Talibé

The Talibé are one of Senegal’s most noticeable pariah groups. You see them swarming about Dakar and Saint-Louis, in Thiès and Mbour, in any city and even in smaller villages such as mine, Leona. The Talibé are children who are given by parents over to…

13 March, 2013

Chains

Freedom does not exist. This I hold to be a truth. We are, none of us, truly free. We are simply slaves of differing degree. Genesis decrees we lack freedom because of Man’s Fall in the Garden. The Government declares we are not free because…

27 February, 2013

Why White?

A major part of our world is color, and that is (in no small way) thanks to the emphasis and gravity people place on color in their lives. Color is used as a means of expression; color is used as a means of giving empty…

25 January, 2013

Pay for Education, Not Drugs

My nephew was kicked by a horse several days ago. I should say “clipped”, because the hoof caught his face only as it was about halfway into the air. He’s short enough that the hoof didn’t hit his leg or his chest. He’s only five…

25 January, 2013

The Price of Laughter

G.P. Maxim “Dame A.M. Thiam”  Siragusa ————————————————————— In a seriously depressed economy, a little more can mean a lot. This rule applies to food, to money, to frivolous goods, and to basic things like water and electricity. If you live in a place like Leona,…

10 November, 2012

The Innocence of Muslims

The recent political debacle over the video entitled “The Innocence of Muslims” has reinforced the fact that we live in the Age of the Spectacle. The things we pay attention to in this day and age, let alone what opinions and ideas we hold, are determined…

24 September, 2012

Stepping Stones

I don’t normally bare my soul and my past in writing; what is written should be reality in words, life on paper, not espousals on who I am. So, I’ll keep this brief, for my sake and for yours. I never thought I’d be doing…

10 July, 2012