Osama Bin Laden in West Africa

Osama on a Taxicab - Ofir Drori

After travel down the Niger river in a canoe, while being asked by villagers about Mungo Park, Ofir reached the dammed Kainji reservoir and could not fight the winds to continue his journey. He sold his canoe and moved north to write about the growing religious tensions in Nigeria post 9/11. When locals in Yelwa learned that there was an Israeli among them, they contacted the family hosting Ofir to coordinate his killing. The sicker in the photo is on a taxicab. He left town and went to Cameroon to write about the coming extinction of apes.

I took this photo while riding in a small bus in northwestern Cameroon, Osama on the windshield, two years after the man was killed, the sticker showing its age.

On the day Osama was killed, I was in Marrakesh, Morocco, and asked an old man whether he liked or disliked Osama. He was enthusiastic in giving a thumbs up, but just as quickly smiled and took my hand and, knowing I was American, gave me several of the dates he was selling to taste, such that the concept of Osama seemed to be just that, a concept, and distinct from anything that would affect his interaction with an individual. I did buy a small bag of dates, but he was unendingly warm as we continued to talk.