January 1996 Bamako, Mali After a short flight from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, I arrived on a balmy evening at the airport in Bamako, Mali. It was sometime after 8:00PM. After deplaning, I picked up my baggage and proceeded to go to the immigration checkpoint. I was little disconcerted to discover that there were no queues - it was sort of a free for all as people were jostling with each other to get to the immigration booth. I guess this is the way they do things in Mali. Finally, after a little pushing and shoving of my own, I got through and cleared immigration.

Walking out into the loading area and the warm desert night, a thick haze blanketed the airport. The atmosphere was surreal. While surveying the scene and pondering my next move, I accidentally let down my guard and put my luggage on the ground. Before I could blink an eye, two young guys snatched my bags and threw them into the trunk of a dilapidated black car. Trying to apprehend these jokers, I was shoved into the back seat and the car sped off. Scared and frightened, I tried to communicate with the driver and his cohorts to no avail as they spoke little or no English. For a moment, I thought was kidnapped. But that apparently wasn’t their game – the driver made an attempt to find out what hotel I wanted to go to. I protested that this wasn’t a licensed taxi and asked to be let out. In actuality, it was a rogue taxi. The driver insisted in broken English that he was going to take me to my hotel, so don’t worry. I was at their mercy - the only other choice I had was to jump out of the car.

About 45 minutes later, the taxi arrived at my hotel which was situated smack dab in the middle of downtown Bamako. After getting out of the car the driver tells me $60USD. I shook my head and told him ‘hell no’. We took the dispute to the hotel front desk. Fortunately, there was someone that understood English. I tell the clerk how I was literally abducted at the airport by this rogue taxi and despite these circumstances, I was willing to pay the driver the normal taxi fare but I refuse to get ripped off (The clerk tells me that the normal fare was about 15USD). After a heated discussion with the driver, the hotel clerk turns around to me and tells me to pay the driver what he wants in order to avoid any further problems. Shaking my head in disbelief, I reluctantly handed the driver the monies and tell him to get lost! Despite the fact that I was abducted and ‘robbed’ by this rogue taxi, arriving at my hotel safe and sound was probably worth the 60USD!

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