Mamasita no es piropo, es acoso!

El Ecuador es uno de esos países donde todavía somos trogloditas en el aspecto del trato a las mujeres. Salir a las calles para una mujer se asemeja a ser un buen corte de bife de chorizo subastado en la carnicería.
Es un adelanto que un concejal hombre (Norman Wray) exponga este tema y lo haga parte de la agenda del Distrito Metropolitano. La campaña: Quiero andar tranquila, Calles sin acoso es un proceso largo y que se necesitaba hace mucho tiempo atrás.
Los estudiantes de la clase de Taller de medios mixtos, se unieron a este tema recurrente en la agenda del distrito metropolitano. El taller de medios busca, a la brava, enseñar a los estudiantes como organizar una campaña con un fin social. La clase es temida en la USFQ; sin embargo, puedo decir que es la primera vez, que me siento identificada en esta campaña y aplaudo la iniciativa. Sé que no soy la única.
El funeral del piropo, de forma simbólica, buscó liberar a tantas mujeres en Quito que son vícitimas del acoso verbal en su camino al trabajo. El acoso también lo vivieron en la Mariscal los miembros del grupo, al iniciar una procesión, simbolizando la muerte de los "piropos". 

La IoNY

After frantic weeks of deadlines, few beers between classes, non-stop editing and newspaper clippings, I have had a calm weekend to read and write. And a promising lazy morning, interrupted for a nerve wracking ritual: renewing my US Visa.

Nerve wracking because you never know what the outcome will be.  If positive, the time you are allowed in America becomes the issue.

 I’ve got to say, regardless of the long queue, the bit of disorganization and the obnoxious G4S security guards, the US Embassy in Quito has polite and tongue in cheek interviewers for the dreaded visa process.

After my shouting match back in February with a French consular officer, I was rather calm -I had been in the US before. Last time, JFK officials laughed with me as they stamped my passport, I have friends I want to go visit and my great aunt's health is not improving with NYC's weather...I need to pay a visit soon-  I was however, overwhelmed by the amount of people present. No matter the economic crisis, the demand to go to La IoNY was overwhelming.

The new office is like any other US state office: clean, functional, with a vending machine, a TV and a vast amount of hand sanitizer dispensers.

I had been thinking why my age was brought during every step of the process. I know double majoring is not that common in the US and that by now I should live on my own. I did not like to be reminded of that, yet in Ecuador it is normal to live with your parents until you get married. Or until your early 40s. Or in fact, never move out. 

The waiting room and interview windows are now merged; I could hear every interview. While I moved my left gray heel up and down and played with my ponytail, I could not help but notice a pattern:

-Where do you live?

a) In an apartment, it’s my parents’ property

b) With my parents

The interviewees ranged from late 30’s, late 20’s and some held well-groomed, restless toddlers in their arms. Every answer that related them to depending financially on their parents was followed by a long silence. Every question regarding salary made me and surely the interviewee, tense. I felt I was not the only tense, for living with her parents still. I realized If I don’t move out soon I will be stuck, even for the ritual of a visa process. Y eso, si da a la larga, un poquito de vergüenza. 

Recapitulación y nueva etapa

Mi experiencia como bloguera hasta el momento ha sido inconstante, confundida. Alimentada mientras realizaba mi viaje por Africa del Oeste por las nuevas experiencias que veía y la falta de un internet fiable.

De regreso en Ecuador, me doy cuenta que el verdadero reto radica en el mantener esa actitud de niño de ver cada experiencia, cada lugar como un niño, sin caer en juicios de valor alimentados un 100% por otros.

¿Nada fácil uh?

El reto está presente, y pienso mantenerlo. Una plataforma de mantenerme alerta. De poder redactar. Si bien no todos contamos con el talento nato de la escritura, creo que de escribir constantemente, algo bueno y agradable ante los ojos del lector puede llegar a surgir, entre garabatos y un tipeo constante, o a veces, frenético.

Una nueva etapa, constante evolución. Porque a la final, cada uno de nosotros nunca para ¿no? ahí radica la simpleza y belleza de vivir. Y la simpleza y complejidad, de escribir.

Ghana: Make Peace Happen Challe!

Even though I have left Africa, I could not avoid writing new posts regarding   events and places that called my attention during my stay.

I remember reading about Football Games as “one event that will allow you to truly see Africa” whilst in Ghana.

I hesitated. Is it another experience of people dealing in the worst way with a score they do not approve of?  Swearing at the opposite team fans and even racist remarks towards the players like it is in Ecuador?

Well Ghana, you’ve proved me wrong.

Accra was eager for Michael Essien’s Charity Match: Africa XI World XI.  Expats whose favorite sport was rugby were suddenly discussing the performance of the Black Stars, Ghana’s National Team. All of a sudden street vendors stocked themselves up with Ghanaian flags all over Accra and residents from cities such as Cape Coast – for once- were spending a holiday in Accra.

The celebrations started on May 24^th at around 13h00 with the arrival of the players. Lisa Salmans, general manager of Citizen Kofi described the players as “hitting the ground running”. Citizen Kofi was one of the venues where the players had a party with fans, after Michael Essien’s fundraiser in Labadi Beach Hotel.

