Ganta - 3/20

Interesting day. Good interviews in this bustling town. Started off with a bowl of oatmeal I kept down and progressed to meetings with the Mayor, the radio station manager and several reporters, a professor from the bible college, Liberian border guards, Guinean truckers, Liberian laborer, Guinean border guards-a very easy border to cross(! wasn’t even expected to bribe anyone), the Imam of the mosque and several members, and members of the leper colony outside of town that the Catholics housed and the Methodists trained in carving and weaving, the hotel owner, and had most of them indoors-nice to be out of direct sunlight, but the radio station in particular was sweltering. The team is leaving in high spirits, and hopefully ready to tackle the analysis which lies ahead next week! We’re departing early tomorrow and should be back not long after noon. The mayor was really inspiring, a true symbol of hope and what forgiveness can bring. He is a former warlord and shared stories about how “his boys” often turn to him to address issues as a group. He repeatedly tells them, and other ex-combatants who mobilize around their leaders to leave and approach their representatives in government.