Kidnap Capital World Tour Day Eighteen
WAWA Means West Africa Wins Again
Dakar, Senegal
Now we are in Africa. The runway is rustic, (browned out grass on both sides of the landing strip) and because no one at the airport was there to guide our jet we have had a near miss, maybe a fairly substantial one. Our group is comprised of seasoned travelers, as you might imagine. Four of our group were on the United flight to Hawaii in 1989 when the cargo door burst open, sucking a dozen passengers into the Pacific. That was a serious commercial flight error that I remember well---and yet these four travelers refused to be intimidated. They fly all over the world, both commercially and privately and say to hell with it. So, the real story is that the following morning we take twenty three four wheel drives with police escort and flotilla our way to a village ninety minutes away from Dakar. The village leaders profusely apologizes for not having a more special welcome. A villager had just died, and out of respect for the family, the welcome to us would be more quiet. Stanford is involved in a study about language skills and communication. After all my years at Stanford I could be easily laughing right now, except for the fact that these men, women and children are so engaging and beautiful. The Senegalese must be the most elegant and best dressed people on the planet. I do not say this casually. Thee is no obesity in this place and I did not see one look repeated in the whole day. So much for Armani and Prada. The day look here was we might call evening wear. I can relate to this! The women really dress up in long gowns in brightly patterned textiles in elegant silhouettes which nip directly at the heels of Paris. They often wear matching or coordinated headdresses,and their hair and makeup are immaculate. I immediately find the young woman with whom I most identify. She is about my height, and has a small child at her hip. She is wearing a blue and gold brocade gown with a matching bolero. Saint Laurent was doing this look in the eighties, but I doubt she has ever seen or heard of him. The back of her bolero has a collar and yoke which breaks my heart. The shape of the bolero is the most beautiful I have ever seen, with the exception of the Haute Couture runway, No wonder the Big Time model agents come here to look for talent. And no wonder that these women are the eternal inspirations for couture. The men, like their female counterparts are tall, slender, athletic and graceful. Whether they are wearing long, colorful robes of cotton or sporting a western style casual shirt and trousers, they are crisp and exceptionally handsome. The children arebeguiling and not unlike other happy, loved and well fed children.
But the story today is not about fashion. It is about female genital mutilation, and how a man in Senegal has worked since 1997 to stop it. He spoke to us. We were in a circle around him and his translator, a Stanford researcher who has been in Senegal since the eighties, told us that he talked in proverbs, and that transacting him would be difficult. This is some of what she translated: he said that every breath is precious and that the last breath must be respected. So, although he was sorry village could not give us a warmer welcome (I think that he meant with music and dancing) they were very happy to greet us. This man was called a shaman, and he dressed in an all white cotton gown and matching hat. He said he has been to thousands of West African villages since 1997 and that stopping this horrific practice is difficult. The root of female genital mutilation goes back to the ancient Egyptians. It was hard to stop the practice because girls were not accepted into marriage contracts unless they had undergone this horrific procedure, No girl in this village had had the mutilation since 1997, Village women presented a role playing skit about an older auntie who comes to advise her niece about female genital mutilation, its negative impact and about the spreading of AIDS and HIV. Amy Malloy, the Stanford person who hooked up with the village in the eighties spoke to us. Her book, However Long the Night is due to come out at the end of April. Janice, an attractive traveler in our group offers o host New York book signing for her in early May. Amy M alloy also tells her about her research into eye and verbal cues to enhance an infant's early development. How did they ever get by without Amy Malloy? Amy certainly does not know and apparently my group agrees with her. Amy has saved this village! Touch down for Stanford! We are then transported (with the same police escort) to lunch, and are treated to dancing by the neighboring village. Miles the movie star and Dr. Eric get down with the dancing. Their dancing is well meant but boy it is hot and everyone really wants to drink beer and watch the really good dancers, that is to say the village people. "We don't just tell the people what to do we just make suggestions", says Amy Malloy. That is obviously very wise of her. Everyone in my group is swooning over Amy Malloy and the shaman. I am not, but I am not saying anything. I was at Stanford too many years. Female genital mutilation is bad, and talking to babies like adults is good. This is something that most of us can agree upon.
Question---what seventeenth world famous academic was kidnapped and spent twenty three years in Africa being treated like a king before dying in Timbuktu? Ahmad Baba! Look it up, sleepy heads! It is really good story.
