Conte declares martial law in Guinea

Guinea's President declared a state of emergency last night. He has announced that, among other things:

• Guineans are only allowed to leave their homes between 4 and 8pm
• No one is allowed to travel by car
• Public and private gatherings that provoke disorder are outlawed
• The military is given the power to make sure this all happens

That is not a sustainable situation. Conte's power is certainly slipping. None of us can contact our communities - the places with HF radios are too dangerous for them to walk to, the cell phones are down and no news is coming out of the interior of the country. The RPCV who was in Kankan is back here now, thanks to the people at the World Food Program. She was in some terrible situations and we are all really glad she made it back safe and sound.

Here's a BBC article - they also have an entry from a reporter about his experience trying to get around in Conakry that's interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/default.stm

This blog entry from Global Voices Online is really great, but long. Only read if you are dedicated to finding news...I didn't even finish it. But it gives great background information about Conte and the origins of Guinea's problems.

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/02/11/guinea-conakry-the-end-of-a-dictatorship/

Here's the latest PC news - the Guinea program is officially suspended. The Embassy has evacuated all non-essential personnel. We are all being given the option to either 1. transfer to another Africa program 2. take a 3 month project in Mali in hopes of returning to Guinea or 3. COS (Close of Service. PC loves acronyms.)

I will be COSing from Mali. That means that I can take cash in lieu of a plane ticket home. That means that I can travel. Camilo and I have a plan, subject to much change, to travel around Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco and Spain, arriving back in the US in late April. We will be here in Bamako for another week or so getting all our paperwork in order. I've said that I want to re-enroll in PC this summer for another 2 years of service. Hopefully I'll have some say over which country it's in - I don't relish the idea of waiting at home for an invitation to arrive. I think I've paid my dues and the PC can give me some say and/or priority!

It's been so nice to receive so many emails from you - I am really excited to see everyone in the spring. I'll do my best to keep blogging on my trip...can't believe I'm about to start this whole damn thing over again! If you talk to my dad, reassure him that I really will go to graduate school and find a real job after this is all over...