BLOGGING THE COUP

It’s Day Four since we’ve been in “hibernation” due to the coup d’état in Mali. This has provided a lot of time for reflection, but also for boredom, so it’s a good opportunity to add to my blog for the first time in six months!

In brief, I was headed to Bamako on Wednesday with the team from Christ for Humanity (Ronda Tyson, Vicki Ray, DeMarco Taylor), after a productive ten days in Kayes, and anticipating three days of training ESL teachers in Bamako. Arriving in Kati, about 15km/9m (one hour) from the capital, the bus offloaded us, saying there was a “little problem.” We assumed this was a mechanical issue, but soon learned that there was a strike or a demonstration on the road between us and Bamako. We hoped to get moving again in a few hours, but instead the bus turned around and headed into the bush for protection in case demonstrators resorted to property destruction. By then, we were the only passengers left on the bus, and were in contact with the US Embassy. We learned that the “demonstration” was actually a failed coup attempt. The Embassy advised us to stay in Kati and found us an American lady living here with her son who was willing to take us in.

In the morning, the mutinous soldiers successfully seized the presidential palace and announced on national television at 4.30am the success of their putsch. The reason for the coup is the dissatisfaction of certain factions of the army with the conduct of the war against the Tuareg rebellion in the north of Mali. Tuareg mercenaries returned from the conflict in Libya with state-of-the-art weapons and resumed their decades-long, on-and-off insurgency. Malian troops are undersupplied with arms and even such basics as food, and their weaponry is definitely inferior to that of the insurgents. [To familiarize yourself with the history of the Tuareg conflict, check out the second hyperlink below.]

Our hostess is a poli-sci major, and her Malian friends come and go, so we spend a lot of time discussing “the situation.” Some obvious questions present themselves:

Malian presidential elections are scheduled in one month. Why overthrow the government when the “end” of the current administration is in sight? One Malian man said, “A month is a long time when you are a soldier lacking ammunition and hungry.” Point taken, but one goal of the new ruling committee is to restore democracy. Exactly how does canceling upcoming elections restore democracy?

Where are the generals? The highest ranking officer involved in the coup is a captain, and the president of the Democratic Committee is only 39 years old. Young soldiers are literally running wild in the streets, confiscating vehicles, shooting rifles in the air, looting shops, and assaulting women. No wonder people perceive that their new leaders are not in control. Speculation is that the older soldiers are loyal to the president, or that they have been arrested.

Unintended consequences include giving an advantage to the rebels in the north, who are making a move southward to take advantage of the instability. Furthermore, the north and east are experiencing the worst famine in over a decade, and for the time being international aid has been cut off.

For these and many other reasons we are greatly concerned for the future of our adopted homeland.
Please click on the third link below, which is the blog I wish I had written!

1. My five minutes of fame (I am quoted in this article): http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/03/22/malian-military-stages-coup/

2. An explanation of the roots of the Tuareg conflict (written by a journalist we know who attended Dakar Academy): http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/03/23/the-malian-coup-decades-of-rebellion-and-one-night-of-gunfire/

3. An excellent early analysis of the situation: http://africasacountry.com/2012/03/23/malis-coup-first-thoughts/

4. A map of the Tuareg conflict region: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Tuareg-Rebels-a-Threat-in-Unstable-Mali-144089386.html

5. 10 Malian political parties condemn the coup: http://www.malijet.com/actualite-politique-au-mali/40657-declaration-commune-de-10-partis-politiques-au-mali.html

Quote(s) of the Week

[I've been away with limited Internet access for two weeks, but now I'm trying to get back on track with my "blog schedule."]

"Over the years, slowly but surely, we have painted ourselves into a corner on a whole range of issues, where we can no longer say or do what makes the most sense to us, but only what is considered to be politically correct."
-Thomas Sowell

"Our founders understood that the ability to express our differences publicly was democracy’s substitute for violence."
-DeMint & Woodward in 'Why We Whisper'

"We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless."
Sen. J. William Fulbright

What do you think? Comments welcomed.

