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April 30, 2006
Whatever happened to Keith...? April 2006
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April 22, 2006
Photos from Burkina Faso - sun and shade
In the UK, we lust after the sun as a lover, while in Burkina Faso, people flee its fierce heat, and try to stay in the shade as much as possible.
I wrote a sort of poem thing about this, called: "It's turned out sunny again", and reflected elsewhere a bit more seriously on the sun, and how our context affects the way we read Scripture.
Monique resting in the shade, and Daniel, Seydou, Myself, and Pierre squinting in the sun.
Photographically, the sun presents challenges too, with the stark contrasts between the brightness of the light and the darkness of the shade - not to mention the contrast of dark and light skin! But those contrasts also offer interesting photo opportunities (click on any photo to enlarge):
See more photos here of from my recent trip to Burkina and friends from Gorom-Gorom , Djibo, and Boukouma .
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso gorom-gorom travel fulani photos sahel
April 18, 2006
The two-legged pig
In Gorom-Gorom there is a two-legged pig. Its back legs are useless, but it manages to scurry around the streets every day, looking for food, its front legs going full-tilt, dragging its rear end behind it.
Apparently, the pig did once have four fully-functioning legs. But one day it got into a Fulani yard - maybe into the food even, and the Fulani gave the pig such a thrashing, its rear legs were permanently damaged.
The Fulani detest pigs.
Pigs then and now
When I first moved to Gorom-Gorom, most people there had never seen a pig. I remember some young men discovering a picture book of the story Jesus told of the Prodigal Son. There is a bit where the son has lost all his money and ends up taking a job feeding pigs - a situation as repellant for the Muslim Fulani as for the Jew. The story is a great parable of how, when we have made a mess of our lives, we can still come back to God. He is waiting to embrace us and welcome us back home.
In the book there is this picture of the son sitting disconsolately among the pigs. My friends were looking at the animals and trying to decide what they were - dogs? goats?
"No", I explained, "they are girooji - pigs."
They were intrigued, and they looked more intently at the picture.
"Ohhh! Is that what pigs look like...?"
Today, many pigs roam the streets of Gorom-Gorom, brought to the area and bred by people of other tribes and regions who have come to Gorom for work. They are seen bathing in the mud outside people's latrines, or in the ponds where the cows come to drink - much to the disgust of the Fulani. The pig is unclean - both literally, and religiously - for the Fulani. Finding it with its snout in your cooking pot might well put you off your dinner, but if you were a Fulani, it could drive you, well, to beat the hind legs off it.
The Fulani really don't like pigs.
To market, to market...
Once I was with my friend John at Gorom-Gorom cattle market. We were dressed in local clothes, and, partially hidden by our turbans and robes, went un-noticed by the tourists wandering around in their shorts and t-shirts, sweaty pink flesh exposed for all to see, oblivious to how inappropriately they were dressed.
Suddenly John nudged me, and pointed. There was a decidedly overweight tourist, sweat staining his shorts and t-shirt. Across the front of his t-shirt was a banking logo and advert. In large letters, right across his chest, was the word "GIRO".
Fortunately for him perhaps, he couldn't have realised that "giro" is the Fulani word for pig...
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso travel pigs sahel fulani
April 16, 2006
The empty tomb doesn't convince me
Let's face it, Mary wasn't convinced by the empty tomb - she thought the gardener had stolen the body. And Peter wasn't convinced by the empty tomb either - he just couldn't work out what was going on. And the rest of the disciples simply dismissed the whole thing.
What did convince them all was meeting the risen Christ.
A world-changing event
Do you remember where you were when you heard about 9-11? An event so momentous that it changed the world?
Well, the disciples and Mary, and later Paul, would never forget being witnesses to this world-changing event - an event so huge that it re-shaped their understanding of reality, history, and the meaning of their own lives. It meant that that this world is not all there is, and that death is not the final word. It meant that Jesus was who he said he was, and that God was intervening in human history to throw open the doors of the kingdom of heaven to everyone.
A first-hand testimony
And this was the story they told - the story of meeting - and eating with - the physical, risen Jesus, with the wounds in his hands and feet, yet able to appear and disappear. Not some story of an empty tomb, and some hobbled-together conclusions, but their own experience of meeting the risen Christ. Paul reassures doubters about the resurrection by referring them to over 500 people who saw him alive again after the crucifixion.
