Kaia Chessen

Kaia Chessen is a writer and cellist living in Seattle. She is a freelance contributor to The Stranger and ARCADE magazine, and was a 2012 Jack Straw Writer in Residence. After graduating from the University of Washington, she embarked on a solo trek through several Middle Eastern and West African countries in 2007 and is still writing about it today.
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From peace to chaos in Mali

by Kaia Chessen
In a little over a year, Mali has gone from a tourist destination to the newest front in the War on Terror. A former visitor reflects on how life has changed for the friends she made in Mali.
May 22, 2013