Rough seas ahead...

This past Sunday, I arrived in Bamako to assist in the training of the new volunteers, serving as a guest speaker about pumps. And since I've been in Mali for over a year, I am also taking care of my Mid-Service Medical Examination.

But a fairly mundane trip turned stunning when I got into Bamako and called Adama, the Water and Sanitation Sector's assistant APCD.

Adama told me that Lassana, my homologue, had been calling him since last Tuesday. Lassana told him that I do not want to work for the village, and specifically that I do not want to work on 'his' project of constructing 10 wells. He says that I do not work, instead all that I am interested in is having fun with the young people and going to other villages at night with 'young girls' for mischievousness. He said that he has repeatedly told me to stop doing this, but that I simply told him that he is not my father.

Wow, well coming from a man who's moral record isn't particularly sparkling, I would say he is trying to get me kicked out of the Peace Corps and replaced. A couple reasons that seem to come through in his speech:

1) He is not pleased with my stance that I will not find funding for additional projects within the village. This could be both due to the elimination of his potential revenue stream, but also due to the reduced scope of community projects, which would not give him as much recognition within the community.

I have tried to work with the village primarily to build capacity through organizational development, behavioral change, and the teaching of management/fundraising skills. I stand by my stance that that is my most important role as a development worker, in order to ensure projects are sustainable and replicable in the future. Yet Lassana's perspective seems to be that if I am not handing the village money, I am not working.

2) He knows that I am aware of his previous exploitation of the system, and is not happy that I am now working primarily with other members of the community. The only truth to what he has said dates back to May, when I served as a 'kɔnyɔnbɛna' for my friend Daouda's wedding (an experience I detailed in a post from May 12th.)

I had been sitting with some friends, and even Seykou, the Engineers without Borders mentor, who happened to be in my village at the time. We were discussing what my role would be in the proceedings, when Lassana happened to walk by and overhear us.

He then aggressively told me 'you cannot go. It is against Peace Corps policy to travel at night whatsoever. Al-Qaeda will see a white person riding through the fields, and will capture you.'

So I disputed this, saying that it is not against Peace Corps policy to travel at night. Malian transport isn't reliable enough to prevent this anyways. They recommend that you do not go out at night alone in large cities, and they forbid that you go anywhere on a motorcycle. 

But I was to travel to a village about 4 kilometers away, either by donkey cart or by a bashɛ, in rural Mali far away from any terrorist activity, with two other men. Seykou and the other men in the discussion all agreed with me. Seykou, a man of about 50 years old who has frequently travelled around the country as a mentor to Americans, said that there is absolutely nothing that could happen.

Lassana stuck with his hostile stance, ordering me to stay, saying that 'you cannot go.' So I told him 'you are not my superior. You are not my father. You are my work partner. That means that we are to work together only, but you cannot order me around. You are free to provide guidance or recommendations, but I alone will decide what I will do.'

So obviously, he has embellished this situation a hell of a lot. As far as the timing, that is a big mystery to me. It has been over a couple of months since I have stopped working with Lassana outside of committee meetings. I can't think of anything that has changed over the past couple of weeks to trigger his phone call.

On Monday, when I went into Tubaniso, the Peace Corps Mali training facility, I sat down to meet with Haoua, our sector's APCD and my supervisor, and Adama, her assistant. I explained to them all that has occurred in the past year: my decision not to provide additional outside funding, the transgressions Lassana has committed, the mistrust the community has for him, my travels at night as a 'kɔnyɔnbɛna,' my discussions with Sorti, the 'dugutigi's son (acting chief-of-village), and Dramani, the president of the Water and Sanitation Committee, regarding Lassana, and my subsequent decision to work primarily with other community members.

They understood then what was going on, and agreed with my perspective. Haoua's only concern about my behavior when she heard about Lassana's phone call was that I may have ridden a motorcycle, but since that was not the case, she agreed that I did the right thing. It is highly encouraged that volunteers involve themselves in village social events and ceremonies. Of the Peace Corps' stated three goals, the final two deal with cultural exchange. I know of no better way to do this than to become intimately involved in community events, to share what I have learned with people at home, and to discuss the similarities and differences between Mali and America with the villagers.

She also agreed with my assessment of Lassana's anger regarding my stance on funding. She said that I am doing what is smart; she believes that my village is the luckiest of all the villages she has placed volunteers in. The village has received significant funding for two well projects, the fish pond, the women's garden, and two India-Mali hand pumps. She agreed that the important thing to do now is to teach them how to raise money and plan projects on their own.

Haoua and Adama are now trying to reach Lassana, Sorti, and the dugutigi himself to assist in resolving the situation. I had thought that I could resolve the situation on my own, with the village. I do not have to work with my homologue. As I am now well-integrated, I am able to identify those members of the community I can best work with. But since he has become combative and is now going over my head to try to remove me, Haoua feels that she must become involved and make a more official break regarding his current role as homologue.

So I have the support of the Peace Corps administration, and I believe I have the support of the community as well, based upon all of the conversations I have had with the villagers. Unfortunately, the community leaders have seemed rather unconfrontational and timid when dealing with Lassana in the past. He is, after all, one of the more argumentative, uncompromising, and imposing Malians I have come across. So I may have their support, but what will happen in Lassana's presence, I do not know.

The situtation is certainly not yet resolved, and I am unsure how things will proceed. But I will continue to keep you all updated as things progress.