damandala

the transport there was my worst in mali. 15 people packed in a 1/2 size pickup with half my body hanging off the side. six hours of dirt in my mouth, in my eyes, mango on my legs and some bitch taking up all the space next to me. when we got to kenieba I just wanted food and beer. got those and a shower in a clean nyegen. left early the next morning for the mines, more bad road but lots a sweet scenes along the rock ridges and undeveloped bush.

hamdallaye was hot. hot and humid and dirty. the dirtiest place I've seen in mali. dirtier sicker and richer. meaner, we weren't welcome. heard that the president of mali is selling all the land out there to an american company. the miners are gonna stop working when the contract is signed in two months. 20% of the gold will go back to the state. locals will be able to keep selling the gold they kill themselves over to get, to the white buyers who come. all this according to locals, so I guess that's just one side of the story. whatever the situation is, the people are getting fucked and don't even know it. don't wanna know it...

bad water too, one pump constantly servicing a queue of 20L jugs stacked two tall and fifty wide. otherwise it's bad well water with certain contamination. talked with the doctor, says he thinks 80% of the people are sick, with malaria, water-borne and sexually-transmitted diseases being the most prevalent. there's a measles epidemic too. saw lots of kids covered in the shit. saw lots of flash in the streets. all this money and there's new motos, clothes, shoes and girls. no sanitation, medicine, education. prostitution and human trafficking. there were english speaking girls from nigeria with humble cries for help. ties to governments, military, the whole damn show. I guess we're not talking about peanuts and cotton anymore. fucking gold.

won't say much else other than the experience wasn't enjoyable. got to greet my people and shock with bambara. not many white people find themselves on the side of the mines where the locals live. went down the meter-wide, 50-60 meter deep mineshafts with the foot and hand holdings they have carved into the rock well wall. swiped some of that glowing goodness. got all dirty and sweaty. the workers pocket a little everyday, take it home without washing, eating or sleeping after working 15 hours and pound it up to see how much they got for free. they got the fever.

the 4 day stay at the chief's was shitty. a nyegen with a 2 x 6 ft hole, just a pit of shit really. the ladies were alright, got us washwater. they weren't hooked up like the normal chiefs I've seen, nothing really worked there like it normally does everwhere else in mali. still feeling off.

got back to kita on a flatbed, more than 12 hours standing up, eating dust and checking out fula musows. it was a bad rollercoaster for most of it, stop-n-gos up-n-downs. getting my head wet with icycles flowing through the waves in my hair. lost the shirt early and just rode the train. rolled in under a late influence and let my mind go. someone needs to wake these people up and start a fucking revolution. fuck the man, he kills. empower the people.