The Citizen Kofi venue, the night before the match was a  joyful, relaxed celebration.  A carefree Essien  kept joking around with fans. Sadly a not so friendly Didier Drogba, who looked annoyed when asked for photographs.

May 25^th Arrived. People gathered in  their houses to share a few Stars and to pep themselves up for this celebration. It was African Union day and Ghanaians, proud to be the beacon of stability in the region, Hosts of the AU Match, had plenty of reason to celebrate, big time. Challe!

The match in itself was rather slow. Then again, these types of fundraising football games are made for the players and the public to enjoy. Baby Jet (Asamoah ) was part of the half time entertainment with Essien joining as a backup dancer. Children from SOS Children's Villages were the reminder of the topic that was being raised to public light: Make Peace Happen in Africa.

If there is one negative aspect of this match, had to be the obnoxious amount (if I could stretch the meaning and use of obnoxious) of pick pocketing. IDs, Mobiles, cameras and even Kebabs were the targets. Accra is a relative crime-free city but the pick pocketing for some put a damper on their celebration mood.

I ought to mention that Ghana was a land to which I arrived because I had no other option, and of which I had only seen the bad things of. People demanded money everywhere; Expats and tourists where constantly being ripped off, all the attractions or parks where dirty and let’s not even mention customer service (or rather, lack of). But once I was able to get out of my narrow minded set of “there is nothing like Abidjan” I was able to enjoy Accra. I enjoyed it quite a bit and at some point I called it home.  I even forgot of my blog during my stay in Ghana, but I got to admit it was because I was having a lot of fun, with the vibrant, relaxed nightlife and weekend trips.

Ghana is not on the world headlines (unlike Ivory Coast) for a good reason: Stability and a hassle-free way of living is a way the nation is described. And let’s face it: Stability rarely makes headlines.

 By the time of the football match I just needed re assurance of my feelings towards Ghana. And I could not have chosen a better time to admit Ghana had a special place for its people and is a place I definitely want to return to. 

Mi tio de Abobo II

Mi tío de Abobo es otro. Lo vi ayer en la tarde, en Abobo. Mi hermano anfitrión solo repetía el hecho que esta parte de Abidjan parece una aldea. Calles sin pavimentar y por primera vez no vi los comunes BMWs y Mercedes, a los que me acostumbré ver por todo Abidjan. Al menos, todos los distritos que visité hasta el día de ayer.

Mi tío se alegro de verme y salió a comprar un sucrerie, es decir una soda cuando llegue. Trabaja en el hotel de mi papa anfitrión, el hotel “Alex Le Grand”

El Hotel es modesto y muy único. Si bien no se encuentra en el distrito de negocios Plateau, es lo mas marfileño que he visto, sin intentar a cualquier costo emular a los hoteles del que fue su país colonizador. Mi tío es el recepcionista y encargado del hotel, además de ser chofer de Gbaka y Wôro Wôro.  

Tonton Jean Pierre me explicó que existen muchos Dozos al momento en Abobo (cazadores tradicionales, se unieron a la milicia a favor de Ouattara) por un congreso en todo el proceso de reconciliación del país. Abobo según El, es el lugar más seguro en Abidjan, porque todos se conocen y está repleto de FRCI. Me explicó que ahora hay mucho trabajo que hacer y que en el ZOO no hay animales. Se murieron de hambre, ya que este distrito, que hace 3 meses atrás era apodado Bagdad, se convirtió al final de la pelea en un distrito fantasma y no había quien alimente a los habitantes del ZOO.

Tonton se reía y me decía que porque me regreso tan pronto a Ecuador, que la independencia de Costa de Marfil se celebrará días después de mi partida.
 Cuando estaba en mi casa en Marcory, meses atrás recuerdo como me preguntaba, intrigado y con una mirada lúgubre porque escogí Costa de Marfil como destino.

Me alegra tener la oportunidad de verlo en su vida normal, sonriendo.

The visit to Abidjan

A long time ago, when I had a short trip to France to meet with my parents in may, French Stations broadcasted from Yammousoukro, Cote D’Ivoire’s political capital, Ouattara’s presidential investiture in which,the presence of UN’s secretary General and the president of the former colonial power, France send a strong message to the international community : Cote D’Ivoire is ready to turn the page and become a peaceful country.

Is it that easy to turn the page and not to cling and what has been written in the past two decades, after two months?  Is it that easy to ignore the economy that took a plunge, the food rationing, water shortages, fear, and curfews? While Ivoirians just want “peace, work, go to a maquis (as local bar-restaurant are known here) and sleep”  the political crisis aftermath and the differences created between ethnic and political groups  within the country will take years to overcome.

I moved to Ivory Coast to volunteer in February, only to leave the country a month after to neighboring Ghana. I had the chance to travel  and stay for a few days in Abidjan at the end of april, to see if I could move back and visit a couple of friends, who took me around town, joking about the situation in Abidjan and what they had gone through.

 View of Abidjan from the upscale neighborhood of Cocody where political figures such as the defeated president that refused to cede power Laurent Gbagbo, once resided.

Bullet holes in houses, like the one in this window, are a reminder of events that took place not that long ago.