Rebooting the Blog...

It's embarrassing to look at my blog and see how long it's been since I've posted anything. A few weeks ago I changed the name -- it was at first called "My Non-Political Blog" b/c so many of the blogs I've seen are political, but really that name was supposed to be a "place holder" until I thot of something more original or catchy. Finally, I changed it to the old phrase which we first heard from Ken Durst, Here Today... Gone to Mali.

My biggest problem, I suppose, has been writer's block -- a whole year's worth, from the look of things! Then I saw a format which my colleague/Facebook friend, Mali-Anta, follows:
* Sunday – Quotes for the week
* Monday / Tuesday – Life Model topics
* Wednesday without words – Malian photos
* Thursday / Friday – Anthropology and culture topics
* Saturday – Book reviews

I like the idea of some kind of structure; it saves me from having to agonize over what to write. So here is what I will try:
*Sunday/Monday: Quote of the Week (I collect quotes all the time, this will give me something to do with them for once!)
*Monday/Tuesday: Malian Life & Culture
*Wednesday without Words (WWW): Pictures
*Thursday/Friday: Book Reviews
*Friday/Saturday: Current Event Commentary or Personal Journaling

I may not post on every topic every week, and as you can see, I don't want to commit to an exact day for each post (only WWW wouldn't work on another day!). I will probably also post our monthly prayer letters as they are published, b/c they too give a glimpse of our lives.

And all this is assuming anyone even reads this!

Politics in Everyday Life

FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY 3RD BD TO DYLAN H.!

Today I realized that when I think of politics, I mean Republicans & Democrats, House & Senate, Libertarian & Leftie, etc... But at this moment, in our work here in Mali, we are involved in a political brawl of sorts that has nothing to do with parties or elected representatives or any of that. We are trying to dig a well in a remote, dry, crummy little village. But because of ethnic politics, we are being blocked from performing this good work for poor, destitute people who really need water.

Dictionary.com defines politics as:
1. the science or art of political government.

2.	the practice or profession of conducting political affairs.

3.	political affairs

4.	political methods or maneuvers

5.	political principles or opinions:

Pretty straightforward (boring) stuff. But then you get to the definition that describes our situation with the village here:
6.use of intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position of power or control, as in business, university, etc.

Or even better, here's the idiom to "8. play politics:"

a.	to engage in political intrigue, take advantage of a political situation or issue, resort to partisan politics, etc.; exploit a political system or political relationships.

b.	to deal with people in an opportunistic, manipulative, or devious way, as for job advancement.

Now we're getting down to it. Politics is about power.

Here's the situation: We are working in a village which is really 3 villages. Ethnic group A were the original inhabitants of what we'll call the A Quarter. Ethnic Group B has had their own 'neighborhood,' the B Quarter, for as long as anyone remembers. The C Quarter was formed over 15 years ago when the C people group were chased out of their homeland (a country ruled, incidentally, by Ethnic Group A) and became refugees. So the local A's in this particular village invited the C refugees to live in an uninhabited sector of their village, perhaps even seeing it as a kind of compensation for the wrongs perpetrated by their brethren in that other country.

Mind you, the A's were not making any great sacrifice. The reason this sector was uninhabited was that it was nearly uninhabitable. It's very rocky, unsuitable for farming, but not too bad for livestock, and group C just happens to be a shepherding tribe. So for them it wasn't too bad, except for one little detail -- no water. They were able to dig some shallow wells which were filthy, plus each day they would send a donkey cart to the A Quarter, a mile or more away, to fill several barrels with clean well water -- a job which takes about 5 hours daily. So when my DH started visiting the C Quarter, b/c of his interest in this ethnic group, all they could talk about was their need for water. They were coping, but certainly not thriving.

