Global Voices » Guinea

Guinea: Of the “Good Old Days” and Guinea's Future

Abdoulaye Bah — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:52:09 +0000

Ma Guinée Plurielle wrote the following [fr] on the Salte Afrique blog : “I became downright pessimistic about the future of Guinea. When I was a little boy, I heard that yesterday was better than today but tomorrow will be alright eventually. Twenty-five years later, I am still hearing the same old song. I wonder when tomorrow will arrive and I would love to live in this inaccessible “yesterday”. Meanwhile, I gnaw on my brake living in this painful present.”

Guinea: Journalist Assaulted by Police Officers

Sara Gold — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:36:09 +0000

An assault on a journalist by Guinean police officers has shocked many people in the country, especially among media professionals. Kounkou Mara was assaulted by police officers on security detail for the Central Bank of Guinea in Conakry on February 27, 2012. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Ms. Mara, a reporter for the privately owned paper Le Lynx, was denied entry even though she had presented her press credentials and explained to the officers that she had come to interview the bank's governor.

The CPJ clarified the details of the assault, saying:

Officials told her she posed a security threat to the bank employees, then a commanding officer ordered her to be ejected, the journalist told a local newspaper. Mara told CPJ that the officials pushed her and shoved her outside. She said she hit her head on a parked car and suffered multiple bruises on her body and had to go to the hospital for treatment.

Journalist Kounkou Mara, one day after the attack, photo published with the permission of the journalist.

Journalist Fatoumata Kéita of Guinean news website Kaloum Press reported on [fr] the police response following this assault:

Au cours d’une cérémonie qui s’est déroulée aujourd’hui au Conseil National de la Communication, la gendarmerie nationale a reconnu le tort commis par ses agents. « Dès que le Haut Commandant de la Gendarmerie nationale, Directeur de la Justice militaire a été saisi de cet incident qui est de nature à saper la liberté de la presse, des instructions fermes ont été données et les éléments mis en cause ont été aussitôt mis à la disposition de la Direction des investigations judiciaires pour des fins d'enquête. »….« Le Haut Commandement de la gendarmerie nationale réaffirme sa volonté de garantir la liberté de la presse en Guinée sans compter celles des libertés individuelles. »

During a ceremony that took place today at the National Communication Council, the Guinean police acknowledged the officers' wrongdoing. “As soon as the commanding officer of the National Gendarmerie and the head of military justice, General Ibrahim Baldé, recognized that this incident undermined the spirit of freedom of the press, he gave instructions to release the evidence and for the accused officers to make themselves immediately available to the Ministry of Justice for this inquiry.”….. “The High Command of the National Gendarmerie reaffirmed the desire to guarantee freedom of the press in Guinea, and especially to protect individual liberties.”

Using playful language similar to that used by the satirical Le Lynx, Oumar Kateb Yacine reported [fr]:

Le vendredi 9 mars 2012, un gotha d’officiers de la gendarmerie nationale était devant les journalistes de tout secteur confondu. Pas pour une conférence de presse. Mais pour une séance d’excuse.

Les pandores étaient venus demander pardon aux scribouillards, suite à une bavure commise par certains de leurs qui étaient en exercice de leur fonction au siège de la Banque centrale de la République de Guinée sur une consœur de la presse écrite privée, en l’occurrence Kounkou Mara du Groupe de presse le Lynx-la Lance qui, elle aussi, était en exercice de sa fonction.

On Friday, March 9, 2012, an elite group of National Gendarmerie officers stood before reporters from all sectors of the media. But not for a press conference. This was for an apology session.

The cops had come to ask for forgiveness from the pen pushers, following a blunder committed by some of them who were on duty at the headquarters of the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea against a sister of the private press, in this case Kounkou Mara of the media group Le Lynx-La Lance, who was also just doing her duty.

Guinea achieved independence from France in 1958, since which time security guards and state representatives have tended to act with impunity and arrogance, until now. Journalist Boubacar Sanso Barry expressed the following [fr] in a post published on the Guinée Conakry Info website:

Ce n’est pas tous les jours qu’entre gendarmes guinéens et professionnels des médias de ce pays, le courant passe. Et c’est pourquoi la cérémonie de ce vendredi au CNC avait quelque chose de particulier. Parce que, pour une fois, la gendarmerie et les journalistes voyaient dans la même direction.

It is not every day that the channels of communication are open between the Guinean police and the journalists of this country. And this is why Friday's ceremony at CNC (National Communication Council) was something special. For once, the police and the press were seeing eye to eye.

The victim, Kounkou Mara, is a journalist known in her country for her seriousness and appreciated for her skill. She has worked for many years in the media group Lynx-Lance, considered to be one of the most respected in the field of Guinean media. Le Lynx, one of the premier satirical papers in Africa, uses a distinctive writing style and spares no one. Ms. Mara, one of the country's best reporters, won the Hadiatou Sow Award [fr] for female journalists, which has been awarded to the best reporters in the field since 2010.

This assault aroused intense indignation among journalists and Guinean and African bloggers. The blog africabusiness.com published a piece quoting Mohamed Keita, the advocacy coordinator for the CPJ's Africa Program:

What happened to Kounkou Mara constitutes an assault, and authorities have an obligation to conduct a criminal investigation and bring appropriate charges. Guinea’s new democratically elected government has an opportunity to turn the page on years of abuse and impunity in security forces’ attacks on journalists.