Quartier des Ambassades, The Ambassadors’ Residential Area in Cocody where Gbagbo resided, suffered quite a lot of damage as FRCI (several militias that went under the umbrella of Republican Forces of Cote D’Ivoire, Ouattara supporters) advanced in order to take Gbagbo. This house on the way to Gbagbo’s home is a clear example of that.

 Ouattara’s victory, despite its loyal support from the international community was highly disputed specially in abidjan. While Ouattara is taking a reconciliation approach nowadays, through memorabilia watches and pins, its supporters, as soon as Abidjan fell, were a bit more straighforward.

The trace left by the burnings that took place in april. According to my friend bertrand* (as we walked around the neighborhood, he told me that people were burned down in the last days. Many Gbagbo supporters attacked Malians and Burkinabe inmigrants, who were blamed for the decay of the country the past decade. this divide was fueled by gbagbo propaganda.aTtrocities were commited by both parties during the 4 months of crisis. Bertrand told me corpses were lying for days while abidjan fell to Pro Ouattara forces, since no one could go out to the street. These signs of burning are for sure people that were burned alive, but cannot trace whom, why or by whom

The jaPAnese ambassador was evacuated by the United nations operations in cote d’ivoire (UNOCI) in a dramatic operation in april, around a week before gbagbo was captured. The residence was attacked by pro gbagbo supporters, called the young patriots. The street where the japanese residence is located, is a reminder of the battle to residents in abidjan.

AS FRCI encountered young patriots, the battle intensified with gun shots providing sound effects for Abidjan. everything on the way was burned down, as the car next to bertrand shows.

and we finally arrive! Gbagbo’s house is now guarded by UN forces and now that abidjan is calmed, it has 

become a tourist attraction.

On our way back we found some bullet shells in the street. I collected a few as souvenirs.

Happily though, the days that Abidjan’s background sounds was the sound of AK-47’s going off, seems far. And we all hope it stays that way. 

The moving letter I got this morning.

Hola Linda !  how are you doing? what's about your work and your stay there ?

As I promised, I am sending you an email with all the details of what happened here, I wanted to do it firstly because you study international relations, so I thought it might be useful to you, who knows? Also because I really wanted as many people as possible know the truth, so in addition to the events which I myself was a witness, I conducted investigations, I wanted to understand why...
So I have taken risks, I met the rebels, I've been in dangerous places, I have visited places of battle, I spoke with some of the regular army, in short, I met many people. I started climbing back on everything that happened in Cote d'Ivoire since the coup of 1999 until the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo. I was surprised by what I learned and discovered with supporting evidence. Finally, I decided to stop because the answers surprised me and I was becoming increasingly rebellious. Can you imagine for example that Gbagbo has never won an election in Ivory Coast or that the weapons he bought could serve for three months of fighting non-stop? It is true that Alassane is a pawn of France but do you know how Gbagbo is controlled by his collaborators? He wanted to leave but they had convinced him not to leave peacefully the government and keep fighting against the entire world? Do you realize the murders, crimes and atrocities that have been made by both sides because of politics? I finally realized that the political world today is ironically the idea that a just cause enjoys wide support, while an unjust cause has only weak support. The trouble is that behind the "just cause" hides the most heinous injustices. I did not want to feel so bad and so disgusted. So I said the solution was to see the problem from another angle. Thus I realized that the first responsibles for what happens to us was the Ivoirians themselves.
I saw some Ivorians who have been distributing weapons (ONUCI on one hand and Gbagbo on the other) steal, loot and attack the innocent people instead of fighting for their causes (Whether they are pro-Ouattara or pro-Gbagbo). Maybe the loot was better than killing each other but still!
The French army was protected from looting on in general). I biked and I saw them around the city, come and go without reacting when they were present in Ivory Coast for supposedly protect civilians and properties. When this argument was no longer sufficient and that the legal army had the upper hand over the rebels, there was talk of destroying heavy weapons of Gbagbo camp, as if the heavy weapons of the rebels were programmed not to destroy or kill anyone whatsoever. I saw five soldiers defending the camp commando of Koumassi overnight against repeated assaults of young pro-Ouattara who ONUCI had distributed weapons to. I saw the neighborhood youngs (including my best friend Boris) feeding the soldiers with their food, women praying for them every night. I saw 3 tanks of the French army attacked the same camp in order to open a door for the rebels; it took the neighborhood young to go in front of their tanks so that they return to the 43rd BIMA.
On the night of 10 to 11 April 2011, I attended from the roof of my building and equipped with binoculars to repeated firing of French helicopters on the presidential palace, which is the guarantee of the sovereignty of a country and the residence of the president (or ex-president) of our country (although we are not in war against France). My grandmother was traumatized by the noise made by the guns, we had to make her out to the village for her to change a few ideas. In the district of Yopougon, the French helicopter went up to shot civilian’s houses. I say this because the cousin of Jean Luc (LCP AIESEC INSTEC) was shot in the head during the raid on Yopougon that is a pro-Gbagbo neighborhood and that includes most of the young patriots. You may be surprised by my thinking but the intervention of France was beneficial even though I am totally against the policy of France in Africa. At the point the situation was here, hundred times more people would have been killed without France intervention.
The next day I saw France denying to the rest of the the world any involvement in the arrest of President Laurent Gbagbo. Then as a first initiative, they said on France 24 that Paris sent an aid of 400 million euro for the reconstruction of the country, not only it was a loan payable over 9 years but also interests will be calculated over 12 years, too grateful from the Elysee! As the first ship, they brought a gas ship when what was missed the most was food to supply the supermarkets and shops looted and not gas or gasoline. After they’ll say they are not interrested in our oil, they’ll say that democracy was their purpose here. But hey, people must be rewarding when others are flying to their rescue, right?
As if this were not enough, I saw them telling to the rest of the world that everything okay  after they installed Alassane Ouattara while rebels were settling scores in a cycle of hatred and violence that I wonder will end when? Students were killed, over 100 young people have been burned alive and then dead riddled with bullets only in the district of Koumassi/SICOGI and if Boris and his brother had not found refuge at my house, I would not have seen them again. I went with my bike and I saw burned bodies, they went up to desecrate the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Koumassi, ostensibly looking for weapons, they have shooted on the tabernacle and the Blessed Sacrament. The house of Pierre (VP ER AIESEC INSTEC) was riddled with bullets, they kidnapped his brother (Today I am happy to have helped him leave for Togo, I hope that will change his ideas a bit ...)
Campuses have been looted and burned, students had to flee and I say this because I attended the crossfire between rebels and pro-Gbagbo students, the rebels had mortars and rocket launchers (I assume that this are heavy weapons that have escaped form the too highly vigilant control of the French army, no?). University City of Port Bouet has been burned in front of me as if the new president was going to grow new campuses with the help of Sarkozy. No French television channel has mentionned about it, they did not had the courage to show the model of democracy that they’ve installed.
That day, Boris and I narrowly escaped the rebels, they stopped our vehicle and asked for our identity papers and then they asked if we were students, so we said yes because it was written on our identity papers. We should have lied because they did not even know how to read, they asked us to leave the vehicle and asked the driver to go away. Boris and I began by telling them that we were certainly students, but we were not pro-Gbagbo armed militants. They wanted to know nothing, they told us they would take us and kill us (we was in the street and  those ones actually wanted to be a little more discreet). It took the intervention of the driver who said that we were innocent and that he would not go without us, for the rebels to decide to let us go, the rest of the people in the vehicle were just stuck there, they did nothing and they said nothing, they knew we were not armed or whatever. Today I go out with my passport I avoid saying that I am a student, I am suggesting that I work. The last time a group of rebels have stopped me and Sidney, they asked us money but we managed to get home unscathed. Regarding the investigation I made and the evidences I got, the situation is the opposite in Yopougon. There, the pro-Gbagbo commit the worst abuses, I told you what I saw so I can not give you details of  what is happening in Yopougon except what I have been told and that I checked.