WAWA Means West Africa Wins Again
Dakar, Senegal
Now we are in Africa. The runway is rustic, (browned out grass on both sides of the landing strip) and because no one at the airport was there to guide our jet we have had a near miss, maybe a fairly substantial one. Our group is comprised of seasoned travelers, as you might imagine. Four of our group were on the United flight to Hawaii in 1989 when the cargo door burst open, sucking a dozen passengers into the Pacific. That was a serious commercial flight error that I remember well---and yet these four travelers refused to be intimidated. They fly all over the world, both commercially and privately and say to hell with it. So, the real story is that the following morning we take twenty three four wheel drives with police escort and flotilla our way to a village ninety minutes away from Dakar. The village leaders profusely apologizes for not having a more special welcome. A villager had just died, and out of respect for the family, the welcome to us would be more quiet. Stanford is involved in a study about language skills and communication. After all my years at Stanford I could be easily laughing right now, except for the fact that these men, women and children are so engaging and beautiful. The Senegalese must be the most elegant and best dressed people on the planet. I do not say this casually. Thee is no obesity in this place and I did not see one look repeated in the whole day. So much for Armani and Prada. The day look here was we might call evening wear. I can relate to this! The women really dress up in long gowns in brightly patterned textiles in elegant silhouettes which nip directly at the heels of Paris. They often wear matching or coordinated headdresses,and their hair and makeup are immaculate. I immediately find the young woman with whom I most identify. She is about my height, and has a small child at her hip. She is wearing a blue and gold brocade gown with a matching bolero. Saint Laurent was doing this look in the eighties, but I doubt she has ever seen or heard of him. The back of her bolero has a collar and yoke which breaks my heart. The shape of the bolero is the most beautiful I have ever seen, with the exception of the Haute Couture runway, No wonder the Big Time model agents come here to look for talent. And no wonder that these women are the eternal inspirations for couture. The men, like their female counterparts are tall, slender, athletic and graceful. Whether they are wearing long, colorful robes of cotton or sporting a western style casual shirt and trousers, they are crisp and exceptionally handsome. The children are
But the story today is not about fashion. It is about female genital mutilation, and how a man in Senegal has worked since 1997 to stop it. He spoke to us. We were in a circle around him and his translator, a Stanford researcher who has been in Senegal since the eighties, told us that he talked in proverbs, and that transacting him would be difficult. This is some of what she translated: he said that every breath is precious and that the last breath must be respected. So, although he was sorry village could not give us a warmer welcome (I think that he meant with music and dancing) they were very happy to greet us. This man was called a shaman, and he dressed in an all white cotton gown and matching hat. He said he has been to thousands of West African villages since 1997 and that stopping this horrific practice is difficult. The root of female genital mutilation goes back to the ancient Egyptians. It was hard to stop the practice because girls were not accepted into marriage contracts unless they had undergone this horrific procedure, No girl in this village had had the mutilation since 1997, Village women presented a role playing skit about an older auntie who comes to advise her niece about female genital mutilation, its negative impact and about the spreading of AIDS and HIV. Amy Malloy, the Stanford person who hooked up with the village in the eighties spoke to us. Her book, However Long the Night is due to come out at the end of April. Janice, an attractive traveler in our group offers o host New York book signing for her in early May. Amy M alloy also tells her about her research into eye and verbal cues to enhance an infant's early development. How did they ever get by without Amy Malloy? Amy certainly does not know and apparently my group agrees with her. Amy has saved this village! Touch down for Stanford! We are then transported (with the same police escort) to lunch, and are treated to dancing by the neighboring village. Miles the movie star and Dr. Eric get down with the dancing. Their dancing is well meant but boy it is hot and everyone really wants to drink beer and watch the really good dancers, that is to say the village people. "We don't just tell the people what to do we just make suggestions", says Amy Malloy. That is obviously very wise of her. Everyone in my group is swooning over Amy Malloy and the shaman. I am not, but I am not saying anything. I was at Stanford too many years. Female genital mutilation is bad, and talking to babies like adults is good. This is something that most of us can agree upon.
Question---what seventeenth world famous academic was kidnapped and spent twenty three years in Africa being treated like a king before dying in Timbuktu? Ahmad Baba! Look it up, sleepy heads! It is really good story.
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