Having said that, I am the first to express
that if Mali wants to progress there should be no favours given and merchandise
should be of competitive quality with the other merchandise on sale to the West
London ladies. But that is perhaps impossible at the moment- there is no high
quality shoe factory in Mali. Most people seem not to bother to even try to
make things here. Edun, the fashion company which is set up by Bono’s wife Ali
Hewson to create work opportunities in the spirit of ‘Aid by Trade’ has quietly
shifted their manufacture – it does not manufacture in West Africa. If you look
at what they do in Mali you will find that they mention that a ‘lining’ in one
of their ultra expensive garments comes from Mali! OK. But I say: this is what we have. This is what we
have to work with, there is no other option but to try!
There is a MaliMali
Fedex parcel story which is turning into a tragi-comedy- I really don’t know
whether to laugh or cry, but since there are too many other things wrong, I
tend to tip over in favour of the latter. This parcel was sent on the 14th of
May from Bamako to New York. It is a gift from a father in Australia to his
daughter in the U.S. on her birthday which was on the 23rd of May.
There should have been plenty of time for the parcel to wing its way first to
Paris and then straight on to New York. But no. The parcel was lost and then
found and has been traced to Memphis Tennessee (!) and then to an obscure
airport in UTAH! Finally it was supposed to be delivered two days ago. But
again, no. I get a message from Fedex saying the address is wrong. I check the address:
it is correct. I have no strength to go
on it is too boring. The parcel is still not delivered. The price of Fedex
delivery from Bamako is extremely high. The price of the merchandise on the
website is often half or even more simply in Fedex charges.
To continue
this Jeremiad in the spirit it was begun let’s cast out eyes to the town of
Djenne: there is an enormous cement building going up smack bang in the centre
of Djenne where nothing but mud is allowed according to UNESCO rules.
Furthermore
there is trouble rumbling at the Manuscript library regarding internet access
to the manuscripts.
And Petit
Bandit is only nibbling half heartedly at his millet and getting thinner and
thinner. What is wrong?
Then there
is…. And…and…and then….
posted by toubab at 3:03 PM
7 Comments:
Oy vey, or Oh my godddd (said with Swedish inflection)! Rotten news about the shoes. But in my eyes, of course, nothing but good can come of a Jeremiad, my own little ray of sunshine. You need a bunch of empathisers around you hugging and stroking...wish we could.
You are already hugging and stoking through the ether. And yes, nothing but good from Jeremiah..ds!
xxxs
Now, in addition to what I've just written elsewhere, small consolation this, but you are not alone in dealing with the vagaries of package delivery. We have countless problems getting packages delivered in the mid-Hudson Valley! Not to burden you with "too much information," but the vendors like FedEx and UPS are now using a thing they call "smart mail." We call it "dumb mail," as the mail often doesn't arrive at all. May good things come your way soon.
Absolutely marvellous photo of the unhappy tot, by the way. I want one!
You want a tot or a pic? It is indeed a marvellous picture.
And Susan, the parcel, which the father had begun to believe had The Curse of The Islamists on it, was finally delivered this morning! more on this anon at FB!
A tot. Too old to adopt, alas.
Shame! You would make a great father I think!
Post a Comment
<< Home