Honestly the rebels did not at all give a good example (although people should have not expect that just after the arrestation of Gbagbo and even if that's understandable, I was personnaly expected a positive attitude from them just for the population to stop the violence cycle), they committed all sorts of persecutions and it seemed that nobody can say anything. The new president does not control the rebels, France should at least have the audacity to assume its actions until the end and this should also serve as a lesson for us Ivorians since we necessary need so much others to deal out our problems. At least it will be understood by all of us that this creates very serious collateral damage.

For my part I do not really take France for responsible because I finally realized how lucky this country has had to have presidents like Chirac, Sarkozy and others ... Seriously, I think he should win re-election in 2012 (unfotunatly for Africa).
I realized that basically everything we accuses Sarkozy is to ensure the well being of its citizens by any means possible (to the detriment of the ressources of African countries), so that's what any good President should do (think about the future of his people). It may not be moral from him, but at least he does care about his citizens (not like many African presidents).

Frankly, I find that the conduct of France and the "international community" is unfair, but I think they are not the real guilty party. This crisis has shown me personally that Ivoirian in general is not determined, he prefers the easiness, he takes things for granted and likes to ignore the truth because it's simpler. Maybe we thought it was just a story between Gbagbo and Alassane ...
Laurent Gbagbo was not perfect (and I defy anyone to show me a perfect President) but France is not either and it has no monopoly of democracy and good governance, That is why I think that only the Ivorians had, have and will always have the right to choose, remove or expel their president (in this case Gbagbo for what we experienced on the night of April 10 to 11).
I have therefore come to the conclusion that France will do in Cote d'Ivoire what Ivorians will allow it to do. So instead of hating the French soldiers or to have terrorists ideas (like Gbagbo wanted many ivoirians to be), I made a firm decision to surrender my fight differently. I refuse to hate anyone, refuse to be afraid to tell the truth or to say what I think, I refuse to accept injustice and turn a blind eye just to live quietly and do not have a problem, I refuse to give up and leave such heritage to the future generation.
Every day that heaven will allow me to live, I'd do everything in my power to make the most persons understand the real fight, that we need to be working (because only work pays off!), in order to protect what we have, our heritage and that legacy our ancestors have left us, be proud of what we are. We need as many people become aware ... (Although with some people this is already lost.)
I'm sorry I spilled on you like that but I needed to talk to someone and friends are suppose to listen each other. Thank you again for your call and I hope you are doing well. Take care and gimme you news... I am starving of you, when are you coming back?