On the blog Guinée Conakry Info, reporter Salematou Diallo added [fr]:

Et c’est justement la nature gratuite et totalement infondée de l’agression qui a conduit l’ensemble des professionnels des médias guinéens, à sortir de leur silence pour condamner cette attitude qui procède certainement d’un excès de zèle et d'un déficit de formation au sein des forces de défense et de sécurité nationales.

It is precisely the gratuitous and unprovoked nature of this assault that has led the Association of Guinean Journalists to end their silence, in order to condemn this attitude that surely stems from overzealousness and lack of training within the defense forces and national security.

Salematou Diallo quoted [fr] Martine Condé, president of the CNC, who expressed her indignation while pointing out the limits of freedom of the press in Guinea:

« Les journalistes ne sont pas des ennemis à abattre ». Elle a saisi l’occasion pour rappeler que « les sources non accessibles sont celles relatives à la sécurité intérieure et extérieure de l’Etat, à la protection de l’honneur et de la dignité du citoyen et au respect de l’instruction judiciaire ». Hormis ces dernières, précise-t-elle, la carte professionnelle donne au détenteur le droit d’accès à toutes les sources non protégées. Condamnant l’agression contre Kounkou Mara, Martine dit souhaiter de la part des autorités de la gendarmerie « des mesures disciplinaires à l’encontre des auteurs de ladite agression ».

“Journalists are not enemies to be fought”. She took the opportunity to remind us that “protected sources are essential to the internal and external security of the State, to the protection of honor and human dignity and respect for the judicial system.” In addition she pointed out that a press card gives the holder the right to access all unprotected sources. Condemning the attack against Kounkou Mara, Martine expressed her desire for the police authorities to take “disciplinary action against the perpetrators of this assault”.

This event took place not long after the adoption by the United Nations of a resolution on human rights in Guinea. Addressing this resolution, Aboubacar Cissé wrote [fr] in a post published on the site guineenews.org:

Si dans son rapport, la haut commissaire [Navanethem Pillay] indexe l’impunité sur les événements du 28 septembre 2009, elle reconnait cependant que “la discipline commence à revenir au sein des forces armées et que le secteur de la justice commence également à mettre en œuvre les recommandations faites au cours de ses états généraux, avec la nomination de nouveaux juges pour revitaliser le système judiciaire en Guinée”. Le document souligne d’autre part les efforts fournis pour l’établissement d’une institution nationale indépendante des droits de l’homme et en faveur de la commission nationale de réconciliation.

If, in her report, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, indicates the impunity for the events of September 28, 2009, she nevertheless knows that “discipline is beginning to return to the armed forces and that the justice sector is also beginning to put in place the recommendations made during its general assembly, with the nomination of new judges to revitalize the Guinean judicial system.” Furthermore, the document emphasizes efforts to establish an independent national institution for human rights that supports the National Reconciliation Commission.

More than a year after the election of Alpha Condé to the presidency in November, 2010, and the formation of a civil government, there were still many human rights violations occurring, including occasional excessive violence and the murder of innocent people. In his post, Oumar Kateb Yacine, after remembering those who had seen the security forces use violence against citizens, wrote [fr]:

Certes, on nous apprend que pour tous ces cas cités ci-haut, les auteurs ont été radiés de l’effectif et mis à la disposition de la justice. Reste à savoir ce que fera cette dernière. Une tâche qui, en principe ne devrait pas être ardue dans la mesure où le Général Baldé, chef du Haut Commandant de la gendarmerie nationale est celui qui dirige la justice militaire. Une occasion pour lui d’extirper l’épine de ses pieds en sanctionnant ces malfrats à la hauteur de leur forfaiture.

We have learned that in all of the cases cited above, the perpetrators were removed from the workforce and brought to justice. However, it remains to be seen what the justice system will do. A task which should not be difficult in principle since General Baldé, commanding officer of the National Gendarmerie, is the one who leads the military justice system. This is a chance for him to get himself out of a hole by punishing the thugs in proportion to their abuse of authority.

In this audio file, Kounkou Mara recounts [fr] her unfortunate tale on the airwaves of Radio Espace, a radio station in Conakry, followed by a debate among journalists.

This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.

International Mother Language Day in Francophone Regions

Andrew Kowalczuk — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:30:02 +0000

The original article in French was written jointly by Samy Boutayeb, Claire Ulrich, and Suzanne Lehn.

International Mother Language Day was celebrated worldwide on February 21, 2012. [Note: the original article in French was published on February 21.] It is an officially recognized festival or celebration which showcases languages and the efforts which have been made to preserve them.

A little known fact is that the celebration of Mother Language Day originated in Bengladesh to honor an act of patriotism:

The date, February 21, was chosen as International Mother Language Day to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to uphold the dignity of their Mother Language Bangla, on this very day in 1952. This was one of the rare instances in world history where people fearlessly gave up their lives for the sake of their mother language.

February 21 is a holiday in Bangladesh; though it is celebrated worldwide, it is not an official holiday elsewhere. This day was proclaimed an International Day by UNESCO in 1999.

The occasion is so meaningful in the region that it has inspired a joint celebration at the border of India and Bangladesh to strengthen the existing ties between the two countries.

India and Bangladesh will jointly observe International Mother Language Day in the no-man's-land along their borders, in an initiative to encourage individual relations between the two nations.

