Here's two recent stories from other volunteers that will give you a little insight into how seriously sorcery and magic are taken in Africa:

1) A friend who works near Cotonou found a large black lizard in her house. She's normally pretty laid back but apparently reptiles set her off, so she chased it out. Her neighbors were amused at first until the lizard's tail fell off as a defense mechanism. Then they said, "Oh, that's the lizard that magically turns into a snake." Africans are terrified of snakes, excluding a python cult in Ouidah.

Anyway, my friend shrugs and says, "Sure it does, guys," but then the next day there's a snake in her house. The neighbors all come in and kill it as per their policy. Problem solved. Except the next day a stray white cat appears in the compound. Apparently, the juxtaposition of snake and cat is a very bad omen, indicating that a sorcerer is trying to kill you. They beat the cat to death with a 2x4, which is bad enough, but the kicker is that every single African moved out of the building the next day.

Because they were afraid. Of the sorcerer. Did I mention that her neighbors are all university students?

Our Voodoo guy (the one who gave us the scars) was contacted, and he seemed equally mortified, pleading with my friend to leave the building immediately. In the end, she did.

---

2) The following is a direct quote from another friend's facebook page. He's located in the far north of Benin.

"So apparently the Indians (India, not Nat. Am.) have magic which lets you create money so long as you use the blood of children in your spells. Nigerians learned how to do this and then taught it to women in Malanville, who taught the magic to women here. So the witches have apparently been stealing the blood of children, killing several in the process, to counterfeit money- which once used dissappears into thin air as a final fuck you to the witch's victims. Now, lets be clear, the town's Doctor and the traditional healers have all said the kids all died because of palu grave, but we can't listen to them because Palu doesn't kill like that! They are just lying to everyone because the witches are paying them off...

So far the Mayor and the traditional king have been telling the witch hunters to fuck off and listen to the healers, but there was a massive demonstration in town today drumming up support for the witch hunters. I know that several women have already fled town."

7/29/2014 7:57:20 AM

Have y'all been hearing anymore about the Ebola outbreak? Saw that somebody got it and took it back to Nigeria. Also one of the chief Liberian doctors contracted it and died, and now and American doctor from Boone and another American aid worker have both contracted it and are listed in grave condition. Since this is the worst outbreak in history and while not on your doorstep, is definitely in your neighborhood, I did not know if this was being discussed by PC admin.

Also word of distrust of doctors, especially in relation to the Ebola outbreak have been getting coverage as well. Some villages are hiding their ill saying that everybody that goes to the clinics is dying. Some towns have been cutting bridges and blockading roads to keep aid workers and doctors from arriving. Additionally they are not allowed to wash the dead bodies as they are highly contagious, but they are afraid that the doctors are using their bodies to fuel dark magic and putting hexes or curses on the families with the corpses. So there has been a lot of concern that many more cases may be out there and are not being reported and also exposing whole towns and villages to even more Ebola.

7/29/2014 8:58:00 AM

When things get ugly over there, be careful that you don't resemble a white cat.

7/29/2014 10:56:33 AM

Quote :

"forget banjoman's thread then, i say theduke goes to africa and makes a: "guess im going to kill things in africa for two years" thread and takes cues from grumpyGOP on storytelling. even if banjoman in germany was interesting the dude cant write 2 coherent sentences. "

Well, I'm actually starting to look into this more seriously. My potential job here may well still work out, but they're being too tight-lipped and the date at which my USMC employment ends is getting too close for comfort.

Of course, I probably won't be able to tell many stories if I end up over there.

[Edited on July 30, 2014 at 6:11 PM. Reason : This thread is super interesting to me, in any case]

7/30/2014 6:10:39 PM

Yo grumps, do they have any plans to evacuate you, are you seeing any impact yet? I know Africa is huge but c'mon, it's ebola.

7/31/2014 8:44:13 PM

it is heading in his direction, and it's only 3 or 4 countries over

7/31/2014 9:02:01 PM

Oh shit, depending on where in Benin he is, it's right next to him, Lagos is right next door. (Fist time I looked at the map for Benin. )

7/31/2014 9:07:47 PM

There is no ebola in Benin. The case in Lagos was isolated immediately and there's been no sign of any other cases there, so taking it out of the equation there's no ebola in any country adjacent to me, or (I may be making a small geography mistake here) any of the countries adjacent to the countries adjacent to me. That said, I'm very close to the Nigerian border and am about as close to Lagos as I can get while living in Benin.

And, OK, yes, last time I got into a bush taxi the girl next to me threw up, but it was normal throw up and not bloody throw up.

While there's always a "plan to evacuate" us, it isn't being put into effect. Though if they do it's neat because we have code phrases, in case the cause for evacuation involves civil unrest or people who might want to get us.