From Africa With all my Friendship
Willy

La nostalgie et l'incertitude- On a personal note of my days whilst in Abidjan

“You will be fine; we would not bring you here if the situation were that bad. International media make it look very bad but the situation is not really like that here…” Those were the words written in the last e-mail that Willy, the 19-year-old in charge of my internship placement with an arms control NGO in Abidjan, sent me.



I knew what I was getting myself in trouble the moment I took the opportunity to intern for an NGO in Abidjan, and that an evacuation and backup plan were to be set in place. Many people tried to discourage me several times, from the very beginning to my goodbye party but I refused to listen. I’ll go anywhere instead of staying here. I thought- I want to learn French and I have an interest in Francophone Africa, as well as conflict resolution. What could be better than this opportunity?


Leaving the continent for the first time was nerve wracking, to say the least. The transit stop in Paris calmed my nerves, but as I held some type of remorse for that Nation (applying 3 times to exchange programs, Au Pair and internship with no success) it vanished as soon as I stepped into the swanky KLM Airbus en route Quito-Bonaire-Amsterdam-Paris. The flight, airport customs and even Parisians, proved to be kind and patient, despite my broken French. I wanted to move to Paris after my 5th hour in the city.


Twenty-six hours after my arrival in the city of light, my flight to Abidjan proved a bit more difficult. Afriqiyah Airways was average, an average being a rather generous description of their service and their aircraft. (This is coming from a hitchhiker and penny pincher traveler in South America). It was definitely a taste of the developing world I had to get used to. Bus stops in Ecuador’s coastal towns can be compared to the luxury of The Tripoli Airport. I cried begrudgingly when I finally arrived in Abidjan thinking I that I had made a huge mistake and that I was not going to get back alive.


After a couple of bittersweet conversations with my parents, I started feeling like Abidjan was my home and my host family was just my family. The heat, the bug spray, hand washing my clothes and the delicious, fresh and abundant food were part of my daily routine. I did not mind this routine at all, since I could not go to work and had to lock myself in my home every single day.


The occasional gunshots and UN trucks became the norm and I started seeing my trip to West Africa as an excuse to get some time for me, put my life in perspective and improve my French. Being locked in my home helped improve the language barrier since I had no other way of communicating with my host family. I was in the liveliest continent already, just being in Abidjan was a dream come true. “A big ass adventure” a Nigerian friend of mine said about Africa. That’s what it was, right? It was just a matter of time for the tension to be over, so I could get back to a normal life that would include dancing the night away at the rhythm of Drogbacité.




Oh Boy, no one expected the crisis to turn out the way it did. While we all knew it could get bloody, no one expected Abidjan to be affected the way it has been the past 2 weeks. I left about 4 weeks ago, when I realized I was running out of money and that if I ended up stranded with banks closed, I was just asking for something bad to happen.


Leaving and seeing the events unfold the way they have, has left me mesmerized (in a rather, internationally minded geek way) and also has left a bitterness in me, as well as anger. This crisis has taught me how ignorant I am, and that pursuing a Bachelor’s degree is only a part of education; that the best way to learn is from others, which is hard for me as I had to shut my mouth and listen. This crisis has also shown me the beauty of friendship and the kindness of people even in the worst situations. That there were people out there, generous and kind to give me shelter, a hand, lend me money, share food, make me laugh and share sorrows.


Even though I know that my expat friends, like fellow Ecuadorian Gina, are in the base of Force Licorne (the French armed forces in Ivory Coast) and my host family are still not able to go out of their house, while rationing their food; I cannot help but relate to videos posted on youtube regarding the celebration in Abidjan after Gbagbo’s arrest; wishing that I was there to witness all of this. In the midst of all the sorrow and the reconciliation and the goal of losing the “an eye for an eye” attitude, especially for the armed youth, it is a pivotal time and I cannot help but browse through the few pictures I was able to take in Abidjan.


I arrived February 16 and fled 5 weeks later to Accra, Ghana. While Ghana is an example of democracy and stability for West Africa, my mind is still in Abidjan. In a month, the ghost of what once was the little Paris of West Africa left me wanting more. I am just waiting for it to resemble less of Mogadishu so that I may head back. That being said, I share some pictures, showing life in Abidjan, during the crisis. A crisis that, despite the tension and uncertainty of what’s next, the dramatic fall of Abidjan was unheard of.

 Hotel Ivoire. Back in the 80’s this hotel represented the luxurious, chic spot that was a playground for wealthy French. Nowadays the Hotel is a ghost. Visits are not allowed since the crisis erupted and this is as closed as I could get, on my way to Yamoussoukro, the political capital.

Pour Notre Avenir Tous Aux Urnes et dans la paix (For our future, everyone to the pools in peace- less than perfect translation). Many Ivoirians told me that elections, despite being fair, were in a rather fishy process. There were strong rumors of having more voters than registered people.

Living in Cote D’Ivoire meant getting use to the sights of UN peacekeepers. My friend Lupe, from Argentina, was able to snap this picture without getting caught. The tension of peacekeepers when deployed is evident; The Pro-Gbagbo Campaign held by RTI, with a strong anti-Western sentiment has given results. People In the country do not trust peacekeepers.  I have my mixed feelings, considering that I grew up with a military dad, often times frustrated because of the rampant corruption in the armed forces. After all, armed forces are a reflection of the country. Many of the countries that send soldiers to be peacekeepers are not quite an example of integrity. But I also do not trust anti-Gbagbo media, so the truth, to me, lingers somewhere in the middle. 

