Papa Blow Mind: The Voice of the People on Radio Democracy 98.1

Most times when i drive in my car i listen to what ever assortment of CDs i have availaible in my ten disk changer. But tonight, as i drove home from the beach weary of the same ten cds i listen to, I turn on the radio and it lands on 98.1 Radio Democracy. I was just about to change the station when i heard "yes dis na papa blow mind, call wi en blow u mind" (BlowMind in krio means to vent or to let out steam or complain). the lines opened and the voices of different callers and their frustrations and desperations began to fill my car.

"Good Evening, this na papa blow mind....papa blow mind ah day na regent road..do ya ah wan make oona ep wi wit den taxi driver dem na da area day. Police need fo cam day. Di driver dem day pick passenger but den day lef wi af way. Do ya papa blow mind make oona check on dat because the transport situation bad en we day late fo go wok" { Papa blowmind day tell oona say make oona write di numba plate of dem motocar dem day en oona call wi en tell wi. Wi noh go fraid for call den motoca dem na dis show}

"Papa Blow mind, ah day call but wan police man way day na congo cross, in name mohammed, da police man day no get wan rank but in day mona dem driver dem, way u see in stop u na big big money im day call 50,000/100,000. Dis police man in an bin broke bcoz in bin fodom upstairs na in galfriend in ose but as in an done well so im don bad off. DO ya papa blow mind na fo go check day if na lie ah day lie...the police man name mohammed" {alright we don right im name done en we go check for u}

"Papa blow mind ah wan make u ep wi wit di wata situation na Signal Hill. We day suffa yanda....fo get wata even fo wash na problem en di tif na da aria day...right now man get fo go sleep wit cutlass. Do ya leh guma cam do somtin, en di counsellor way we vote for im noh day do natin, infact ah noh know oodat we vote for counsellor." {Sori Guma, oona yeri? we wan know wetin day apin na signal hill.}

"Goodevenin, A papa blowmind ah gladi way oona don cam wit dis program fo ep wi because we sef want development. Ah day call but we Honorable na Goderich...Im noh day do natin, im just day pass wit ooman up en dong en fet fo land, infact in just pass me na ya jisnor. Dis honorable nor day do natin for di people dem" {Wetin na dis honorable im name, cause we need for know sontem im noh know im responsibility}

"Papa Blowmind na mi bin call jisnor but da Sokobana. Di oda day ah sidom na shop na im wan soka cam inside im pull nef...we all run away..way we cam back di soko don tiff phone na di shop. Do ya papa blowmind ah wan know if na dat soko dem day do now. Di tiff boku na kroo town road da day day. Dem say na upline da soko day comot" {Ok caller we go check on dat for u. Papa blowming noh bin know say soko dem still day comot na dis tong, but enti na culture im no go eva done}

"Hello Blowmind? Yes sir ah wan know if dis new government na city council just day normoh for surpress we wit tax. Last year we pay two hundred en somtin thousand for register we commercial vehicle way we day use fo fen an to mot. This year dem done raise am up to three hundred en somtin thousand. How we suppose for recover da money day pan we bizness?" {Alright caller listen tomorrow na wi sister program for yeri wetin make di price done go up ya}

"Papa blowmind ah day call but we light situation. Den day get light 24hrs na cockle bay but we way day na bane lane we noh day eva get light. Do ya na for check if problem day wit wi line. If di countri day swit in fine leh we all enjoy am." {alright caller we go check if di line get problem}

Yes Callers dis na Papa Blowmind way day cam to your from the society on radio democracy 98.1. We get for respect the government of di day but day no mean say we noh go tell government wetin day monar we. Papa Blowmind wan talk but wan crase man up na spur road way kin day day every monin. Dis crase man kin tie wan black sharp dagger na im ade wit red pisis and ol wan sharp umbrella iron. School pikin dem kin day pass na dis area and da nek day sharp. Ah also no go call all the minister motocar dem way kin pass na da area day. Evin president kin pass day somtem en di crase man day day every monin. Do ya we day ask make government do sometin but da crase man day b4 im hurt school pekin.

As i listened to the radio station I was amazed at the number of people callin in to report their issues and the confidence that they seemed to have in Papa Blowmind both as an outlet for their frustrations but also as someone who would actually look into their problems and concerns. I kind of felt out of the loop as if i had just been woken up by the show.

Living in Freetown, we all get caught up in our routines and it is therefore difficult to really get a feel for or understand whats going on in other peoples lives. Yes in theory we all know that Salone is difficult, but when u're in it everything becomes relative and one starts to suffer from compassion fatigue or simply...I got man own problems maladie.

When i sit in my car driving around my issues are buyin fuel, and being stuck in traffic with an AC that refuses to work or be fixed and for me that is my transportation issue. Sometimes i even offer rides to strangers (women on the street) waiting for taxis. When i see people waiting under the sun in large groups, or stuffed like sardines on iron clad poda poda seats, i dont think of it as an issue...in fact i've programmed myself to thinkin that its the way of the world, some have and some dont. But hearing the frustration in the caller's voice over taxis that dont take her all the way down regent road it touched me. Possibly because i personally hate and dread driving on Regent rd...i never considered how incredibly difficult it must be for those who live there to get transport as one of the callers reported.

Listening to the show brought me back and made me realise how incredibly spoilt i've been lately but importantly how disconnected i've been. I like to think of myself as a compassionate person but living in this rat race has made me hardcore, and focus more on myself and my comfort than others. Especially when most times it feels that most people even those with the sob stories are mostly insincere and are only out to milk u dry with their problems. Listening to Papa Blow renewed my confidence a bit and It even eased the pain of having had my purse and ipod stolen from my car while i was parked at lumbley beach the very same evening. I listened for the number to call and i wanted to call and Blow Mind about the theives at lumbley beach but i figured not even i wanted to hear my accent on the radio and that some how what just happened to me nothing compared to the struggles i'd heard. So i sucked it up...walked into my room, saved the number on my phone and began to write the post. As i got to the end (like right here) i realised....Me sef just done BlowMind....felt a little better

[SIGH.....i sure is going to miss my purse and my ipod but i guesss there's always RADIO now...SIGH]