As Rowan Williams has pointed out, this is not a reality that is threatened by a third-hand, second-century story - let alone a 21st-century novel.
As the disciples told the story of Jesus, the world was turned upside-down, because these were people who were actually living as though it were true - loving and serving one another, giving up their goods to help the needy, and suffering and dying for the message. They were no longer living for the prestige, possessions, and pleasures of this world that so many of us today who call ourselves Christians still pursue.
A life-changing reality
The resurrection of Christ gives hope to us all. It offers the Muslim assurance that there is forgiveness. It offers the poor and downtrodden the promise that the suffering of this world is not all there is. And it offers to each of us the foretaste of God's new reality, the future made present, where we can begin to experience freedom from fear, shame, rejection, and slavery to destructive habits.
All of this is for us in Christ, if we will come to him to receive it. For we too can meet the risen Christ.
But the resurrection also declares that we can no longer live as though this world is all there is. And for those of us who do have the possessions, comforts, and power that this world offers, that is a challenge. For Jesus lays claim to our allegiance, and assures us that real life is not found in the abundance of stuff or adrenaline rushes we have, but in giving all for him. Shall we then live for Christ? Or shall we claim his name, but continue to pursue our own prosperity, pleasure, and preference?
"He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2Cor 5:15)
A wonderful message
Christ is risen! - He is risen indeed!
I am convinced that Christ is risen, and that his resurrection offers hope for the world. May God help us today to rejoice again in the wonder of this world-changing truth, and to give ourselves to live as though it were as true as it actually is!
Tags: jesus christ jesus christ easter resurrection empty tomb death meaning of life
April 09, 2006
Name that cow!
So I thought I'd better check up on my cows.
"Yusufi" looks after some of my cows while I am away. He keeps them among his own animals, and his wives sell some of the milk to bring a bit of extra cash into the family budget.
A couple of years ago, I wrote about getting my first cow and the reason for buying cows, and the day my cow got lost. Since then, I have added a few more cows, and some have given birth, and others have died or been sold.
Now, you’re not allowed to ask how many cows I have, as that would be a very un-Fulani thing to do, and likely to provoke a fight. But I have a few.
Fulani names for cows are not dainty names like Daisy or Buttercup. They are much more practical, like “White cow with mottled brown neck”. Except in Fulfulde. Here are the names of some of my cows that you can see in the photos. See if you can guess which one is which (you can click on the photos to see bigger pictures):
Hurooy wunne: “White cow with brown mottled top”
Jamale wunne (offspring of Hurooy wunne): “Mottled cow”
Waage singe: “White cow with red top”
Wurooy singe (offspring of Waage singe): "White cow with patchy red top"
Nayee (offspring of Waage singe): “Red cow”
I think I have the names right, but I'm sure Steve will correct me if I'm wrong.
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso cows travel sahel cattle fulani
April 07, 2006
Comparing bird flu in Britain and Burkina Faso
What are the challenges of finding bird flu in Britain, as compared with Burkina Faso, as both have done this week?
Reuters reports: "When it comes to avian influenza we know early detection and rapid response to the outbreak is crucial to getting rid of it, and when we say early response we mean hours that can make all the difference" said OIE spokesperson Maria Zampaglione. "To do that you need a chain that is working very well, that can detect the disease rapidly and act quickly afterwards."
"For an epidemic to be contained control measures including disinfection, movement controls and widespread culling of poultry and wild birds should be enacted within 48 hours of the outbreak."
So how do Britain and Burkina compare?
Bird flu in Britain
In Britain, according to the BBC, the dead swan is a danger because the virus might spread from wild birds to poultry, and thus devastate the industry. But risk to people is low because few people get close enough to birds to touch them, which is necessary for transmission of the disease, as things stand.
At the same time, there are extensive protective measures in place, poultry is being closely monitored, and information is rapidly analysed and processed. Spread of the virus to poultry is reduced because of the isolated conditions of most poultry from wild birds.
For the worst case scenario, of the virus mutating and spreading among humans, the UK government has stockpiled the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, and plans to buy a supply of H5N1 vaccine to give to groups such as health-workers.