For the time being I'm much more concerned about Oro, the voodoo fetish that comes out every august and will kill everybody who ventures outside. And every year this happens, people think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. They KILL people over this. It caused a couple of serious ethnic clashes in Nigeria a couple of years back, with dozens of people dying as a result.

It's also malaria season. So that's big on my radar.

Ebola, less so. There's been roughly 1,000 cases. The combined populations of the affected countries is about 21,000,000. I'm not real worried.

8/2/2014 5:18:44 PM

how would they kill you?

are you not confident in your large american ass flinging these bastards around like rag dolls?

how would you fare in a fight versus a beninese? how many could you take?

8/2/2014 10:23:15 PM

(this has been one of my favorite topics for a long time.) I was wondering how much rivalry there is among PCVs based on perceived relative project worth. Like - oh he's just teaching english while she's in charge of an important new development initiative.

also I assume you know "Katie" http://katieinbenin.wordpress.com

8/2/2014 11:08:41 PM

any mercs or paramilitary types walking around?

8/2/2014 11:09:46 PM

The presence of government workers in these shitholes definitely puts American lives and interests at risk. NGO's are nifty and all, but the peace corps should not be funded with taxpayer money. Its participants usually seem to emerge from the experience as rudyard kipling racists anyway.

8/2/2014 11:23:46 PM

Quote :

"how would they kill you? "

Beatings and/or machete. Mostly the bodies are never found because they're taken into the sacred forests where even the government doesn't like to go.

Quote :

"are you not confident in your large american ass flinging these bastards around like rag dolls? how would you fare in a fight versus a beninese? how many could you take?"

I'm not confident, not well, and zero. These people are BUILT. The average Beninese 15 year old girl could kick your ass.

Quote :

" I was wondering how much rivalry there is among PCVs based on perceived relative project worth."

First, I do know Katie -- that is her real name -- she lives relatively close to me and so we're usually at the same events. She's one of my best friends here, come to it.

Second, not much rivalry on projects. For one thing, it's luck of the draw. Not everybody gets put in a place where a big, fancy initiative is really an option, either because their town doesn't need it or their host organization won't support it or what have you. And English teachers here are their own thing. It's their job, and it doesn't leave time for anything else, and frankly the TEFLers put in a lot more hours of work than any of us, even the ones that have bigger projects.

To the extent that there's rivalry, it's more about whose post is more difficult. People up north love to bitch that their posts are hotter, more isolated, there's no vegetables, travel times are longer, yada, yada, yada. People in the south lamely respond with humidity. But even that's mostly tongue in cheek.

Quote :

"any mercs or paramilitary types walking around?"

Nope. Benin has no resources and no conflicts, so not much call for hired guns.

---

Now as for smc, who I remember as being kind of a troll so maybe I shouldn't bother, but you're right that it puts lives at risk -- ours, specifically. You're wrong that the government shouldn't fund it. Bang for your buck, Peace Corps is hard to beat. I'd argue that we do a lot more than the embassy for fostering goodwill towards America, and for a fraction of the money. From what I've seen of USAID projects, we're also a better investment for your development dollar (hell, a lot of our projects are things USAID provides funding for because they know we're better at on-the-ground work).

With the embassy and USAID your taxpayer money is paying for an even more elaborate support system than we have AND their beefy salaries AND benefits AND fancy bullshit that appeases a handful of local politicians who won't matter worth a damn in two years when they're out of office. With PC, you pay for an office that keeps us alive and functional, you throw pocket change at us, and for that small investment you get lasting impact on people. There've been a couple of world leaders -- Alejandro Toledo was one, he was president of Peru when I was there -- who acknowledge that they got where they are because of PCVs helping them in their youth. My point isn't that Peace Corps makes presidents, but rather that the impact is lifelong.

8/3/2014 5:44:20 AM

It is recognized that your budget is small. I still question the very premise of foreign aid and putting Americans in harms way for no possible financial benefit. That is money that could be better spent on our actual allies in their time of need, like glorious Israel. Are you at least grooming the labor-force for use in ultra-low-wage manufacturing? The Chinese certainly are.

8/3/2014 11:23:05 AM

Yep...we could probably use the money and effort that we give to PCVs to save Israel. Stfu

8/3/2014 11:28:01 AM

So True, Fine User

8/3/2014 11:51:46 AM

It's a bit creepy seeing those blogs listed on here. Several of those people are very close to me and it's weird to think about peace corps life intersecting with wolf web life through any medium other than me. That said some of them do have really good pictures. Hopefully soon when I live in Cotonou I'll be able to put up more of my own.

I'm also glad that you didn't list the blog of jess banda, which is the first thing to pop up when you search peace corp Benin and which is the rantings of a certifiable lunatic. We don't miss her. And if we could also get rid of new arrival and grade a fuckwad frank Tate and his hate filled blog there would probably be a party. But he's untouchable. He's black AND gay AND he has a weird fucking thing on his head. A birthmark I suppose. Point is we all hate him but we're all afraid to admit it.

