Sad

Every now and then, when you work in developing countries, you see something that is just sad.

Today we were driving along and we witnessed an accident. That's normal. I think I see one every day on the roads here.

But this one stood out. A young boy, perhaps 7-8 years old, was knocked over by a motorbike while he was begging on a street corner. In his tin there were a few coins and a few biscuits, which all fell out on to the road.

 As he scrambled up, a friend helped him to the side of the road. Then all the traffic started moving despite him. His biscuits lost and crushed under cars. His coins - well I hope he was able to get them afterward.

While none of this is out of the ordinary for Bamako - there are many beggars, there are many accidents, there are many sad stories - this one stood out to me today. You could see the hurt as the boy got up, you could see the sadness as he lost his biscuits. I could feel my own sadness and helplessness as we were moving the other way.

All of this took about 10 seconds - but it will remain with me.