CAR Central African Republic: Fragile, failed and forlorn

[carl]

Mike:

Mndele and mindele work for me.

In Congo anyway I think they use the word for a westerner of any color. At least that was what a black American former Peace Corps worker told me once. He was drunk and headed for a cliff at night and the people in the village were yelling that they were going to lose their mndele.

[jmm99]

In the case of the African-American PCer (singular), the Lingala online translators give either mundele or mondele (one "white" person; interesting that the second meaning is "zombie").

The distinction between mu an mo may something like the name Mattila in the Copper Country - usually pronounced Mat-tila (as in "mat" or the first name Matt), but among the "true Finns" pronounced as Mut-tila.

The singular form "mundele" has "dominated" the discussions at SWC (9 posts, soon to be 10) going back to a Brit in 2008, but mostly by Stan and you.

The "Roland Game" was a new one for me. It has an inaccuracy in its geography; having Roland flying from Norway to Biafra - located in Northwest Nigeria !! (0:30) - as opposed to:



The real Biafra should be close to (or is) KingJaja country.

In any event, the Roland song has kept growing on me since Dayuhan sorta suggested it as SWC's theme song. Turns out it was Zevon's last performance before he died of cancer.

Roland's song doesn't fit the usual American solution to foreign "problem children" - which boils down to "Send Lawyers, Guns and Money" ... "The $hit has hit the fan." - Samantha Power's call to the WH after meeting the troops.

Regards

Mike