Warning: This is A Very Tedious And Boring Tale!
I should of course be happy today and rejoice in the
perennial Good News of the Resurrection (went to joyful Easter mass at Sevare Cathedral this morning and was the only toubab present in the congregation) - However, there is no denying that the circumstances
of this Easter are rather trying, and that whatever Easter joy I ought to feel
has been severely squashed under a seemingly impenetrable blanket of Bad News:
there will be no flight to Timbuktu for me on Tuesday. In fact there IS no
flight to Timbuktu on Tuesdays from Mopti and that fact, having been overlooked by
everyone, including UNESCO themselves who make the demand to the MINUSMA (the
UN forces in charge of the flights and transport) is the reason why I have not been issued with
a ticket. The boxes are still sitting in Bamako and have not yet been accepted
for transport on the MINUSMA flight
northward to Timbuktu, for reasons too arcane for my simple understanding. The new team in the new library Al Wangara in Timbuktu
are officially on the payroll from today the first of April. The work is
supposed to start on Tuesday.
For any dear readers who have followed my adventures since the
happy days of Hotel Djenne Djenno, it comes as no surprise that I have had one –
or, to be truthful, several- crises de
rage- ANGER must be my worst cardinal sin, and that is one that is punished
in a circle very deep down in hell as I have recently been made aware by the
sublime Alighieri. It is of course not a recommended form of behaviour to express to the cultural attaché
at the MINUSMA or at UNESCO exactly how one feels about things especially if one
is reliant on their support... I should of course have learned from Eva, whom I
admire unreservedly for her unfailing patience and diplomatic finesse. I would
have made a terrible ambassador.
So, instead of winging my way back to Timbuktu to install the
second stage of the Project, I am on the XXXXing BUS TO Bamako tomorrow morning
at four am, having exhausted the budget for more comfortable travel . Once in
Bamako I am obliged to organize other transport for the material, and for
myself- I HAVE to get to Timbuktu with this material before leaving for
England. I can’t help reflecting that the difficulties of reaching Timbuktu- or
indeed getting out of the place- have hardly diminished since the time of the early
explorers...
Un peu en retard pour commenter le post précédent!
ReplyDeleteNous avions toujours été admiratifs ( et étonnés ) de voir comment toutes les ethnies maliennes vivaient bien ensemble, plaisantaient les unes avec les autres. On avait même du mal à croire ce que nous voyions mais ça nous faisait plaisir de croire que c'était possible. En fait, les hommes sont les hommes, au Mali comme ailleurs, hélas...
Lorsque tu parles de l'hôtel dont le propriétaire français est parti, parles-tu d'Amédé de la Maison Rouge?
Fais attention à toi...
Non, Amede est parti il ya des annees.Je parle d'une francaise qui tenait l Auberge Canari a Sevare. Cest un excellent endroit et je viens de manger la bas. Meme maintenant ca va la cuisiniere a ete bien forme!
ReplyDeleteAh well, tedious and boring is better than dangerously life-threatening. Think of it as the one step you can take, just to get the stuff there. Mission, it seems, semi-impossible. But you are climbing the difficult way of Purgatory, not descending into lower circles of the Inferno (and the third tier of Purgatorio is for the Wrathful who can overcome their wrath).
ReplyDeleteOh that is cheerful news David. I shall head for the third tier then! Although at this precise moment I am on a Bani bus... xxx
ReplyDelete