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December 10, 2006
Letter home
Dear friends,
Waaldude e duko na buri waaldude e mimsey.
It is better to spend the night with noise than with regret.
This Fulani proverb has been much on my mind recently. There are lots of mosques in my neighbourhood, and more being built all the time. One of them is an interesting sect of Wahhabist Islam which chants 'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no God but God) over and over, inducing a trance-like state in some of its adherents. They chant for more than an hour before each of the five daily prayer times; in the morning they start chanting at 4am in preparation for sunrise prayers at 5.30. In the past their voices blended with the faraway calls of donkeys and roosters to form a pleasantly indistinct early-morning hubbub. No longer. The mosque in question recently acquired a powerful PA system and these days the whole of Sector 1 awakens with a jolt and shares wide-eyed in the Wahhabist devotions.
It seems that my non-Wahhabist neighbours are prepared to be philosophical about the disturbance. It is better to spend the night with noise than with regret, they say. Better to endure than to take drastic action, they say. So I have to content myself with thinking uncharitable nocturnal thoughts about Wabbabists.
In the warm light of day I usually think differently about it: I reckon that if people have to chant something at 4am, then 'There is no God but God' is a not a bad lyric to choose. The uncompromising monotheism of the Wahhabists is no more and no less radical than the Shema itself: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord' (Deut.6:4).
Monotheism is the common ground I share with my neighbours in Djibo, and as common ground goes, it's pretty substantial. In Cambodia this year we walked miles of bas reliefs depicting a fascinating and colourful gang of deities, and I came to appreciate anew the monotheism which I have so long taken for granted. There is no God but God - that was part of Jesus' creed, and it is the basis on which we can relate to God as Jesus did - as our Creator and as our loving heavenly Father. Worth shouting about.
RADIO
Some good news and some no-news.
The good news is that we have bought some land to build the radio station on. We now own two lovely flat hectares on the western edge of Djibo, not far from the hill. Those of you who have followed the tortuous progress of our land applications will feel as relieved about this as I do!
No news on the broadcasting licence front. The licensing body keeps saying 'Maybe next month.' It's not just us - they've been saying the same thing to all radio applicants this year. Our spies in Ouagadougou are telling us that there is not much longer to wait now. I hope they're right.
By the way, Djibo FM will begin broadcasting at 5.58am every morning and no one will be forced to listen to it.
CAMBODIA
I mentioned having spent a couple weeks in Cambodia, and for me this was the highlight of the year. The 'Precious Girl' magazine for factory workers is still going strong there and Charlotte is doing a wonderful job as its editor. She took some time off work in October so that we could do some travelling together.
Would you please pray for the future of 'Precious Girl'. Charlie will be leaving Cambodia next year but the Khmer girls who work with her are not quite ready to take over the running of the magazine. If you know anyone who might enjoy a couple years editing a girls' mag in the most beautiful country in the world, I'm sure Charlie would be pleased to hear from them.
Read Charlie's December newsletter Page 1 and Page 2
Charlie and I get married in July next year, live in England for two
months and then move to Djibo together.
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Sophie and the Albino Camel came out in April and sales have been good. In November the book won the Glen Dimplex New Writer's award in the children's book category.
In the coming year look out for two more books:
Sophie and the Locust Curse (to be published in March 2007) is the sequel to Albino Camel. All the usual ingredients plus some locusts, some daft songs and a camel race.
Yellowcake (to be published in September 2007) is a nuclear thriller set in Niger. Haroun is a fourteen year-old Fulani boy working as an agent for the French Secret Service. Cattle-herding, secret surveillance, heists, motorbike chases, clandestine uranium enrichment, you know the sort of thing.
CHRISTMAS
Charlie and I will be in England over Christmas. We are looking forward to spending time with each other's families (who we have not yet met) and with each other.
I return to Djibo on 2 January 2007.
Lots of love to you and your families. Have a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
Alla beydu jam (May God increase your peace).
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:00 AM
December 09, 2006
Children's Book Special on Open Book
Pop into most bookshops at the moment and you’re likely to be overwhelmed. The sheer number of books is positively intimidating and nowhere is this more frightening than in the children’s book section.
How do you choose?
In Open Book tomorrow Mariella Frostrup turns to some of Britain’s best children’s authors, Lauren Child, Meg Rosoff, and David McKee, and the Guardian Children's Books Editor Julia Eccleshare in search of an answer, so join them and dispel your Christmas doubts.
A little bird tells me that Sophie gets a mention :-)