Despite seeing Peacekeepers, I ran into this woman, who gladly posed when she saw me holding a Camera.  Unlike many other countries in West Africa that are used to many tourists, In Cote D’Ivoire I’ve never run into Ivorian demanding money to take a picture (unlike Ghana, where I feel like a piggy bank). Tourism has been dead for almost a decade, when a “white” person is visiting, they truly make you feel home. After this picture, she just walked away, with a never ending smile. 

Willy and Bosco, two of the kids in the AIESEC program in a usual maquis, which basically consists of a bar-restaurant with some plastic chairs and tables. Despite the trip being made in the middle of the crisis ( we had to head back early to Abidjan, as clashes intensified) , these kids know how to have fun any time of the day, even if it involves, cheap, warm wine in a 35 degree heat. For a volunteer budget, Valpierre wine gets a thumbs-up.

In the years when Ivory Coast was known as the “Miracle of West Africa” The Biggest Basilica in the world was built in Yakro, as people called the political capital. Houphouët-Boigny is portrayed next to God in the stained-glass window. When I made a remark of this portrayal of Houphouët-Boigny being “a tad arrogant” my AIESEC friends were about to punch me. After all, the first president of an independent Ivory Coast was responsible for the “Miracle of West Africa”. The former doctor turned into politician reminds Ivoirians, in a way, what Cote d’Ivoire could have been before the conflict.

I had the opportunity to visit, “the American Corner” a US-Embassy sponsored media center with information regarding American universities and possibilities to study abroad.  While the US presidents’ portraits where taking two walls of the Corner, less than one of the corners sufficed for the portraits of Ivorian leaders. Seeing the vast difference made me realize how the concept of democracy is still foreign to African politics, as eager as the population might be for it. Also, Ivory Coast, like most African Nations are fairly young, compared to countries as the US and Ecuador. If Ecuador still holds grudges against its colonizer, 500 years later…How can we expect Africa to run at a much faster-pace? It is the complex and, in this part of the world, bloody world of politics.

Sally, a management student from the INPHB (Institut National Polytechnique Félix  Houphouët-Boigny),who was my neighbor during my stay at the institute in Yakro. She was quiet, barely laughed and had an interest to teach herself English. She had family in the district of Abobo in Abidjan, known by locals as Baghdad. She was the first person who clarified the conflict that caused the North-South divide: The Dioulas, mainly that tribe has a problem with Gbagbo( yet is not the only one). Not all Muslims have a problem with him. And certainly not all Dioulas are Muslim. Sally was very energetic when making this statement. 

My last night in Yakro, I went through this urge of going out, since I had never been to an Ivorian club before and I knew with the rumors of clashes in Abidjan (reason why we went back the next day) meant more curfew nights and the possibility of clubs not operating for a while. I was taken to Dreams discotheque, a club owned by a Lebanese coupe decalé singer, Nabil La Star. Mirrors are common in bars, and people make a line to dance in front of them. Coupe decale, known by expats as the chicken flu dance, is a quaint dance that involves moving one foot back and forward. Seems silly when explained by words, but as this pictures shows, Ivorians dancing to Magic System and Bebi Phillipe’s tunes make the chicken flu dance seem effortless and beautiful. I hope this is the sight I get to see, rather sooner than later, on my return to Abidjan. 

On my arrival back home to Abidjan, I asked to have this picture taken, the day before I left the house, when I found out my host family was discussing the idea of fleeing Abidjan. A family that gave a new meaning to the word hospitality. As my host sister (not in the photograph) , a fellow AIESECer said to me: You are not a burden. I asked Maman to host you and she said yes because my English would improve and it would be cool to have a foreigner. In Africa, hosting someone is not a problem, is just an extra mouth to feed and there is plenty of food. Ce n’est pas grave.
This picture portrays African Hospitality at is best: I am between my host sister’s sister in law and her son, who fled the district of Riviera because of growing insecurity and the risk it represented for her pregnancy. To my right is my uncle Jean-Pierre (my first blog post, in Spanish was devoted to him,as his story needs a whole entry) a Woro-woro driver who fled Abobo.
I hope to go back home soon. As many Ivorians like my uncle hope. For the crisis, now that there is only one president to end. For the lootings, the insecurity and the water cuts to end. As many Ivorians and residents of Abidjan, I hope to be able to go home, eat, go to work and sleep.

Dieu Merci?

Un día que marcará el futuro de la crisis en Costa de Marfil, El final de la misma, o la prolongación de conflictos de la sociedad marfileña que persiguen a su población desde  los tempranos días de independencia.

Desde la crisis, desencadenada en las elecciones que representaban la unificación del país, los marfileños, que se refieren a los años de guerra como los años de “crisis” tenían esperanza en que todo se solucionaría de manera pacífica.  Cuando se preguntaba a algún marfileño sobre el tema, en febrero ( me mudé a Costa de Marfil un miércoles, febrero 16) simplemente movían sus manos  en gesto de desenfado y decían: llegará a un punto en el que uno de ellos tendrá que bajar del poder; después, todo irá para arriba para nuestro país.

