“If today, as we speak, I see a boat going, I would be among the volunteers, let alone tomorrow,” said Malick Sall, a young electrician in his mid-twenties. “If most of us are trying to leave this country, it’s because we have no opportunities here,” he said, blaming the “government…
Imagine a plot of land, dry and wasted. In the distance, a woman and her two children sort through the ground, looking for remnants of what used to be their farmland. Nearby, construction is underway for a cigarette factory. Even before the factory is completed, the devastating effects this ‘investment’…
Hi Folks!It’s been a month since my last blog and a lot has certainly happened within the span of those four weeks! Of course, it’s gonna be hard to recap everything that went down, so instead I’ll zone in on key events in the sphere of African democracy.As you probably…
It’s been a week since Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan moved to slash oil subsidies in West Africa’s largest oil producing country. Seven days on, and unprecedented protests have been the result. Nigerians argue that the increased oil prices will make overall living costs higher, particularly for food purchases as an…
I just got online after an English discussion session with the Italian kids who’s family I’m living with. First thing I see? An unpalatable, bloody image of someone who looks eerily like Libya’s ousted dictator leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Apparently, he’s been killed. And in his own hometown of Sirte too!Now,…
Nor say of anything, “I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow,” without adding, so please Allah!” And call thy Lord to mind when thou forgetest, and say, “I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer (even) than this to the right road.” – Surah 18:…
In an authentic Hadith, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: “Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you associate with.”One of the distinct features of Ramadan that I have come to love is the feeling of camaraderie, of being one anther’s keeper and of going out…
Dear Senegal, I don’t know how I made it through this one. I really don’t. It’s kind of hard to imagine you’d be sitting int he waiting lounge at the airport with all one, two, three pieces of excess luggage checked in…at virtually zero cost. Something that should have otherwise…
To say that the new year rushed in is an understatement. I woke up one morning on Dec. 18 and the next thing I knew, it was 2011. Sure, being engrossed in the Young Women’s Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) probably had something to do with my lack of awareness…
