Word: diarra
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...During the final stretch of the presidential election last fall - when Diarra's fantasy of an African American in the White House began to seem probable - he downloaded a new ringtone onto his phone, of Obama chanting "Yes we can! Yes we can!" As the election results rolled in, Diarra joined the celebrations on Bamako's streets, and changed his ringtone again, to Obama's victory song by Stevie Wonder, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," which he has kept ever since. His taxi's dashboard is decorated with stickers of Obama's face. And during the hours he spends chugging through Bamako...
...Diarra is hardly alone among Africans in thinking of Obama as his brother and friend. On a continent sorely in need of political role models, the U.S. President is a huge icon these days, not to mention a lucrative marketing tool. Vendors in Bamako's markets do a brisk trade in Obama T-shirts, buttons and posters. Obama love reaches even remote communities with no electricity or television. One day in May, a driver took me 30 miles (50 km) into the Sahara Desert from the northern Mali town of Timbuktu. There in the tiny village of Ber, he unfurled...
...Hamid Diarra is not a man who hides his passions - and these days one consuming love inspires him as he drives his taxi through the clogged streets of Mali's capital. He's crazy about Barack Obama...
...biggest impact Obama makes during his trip to Africa might be the enormous accomplishment he has already achieved - getting elected President. Even though that alone will not be enough to oust dictators and usher in new democracies, it is sure to keep Diarra singing out of the window of his taxi, "O-bama! O-bama...
...This year, 143 of the 368 players at CAN are drawn from elite European clubs, including such contemporary legends as Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) and Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast); Chelsea's Didier Drogba, Solomon Kalou (both Ivory Coast) and Michael Essien (Ghana), and Real Madrid's Mamadou Diarra (Mali...