First fickle fortnight

Had a very tough time since arriving in Abengourou on 23rd December.

Wonderful trip from Abidjan to Abengourou; courtesy of one of the elders from the Cour Royale.  He remembered me and found me a little bewildered in Adjame at 7am waiting for a 12pm bus, that was due to have departed at 7.30am!  His clean, air-conditioned, 4 wheel drive vehicle made the dusty journey very easy; particularly with a breakfast stop in Adzope!   Lovely warm welcome back to Abengourou from many people including friends and many police officers!

On arrival back at the centre, the day turned sour.  News concerning an important local person hadn't been passed onto the team in France and I found that we had been put in a very difficult predicament.  Added to which our Coordinator had already created a long list of problems that needed to be dealt with.  Within an hour of arrival I told him to take the festive season as leave and asked for him to return on 2nd January.

During the day it became apparent all our documents were missing including the legal ones concerning the children in our care.  After sending a message it was clear that a game was being played, one that could cause a multitude of problems for the future.

To cut a long and difficult story short, I found myself asking the Prosecutor for help prior to the new year.  Christmas was a sombre affair, my mind going through the endless lies that had been woven, the divisions that had been created and worst of all, discovering that my room had been used as a 'chambre de passage' in my absence whilst children were in the centre!

The beginning of 2016 rang loud and clear, I was back at the Prosecutor's for his first day at work.  Asked to return at 16h I discovered our Coordinator had filed a legal case against me personally.  The Prosecutor wasn't in the mood to listen to another woven web of lies and asked for my complaints.  I left his office feeling renewed and hopeful that the end had come but I had more to deal with the following day; email account password changed, paperwork still not returned and our Coordinator on a very slippery slope to trouble after yet another phone call to the Prosecutor!

Since 7th January, life is almost back to normal.  My general opinion of people here in Côte D'Ivoire remains unchanged, there are good and bad in all societies.  The Coordinator is unemployed and gaining a terrible reputation locally, but most of it I can put to one side.

The evening of 7th January, our neighbour Paul who is also a taxi driver had visitors at midnight intent on stealing a motorbike.  He called the police and locked himself inside with his wife and small child, the visitors had a Kalashnikov and pistol between them ... They left & were not found by the police, so still at large.  Paul is blaming FRCI and the arms that are still circulating in the country post the 2010-2011 crisis!  On a positive note, had they had bullets they probably would have fired, so we hope they don't obtain any!!!

Life goes on, all will be well!

Genocide In The Forgotten Paradise

Many people wouldn't know where Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is on a map of Africa; it's a little paradise that has turned into a war zone.  A place full of hospitable people, sandy beaches, great food with mercenaries, kalashikovs & some dangerous politicians determined to wipe out half the population.

Last night was terrible.  The constant fighting in Abidjan I was hearing about on Twitter and friends telling me of their plans or their situation.  I don't care who is in power, the violence needs to be stopped by a responsible force before the whole region is inflicted by the Double Presidential Virus.

In the space of 2-3hours I was at my wits end trying to find a way to assist friends, friends of friends, orphanages & towns in the south east of the country ... I'm still fighting what looks to be a losing battle.  The aid is going west, to Liberia & the displaced refugees there.  They need it, I don't doubt that.

The world has forgotten Cote d'Ivoire.  It's just 'another conflict', the BBC & AlJazeera are trying to do their best with reports but CNN etc don't seem to care despite Anderson Cooper initially offering media support.  Libya is more important due to oil, Japan has had a terrible time of it & the states in the Middle East are all trying to mount their own revolutions - strangely it's also all oil related ... What does Cote d'Ivoire have to do to get centre stage in the media?  The fact that chocolate prices will rise which was the only selfish theme keeping the country in the news has been forgotten.

So genocide doesn't count?  It will be another Rwanda that when all these other world news items fade out, the world will pick up on & then feel sorry.  It'll be too late, just like Rwanda!  The UN are there, but behave like camera touting tourists, there to protect the population but in fact just counting the bodies that lie dead in the streets of Abidjan.

What can you do?  Anyone reading this with ideas, please put them forward in the 'comments' below ... I am ready to return with a NGO if I can find one who will let me assist in the situation but need help particularly in assisting the SE of the country.

Shelter - refugee camps for internally displaced in this area, a town mayor has told me of 420+ refugees in his town, more to count & more arriving daily.  They don't have room for these families, they need temporary shelter and will need medicines etc if these numbers continue to grow as the risk of disease will be high.  Childrens orphanages; children who need food & will probably need to move out to the countryside from the densely populated areas if this continues

Does anyone care?  Or will everyone wake up when the genocide has taken place???

Yako mes amis ...

2011 - Year of Peace?