Africa : the rise of African languages

The theme of the Day this year is the introduction of mother languages in school instruction. With the re-awakening of local identities and cultures in Francophone Africa and elsewhere, one can see a resurgence and a renewed effort to promote African languages.

In Côte d'Ivoire, the action of the Ivorian Academy of Mother Languages resulted in the drafting of a decree [fr], concerning the teaching of mother languages.

On the island of Mauritius, social workers describe [fr] their hopes and concerns about the impact of optional courses in creole language on the long-term success and fundamental development of children:

L’introduction du kreol prévient donc les torts qu’on peut causer à un enfant en lui niant sa langue maternelle… Ces méfaits sont connus : baisse de la confiance en soi et impact négatif sur l’apprentissage des autres langues.

The introduction of creole prevents the potential detriment to a child by denying his or her mother language. These impacts are well-known : loss of self-esteem, and a negative impact on the learning of other languages.

In Guinea, Global Voices author Abdoulaye Bah notes [fr] on his personal blog, Konakry Express:

Depuis quelques jours, le bruit courait que le gouvernement du Président Condé allait bientôt introduire l’enseignement des langues nationales dans le système d’enseignement dans le pays. C’est bien étrange que dans le monde entier, il n’y a rien de nouveau dans cette initiative. Mais le 25 avril, j’ai reçu un message d’une amie me disant:

“Le décret vient d’être signé pour créer un ministère des langues nationales et de l’alphabétisation.”

In recent days, it had been rumored that the government of President Condé would soon introduce the instruction of national languages into our country's educational system. This is quite strange, in that worldwide, there is nothing new about this initiative. But on April 25th, I received a message from a friend, saying:

“A decree has just been signed to create a Ministry of National Languages and Literacy.”

The Internet in the service of endangered languages

It is on the Internet that mother languages which are rare, endangered, or little-used because of the lack of computer keyboards adapted to their calligraphy, are progressing. For example, the project “Enduring Voices” launched by the National Geographic Society in America, which puts “talking dictionaries” online:

giving listeners across the world a chance to hear sounds which are among the least-known in human discourse.

There are eight dictionaries thus far: Tuvan, Ho, Siletz Dee-Ni, Matukar Panau, Chamacoco, Remo, Muniche and Saura.

A new alliance has been born between African languages and technology, thanks to podcasts. It is through them that a very old form of popular culture, the folk story, is being reborn in Apple Stores and in other audio-file libraries. For example, this story in the Bambara language (from Mali) ”L'écureuil et le serpent (The Squirrel and the Snake)” recorded by another member of the Global Voices Francophone community, Boukary Konaté:

“L”écureuil et le serpent “Conte en langue bambara (mp3)

The French version can be found here.

Other signs of a new alliance between technology and African mother languages, previously little-appreciated in business and in society: the increasingly frequent appearance of iPhone applications written in African languages, for example in Yoruba.

Young girls in Bretagne, France. By ghislainedarmor on Flickr (Creative Commons license)

In metropolitan France, linguistic regions also have a renewed interest in their mother languages, and the city of Quimper marked the occasion with a Breton-language tour [fr] of the sights of the village. Meanwhile, the city of Parthenay celebrates “Parlanjhe“, its own regional language, or langue d'oïl.

As maybe a sign of the times, the album Bretonne by French singer Nolwenn Leroy, sung in Breton, has sold more than one million records, without raising an eyebrow among the French. Today, in the era of mixed families and languages, it is possible to have more than one mother language, without causing jealousy. And it's all for the better.

Guinea: The Indifference Towards Women with Disabilities

Bethany Gerdemann — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:30:23 +0000

Boubacar Sanso Barry wrote for the site Yanous [fr]: “Example of the indifference and the negligence in Guinea towards disability issues: It is almost impossible to find an organization that is capable or likely to concern itself with the lives of disabled people, or that would think to tackle those types of problems.”

Africa: Highs and Lows of the 2012 African Cup of Nations

Chellsy Alis Manning — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43:56 +0000

Beyond their ethnic, political and regional divides, people unite together around their national football team. We saw the First Lady of Gabon dancing like an excited schoolgirl every time one of the eleven players of the ‘Azingo Nationale' scored a goal and became “the Panthers” for their country.

The people of Equatorial Guinea were ecstatic with the qualification of their national team, languishing in the midst of one of the most ferocious dictatorships. According to Human Rights Watch, journalists who have visited the country to report on the human rights situation have been detained, interrogated, censored and deported.

In the fervour surrounding the 2012 African Cup of Nations, there are two key points that attract attention. The first is the absence of some of the higher achieving teams in African football.

Michael Dodje's blog explains [fr] the unusual goings-on in this year's Cup of Nations:

Imagine a Euro competition without Germany, Spain, Holland and England. Impossible you say, even though Ukraine or Poland would not have to participate in the qualifying rounds as host nations. And yet, this is what happened in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Indeed, for the first time in ages we will not see Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria or even South Africa in this championship. How did this happen?

Remembering that the five teams mentioned above have won 15 out of 27 previous Cup of Nations tournaments. Nicholas Mc Anally on le229.com responded [fr]:

…If these teams do not qualify then there will be others to replace them. It's a breath of fresh air seeing teams like Botswana, Niger and Equatorial Guinea making their debuts in the Cup of Nations.

