This morning an official from BNLS appeared. After a long chat with Max, Ashley and I were invited into a meeting. The official (I can't recall her name) apologized, saying BNLS had "failed" us this year. They were supposed to be a partner in the program, visiting us and offering professional support, but they have been completely absent from our experience. She's right, and I appreciated the acknowledgment. Then she said she hoped the apology would mean we could go back to the US and say good things about BNLS, so the relationship could continue. Aha! An ulterior motive! While the effort is good, there are clearly huge problems with how BNLS handled this summer, and I can't in good conscience change my story. After our chat, we all headed to the kgosi's house, where the official offered an apology to the kgosi and Mma. Very interesting damage control. And I don't think she planned to go visit Cara--mostly this appears to be a response to Max's letter of complaint. I hope I'm wrong, and that BNLS gives Cara the same attention.

Continuing on today's theme of politics, I've been asking around about the BDP/BMD split. See, Botswana's president is a member and the chair of the Botswana Democratic Party. This summer, the BDP has been unraveling, and a splinter group--the Botswana Movement for Democracy--has been building steam. It's hard to get a good understanding of what's going on from the newspapers, and the TV news is in Setswana. My impression is that Khama (the president) likes power a bit too much and the BMD is trying to nip his autocratic tendencies in the bud, but I wasn't sure. So last night I asked Mma to explain to me. She claimed--to my surprise--that Khama doesn't want corruption and the BMD folks are corrupt, which is why they split off. Hm! So today I asked some staff members. They completely disagree with Mma. They say, as I suspected, that Khama has been making unilateral decisions more and more, threatening democracy, and the BMD is trying to restore democracy. All in all, an interesting political environment here right now. And, I must say, it makes me a bit uneasy. I don't get a good feeling from Khama, whose administration has been vitriolic about the BMD and critical press. I hope things can stay civil, and that the situation doesn't devolve. If the debate can stay hot but democratic, it's a great example to the US on how to wage protest and share power and opinion.