The harmitan blew in stealthily, sliding in over the dry land during the night. It came as a smoggy haze, not unlike a thick grey fog—except that it isn't water droplets suspended in the air that hide the sun and drop visibility to a few hundred feet- it is dust, fine, powdery brown dust!. We woke to the smell of dust in our nostrils and a thicker than usual film of dust on everything, the chocolate brown couch cushions dusted to a coffee-with-cream shade. The sun continued to hide its face day after day as the wind blew steadily from the N-NEast, not fierce or blustery, just a steady, cold, tree bending stream of thick dusty air. We kept the windows and doors shut as much as possible, but there is a film of brown on everything inside and a thick writing surface on outside tables and chairs.
Airtravel was interupted at the Bamako airport as it still operates on visual rather than electronic visibilities. A friend was stranded in Paris for a day and a ½ as a consequence of this meteorological anomaly-no flights in til the visibilty above reached 1000 m.
Down here, we are doing well. The cool weather is not unwelcome, a pleasant surprise to this American family who expected to have 15 months of unadulterated H O T when we arrived in Mali last May. The muggy 85 degree heat that hit us on that early May midnight arrival certainly spoke to us of that reality, but God has been surprising us month after month with the differences of climate that Mali can deliver. There is the hot and humid summer, with almost daily downpours causing ditches and canals to run full and overflowing for a few minutes or an hour under their assault. That is a time of green growth and, surprising to us, the season of hunger, and expensive produce. Last year's harvest is depleted and gardens have not yet had time to produce crops for their owners-- hence the 'season of hunger' runs from May to late June or early July. (At least most years. This year it is expected to start in March, as poor rains resulted in smaller, or almost non existant grain crops and so people and animals will starve in many areas of Mali-unless someone intervenes.)
A soggy July and August was followed by a mosquito laden, but cooler, September-October- November. The flies that we dealt with in the summer disappeared, but the mosquitos more than made up for their peskiness. (Stay inside after dusk!) Some mosquitoes STILL are evident here in Jan &Feb at dusk and early evening (A bit unusual we are told), and we try to keep our skin covered if we are out late. The flies have also returned and we turn the fan on to keep them from settling as we eat out of the common bowl each day. Thank God that the solar panels are working well and there has been electricity almost 24/7, since their upgrade in July.
Watermelon season! Thats what I remember the fall months for. Tractor trailer loads of watermelon find their way in to Bamako and we see huge piles and stacks of them everywhere. At the height of the season a HUGE 40 lb one can be bought for 1000-1500, 2000 if you are a 'toubabou' and do not negotiate. Smaller round ones are 500-750 (500cfa/$1- several hours to a days wage for a working classs Malian-- a day laborer.) Then there are the papayas, oranges, limes (like key limes, in the states) and a few Malian fruit that I can't even describe to you. 'Salati' (leaf lettuce) begins to make its showing as well as green beans, small cabbages, tomatoes and carrrots. And every kind of greens from mint to onion tops, to spinach & sweet potato leaves. Lovely season of plenty!
As winter rolls on the cabbages and carrots get larger ( and cheaper), the tomatoes more plentiful, celery that actually begins to look like you could fill a stick with peanut butter showed up in February. Squash and pumpkins are sold by the piece- literally! A whole one is cut into 10-15 or 20 pieces that are offered on the tray for 100 or 250 cfa each. Mangoes showed up again in January-- a lighter second season, I am told, but wonderful for us. I just bought 5 large mangoes for 500cfa-- about $1.00.
Of course all this largesse is great if you have the money to purchase it, or can grow it in your own garden with a good water supply. But there is not the preservation possibilities here that I had in Pa. No freezer available to most. No canning jars to preserve the extra for the months ahead.. For many Malian families there IS no season of plenty, only barely enough and hunger. When the rains do not come, their fields do not produce the grain crops, rice and millet and corn, that they count on as staples for the months of dry weather, aand into the next wet season. Life in Mali is HARD!
I try to remember that when I am getting overly involved in the bargaining over some vegetables, or an item of used cothing that I see in one of the piles.
“Mimi! Chill!! Remember that here is a place you can give, gently, without it being a hand-out. You can pay a little more for that pile of 5 tomatoes, or that little bag of onions. That is a way that you can put into the economy at a grassroots level, and spread the wealth. Because you are wealthy!”
And then maybe life in Mali won't be quite os hard for someone in this neighborhood.” It is hard to remember.
Continue to remember us a s we live and work here, trying to make a differences that will be a blessing and not a curse. Pray for us to remember God's way.
