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Author Archives: brucewhitehouse
The Coup, Day Four
7:00 a.m.: Hèrè sira, as they say in Bamanan — we spent a peaceful night. I have not heard further shooting or booms of any kind since 11:15 last night. Power was only out for a couple of hours after … Continue reading
The Coup, Day Three
7:30 a.m.: Power was cut for several hours overnight. Unfortunately the electrical supply was already becoming irregular in the weeks before the coup, due to increasing demand during the hot season (March through early June). But until Thursday, outages came … Continue reading
Coup update, Thursday March 22
7:30 a.m.: Whereas last night the only shooting we heard came from across the river, this morning we can hear shots coming from multiple directions. A friend who lives 300m away texted me a few minutes ago to say “bandits” … Continue reading
Gunfire across the Niger
Our first indication of trouble brewing comes around 1 p.m. Wednesday, when our son’s daycare phones to ask us to bring him home four hours early. They are closing up, they say, because of possible violence in downtown Bamako. Some … Continue reading
This book will change your life
(A shameless plug, with some reflections thrown in) This book is not about Bamako, my current home, although some of the field research for it was conducted here. Nor is it a book about Brazzaville, Congo, although most of the … Continue reading
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Who is Yeah Samaké, and what does he want?
From my lonely log cabin high atop Bamako’s Colline du Savoir, I’ve noticed a growing amount of media attention in recent months around a 43-year-old Malian man named Yeah Samaké. He’s the youngest contender for Mali’s presidency, and has been featured … Continue reading
Riding the SOTRAMA
For getting around Bamako, you really have four options. Provide your own transportation. As I wrote in a previous post, more and more Bamakois can afford to do so, whether on two or four wheels. Still, most city residents don’t … Continue reading
Of wars and rumors of wars
In case you’ve missed it, a violent rebellion has been gathering force over the last couple of months in the north of Mali. Since mid-January, Malian government posts in several northern towns have been attacked, with the attacks claimed by … Continue reading
Too many women in this town?
A key part of my current Bamako research is discussions with groups of 8 to 10 city residents, in which my research assistants and I ask questions pertaining to family and marriage. We organize each of these focus groups to … Continue reading
Bamako, 1997 to 2012: What’s changed?
Fifteen years ago this month, I came to Bamako for the very first time. In those days I was a fresh-faced Peace Corps trainee, more eager to get out to my rural post than to experience the city. On the … Continue reading
Bridges from Bamako 