The last time we tried to do a water project for C, the leadership of A said, "Only if you help us first." (This project was a less expensive option than a deep well, a first effort). So we did our project there first, and they said, "The C's can keep coming here for their water. You are not to do a water project there." Within a few months, that water project failed. There were a lot of reasons for this, but could the hand of God have been part of it?

To make a lo-o-o-n-n-n-g-g-g story short, we managed to find some funding for a well in C neighborhood. There is an African-American organization that wants to do a lot of good things for the C's, and the C people have said, If you get us water, you can do anything else you want. There is a C Christian worker who wants to promote education, hygiene, improved animal husbandry, farming, and not incidentally, preach the Gospel. Water is the key to all.

This time, DH asked the C village chief to go to his A counterpart and negotiate. (Let's keep the foreigner out of the picture!) Chief A told Chief C, "That's fine, we're all one here, if you can get a well, go for it!" Mind you, this is a culture where you can never say no to someone's face. So his response was really the only thing he could say within the confines of his world view (but it is also okay to stab your neighbor, at least figuratively, in the back.) Nevertheless, DH decided to go to the next higher political entity, the mayor of the commune, to get official permission. You're supposed to do that anyway, so the government knows what's going on.

So there was a meeting at the mayor's place in another village. The chiefs & elders of A & C were all there. The A's were conspicuously silent. So the mayor wrote up an official document, authorizing the well. They were delighted, in fact, since it is a project of this country for every village and hamlet to have clean water, and they can't afford to do it all.

So the day came for the ground breaking, last Monday the 12th. There were several local officials there to each dig up their token spadeful of dirt. No one from A Quarter tho -- in fact, the mayor said Chief A had called him that morning to lodge a protest. "Why didn't they speak up when we all met together?" asked the mayor. "It's too late now, and besides they know that these people have a right to a well!"

By Tuesday 13th the work had been stopped b/c Chief A contacted the next higher government authority, the prefect, who has authority over the mayor. So now we wait...

Okay, so what is political about all this? Lots of things:
1. The person who controls the water holds the power. If C Quarter gets water, they will be less dependent on the A's.
2. If the little boys of C are freed up from getting the water for 5 hours every day, they will be free to attend the village school, where as yet no C children attend. Education is power, too!
3. Chief A says he fears that if C gets water, more people will come to live there. Again, he feels a threat to his power.

There are ethnic conflicts going on here, too, but this is too long already, and I don't want to go into that anyway. One really hard part is that we have a burden for the A people to be reached with the Gospel as well, and are praying for Christian workers to come to our Region in that capacity. We have showed the J film in the A language twice in the village. We fear that this conflict is cutting us off from future positive contact with these A's. :-(

But I wanna be a political blogger...!

Everybody knows it's the political bloggers who get famous, like Michelle Malkin or Mike Adams. Occasionally the religious ones make a name for themselves, like Al Mohler, but I'm not quite in his league. We're both Baptist, but that's all.

The problem is that politics make me very uncomfortable. I just hate the partisanship, the nastiness and the name-calling that goes along with it. And I don't like conflict, so I'm not comfortable debating politics.

And I really hate the thought of getting pigeonholed. Like I wasn't really in favor of the war in Iraq in the first place, so that puts me on the side of the Dems or the lefties or the progressives, choose your epithet. But now that we're in Iraq, I think we would be crazy to just pull out -- so I guess I'm a Republican or a conservative or something.

Take gun control -- I believe in the right to bear arms as enshrined in the 2nd Amendment. But I do not see why that right has to extend to assault weapons and all the crazy stuff Mike Adams buys for himself all the time; so I favor some limited gun control. So what am I?

I read about this woman the other day, a conservative evangelical like me, with a son in Iraq (unlike me) who has started peacefully protesting the war. Basically, everyone who thinks the way she does on other issues (pro-life, etc.) reviles her for this, and those who agree with her about the war revile her for her stance on typically conservative issues. Didn't someone say, If everyone hates you, you must be doing something right? I guess that's where she fits in.

So here I am, a non-political blogger, doomed to anonymity.