Another novelty in this year's Cup is the way that the thorny issue of bonuses has been resolved. A post on the blog plat du pied explained [fr] what happened on the 15 November, 2011:

After the cancellations of the matches against China, Gabon, Salvador and Mexico, Cameroon has again cancelled a friendly match at the last minute for the fifth time since the start of the season. The players went on strike, once again, in protest against the federation over their bonuses for the match.

On the same blog, a statement issued by the Cameroon players, known as the ‘Indomitable Lions', said:

Due to the absence of attendance bonuses, the players have decided not to travel to Algiers and to not play any part in the match against Algeria scheduled for the 15 November.

Different solutions to the problem have been found by building on past negative experiences. A post [fr] on the blog marocfootball.info, concerning the Moroccan national team, the ‘Atlas Lions' stated that:

The President of the highest court in Moroccan football announced that a deal has been made with the Atlas Lions in that they accept that they will not receive any form of attendance bonus if they fail to reach the quarter finals of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Côte d'Ivoire, not long out of a prolonged and disastrous civil war, will pay their national team the ‘Elephants' a bonus of 5 billion CFA francs (1 million US dollars) if they win the final. The blog afrik11.com states [fr]:

The 23 players in the side receive 5 million CFA francs (10,000 USD) in attendance bonuses. This amount will be paid if the team is eliminated in the first round. In the quarterfinals, the bonus of each player will rise to 8 million, rising further to 10 million in the semifinals and then to 20 million in the final (40,000 USD). The coach, Zahoui François will also enjoy his share of the pie, receiving double the bonuses of his players.

afrik11.com also comments [fr] on the bonuses paid to the Mali national team, the ‘Eagles of Mali' at the beginning of January:

Earlier this week the Malian football team received their bonuses for qualifying for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Two hundred million CFA francs (40,000 USD) were given in cash to the players and coaching staff before the national team left Lomé (Togo) for the final stage in their preparations for the competition.

The Equatorial Guinea team in training by @FlorianK_Sport

Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the event, is a country unable to build a stadium capable of hosting a match due to the frequent rains. Yet abidjan.net posted a blog surrounding their first victory [fr] in the competition:

Teodorin Obiang, the Minister for Agriculture presented a cheque for 500 million CFA francs (760,000 euros) to Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asué, the Minister for Sport, in the absence of the national team in Mbini (mainland Mali). He added a cheque for 20 million CFA francs (30,400 euros), 10 million that had been promised for each goal scored ; the team only won the match 1-0 but he explained that the goal disallowed by the referee deserved to be credited with a bonus.

This blog points out that the actions of Teodorin, tipped to succeed his father as president, are under scrutiny by the Americans.

The generosity of petrodollars being used for the bonuses for the Equatorial Guinea football team makes the Republic of Guinea look like a poor relation. In Conakry, the first problem was in trying to find the money to pay for the bonuses. As reported by lejourguinee.com, the country set up a National Committee for Support, led by General Mathurin Bangoura, Minister for Housing and Urban Development with the aim of raising funds for the bonuses. Notably, the first contributions came from the Indian community settled in the country.

The least well-spent money during the tournament, without doubt, has to be the bonuses awarded to the ‘Teranga Lions', the Senegalese national team, who had entered the competition as strong favourites and fell at the first hurdle. Yet, at the beginning of the competition the blog can.starafrica.com stated [fr] that:

There are some concerns surrounding the bonuses given to the Senegalese side. On Wednesday the Sports Ministry gave the squad bonuses amounting to 140, 650,000 francs in full for their qualification for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Delivers Many Surprises

Jane Ellis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:42:35 +0000

Unlike Senegal, who failed to win their opening match in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana, another competition favourite, managed to win their opener, beating Botswana, who were participating in this tournament for the first time. This, the first match in Group D, took place on Tuesday 24 January in the Stade de Franceville, Gabon.

The Black Stars of Ghana finished the match with ten men following a red card for John Mensah in the 66th minute. They did all they could to win [fr], and were not phased, according to FourFourTwo, who tweeted:

#Ghana show no remorse over Mensah red bit.ly/xkpul2 #AFCON2012

Botswana fought bravely during their first ever appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations. A video summary of the Ghana-Botswana match is available here [fr], courtesy of Direct 8 Sport.

Mali met Guinea for the other opening day Group D game, which saw the Eagles off to a promising start in the tournament, beating Guinea 1-0. Boukary Konaté, a Global Voices author who tweets under the name @Fasokan [fr], posted reactions from the stadium in Macina, Mali:

@Fasokan: Grand bruit et applaudissement à Macina pour le but malien #can2012

@Fasokan: Loud noise and applause from Macina following Mali's goal.

and also [fr]:

@Fasokan: les supporters de Macina espèrent sur un deuxième but malien

@Fasokan: Fans from Macina are hoping for a second goal from Mali.

On Wednesday 25, the first match on Day 2 of Group A, Zambia versus Libya, resulted in the first nil-nil draw of the competition. Torrential rain caused kick-off to be delayed by an hour and a quarter with the match finally starting at 6.15pm, after some doubt as to whether it would go ahead.

