Info on Mali?
 

Hello all,

Not an active member here, but hoped somebody could square me away none the less.

I am currently with the US Forest Service and have a potential opportunity to do some detail work in Mali; Pays Dogons. Keeping it very generic, can/will anyone please provide a brief synopsis of the security situation in that region, especially as it pertains to unarmed American tourists? In other words: I will be unarmed and probably not making any additional $$ on this trip- is the threat level such that it wouldn't be worth the risk?

Please respond via PM; if you wish to vet prior to sharing, feel free. Thanks in advance for any assistance or information you can provide, and many, many thanks for your service and for doing what you're doing. Stay safe ya'll.

Big Money

How much overseas experience do you have currently?

TR

For the most part, in and outta Haiti 93-96. Short stints elswhere with 2/3; short trip to Panama in '89. Only trip over the Atlantic was personal business to Italy.

Expect terrorists, criminals, and a lot of shakedowns and corruption at all levels.

TR

What he said. For specific details check the State Department website - they're responsible for formulating and disseminating Traveler's Advisories. For general country information the CIA Factbook is an open source document with a decent synopsis - it's also useful for information on surrounding countries incase you feel a need to evacuate overland. :D

Additional info:

Originally, I had made myself known to our Washington Office after a mass e-mail recruiting natural resource and planning specialists to assist in recovery projects in Haiti. Although I don't totally understand the psychology, I felt compelled to throw my hat in the ring. Haven't heard anything back on that detail yet, but apparently I'm now on a "potential resource" list for overseas projects.

Thank you much for the responses. I took it for granted that criminal activity, shakedowns, and corruption would be expected; but wasn't sure about current terrorism threat levels there or internal issues that could go collateral. I will check out the DOS site; already visited the Factbook site.

You can go here and read the newspapers.

http://www.world-newspapers.com/mali.html

USAID is very active in Mali - they should have a desk officer for the region in DC and also be able to provide direct embassy contacts for follow-up information.

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-s...ountries/mali/

The AmEmbassy in Mali has a web-site which can be of help, too.

http://mali.usembassy.gov/index.html

Good luck.

Richard :munchin

Thanks for the response Richard. I personally wouldn't consider the newspapers a reliable source of useful information, although I had planned on using the other sources should I get picked up for this detail. What I was hoping for, within the constraints of OPSEC, was for personal information and insights from any of my brothers here who may have had recent experiences in that AO. My initial contact (earlier today) was from Washington- while it is not that I don't trust the folks in DC, since they are asking me to help them I would suspect that the quality of information they might provide would not be comprable to what I might learn here.

Get a feel
 

You would be amazed at how you can "get a feel" for an area by reading a local newspaper and viewing a good city map and district map- even for just a couple of weeks before a trip.

Skip the world news - focus on the national and city news - read the letters to the editor.

And while there continue to read the local paper and catch the local news if you can.

You might find youself a couple of days ahead of the official US reports.

Well, nobody has come on thus far and flat out said "screw that dude- whatever they're paying you, it ain't worth it"- guess that's positive. Hoping to catch a moment to talk with the person who sent me the message tomorrow...I suspect that after speaking with her and learning more about the project I'll know if this is even something I'm well suited for.

There is 152 Peace Corps volunteers there. You will be fine.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?...pc.africa.mali

Expect those things at unexpected levels. It's pretty "sporty" over there. No kidding, just the other day a USG coworker was looking for a TDY that offered "adventure" (has already been to the warzones). I immediately suggested Mali.

I would highly suggest reading State's travel warning. Richard gave good links: on the US Emb web, go to the Warden msgs
and note the repeated use of the word "kidnapping". Having said that, I have a very good friend who's posted there in Bamako with his wife and 3 young kids.

I've been advised to avoid the northern regions...but it's desert up there (no trees). :D I can get you some "ground truth" first thing next week.

Thank you much. Adventure beyond experiencing something new and different is NOT what I'm seeking. Looking for opportunities that will 1) get me out of my current workplace; 2) advance my career; and 3) bring in extra $$$ where possible. I'm willing to use my former career experiences to help me push the limits beyond the typcial non-military fed employee, but on the other hand, I'm not willing to put myself into an overly hazardous environment with my hands tied.

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