Blog: On the Ground
By: Pren-Tsilya Boa-Guehe, Assistant Program Director
Hello World!
It has officially been one week since arrival to Cote d’Ivoire and the trip is already proving fruitful. I am currently in Abidjan, the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, where there seems to be very few visible marks of a civil conflict. The streets are filled with bright lights from the New Years parade, there are now street cleaners that sweep the streets daily, and plenty of vendors working in the street markets. Taxi drivers still do not obey traffic laws and the food is still amazingly, delicious. However, the political tension is almost palpable.
Saturday, January 21, 2012, a political gathering took place five minutes from my residence. The gathering was comprised of members from the former president, Laurent Gbagbo’s political party, the FPI. The FPI received approval for the Ministry of the Interior to conduct a peaceable gathering one month prior to the event. UN peacekeepers and local police forces were present. Speakers from the FPI spoke about the significant presence of Gbagbo supporters that still exist in the city and called for continued patience and organization despite provocation. One hour into the conference, suspected members of the current president’s party in civilian clothing created a disastrous and physically combative scene. According to local newspapers, one person died and as many as 60 were injured from the rocks thrown, machetes used, and tear gas used.The incident occurred two days after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit in which she called for increased dialogue between the current president’s political party and the former president’s opposition party.
The events were definitely frightening, deplorable, and unfortunate. Local residents have informed me that this is not the first time that this has happened since President Ouattara came to power. However, members of both parties acknowledged the deplorable nature of the events in local newspapers. The president has not made any official comments on the matter. Nonetheless, I am grateful to be here and hopeful for the future of Cote d’Ivoire because of the resilience of the people here.Democracy never came without a fight.