Zambia were anxious to secure their place in the quarter finals against a Libyan team who seemed re-energised following their defeat on the opening Saturday of the tournament. The match was played on a waterlogged pitch, as can be seen in this photo posted by Alexandre Nakbi (@Alex_Nak), showing its condition moments before kick off [fr]:

@Alex_Nak: Voila l'état du terrain actuellement. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

@Alex_Nak: Here is the state of the pitch right now. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

Rain also delayed the Day 2 Group A match between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea. Tournament favourites Senegal were eliminated in a surprise 2-1 win for Equatorial Guinea, assuring a place for the latter in the quarter finals. The defeat of the Lions of Teranga greatly disappointed [fr] their fans:

@observateurs: Le Sénégal sort de la CAN. “On aurait dit des jeunes de centre de formation” #can2012 fb.me/10kgX5eNf

@observateurs: Senegal exit the Cup of Nations. “They looked like kids from a training camp” #can2012

@founseni_soro: Sénégal Grande nation de football, . mais aussi grande déception de la CAN2012. Allez les zelephants #civ2010

@founseni_soro: Senegal - a great footballing nation, but great disappointment in the 2012 Cup of Nations.

In Day 2 of Group B, Angola could not overcome Sudan, one of the weakest teams in the Cup, despite two goals from Manuchi on Thursday 26 January in Malabo Stadium, Equatorial Guinea. If they had won, Angola would have qualified for the quarter finals. The four goals from the match can be seen in the following video [fr]:

Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso met at Malabo later that day for the second match in Day 2 of Group B. The Elephants of Ivory Coast beat the Stallions 2-0, qualifying for the quarter finals while Burkina Faso were eliminated.

Fans of Ivory Coast watching the match against Sudan by @FlorianK_Sport

Day 2 of Group C on the Friday saw Gabon beat Morocco 3-2 and Tunisia beat Nigeria 2-1, securing quarter final places for the Panthers of Gabon and the Eagles of Carthage.

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations can be followed on the BBC website and on Twitter using the hashtags #CAN2012 and #AFCON2012.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Kicks Off!

Dan Horlor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:47:12 +0000

[All links to external content are in French]

The Africa Cup of Nations began in Bata, Equatorial Guinea this Saturday January 21, 2012, kicking off three weeks of fierce competition. The Cup of Nations, the most important international football competition in Africa, is taking place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea between January 21 and 12 February.

Supporters in Africa and around the world have been enjoying the build-up to the two opening matches; dancing, light and sound were all part of the spectacle:

GaGuie the Mascot! With GAGUIE : GA as in Gabon, GUI as in Guinea and E as in Equatorial! Image from fr.cafonline.com with permission

Here is a round up of the first three days of the tournament.

Matchday One

Libya took on Equatorial Guinea in the curtain raiser on 21 January, and it was co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, making their tournament debut, who took a surprise 1-0 win.

With just six minutes remaining, Balboa, the Equatorial Guinea number 11 finally opened the scoring after a one-on-one with the Libyan goalkeeper. The score stayed 1-0 until the final whistle, to the delight of the Equatorial Guinea fans who had packed the stadium.

The Senegalese fluffed their entry to the competition with a 2-1 defeat inflicted by Zambia on the same day. Senegal fans took to the web to place the blame on coach of the national team.

Touy wrote on Seneweb News [fr]:

le souci avec un entraîneur local c'est que même s'il se rend compte que le capitaine par exemple Niang n'est pas au niveau il aura la crainte la peur ou la pudeur de le faire sortir au détriment de la victoire bien sur!!

The problem with having a local coach is that even if he realises that the captain, let's say Niang, is not good enough he'll either be afraid or too modest to take him off, to the detriment of getting the win of course!

Amara Traoré [fr] on RFI sheds some light on the subject for us:

Tout le monde savait avant même le début de la CAN que les zambiens sont très vifs et utiliseraient cette vivacité pour gérer les sénégalais beaucoup plus costauds. Alors lui l’entraîneur et son staff devraient trouver un bon système pour les contenir avant de les attaquer.Donc je trouve kil n'a pas fais son boulot qui était de voir les choses venir et de jouer avec des joueurs rapides mais surtout de ne pas trop bourrer cette attaque ou personne ne se retrouve .

Everyone knew, even before the Cup of Nations began, that the Zambians are very energetic and would use that energy to combat the much bigger and stronger Sengalese. So the coach and his staff should find a system to contain thembefore going on the attack. He hasn't done his job which is to anticipate and play fast players but above all not to throw men forward who then can't find each other.

Matchday Two

The second matchday saw the entry of one of the competition favourites: the ‘Elephants' of Côte d'Ivoire. A magnificent strike by Didier Drogba in the 39th minute secured the victory for Côte d'Ivoire over Sudan. The win for the Elephants wasn't enough for every Ivorian fan on the net however. Many felt that they could have done better.

Phox Hermann [fr] said:

la vérité est bonne à dire heinnn. ELEPHANT ke moi jai vu là c N'IMPORTE KOI

Good to tell the truth, riiight. That was no ELEPHANT that I saw

Bi Tia Vincent Toh [fr] added:

la conservation d'un unique but nous a donné des sueurs froides.
Que Mr Gervino soit un peu plus réaliste devant les buts,
Que Mr Yaya Touré regagne sa place au milieu et joue effectivement comme à city
Que la defense cesse d etre trop permeable,

keeping hold of a one goal lead brought us out in a cold sweat.
If only Mr Gervino [sic] was more realistic in front of goal,
If only Mr Yaya Touré could get his place back in the middle and play as well as he does at city
If only the defence stopped leaking,

Angola also played their first game and overpowered Burkina Faso with a 2-1 victory.

