Osama

Written May 5, 2011
I was in the middle of teaching my Adult English class when one of my students asked me if I was going to have a party. I had no clue what he was talking about so I asked him 'What for?' He replied to this by laughing and then saying "Osama is dead. All the Americans are happy!!" I was taken aback by this and had no idea how to respond so I just gave a small smile, looked down, and then continued with the lesson. Three days earlier I received a text message from Peace Corps saying that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by the US Military and that we should be aware of the public reaction and for us to keep a low profile. When I got this message I had been in mid-conversation walking through a market in Segou with Melissa and she actually told me to shut up and look at my phone because she had looked at the message before I was able to. We both stopped in our tracks completely shocked. I couldn't believe that the day had finally come, 10 years! this man had been hiding and evading capture all the while still being the venerated leader of a terrorist group that has caused so much pain in the world, and on top of all of that I am receiving this news in Muslim West Africa! As Melissa and I continued to walk my emotion of shock jumped to fear. There are quite a few people in this country who held Bin Laden in very high esteem, as well as a group in the north of Mali who call themselves Al Queda. You could go to almost any market and find Bin Laden stickers to plaster on to your moto. I was very worried that I would be singled out as an American and forced to pay for the death of Osama. Unfortunately for me I was in Segou and had to make my way back to Sikasso that day (a 6 hour bus ride). I didn't know how I would be able to keep a low profile with a whole day of travelling ahead of me. Before heading to the bus station I got my fill of the news from the internet and figured that I should be okay because most Malians don't have access to the same kind of quick info as I do. I was banking on the fact that the news of Osama's death wouldn't hit Mali until several hours after I found out. I was so wrong. I got to the bus station and news of Bin Laden's death was plastered ALL OVER the TV and the Radio! It wasn't just news that he was dead either, they had to throw in the fact that he was dead at the hands of Americans and the Americans everywhere were celebrating. Here I was trying to keep a low profile, and the TV and Radio were making it all the more hard for me. Before heading to the bus station I made the decision to not speak English for the rest of the day, and to basically hide my American-ness. I was so worried that someone would ask me where I was from, as often is the case when I am travelling and someone sits down next to me, but lucky for me no one did. I got away with using only French and Bambara and no one trying to speak to me in English. The only remote give-away I encountered was when I had finally reached Sikasso and I was walking to the Stage House and a little boy shouted out "Toubaboo!" ( what Malians call the French, but what also basically means white person or foreigner) at me. Normally I would yell back "Toubaboo te! Americaine!" (Not a French person, an American!), but this time I just kept on walking and ignored the kid. Once I reached the Stage House all my worries left me and I felt safe again. As surprising as it sounds I pretty much had forgotten about Osama's death until it was brought up in my class; I guess this is proof that life goes on.
In order to stick to Peace Corps' recommendation of keeping a low profile, I had decided that I would speak to no one about Bin Laden's death, just like I choose to not ever bring up politics. It's just easier and less messy when topics like this aren't brought up. However, after Osama was mentioned in class, my homologue kept dancing around the topic. While we were walking home after class, my homologue turned to me and said "That Osama was very good at hiding!" and I just thought 'Oh what the hell' and said "yea, for 10 years!" My homologue seemed shocked by this and I could tell he probably didn't have much knowledge on the subject. I asked him if he knew why Americans were so angry at Osama and why they are happy he is dead and he said that he didn't know the story of Osama. In explaining I tried to keep it as unbiased as possible and said that there is a very grave date in American History, September 11, 2001. I said that on that day Osama had planes fly into two sky skrapers and this killed thousands of people (had to keep my explanation very simple because my French skills aren't all that advanced!). I told him that the war with the Arab states was started after this event. He then asked me if Osama was a Muslim. This is where I had to tread very lightly because my homologue is a devout Christian whom I expect would jump on any opportunity to say that Islam is bad and Christianity is better. I told him that yes, Bin Laden was Muslim, but that he was a bad man, but that that doesn't mean that Islam is a bad religion. He seemed to get what I was saying, and I figured that was as far as I should go into the topic. As of now I haven't heard of any backlash against Americans here in Mali, so here's to hoping it stays that way!