It's not about disease, or disaster (the locusts), or terrorism. It's not even about music. It's just about ... Mali. Why? Who knows! Maybe Jonathan "Special to the Washington Post" Miller has an undernourished writing resume and connections at the paper?

The juxtaposition of modern technology and ancient magic is not the only unlikely congruity found in Mali, a land that is beset by problems but refuses to descend into another chaotic West African hellhole ... One can walk safely through Bamako, Mali's capital city, without fear of being mugged, even though the average wage is less than $275 a year ... The fine cotton grown commercially must be spun and printed in the Netherlands before it comes home to be made into the boubou worn by both men and women ... Can Mali become a West African success story? The verdict is still out.
- In Mali, Quietude Amid the Cacophony

Thanks to everyone who passed it along.