Matchday Three

Gabon, the second co-host team of the 2012 Cup of Nations showed their strength with a 2-0 win over Niger, the opening Group C match of the tournament played in a fantastic atmosphere in the Stade de l'Amitié in Libreville.

Rodrigue Magaya [fr] commented on Aubameyang's goal on Facebook:

que dire?!!!merci aux gars, il fallait ça pour la beauté du spetacle et naturelement monter a tt nos adversaires que nous sommes la!!bien en place et on a pas peur!!!vive la can, et vive encore plus nos pantheres;que Dieu benisse le gabon!!!!!!

what can I say?!!!thanks to the lads, we needed that for the beauty of the contest and naturally to show all our opponents that we're here!!right on the spot and with no fear!!long live the cup of nations, and may our panthers live even longer;God bless Gabon!!!!!!

The 2012 Cup of Nations can be followed on TV5 Monde, Canal+ Afrique and on Twitter and Google+ via the hashtags #CAN2012 (in French) et #ACN2012 (in English).

Francophone Africa: The Important Literary Contributions from Former Colonies

Solène TRETOUT — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:36:57 +0000

The Genevan blog of Rémi Mogenet, Le Savoyard de la Tribune, explains with supporting examples that [fr]: “Mythological African traditional stories have made a remarkable entrance into francophone literature”. He quotes the Mandika epic tale of Soundjata, written and published in French by Guinean D. T. Niane, as well as, for Cameroon, Au Pays des initiés by Gabriel Mfomo and La Marseillaise de mon enfance by Jean-Marton Tchaptchet, without forgetting L' Anthologie nègre by Blaise Cendrars.

Guinea: A Guide to Flirting in Conakry

Laura Venables — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:31:27 +0000

Alimou Sow lists 10 rules [fr] for flirting in Conakry in his blog entitled ‘Ma Guinée Plurielle': “Like everywhere else, flirting in Conakry follows rules which evolve over time. Here are 10 of them, drawn from a small sample survey and expanded upon through my own personal experience. Guys: get ready, get set and get flirting!”

Discovering Paris from a Guinean Perspective

Amanda Holland Fleig — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:23:07 +0000

Guinean blogger @limsow who recently moved to Paris for an internship, describes [fr] a less-hostile capital than expected on Guinée Plurielle: “I already know how to take the RER (the C line) to go down to Vitry Sur Seine or to get to Avenue du Président Kennedy, in the 16th arrondissement. I am also familiar with the metro now, after many: “Please, is this the line that goes to X?”. Contrary to what people have told me, my questions are so far always answered, and with a smile.”

Guinea: Another Bloody and Violent September 28

Patricia Worth — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:38:22 +0000

[All links in French unless otherwise stated]

Another September 28 and yet again another day of violence against the unarmed civilian population of Conakry. This date [en] is feared by all Guineans whether they live in their country or elsewhere.

This year the factions of the opposition, combined within the Collective of the Political Parties for the Finalisation of the Transition, called its activists to a peaceful demonstration on 27 September to denounce the government's unilateral acts. But suppression was once again fierce.

September 28 anniversary in Guinea via Guinée58 Facebook page (with their permission)

Reports of violence

The blog amdys.over-blog.com, released a statement from the Collective denouncing the violence which was aiming to:

… create a climate of terror in the neighbourhoods of Hamdallye, Bambeto, Cosa and Wanindara. According to this statement, the forces of order in league with private militia, called “donzo” (traditional hunters), are beating, injuring and arresting some residents of these areas.

The demonstrations which began on 27 September continued until 29 September. The blog barkere.net released an audio and written statement from Amnesty International, saying:

One protestor told Amnesty International he had witnessed police killing another demonstrator: “The security forces chased us and began beating some of us with their truncheons. We ran away and one of us fell down. A member of the security forces leant over him and stabbed him to death.”

Another eyewitness who spoke to Amnesty International reported that security forces had entered private compounds and looted some of the houses.

According to the site gbassikolo.com, the prosecutor, Mohamed Said Haidara, made a statement on the state media, with this assessment:

Following these events, the security services took 178 suspects including 7 minors and 4 women to the police station for questioning, and 144 suspects including 4 women, according to the police station. In total, that's 322 suspects.

In a statement issued on guineenews.org, the government rejects the comments by Amnesty International and advises that:

all the minors of 13 years of age who were arrested have been freed and those between 15 and 17 years have also been freed.

A comment from guineeconakry.info on the announcement by the government about the beginning of dialogue:

Although it is particularly regrettable that the government and the opposition accepted this solution through dialogue only after Guineans had been killed and/or wounded and only after extensive material damage had occurred, we must nevertheless hope this new round is nothing but an attempt to impress.

Demonstrations took place in several cities around the world to denounce the violence and expose the fact that those responsible for the events of 28 September, 2009, have not been brought to justice (read a soldier's testimony here [en]). According to a statement from the NGO Human Rights Watch, two years after these events not one of the accused has been judged:

No one has yet been called to account two years after Guinean security forces shot and killed unarmed demonstrators during an opposition rally in the capital, Conakry, Human Rights Watch said today. According to Human Rights Watch, the Guinean government must do more to make sure that justice is done for the victims of the massacre of 28 September 2009.

