num_pages: 338
description: In Trials Elsewhere R. Matthias vividly describes his experiences as a 21st century traveler. Moving from Canada to Washington D.C. to take on the inner city Matthias then finds himself invited to apply his skills and idealism in The Republic of the Gambia. Working first for a human rights NGO and then for a Gambian owned Internet service provider he begins to question his conceptions of how the world works -- is the Western way of doing things viable in other parts of the world? Is the Western way of work even a good idea? Is there any real value in idealism as Westerners understand it? As he ponders these questions Matthias is cursed at a wedding survives a coup d'tat avoids the state's secret police wanders for a year stateless without a passport or way home and is sentenced by a tribal court. Matthias's experience in West Africa increasingly becomes an unpredictable adventure.
language: English
title: Trials Elsewhere: Stories of Life and Development in West Africa
publisher: Anywhere But Here Publications