Si bien la gran esperanza en el país era de llegar a tener un solo presidente, para retomar  el modelo de prosperidad económica y democracia en África del Oeste, existían barreras entre los dos. Ouattara-, Ah, no es bueno para el país-oí repetidas veces o hasta los insultos hacia la Operación de Naciones Unidas en Costa de Marfil (ONUCI) basados en rumores que alegaban el apoyo por medio de cascos azules a los rebeldes Pro-Ouattara. De Gbagbo, oí que era un dictador y que no dejaría el poder. También oí que era muy inteligente y astuto por la manera que manejó la situación.

Si bien Gbagbo fue astuto, su arrogancia y testarudez lo llevaron a estar donde se encuentra hoy –arrestado por las fuerzas republicanas en el hotel Golf-y ciertamente llevaron al país a dividirse una vez más. Ataques a extranjeros, cuando hace un mes atrás, los “blancos” éramos recibidos auténticamente como hermanos en los hogares marfileños. Ataques violentos contra los migrantes de países vecinos que fueron motor del crecimiento económico del país. A un sentimiento nacionalista que llevó a muchos jóvenes a convertirse en Kamikazes bajo la consigna “de morir por su país y defender una Costa de Marfil para los marfileños”

Lejos de ser un día de celebración en Abidjan por regresar a la normalidad(es un día de celebración para las fuerzas republicanas y los valientes que se aventuran a la calle), es un día donde el miedo inunda las casas. La incertidumbre de un líder que ha sabido torear con eficacia a la comunidad internacional a puesto a la misma y los habitantes de su país a contener el aliento. Nadie sabe cuándo terminará esta crisis. Y más que saber cuándo acabará la crisis, lo que muchos se preguntan es, como.

El arresto de Gbagbo representa un cese de fuego y perfila a un ganador y un perdedor. Pero las cartas jugadas desde noviembre definen esta crisis. El tener en este momento, una sociedad llena de odio, jóvenes armados en las calles solo ha sumido a la ciudad que era conocida por tener un “joie de vivre”  9 meses atrás,  en la oscuridad y terror el día de hoy.  Abidjan se encuentra en a la merced de jóvenes llenos de rabia y la mejor descripción para la actitud de estos jóvenes sería la de ojo por ojo, diente por diente.

Mi amigo Sidney, con el único amigo en Abidjan con quien me logré comunicar me dice que, Gbagbo fue arrestado pero que no escucha música que indique una  celebración en el barrio de Marcory, al sur de Abidjan. El no tiene el valor para salir a la calle.

Las masacres cometidas por las Fuerzas Republicanas, leales a Ouattara, demuestran que el ganador de esta batalla, si bien tiene apoyo  internacional, no es ningún santo y que, si existe justicia internacional, será pronto llamado a responder por las masacres y por contratar a mercenarios. La comunidad internacional tendrá que reflexionar sobre su rol como mediador, que en el país envió un mensaje de “Pro-Ouattara”. La propaganda anti-occidente montada por Gbagbo dio resultados.  El país que Ouattara empezará a liderar (lo cual está por verse, debido a lo impredecible de la política Africana) tiene una herida reciente y dolorosa, que puede expandirse como una gangrena, o ser tratada a tiempo. Una vez más, Costa de Marfil espera. 

La toma de Abidjan, séptimo día

El día martes, mientras la comunidad internacional y la prensa confirmaban rumores de una rendición de Gbagbo y la entrada a negociaciones, La población de Abidjan, incrédula pero contenta se relajó un poco, con la esperanza de volver a recuperar los servicios básicos cortados en los últimos días.

En horas de la tarde, la batalla por la toma de la residencia Gbagbo se intensificó. Moradores del sector donde Gbagbo reside, fueron testigos de Fuerzas Republicanas preparando su ataque, en muchos casos, utilizando sus jardines como atajos. La alegría de los rumores sobre la rendición de Gbagbo duró poco. En horas de la noche, los ataques con RPGs y una cantidad de munición sorprendente para un país que se encontraba en proceso de desarme, marcaron el tempo de la noche.

Las fuerzas leales a Gbagbo han demostrado determinación en defender la residencia presidencial y lo que parecía una negociación, fue simplemente una falsa alarma.

El día miércoles, la residencia del Embajador japonés en Abidjan fue víctima de ataques, esta vez efectuados por las Fuerzas de Defensa y Seguridad (FDS) leales a Gbagbo.

Las FDS irrumpieron en la casa con un lanzacohetes para destruir la seguridad de la puerta principal;  para luego saquear la casa. Existen reportes que un miembro del personal de la residencia ha desaparecido y que había sangre en la cocina. El embajador se refugió con parte del staff en uno de los cuartos mientras los ataques continuaban en la residencia.

El incidente con el Embajador Japonés, culminó en su rescate en helicóptero por las Naciones Unidas. Los embajadores en Abidjan se mostraron alerta y Naciones Unidas, al ver que las medidas de protección para la comunidad diplomática en Abidjan no son suficientes, considera evacuar a todo el cuerpo diplomático a un área más segura en Abidjan o, si la situación demuestra escalar a mayores en las próximas horas, fuera del país.