Human Rights Watch has also expressed its concern that some positions of responsibility have been maintained by key figures denounced for the violence of 28 September, 2009, like Lt. Colonel Claude Pivi, minister in charge of presidential security, and Lt. Colonel Moussa Tiégboro Camara, director of the national agency in charge of the fight against drugs, organised crime and terrorism.

International protests

In New York, in front of the Guinean embassy and the headquarters of the United Nations in Manhattan, protestors were supported by eminent American personalities including the former New York Mayor, Mr David Dinkins, and the Senator for the state of New York, Mr Eric Adams, as well as international human rights organisations.

In The Hague, other members of the Guinean diaspora organised a demonstration in front of the seat of the International Criminal Court.

In Boston, there was a conference organised with the participation of Mr Bah Oury on the occasion of the Guinean independence celebrations of 2 October, 2011.

In Paris, the demonstration took place on 1 October, for which purpose the organisers issued a message on the blog guinee58.com:

Ethnic and communitarian tensions stirred up by Alpha Condé and his party, the Rassemblement du Peuple de Guinée (RPG), are leading to hatred and abhorrence of the other … Journalists are intimidated, threatened, and the State media are put into the service of the government.

This denunciation of the President as a factor in the social divisions is confirmed by a publication on the site crisisgroup.org of the International Crisis Group:

The recent experience of violent politicization of ethnicities and the lack of confidence of political players in the electoral process are a cause for concern. President Condé has unilaterally encouraged an overhaul of the electoral system, but he is arousing all the more suspicion because of the uncertain prospects of the presidential party for the legislative elections. He has given little attention, very late, to reconciliation and dialogue with his highly mobilised opposition.

The suppression had several effects. The first and most serious for the future of the country is the widening of the social divide on an ethnic basis, as shown by an exchange of violent remarks on the Internet and the distribution of tracts in Conakry, according to the blog guinee50.blogspot.com:

tracts originating in certain movements of support for the government are circulating in the neighbourhoods of Conakry. These youth movements which support the government are calling their members to come out and attack demonstrators … Guinea's enemies will be fought somehow and thrown on the new Democracy train…

The second is the reorganisation at the political level with the announcement of the beginnings of dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Finally, a third consequence is that the group of six parties of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), which formed part of the presidential camp in the second round of presidential elections and the Collective of the Political Parties for the Finalisation of the Transition, have decided “to combine their strengths and act jointly in the fight for free and transparent elections”. Thus, four former prime ministers are among the candidates.

Mozambique: Sant'Egidio Community Fights Back Against HIV/AIDS

Lova Rakotomalala — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:58:28 +0000

Lack of access to care for HIV positive people has been well documented on the African continent. Many initiatives strive to show that things could improve with collective effort, and among them is the Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition (DREAM) program.

DREAM was created in 2002 by the Sant'Egidio Community in Mozambique, and takes a comprehensive approach to fighting HIV/AIDS. Cristina Cannelli, leader of the Guinea DREAM program, explains the special relationship [it] with the African continent, especially Mozambique:

"Free care here". Image by Sant'Egidio photo service.

La Comunità di Sant'Egidio è profondamente legata all'Africa, anche perchè la Comunità stessa è una realtà africana. Esistono Comunità di Sant'Egidio in 26 paesi del continente con più di 20.000 membri africani. Un legame particolare con il Mozambico, dove nel 1992 fu firmata la pace che pose termine ad una terribile guerra civile grazie alla mediazione della Comunità, condusse a scegliere il Mozambico qualeprimo paese in cui lanciare il programma DREAM.

The Sant'Egidio community is deeply linked to Africa, in part because the community itself is anchored on the continent. The community is present in 26 African nations and has more than 20,000 members. A special relationship exists with Mozambique because in 1992, the Sant’Egidio community contributed to the peace treaty agreement that ended the civil war. That's why Mozambique was the first choice for implementing the DREAM program.

Today DREAM is present in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Guinea (Conakry), Guinea (Bissau), Nigeria, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. The basic philosophy of the program is:

… DREAM has been created to achieve excellence: excellence in treatment and diagnostics, in computerization. DREAM demands that western standards be adopted in Africa too; the programme routinely uses viral load assessment, and has introduced Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART)

A DREAM success

The sheer numbers of the DREAM activity throughout the continent are impressive: 150,000 people have been treated of which 25,000 were aged 15 years or younger, 65,000 patients have benefited from anti-retroviral therapy of which 6,000 were children. DREAM also successfully interrupted vertical mother-to-child HIV transmission for 14,000 births from HIV positive mothers.

Since the beginning of the program more than 1,000,000 people have benefited from the DREAM program via health education, water filtration, food supplies, mosquito nets, prevention programmes on television, radio and the workplace. In total, the DREAM centers have performed 1,300,000 medical consultations, 276,000 viral load tests and 540,000 CD4 tests.

Celebrating the good health of the children at the mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention centers. Image courtesy of the Sant'Egidio community.

For such a large organisation to run properly in so many countries with many different spoken languages, qualified personnel is a must, which is why the community has organized 18 workshops throughout the continent for 4,000 health professionals. Mobile teams travel to reach the most isolated patients.

In order to engage the local institutions, DREAM states that:

Some of these structures are operational thanks to collaboration and agreements reached with local health centres that have replicated the programme.

