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January 27, 2005

Fulani Fulani Fulani

Just a couple of days left here in Benin, and the time has gone by way too quickly. These last few days have been very special for the amount of contact I have had with the Fulani:

Down on the ward, the Fulani ladies have had their operations. Those who have just come back from the operating theatre are understandably somewhat overwhelmed by what they have just gone through, and the various tubes attached to them. But by the next day they seem to have recovered their poise, and treat it all as perfectly normal. One of the ladies was obviously in some discomfort, but when asked, gave the standard Fulani response that there was no pain. It took a little light-hearted badgering to get the truth from her, in order to be able to make her a bit more comfortable.

A beautiful little Fulani girl of 10 was brought back to the ship today by her mother to have her stitches removed. 4 years ago she fell out of a tree, and damaged her jaw. For 4 years she has been unable to open her mouth. The girl's father abandoned the family, and the mother was left to cope. The usual story followed - they looked into having an operation but were unable to afford it. Today, the girl can open her mouth - and is cheeky with it! Her mother invited me to come and visit the whole family. Unfortunately, I don't know if I will have time now...

Through email, I have been able, via Steve in Burkina, I have been able to contact the family of the young man from near Djibo I met that I mentioned in this post. Apparently, they have not seen him for several years, and his father even went to Ghana to look for him. I have the interesting task of informing him that in his absence, his family have married him to his cousin! They send the message that, if he doesn't return soon, he will also be divorced!

Posted by Keith at January 27, 2005 09:03 AM