La comunidad de expatriados en Abidjan no ha sido evacuada hasta el momento. Todas las embajadas se encuentran en contacto y listos para una emergencia.

La embajada de España, envía mensajes diarios a la comunidad Iberoamericana en Costa de Marfil, por la que son directamente responsables. “No salgan a las calles, bajo ningún motivo y aléjense de ventanas  y puertas, para evitar balas perdidas” Son las consignas diarias.

Cerca de 2,000 personas extranjeras, en su mayoría franceses,  se encuentran refugiados en Licorne, La base militar del contingente francés. Según fuentes militares, La base Licorne, como la mayoría de sitios en Abidjan, se encuentra sin agua potable, por lo cual enfrentan una situación crítica en los próximos días. La Cruz Roja describe la situación actual como “el golpe más duro para Abidjan en los años de guerra”

Cese de Fuego se vislumbra para Costa de Marfil.

En el sexto día del asalto de Abidjan por parte de las Fuerzas Republicanas (Pro-Ouattara)  un cese de fuego luce cercano para la capital Marfileña.

Cuentan residentes de Cocody, en el área cercana a Gbagbo, que desde el día sábado grupos de Jóvenes patriotas, grupo fundado por el ministro de juventud de la administración Gbagbo, Charles Blé Goudé, empezaron a formar una cadena humana. Música a todo volumen tuvieron los vecinos de Gbagbo toda la noche, seguido por canciones en apoyo del presidente y de “una Costa de Marfil para los Marfileños”

Los Jóvenes patriotas se mantuvieron en la residencia lo siguientes dos días, esperando a las Fuerzas Republicanas. El día martes en la noche, la batalla se intensifico con intervención de helicópteros de las fuerzas Licorne (contingente Francés) y ONUCI (Operación de Naciones Unidas en Costa de Marfil)

Testigos de estos enfrentamientos y moradores del sector divisaron un ataque a la casa de Gbagbo de tropas republicanas en horas de la mañana. Según Reportes de AFP, Gbagbo no se encuentra en su residencia y su paradero es desconocido.

Un diplomático Europeo declaró en tempranas horas de la mañana: tenemos  entendido que Laurent Gbagbo se ha rendido y que ha  ordenado a sus tropas que abandonen la batalla.  ONUCI está al tanto del tema y están brindado protección en áreas de alto riesgo para civiles.

Mapa enfrentamientos-Abidjan

cortesía del portal de noticias Abidjan.net

Abidjan, chivo expiatorio de la crisis post-electoral.

Si durante los años de guerra civil, Abidjan fue ligeramente afectada y los efectos de la guerra se limitaban a racionar ciertos productos, la crisis post electoral ha tomado un nuevo giro, haciendo de pequeña Paris (el sobrenombre para Abidjan en los años de bonanza), un pequeño infierno para sus residentes.

Pavan, empleado de una compañía de importación y exportación residente en Abidjan desde hace un año, describió la salida desde el Aeropuerto Houphouët-Boigny como un “completo desastre”, una espera eterna llena de incertidumbre. “Nunca vi un vuelo Abidjan-Accra tan lleno, ni el aeropuerto a máxima capacidad. El hecho que Air France dejó de operar hizo todo peor".

Pavan, salió de la ciudad el día miércoles, último día en el que el masivo éxodo marfileño partió a países cercanos. Las fronteras cerraron el día jueves.

Con la llegada de las Fuerzas Republicanas, que apoyan a Ouattara a las puertas de Abidjan, el caos y la desesperación reinan. La ciudadanía en la vorágine vivida las últimas tres semanas, llegó a medidas desesperadas.

La Zona 4, parte del barrio Marcory en el sur de la ciudad donde residen muchos expatriados y existe una concentración de bares y restaurantes, fue el área preferida para saqueos. Debido a la falta de una autoridad que responda, muchos extranjeros han buscado refugio en la base militar del contingente francés, Licorne.

A las 9 pm del día jueves, la señal del Canal Estatal, manejado por Gbagbo, RTI, fue cortada. RTI y las noticias, son un medio crucial para difundir información entre la población marfileña y en el caso del gobierno de Gbagbo, para difundir propaganda anti-occidental.

La estación de RTI, ubicada en el exclusivo barrio de Cocody, fue el blanco de batallas, al igual que la casa de Gbagbo, ubicada en el mismo sector.

Según moradores del sector cercano a la residencia presidencial, la noche del jueves se caracterizó por el ritmo de los disparos, que iban desde Kalashnikovs hasta RPGs.

El día viernes fue un continuo tiroteo al mediodía. Sin embargo la noche se mostró calmada, algo inesperado e incluso la señal de RTI regresó a las 7 pm,  a pesar de que las Fuerzas Republicanas claman tomar control de la estación. La programación fue regular, con la usual línea  anti-occidente, anti ONUCI.

Los rumores en la ciudad son vastos; desde un Acuerdo Ouattara- Gbagbo hasta peleas dentro de las oficinas de Naciones Unidas, rumor desmentido por los funcionarios In Situ. Lo complejo del conflicto y la dinámica del mismo hace imposible predecir cuándo y cómo el conflicto va a acabar.