However, patients also are actively contributing by committing to actively fight the HIV pandemic by becoming volunteers:

In each and every DREAM centre, medical and paramedical personnel are flanked by local men and women who have decided to commit themselves to working for patients who come to our centres. They decided to do so when their own lives were remarkably transformed after they came in contact with our services.
There are relatively large groups of such people and they constitute an indispensable resource for the success of the programme. Most, but not all, of them are sick. They are our “campaigners”.

Guinea: Nadine Bari's Fight to Reduce Poverty in Guinea

Lova Rakotomalala — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:12:56 +0000

Nadine Bari in the documentary

Nadine Bari is a French citizen who resides half the time in Guinea in West Africa and the other half on the French island Réunion, in the Indian ocean.

Mrs. Bari lost her husband Abdoulaye “Djibril” Barry during one of the violent repressions in Guinea that were customary under the dictatorship of Sékou Touré. Twenty-five years ago, she created a non-governmental organization that supports women, the disabled, and the rural population of Guinea.

Global Voices (GV): How did you end up in Guinea?

Nadine Bari (NB): I first arrived in Guinea in January of 1964 to follow my Guinean husband. We were both quite thrilled to have the opportunity to put our diplomas and youthful energy to use for the development of the newly independent nation (not for the regime at the time though). My husband disappeared in 1971. The first book I wrote, ”Grain de sable” was about my quest to find out the truth about his death (the documentary “I was still waiting for you yesterday” directed by Catherine Veaux-Logeat also retraced this quest).

GV: Tell us about your organization?

NB: It is called Guinée-Solidarité (GS). It was established in Strasbourg, France in 1987. During two trips to Guinea in 1985 and 1986, I could not help but take notice of the economic and social downfall of the country. For instance, in Koundara-Youkounkoun, I was stupefied to see that the school of Ouros did not have benches for the students. They had to bring their own seat otherwise they were not allowed in class. In one classroom, the teacher used an electricity mast that had fallen down as a desk for the kids. The health center had very little medication in stock, some were even expired. With the photos that my daughter took, we raised awareness in our church in Strasbourg. One of the choir singers worked for a transportation company and offered to fill a few containers with materials that we collected from hospitals, schools and companies in Alsace and send them to Guinea. That's how everything started.

GV: How did Guinée-Solidarité help reduce the impact of poverty in Guinea?

NB: We targeted the villages that were kind of forgotten by international aid. The ones that were difficult to reach and especially downtrodden, in the Guinean forest and in Northern Guinea. In 1986-87, we were shocked to see that the patients in the hospital in the village of Mali (in the Fouta-Djallon region) were sleeping on the floor. We raised awareness again in Alsace and the surrounding regions to collect medical materials. In total, 7 state hospitals, 12 health centers and 18 health units benefited from the initiative. One of our priorities was to help the disabled (either the crippled, blind or socially outcast groups). We trained some of them in the use of bicycles or tricycles.

A clothing workshop established by Guinée-Solidarité (photo used with permission)

GV: What is Guinée-Solidarité doing specifically for women?

NB: We have helped create a clothing workshop where women imprint an indigo dye on fabrics. We also support widows who are gardening in Fello Wendou in the Fouta-Djalon region. We were able to get funds from Switzerland to plant indigo trees. The project began in 2007 and it builds on the skills of Fulani women and how they weave traditional fabrics. Unfortunately, the chinese textile industry has now injected the local market with cheaper fabrics at a cost with which we cannot compete if we wish to sustain our workers.

A reading class for Guinean women lead by Guinée Solidarité (photo used with permission)

GV: Educating poor and disabled children is one of your major success stories. How did you go about the project?

NB: In la Cité de Solidarité, a neighborhood of Conakry [the capital] known to be the homeless and beggars quarter, we knew of at least 450 disabled people. None knew how to read. We found 80 of them, mostly girls and children, sponsors in France, Spain and Belgium. The criteria to benefit from a sponsor was that the child had to be an orphan or disabled. Many begging children - even the blind ones - were able to attend college, at Gamal Abdel Nasser or Sonfonia University in Conakry. A library was opened for the children of la Cité and the neighborhood Jean-Paul II. It is very well-attended. We even installed solar panels to provide electricity on a regular basis.

Guinée-Solidarité has 4 main branches: Strasbourg, Marseille (that has been financing a major rehabilitation center for the disabled in Mamou), Paris and Conakry.

Guinea: Slow Blogging

Claire Ulrich — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:25:15 +0000

After a year of blogging on blog platform Mondoblog, Sow shares [fr] how difficult it is to connect from his hometown in Guinea, located 500 km from the capital Conakry: “This country is plagued with a standard access to the Internet that breaks every record of slowness. If you add the age-old problem of power shortages, blogging from a GSM mobile connection in these conditions is far from a picnic. Up to a full day to write an article, edit it, upload images and dispatch the link across social networks! Some ask me: “So, did you find a job?” The answer is no, knowing that I already have one: blogging!”

Guinea: Censorship Lifted on the Coverage of the President Attack

Thalia Rahme — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:08:54 +0000

Souleymane Bah [fr] annonces on GUINÉENS UNIS : “Guinea's National Council on Communication (CNC) has lifted on Thursday [July 28] the ban imposed on July 25 to Guinean media on the attack against President Alpha Condé private residence in Conakry.”