Gosh! A whole forty days have passed since my last post. It is highly likely that this will be my last one too, at least for awhile. I am due to leave Mali on Saturday after nearly three months in this wonderful country. The plan is to return, but more on that later. So, what have I been up to? Well, mainly working, hanging out in the city and contracting malaria. All part and parcel of life here. To date, the political situation has died down somewhat following all the violence that had taken place just before my last post. That is not to say that it has disappeared entirely, unfortunately there have been further casualties amongst both UN peacekeepers and NGO workers, due to Improvised Explosive Devices, or I.E.Ds as they are commonly known. A ceasefire was brokered following the violence, with mediation by the President of Mauritania, however a lasting settlement still seems a long way off. The mandate of MINUSMA was renewed last week for a further year, by a unanimous vote in the Security Council. There appears to be no change in troop levels or civilian staffing levels.
The big debate taking place here is the positioning of the headquarters. As I am sure you may be aware, we are currently house in a former luxury hotel, which brings all sorts of quirky dynamics to the working environment. Apparently, however, the Government of Mali would like us to vacate it and move to the North, to be closer to the centre of need. This would bring an abrupt end to comfortable life style that is currently being enjoyed by MINUSMA staff here. Moving to somewhere like Gao would make for an entirely different work environment, and a lot less pleasant. People would be housed in a super camp. The region is much hotter and arid, movement would be much more restricted, communications would be more problematic. The organization would compensate staff for this change in work environment through danger pay and four-weekly rest and recuperation rotation. That said I think most people would still opt for the comfortable surroundings of Bamako over a little extra money in their pockets.
For me personally, I am loving it here. The only downside has been health issues. I have had a couple of nasty stomach upsets and then this week was a toughie. By Monday, I had been feeling off-colour since the previous Friday morning. I took myself to the local clinic and it was there that a blood test showed I had picked up malaria. I started a three-day medication course straight away. On top of this I had a stomach infection and by Thursday had picked up a viral throat infection (because I was generally run down). Needless to say, Wednesday and Thursday I felt pretty awful. Given that I was not sure what was going on, I did begin to get nervous when the cough set in and the fever started. However, by Friday I had the all clear after a further blood test and today, despite a hangover from yet another party, at yet another expat's villa, I feel great.
I sincerely hope to return here in September so that I can continue with the capacity building in the office, working on public information, and learning French. We are optimistic that the contract will come through and if I do return, I feel I will be much better prepared this time. I have already made a list of all the things I want to carry from the USA and the UK. Downloading films is also high on the agenda! I am also looking for an online course in business administration or HR, I would like to get some more qualifications under my belt.
So it is goodbye for now. Hope to see you all soon, either in New York, the U.K., or back in Bamako.
J.
