Wow
- off line for thirty-six hours! Did that ever make me feel
isolated! I suspect that it was the effect of the wind, not the
coup.
Today
is my first day of feeling more or less human. Besides some
gentle stretches for the muscles and the fact that I feel weak all
over from lack of exercises, the length of time that I can tolerated
the upright position has lengthened to almost an hour. I can
think of the flight home now with more anticipation than fear!
The
guests at the hotel with its small communal courtyard are
changing daily now; there aren't many but they arrive late at night
and leave during the day consistent with the airlines. Most are
Africans and all speak French. A lively petit middle-aged
Moslem woman in white hejab with a little English engaged me in
conversation - and then introduced me to each of the staff at the
hotel. I now know that the woman who swabs the floors is named
Fanta. It turns out that one of the shaved-headed whites is the
owner - inherited it from his father.
The
remaining two of our group are nervously calling their airline, Kenya
Air, going on-line, and arguing about whether to go to the downtown
office or when to go to the airport. Is the flight happening?
How are the roads? They are twitchy - they've been to the
airport twice only to return to the hotel! Eventually they depart and at 6:15 a text comes that they are seat-belted on the
plane!! Whoopee!
Canadian
embassy news is rather discouraging - an international boycott is planned
for Monday. Fortunately, my flight is Sunday. Bill
frantically checks that the flight is still planning to come.
Apparently some of the borders are now closed and the Tuaraq
rebels from the North have come as far South as Timbuctu. (Always
thought of it as fictional in a youth - now it is very real
and in the hands of Tuaraq "rebels" - although who knows who is who in
Mali?)
So
I am alone for the evening meal - and the t-v is surrounded by staff
because the coup leader is making a speech. Heads nod and the
occasional sound of approval or cluck of disagreement is heard. I
can tell that he is saying things like "Mali should be for
Malians" and that this country should have "social
democracy" - all good words. At the conclusion of his
speech there is some cheering in the room and then very loud arguing
- not everyone agrees that a coup is the way to get to a
democracy. There is a little t-v kiosk outside the hotel which
charges its patrons for watching and when I stroll the
courtyard, I can hear the very similar sound of humans in
disagreement.
The
arguing is still occurring as I slather myself in the organic
"natural" German mosquito repellent and prepare to enter
the mosquito netting. Incidently, the mosquitoes here are
little ones, almost like sand flies, and hard to slap, not the
helicopter-sized blood-suckers that we have at home - but more
dangerous with their loads of various forms of malarial parasites.
(With global warming, these little suckers are already moving North!)
Great to see you back on line, Dale! Keeping prayers in the hopper for the Sunday flight - I hear its looking good. Anne O'Brien (former CFSC staff and nun) is "speeding the beads" for you (ie prayers). Thought you'd enjoy that. xo Orion
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