, the majority dialect in Mali, which is nothing like French?  I did my best!


When I talk about my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali (and remember - with short attention spans I have a 2 minute window of opportunity to discuss my entire 3 1/2 years so I have to be quick!) I briefly mention my work but what my 3 1/2 years come down to, like many volunteers, is people.  The relationships I had not only the opportunity to make but to also truly develop.  Namely with Annie and Esayi and their Coulibaly clan (and, of course, my fiancé-though he came into the picture later on :).  Did I like it? people ask.  Not always, I try and answer honestly.  But mostly. 


As I transition back to life in the United States - I am often asked a few other questions.  Do you miss Mali?  Yes.  Is it hard coming back?  Yes and no.  What made you join the Peace Corps?  That's a story.  How did you get sent to Mali?  That's another story.  Did you think this [living in DC/America, engaged to Abdoulaye, working for WRI] was where you would be following your Peace Corps service?  Not at all.  (but I am thrilled for all of those things!).


I am reading The Alchemist and I think anyone who reads it would join the Peace Corps (if that was ever a dream of theirs).  The book has the answers to all of the questions above with an easy-to-follow, thought-provoking plot.  The author, Paulo Coelho, also uses the word 'treasure' a lot.  You know I can't resist a treasure.  What I like most from what I've read is the idea that you can't set your plans in stone.  One of the greatest lessons I learned in the Peace Corps is that you must be flexible and open to others if you want to pursue happiness happily.  Joining the Peace Corps is kind of how I feel about entering into a great relationship (like how I feel about Abdoulaye!).  Was I happy before I joined?  You bet!  Am I happier after?  I think so - at least I have a more acute appreciation of my happiness - and the choice that I have to pursue my own personal legend (à la Alchemist).  


My friend, Anna, and I emailed once about when we would stop looking at our life in segments.  The college years.  The immediate post-college years (for me, the Peace Corps).  The post-post college years (now).  And I don't know that I will ever stop looking at life in those segments though now the segments are becoming more like segues.  (I have also tried to stop looking at things as good or bad.  Read this story and you may see why).

Four years later, I find myself sitting in an air-conditioned, sub-let apartment in Washington, DC.  Dirty plates and cups are piled on the desk beside me and letters waiting to be written and addressed sit behind my computer.  What has changed in the four years since I joined the Peace Corps?  Well, the presidents changed in both countries (one after an election, one after a coup).  I biked in Mali and I still love biking in the US.  I'm engaged!  And while I knew little about Mali four years ago today - now I make a conscious effort to not talk about Mali all the time.  But if you ever want to listen, I'll be ready to share :)

While perceivable change in me is slight, I think with a little digging, much would come to the surface.  And, after all, like the boy in The Alchemist said, "I'm [still] an adventurer, looking for treasure" (p. 42).  I also still don't know what lies in store.

Unofficial polls may or may not reflect that this is the best Peace Corps COS presentation ever.  That may or may not have been my San-kaw poll....

Some of my reflections on years past from years past:
2008.
2009.
2010.
2011.

Some of my favorite trips and visits while I was in Mali:
Guinea & Sierra Leone.
Marija in Mali.
A Moroccan wedding.
Sarah in Mali.
Mom in Mali.
Abdoulaye's and my first trip together.
A Lebanese wedding.
Morocco.

Thanks for reading!  And you might note (not sure how you got here!) that I changed the address to www.triflesandtreasures.blogspot.com - if you bookmarked the site - please note the change!