Next time someone tells you Africans are lazy, send them to Ouagadougou

Its 40C, what do you fancy doing? Sitting in the shade, drinking some ice-cold beer, going for a swim? Work wouldn’t be at the top of your list would it? If you had to work, you’d probably envision some kind of air conditioned environment and a source of ice cubes for your cold drinks. You bone idle slob! What about lugging a pile of granite on your head up a steep slope or swinging a bloody great sledge-hammer all day,…

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Forgotten dreams in Tunisia

The hopes born of the Tunisian revolution seem distant memories now You’ll struggle to find many Tunisians with a good word to say about their government these days. In fact, in five weeks in the country I found precisely none. Students, taxi drivers, businessmen, builders, beggars and more, all had varying tales of dissatisfaction, often bordering on despair of their leaders. Corrupt and self-serving was the general theme of the complaints that have left many in a slump, resigned to…

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What we dont know about Ukraine…… or anything

Is it possible to know less about what is going on in a country after you have visited? I certainly came away with this impression on leaving Ukraine. Sure, I learnt a bit about the history, food and the lengths of skirts but what about the big stuff in the news? As with other controversial geopolitical issues such as Israel/Palestine, Syria, Turkey and the Kurds, you only have to read the comments sections on many internet news sources to know…

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