Letter from Gambia: After 22-year regime, ‘We need the truth’
Christian Science Monitor
October 2, 2019
To chart a new path forward, Gambia is taking a clear look back. Testimonies of the former regime’s abuses are unraveling myths of the past – but also bringing complicated emotions to the surface.
“Who is our government really working for?” ask local activists fighting against industrial pollution in The Gambia
Equal Times
September 18, 2019
Sulayman Bojang, a 30-year-old environmental activist, says that when he first heard, in 2016, that a Chinese company called Golden Lead wanted to establish a fishmeal factory ...
How two Eritrean brothers built a solar power business in some of Africa’s riskiest markets
Quartz
February 22, 2019
As the booming East African solar market brings in significant foreign competition, Aptech Africa, a start-up founded by two Eritrean brothers, is holding its own against better financed firms in some of the continent’s riskiest markets.
In Sierra Leone-UK mining case, a new attempt to measure the arm of the law
Christian Science Monitor
June 19, 2018
Pursuing justice can be hardest when cases cross international boundaries, although our world seems ever more globalized. But something as simple as a plane ticket may help make a difference.
Illegal logging and poverty fuel tensions in southern Senegal
Equal Times
June 5, 2018
In the early hours of 6 April 2018 Mustapha Gueye awoke to the buzz of a chainsaw outside his home in Sam Yero Gueye, a small village in the scrublands of Kolda Region on the Senegalese border with Gambia...
Because being displaced for large industrial projects is bound to leave you fighting for justice.
Sierra Leone's Small Towns Learn to Fight Against Land Grabs
OZY
May 7, 2018
Because one of the George Washingtons of Sierra Leone was a former American slave.
This Freed American Slave Founded an African Capital
OZY
May 7, 2018
"Cellal alaa cogu — health has no price," sighs Haja Bah, looking out on a dusty street in the sprawling eastern suburbs of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. "But they have forgotten us ... and many are still really suffering."
The Forgotten Ebola Survivors of Sierra Leone
NPR Goats and Soda
April 26, 2018
Political rivalries have increasingly taken an ethnic hue in the West African country. If left unchecked the government risks alienating a segment of society and laying the groundwork for future problems.
Political and ethnic divisions threaten the new Gambia
New Internationalist
March 21, 2018
Sixteen years after the end of hostilities, memories of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war keep enthusiasm for elections high. But that's just one factor contributing to typically high turnout.
Sierra Leone's elections may look like a party – but pride in the polls is serious
The Christian Science Monitor
March 6, 2018
Tens of thousands of Gambians left the country during former President Jammeh's regime, and many helped garner support for his rival. One year into the new administration, they're carving out new roles, keen to rebuild the country.
Gambia's diaspora helped oust a dictator. Now they're asking: Whats next?
The Christian Science Monitor
January 29, 2018
The fonio revival
Roads & Kingdoms / Slate
November 27, 2017
West Africa's indigenous superfood is coming back from obscurity and making an appearance on the world stage.
Rebuilding after the dictator: New Gambia’s slow road to reform
African Arguments
November 20, 2017
President Jammeh spent over two decades centralising power and sowing distrust. How do you rebuild a nation after that?
Gambia: Jammeh’s victims begin the long road to justice
and healing
Equal Times
November 14, 2017
Since Jammeh’s departure, hundreds of victims of his abuses have been organising and are keen to play a role in uncovering the human rights violations that occurred under his rule and bring perpetrators to justice.
As risks and borders rise, migrants turn back – but with new purpose at home
Christian Science Monitor
October 6, 2017
Returnees face myriad challenges, from social stigma to trauma. But they are also uniquely equipped to help educate others about the perils of irregular migration – and have a stake in healing the root problems that led them to leave in the first place.
Why Mauritania's crucial referendum may only be the first of many
African Arguments
August 1, 2017
"What is really important to [President Aziz] is to have direct and unconditional access to the constitution to modify it as he pleases."
My favorite piece from my Peace Corps blog.
“Charlatanism” is not a common charge in a modern court of law – even in Kolda, Senegal where spiritual forces play an important part in daily life. Yet in late June Thierno Mamoudou Diallo stood in a crowded court charged with charlatanism, in addition to defamation and extortion.