First Trip to the Market

Journal Entry from January 23rd, 2007
Siguiri, Guinea

At sunrise on the day after the chaos, right after the first prayer call of the day, gunfire rang constantly for nearly an hour. But by 9:30, the gunfire had all but ceased.

The military had set up a very visible and intimidating blockade about 50 yards from my front door to protect the police commissioner (the man the people had vowed to kill). I always thought I'd be safe living so close to the police station. But yesterday and today, it was the hottest spot in town.

Haidja came to my door and said it was safe to go to the market. She asked me if I wanted to go with her and the 3 other women in my concession. I said I was scared. She said it was fine - no more gunfire - and that we were going as a group. I agreed reluctantly, letting my curiosity override my natural instinct to go inside and hide.

So we left together but took a different route to the market - a much longer walk just to avoid the police station in between my home and the market. Along the road, there were smouldering piles of ash - remnants of the burning tires and chaos of the day before. As Jeff said, days later, Siguiri looked like a warzone.

I was terrified, especially as we passed the military men armed with automatic weapons. The women of my family made fun of me for being scared, but you could tell they were scared too. To calm us all, we walked arm-in-arm, protecting one another from anything that might happen. We walked down the deserted streets charred with yesterday's anger, hearing distant gunfire along the way.

I think I might have been certifiably insane for making the decision to go.

We reached the main road, which was eerily deserted, and crossed over to the market area. No need to avoid motos and trucks and cyclists - nobody was out except a few vendors. A block from the main road, women were out selling eggplant, rice, oil, leaves, and other Guinean essentials cramped into two or three blocks. The area was packed with women, everyone a little rushed and jumpy from the day before.

I wasn't really sure why I came. I didn't really need food. My knees were wobbly with fright the entire time. I kept looking for open doors to run into if the shooting started again. I was incredibly paranoid and anxious, and my heart raced the entire time. Being in a crowd amplified the fear, and I felt incredibly claustrophobic. I wanted to go home, but we weren't done shopping yet. And I wasn't going to walk home alone. I almost lost my family in the crowd and tears filled my eyes from the fear of being left behind. This all happened in a place I knew so well. A place I had visited everyday for a year. Now I was incapable of functioning.

But my family took care of me, and we made it home safely. As I approached my door, I saw Rob inside and screamed for joy/relief and began to cry. It had been a stressful 24 hours. But the worst was over, and the three of us were safely inside my concession once again.