All as normal here, although there have been some changes which are a little worrying.

New Years Eve was a normal day till I got a call late in the afternoon, my second death threat but I wasn’t too worried.  The caller was convinced that I was in my Czech friend Tomas’ house in Abidjan like last year.  I’m still trying to work out who has given my number to someone and doesnt know I’m not in Abidjan.  My close friends in CI know exactly where I am, but quite a few people I know I’ve told I’m in Aboisso, the nearest large town.  I’m fine for the moment, but keeping my ear to the ground, there are informants all over including here, kidnappings & deaths that aren’t yet reported.  Friends here have been great but warned me to continue to keep a low profile.  It makes it difficult, I’m’grounded’ and incredibly bored still waiting for the Mayor to give me the green light for the project.

New Year’s started at the Mayor’s house, a big reception, meal & a bit of dancing then his daughter who has become a good friend gave a ‘post-election’ speech.  His chauffeur drove me down to my host’s nightclub the other side of town.  We all had a good night, I now have a reputation for falling asleep there … I fell asleep at 4am, at 5am I was woken to be taken home. 

To my horror, a friend had gone home in his Toyota estate that I drive around, there was no transport except the back of someone else’s motorbike with my host driving it.  I’m paranoid about accidents now, my insurance is completely invalid due to the state of the country … everyone has left, even the Nigerian’s have gone, the Burkinabe’s are evacuating their Embassy this weekend.  I sat on the back of the bike for the 5km, yelling occasionally to go slowly before I arrived home.  It’s now a big joke that I won’t go near a motorbike!!!

I waited patiently for a meeting with the Mayor, then he left early on Monday for Abidjan as the Education Minister suddenly decided that school started on Monday rather than on Thursday.  I was devastated  it meant staying on, I had so many other things that needed doing.  I got a call from friends on the coast demanding to know when I was going to see them. 

Tuesday morning I got a 7 seater (takes 8 passagers) taxi to Aboisso where Attito (my cerebral palsy ‘brother’) managed to find me having gone to see his parents but had no idea I was heading away. I then got 3 other taxis down to beach.  Friends who have 2 hôtels there gave me a room for free, no clients around, even New Years they finished before midnight.  Everyone is fed up with the lack of economic activity, it’s so sad to see friends really suffering due to the chaos that’s going on with the Presidency.

I promised my hosts that I’d return for Thursday night when the Mayor was expected back.  Leaving the coast was a problem, absolutely no transport around.  I was also waiting for Paul, a Ghanaian fisherman who had promised some fresh ‘bar’ that I could take back with me.  Paul finally turned up at 1pm, I’d seen 2 vehicles since 8am and knew that I probably wouldn’t see anymore.  I walked with my pack and a plastic bag of 5kg of fish that I hoped wouldn’t go off during the trip; it was 3km back up to the canal area to find a taxi, in the heat & dust it was tortuous! 

The taxi from Samo to Aboisso I had to make it very clear that I’m not French, that led to a lady asking me to stop before Aboisso to eat at her house, I had to decline, but normally I would have followed her … she was really keen that I stopped at her village & I don’t believe there was any malice about it.  I made it back to Aboisso & went straight to maquis whose owner has become a good friend.  Chatted to her for a bit with a few drinks before heading back up to base, a bad move, I’d not eaten all day; I was offered another drink here before heading to the house where I crashed out immédiately !!!!!!!

The Mayor is now back, I was promised a meeting at 8am this morning,  yet again he cancelled at the last minute … I think due to stress that I found myself sleepwalking last night trying to get out of my bedroom … convinced that there was a light the other side of the door; it woke my hosts up - finally I came to & managed to open the door.  I’ve never knowingly sleptwalked before and it’s really shocked me.

Amnesty Int’l are in constant touch with me, I’ve had quite a few mails and am awaiting a call, the atrocities that are going on here are terrible.  A friend was talking to me last night about it all and that it’s getting worse not better.  I was offered an armed escort to Abidjan at the weekend by a few friendly gendarmes in a private car. I’m desperate to see Marcelline, the girl that was found on the beach 2yrs ago, a trafficking victim.  She’s in a centre in Koumassi the airport side of Abidjan's lagoon.  The other girls have left & she’s there alone, I can’t make contact with her by phone, I can’t get her out as she dosent have any papers so was looking for a safe way to get there.  I was offered the escort but it didn’t work out in the end as I wasn't keen going to Abidjan in an armed vehicle - gendarmes with kalashikovs.  I’m still keen to get into Abidjan to see her & am looking for an alternative way.  Most of the gendarmes & the military aren’t happy with the situation 63% voted for Ouattara but it’s the generals that are holding the keys to removing Gbagbo.

I don't care who voted for what, I just want the violence to stop ...