Pearl said:
What do West Africans think of America?
I remember reading about Brad Pitt visiting Ethiopia and he said he met people who had never heard of the US. Is this true with some West Africans?
Where you live, how many ethnic groups, languages spoken, and religious groups are there? Do they get along well?
Alright, back again, sorry for the long lagtime in response, but as you can guess, i don't have internet at my house.
West Africans seem to regard Americans (as a people, not the country) as friendly and open. I feel that this is mainly in contrast to the French who are seen as reserved and aloof. Whenever I speak Bambara (local language) people often guess me as an American rather than French because as they say, French people don't bother to learn the local languages because they already have the national language down pat.
Of course there are plenty of misconceptions about the US and Americans. People seem to think that if they could go to America, all their problems would be solved and they would have a lot of money. I don't know how many times I have tried to explain that although they "might" be able to learn the language and find a job, everything costs more money AND unlike here, if you are hungry or need a place to sleep, you are on your own. Here, someone would take care of you, a distant uncle, relation or whatever. You can always eat in Mali. People invite you to share their meals if you happen to walk by them while they are eating, and they mean it.
Regarding ethnic and religious groups. Mali is very very rich in ethnic harmony. It is one of the countries in Africa with the most prestigious history (which I can't go into all the details here but will try to sum up). Its the home of great empires such as Ghana, Mali, Songhai and Bambara. Back when we Europeans were still in the dark ages, Timbuktu was a center of gold and salt trade across the Trans-Saharan routes and a beehive of academic activity. There were scholars and libraries and all kinds of "life of the mind" going on here in Africa. And the area was rich in the profits that its geographic position afforded it, benefitting from the trade routes that had to pass through on their way to the Mediterranean and eventually Europe. It was when the Europeans began their incursions into what is now Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, etc. and no longer were dependent on the overland trade routes, that this area began to lose it's prosperity.
Of course there was the colonial mad dash to divide up the African pie amongst the European powers. France ended up with the big chunk called the Sudan, which really enclosed modern day Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, and others. Colonial rulers drew up the boundaries to create new nations, which in many ways means that the diverse ethnic groups were artificially bound together and some separated by the borders. This is the cause of many of the conflicts here in W. Africa, at least...it is one of the roots.
Anyways, in Mali we are lucky that there has been for centuries a tradition of tolerance and ethnic harmony. Each of the major ethnic groups has had it's heyday, so to speak, so they all have a sense of pride. We have what is called the "cousinage" or "joking cousins", which is a system of social cohesion. Different last names (or ethnic groups) will be connected with others and they are called "cousins". When you meet someone with a cousin last name, you both joke and tease each other, trade insults goodnaturedly, etc. It's something that helps de-fuse what might otherwise turn into rivalry and Malians are very proud of their national unity.
Here in Mali, there are many different language groups, but the dominant language is Bambara. Off the top of my head I could list Songhai, Fula, Dogon, Bobo, Bozo, Senoufo, Tamasheq, and Soninke as a few of the other major ones. Most of the people are Muslim, but it is not the national religion and people are very tolerant of each other. We celebrate both Muslim and Christian holidays...last month was Easter, last week was Mohamed's birthday, etc.
So, I hope that answers your question.
to your work
In actuality, internet access is growing and spreading. For now, it is very widespread here in the capital city, where I live, in the form of internet cafes. Not a lot of people can afford to have a private line at home because just to have the telephone line is a large cost and you pay for the time online as if it was a phone call (very expensive) in addition to the fees for dial-up. However, there are a few companies providing broadband, which is expensive but getting cheaper every day, and of course, faster.
I was quite sure I pointed this out myself at the beginning. In any case, if you feel it needs repeating, so be it.