Bird flu in Burkina Faso
In Burkina, however, it is a different story. The virus is already found in poultry, and most people, including children, have close contact with chickens.
Most people are very isolated with their own few chickens out in the yard. Structures for diseminating information, and for detection and prevention measures are simply inadequate to the task. Thus, there was a delay of 1 month between the death of the birds and them being sent for test. The government has started culling birds around the yard where the virus was found, and has instigated a 3km isolation zone, but the delay will potentially have allowed the virus to already spread further.
Financially, too, this is a heavy burden. The Burkina Faso government estimated in February that a national prevention plan would alone cost £2 million, of which they have only £100 000. On top of that is the cost of compensation for dead birds. The government has offered up to £1.50 per bird.
Burkina has asked for £1.5 million from international donors to help with the bird flu crisis.
And this is for the third poorest country in the world, still coping with the long-term fall-out from the 2004 food crisis, and all on top of dealing with a meningitis outbreak that has killed over 750 people this year.
Please continue to pray for Burkina.
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso travel famine bird flu sahel disease health avian flu h5n1
April 04, 2006
Bird flu now found in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso has just become the 5th African country to confirm the presence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.
The spread of bird flu to Burkina
This was, sadly, fairly inevitable once it had been found in Niger - although the government were quick in closing down the frontiers to poultry, so much of the border is of course permeable to local traffic, and of course no-one can stop the birds flying overhead.
Chickens are the cheapest source of meat protein in Burkina, and most families will have a few running around, so this affects everyone. The chicken flu virus appears at the moment to be only spread to humans by close contact with the killing and handling of sick poultry. In Burkina this is bad enough, since that could be just about anyone and everyone. The greatest fear however is that the virus may mutate so that it spreads from human to human.
Food Crisis and the local Economy
Already when I was in Burkina, chicken prices were dropping as everyone was getting rid of them because of the fear of bird flu. At the same time, sheep, goat, and cattle prices are high. So, if you have so little money, what meat would you eat? When you have no choice, what choice do you have...?
Thankfully last year's harvest was good in Burkina, but - as we have seen on the television from Niger the last few days - the long-term effects of the 2004 food crisis are also impacting people already. People who took out loans or lost their herds during the crisis in 2004, or who had nothing left to sow in 2005, are suffering again. The situation is worse in Niger than Burkina, where the situation was more contained, and where the government, agencies, and churches responded more quickly and efficiently. But, in Burkina too, it is the most vulnerable of course who will suffer again.
Please pray
Please pray for the protection of the Burkinabe population, and that the virus does not mutate.
Thank you.
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso travel famine bird flu sahel disease health
April 03, 2006
More photos from Burkina Faso
Some of the beautiful children from Gorom-Gorom , Djibo, and Boukouma.
See more photos from my trip here.
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso gorom-gorom travel fulani photos sahel
April 01, 2006
Burkina Faso - tourist hotspot?
Just before I went to Burkina Faso, I was asked by Northstar Travel Media if I would be interested in updating the Burkina Faso chapter of their online “Intelliguide” travel guide. Strangely they were having trouble finding travel writers with much experience of Burkina…
I just finished the job yesterday, and it has been fascinating. It has been nice being asked to write about Burkina, and about some of the things there I know and love. But it has also given me an opportunity to look a bit more into other parts of Burkina that I know of and yet where I have never done the tourist visit thing. 
Now, I know Burkina doesn’t leap to the mind as a top tourism destination, but there is actually quite a bit of interesting stuff there – the wildlife parks, the mask festivals, the traditional villages and dances, the markets, and of course the famous Fespaco film festival. It strikes me that Burkina is under-developed as a tourism destination, and maybe there is room for an ethical tourism business to be started there.
Sharon, my contact at Northstar, has been very friendly, and if you are a travel agent, I can recommend you get in touch with them. I have particularly appreciated how, as well as just the facts about the destination, they look for input on appropriate etiquette and behaviour - something from my past experience of tourists in Burkina that seems to have been lacking in many people's preparation.
Unfortunately, as you will have noticed if you followed the link above, Northstar is a subscription service, and this means you won’t actually be able to get onto the website to read what I have written...
Unless of course you pay...
I know. Frustrating isn’t it?
Tags: africa burkina burkina faso tourism travel sahel travel writing