[Edited on August 3, 2014 at 6:49 PM. Reason : stupid phone]

8/3/2014 6:47:03 PM

you're such a homophobe

8/3/2014 7:00:27 PM

I hope none of them are smart enough to look at their link referrers and find this thread

[Edited on August 3, 2014 at 7:28 PM. Reason : especially that asshole Frank]

8/3/2014 7:27:23 PM

Holy shit!



http://franketate.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005173995495

8/3/2014 7:35:02 PM

Maybe Frank will find it and stop being a fuckwad. Also, how are all these people posting pics? Grumpy holding out on us. I look forward to seeing your pics.

8/4/2014 12:12:59 AM

He's put a lot of pics on facebook.

8/4/2014 12:58:55 AM

I don't post as many pics because one, when I had a camera, it was shitty. Two, it broke a while back. Three, uploading pics to the wolfweb is a serious pain. I don't know if it is the site or Africa but mostly I get server errors. Is there some easier way to do it from my shiny new smart phone?

I'm not worried about any of the bloggers finding this thread. The one I'm dating has already seen it because I showed it to her

8/4/2014 4:14:53 AM

you date bloggers?

[Edited on August 4, 2014 at 7:15 AM. Reason : can I get next?]

8/4/2014 7:13:45 AM

i doubt his gf is a banjo, so you should move along

8/5/2014 9:38:48 PM

Somebody try a faceswap or 4 frame zoom with that birthmark

8/6/2014 1:07:31 PM

OMG WTF IS THAT

8/6/2014 1:11:26 PM

Quote :

" Is there some easier way to do it from my shiny new smart phone?"

You could up upload it to imgur.com or any photo site and share the link. I wouldn't upload it to TWW because it would take too long.

8/6/2014 2:16:18 PM

i upload to flickr (by installing their app)

8/6/2014 2:20:07 PM

Ok, next time I have Wi-Fi instead of just mobile I'll download the app. And then upload the pics I have on the phone. Should be a lot because I want to record these last nine days in village. It's a weird experience.

Obviously I'm never gonna be a real citizen of my town but it feels like home. Outside of my parents house I'm not sure if over ever live in one place so long... And if I have, it's close. You'd town is like cheers of you are me, or at least a giant who is a different color from everyone else: everybody knows your name. It will be a shock when that isn't true in a few days and I'm an anonymous person in the big city.

8/6/2014 6:08:03 PM

I think I speak for everyone when I say I can't wait to see them pics.

8/7/2014 1:39:14 AM

hit that thing on that guys head with a bible and post the results

8/7/2014 1:42:13 AM

Flicker app is not available in Benin, apparently. I don't know why the country should matter but Google says no.

8/7/2014 8:12:44 AM

OK so I'll try to start loading things to Instagram. I'm booth.iang on there for now.

I don't know how to find the link. This phone confuses me. I'm like a goddamn caveman.

[Edited on August 7, 2014 at 9:19 AM. Reason : ass]

8/7/2014 9:01:54 AM

Like a caveman. In the 3rd world.

Checks out.

8/7/2014 1:28:15 PM

Saying the third to ppl from the third world, I have discovered that this pisses them off.

8/7/2014 1:29:07 PM

Look, can you chucklefucks find the pictures or not?

8/7/2014 2:39:00 PM

http://instagram.com/booth.iang

8/7/2014 2:54:55 PM

boooooooooooo

shit's blocked at work mang.

8/7/2014 2:55:20 PM

No

8/7/2014 2:55:37 PM

8/7/2014 3:09:42 PM

right click -> inspect element -> right click element -> view image or copy address

8/7/2014 3:13:33 PM

8/7/2014 3:15:53 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/photo_mygallery.aspx?folder=Grumpy+in+Africa

[Edited on August 7, 2014 at 3:19 PM. Reason : just because I'm bored]

8/7/2014 3:19:10 PM

ಠ_ಠ

8/7/2014 3:21:21 PM

^^ http://www.brentroad.com/photo_folder.aspx?user=36637&folder=Grumpy+in+Africa&filter=

The older woman in the tomato training looks just like my 3rd grade substitute teacher.

Also, you are dressed more African than the Beninese in these pictures...

8/7/2014 5:12:45 PM

The outfits you see me wearing might be considered semi formal attire for men. Not something you'd wear just working or hanging out. Most of the Africans you see are more in their working or around the house clothes.

8/7/2014 6:01:36 PM

^^ಠ_ಠ

8/7/2014 6:22:20 PM

Whoops, sorry for the link error. Thanks for sharing some pics Grumpy! I appreciate your efforts.

^what?

8/7/2014 7:48:54 PM

pics of beninese women moving hot coals with bare hands

8/7/2014 8:56:12 PM