On the radio

Nobody ever tells me anything. Never. So I always find out as things are happening and stumble into them. I arrive home after my visit to Conakry on market day. AS I'm running about greeting the officials the police commissioner tells me PSI (a regional NGO) is having a big presentation on excision. (For those of you who don't know excision or female genital mutilation is a popular and dangerous practice here that involves removing the clit or all external parts of a girls vagina).

I haven't talked about this in my village. I'm still trying to build trust and talk about family planning. Even now asking a local midwife about excision practices in my village she says they do it but she doesnt and leaves it at that. Slowly people are becoming aware of how bad this practice is but some people insist on guarding the old ways. The girls only understand they get a party and no work for a week. How could they know what they are giving up? The risks they are taking for their future reproductive health?
PSI has launched a radio campaign to stop excision. They use the local radio to inform people, educate them and send out peer educators to talk with people. Now today is a big hoopla, the radio man, the psi people from conakry and labe are there giving out prizes to the people who know the most about why excision is bad. I go and meet the psi people and watch how my community responds. Since I don't understand a word of it, its all in pular, I"m content with watching the crowd.

I'm stupid, I should have known better, not like I blend in. I"m pulled up front. I protest I havent planned anything to say. No problem, just have to hand out a prize. I can do that. I can smile and hand out stuff.

I knew it was too good to be true. The radio man is speaking rapid fire pular. I"m next to hand out a prize. I hear the words Corps de la Paix thrown in there and then a mic is in my face. I am frantically looking around. what did he say, oh my name, i say my village name. I explain mido wawi pular seeda (I speak a little pular) the radio man leans over the mic and in a low serious voice repeats wawi seeda. I think my air time is up but no. Once again he shoves the mic in my face, seriously I dont' know what i'm being asked to say. finally after an uncomfortable moment someone tells me to say excision is bad. So I denounce excision and say something positive about psi in french. very good, very diplomatic. someone leans in and says en pular. I thought we had been over my language inadequacy. So the man says one word at a time what to stay- stop excision now in pular.

A few days later I get a text from the pcv the next town over. Our friend binta heard me on the radio is very proud. She also laughed her ass off at my pular. Win some, lose some.