G17 Presents: Christmas Coup 2008

Well, in case you didn’t notice, we did not go to Conakry for Christmas. There was a coup d’etat, but no shots were fired save the ones fired into the air all night Christmas Eve in celebration. At first in the back of my head I thought it was fireworks (duh, there are no fireworks in Guinea), but then Ousmane suggested everyone get under the patio ceiling, as what goes up must come down. Almost all of us were at the Bureau when it happened and had planned to spend the night anyway, which we did in 13-year-old style glory in the air-conditioned sick rooms.

So the military is now in charge of the country, Camara is now the de facto President, though some old government officials are still claiming to be in charge and asking for international assistance, but Camara’s convoy rolled through Conakry Christmas Eve with no resistance and people in the street applauding and took over the Presidential Palace.

They are still saying elections will be in December 2010, when Conte’s term would have ended (although if he were still alive in 2010 there is little doubt he would have remained in power). The international community is calling for free, fair elections in 6 months so Camara is meeting with all international embassies and organizations (including our Peace Corps Country Director, Dan) tomorrow to discuss the future of Guinea. EDIT: Dan did not end up attending this meeting, but came to Forecariah instead to attend the cross-cultural fair, show his daughters the training site and tour a few PCT accommodations. He also spoke with us for a little while about the situation, what it was like in Conakry and that he is hopeful we will be able to go to Conakry for the New Year’s Eve celebration.

As I type this, the military is firing (hopefully into the air). Today was Conte’s funeral. They just started firing a couple minutes ago. Camara issued an 8pm curfew country-wide for all civilians. Ousmane says it is because everything in Guinea happens under cover of night and Camara is afraid of a counter-coup/mercenaries from neighboring countries. He also said he is strict about PCTs adhering to the curfew because the military tends to get drunk and fire indiscriminately/be scary.

We have been kind of afraid of the military, I think because as Americans we have been conditioned to think of Africans in uniform as dangerous. However, they have all been very friendly and in good spirits when we have seen them out. Christmas Day I was walking to the marche with Jessica and Dave and there was a big group of military outside the Prefet’s office (now the Commondante’s office – they kicked the Prefet out of her house and office the same night they took over the Presidential Palace). They were in good spirits, firing into the air, a big group of people watching them from the road. We jumped as a female soldier let out a burst of shots into the air not 20 yards from us. I also collected a few shell casings, which could be found by the side of the road, though not as many as you would think, considering all the firing. We think petites have also been gathering them up, as well.

Serima (language instructor) said they were firing blanks but Ousmane said he didn’t believe that was true so to watch out. Some shots come very close by my house as our neighbor to the left is military.

Peace Corps isn’t even close to sending us out-of-country. There would have to be violence or a gasoline shortage in order for that to happen and that has not been the case as of yet.

Priscilla (PC Admin) was able to get us cell phones on Christmas Day and had them sent to Forecariah, so we are all now with phone! Incoming calls are free for us and it costs .18 cents a minute to call using Skype from the US. To get the number, email me or contact my mom or dad, who have the number. If you have my old US cell # that is one way you can contact my mom as that # is now being used by my stepdad for his cell phone. Call as often as is practical! We are not supposed to answer during sessions (weekdays 8-12:30pm, 2-5pm Guinea time – 5 hrs ahead of East Coast, 8 hours ahead of Cali), so try to call before or after sessions, at lunch or on weekends. This is in effect until after we swear-in February 4, then call anytime!

A big thank you to PC Conkary for getting those phones for us since we were not able to go to Conakry for Christmas. An even bigger thanks for arranging for the cost of the phones to just be deducted from our settling-in allowance!

Ousmane said that if everything is normal in Conakry next week that we can go to Conakry for New Year’s Eve (leave Forecariah after sessions) and New Year’s Day (return to Forecariah New Year’s night) rather then take the day trip to the swimming hole that was previously planned for New Year’s Day.

Anyway, Christmas was still fun even though we weren’t in Conakry and a huge feast was made, consisting of pasta w/sauce (Danielle), indian food (Sajay), Ian’s special ginger-onion-potato soup, an attempt at mashed potatoes (actually it was Tenise because at the marche they said there were no potatoes, though later in the day Ian found some WTF – me), chicken (3, killed by Nick, Joseph and Jessica – I have video), dessert doughnuts (Jessica and Dave), garlic bread (Caitlin and Corinna), and ginger snap cookies (Julie). I think that was it. We all had to share plates and the few utensils we had. I shared a plate with Juliann, Ashley and Sacha. It was Christmas Guinean-style.

7 of us spent the night at the Bureau Christmas night as well in the freezing Public Health office (it was glorious except for the fact that I got sick for some reason and projectile vomited half the night, but I was the only one to get sick so I think it was that I ate a couple of bites of chicken and my body didn’t like it).

We opened Secret Snowflake gifts which was fun and everyone got some fun stuff. Dan and Julia sent a box of goodies for us from Conakry, too, including news items which was nice.

All-in-all, a good Christmas (Coup-style).

SOME INFO ON PRESIDENT CAMARA: I have heard conflicting reports on his age ranging from 35 – 44, but all told he is relatively young. He was pretty much unknown until he proclaimed himself to be the new President. He is from the Forest Region, which is really good because the other three regions (Haute, Fouta and Basse Cote) are largely dominated by specific ethnic groups and if someone from one of those groups had become the interim President, there could have been ethnic tensions. Camara grew up poor in a hut with no running water or electricity, is university educated, calls himself a patriot and (here’s the kicker) is Christian! Weird, right? This is a dominantly Muslim country so to have a Christian as the new President is very weird. Here in Guinea most people are happy (or at least not devastated) by the turn of events. Pretty much everyone hated the dude that the Constitution stated would take power in the event of the President’s death (Speaker of the Parliament). They like what Camara says and if he delivers on what he is promising the future is bright for Guinea. My hope is that he will replicate what recently happened in Mali, where there was a military coup d’etat and the dude in power organized free, fair elections in two years and then did not even run, giving confidence that the election was truly free and fair. Camara is saying that he will execute anyone found to be embezzling money from the government, he has suspended and renegotiated the mining contracts (which is where Guinea’s wealth really lies), demoted Conte’s fat cats in the military and committed to making Guinea a better place. I hope he comes through.