Playing draughts in the street
draughts players Medina 3
Medina 3 is a neighbourhood in central Nouakchott. I go there often as they have many tailors and hardware stores. Every day you can find people playing under the shade of one of the few trees that haven't yet been cut down ( the government cuts trees in the city center that are quite old and big so that they can enlarge the road. And then they plant small tiny trees in the outskirts to fight desertification). Specially on friday afternoons there will be a crowd with watchers participating as well in the game.
We have here people playing together from the different ethnies that compose Mauritania. Black Africans (Hal Pularen, wolof, Soninkes) and Maures. In a country were tensions are still very present and were the country has yet to assume the barbarity of the events of 89 its positive to see how they play together. They all belong to the Medina 3 association of draught players and during the summer they play to choose who will represent the neighourhood in the National championships.
