All is Calm

We talked to Cam's mom last night and we are good to go for her trip. The gas stations have reopened and another PCV has a friend flying in Tuesday. We'll stick around Conakry until Wednesday when we go pick her up at the airport.

CONAKRY, Guinea — West African leaders appealed for calm in Guinea today, saying the army mutiny there could destabilize neighboring states struggling to put an era of wars and conflict behind them.

Junior troops disgruntled over back pay and demanding that Guinea's top generals resign began firing into the air Monday at several military bases on the outskirts of the capital, Conakry. They took the army's second-in-command hostage.

No clashes have been reported since the current trouble began, but hospital officials say they have admitted at least 28 people with gunshot wounds, apparently from stray bullets fired into the air. Five of the injured were soldiers, the rest civilians.

The 15-member regional Economic Community of West African States said the Guinea crisis "put at risk the safety and security of the civilian population and poses a grave threat to the fragile peace in the entire" region.

The Nigeria-based group "appealed to all Guineans to act with a high sense of responsibility and to desist from any actions likely to plunge their country and its neighbors into conflict and instability."The neighboring countries of Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone are struggling to emerge from long civil wars.

Guinea has suffered riots and repeated mutinies for years under iron-fisted dictator Lansana Conte, who took power in a 1984 coup.Conte's grip on power depends largely on the loyalty of the army, and the government has previously given in to soldiers' demands for pay increases when they have threatened violence — though the actual pay-outs have rarely come through.

No gunfire was reported today, but banks and many shops remained closed.Around midday, about 300 people gathered near the city center calling on the soldiers to end the mutiny and give them peace. It was a rare pro-Conte demonstration in a country where striking citizens have regularly demanded the president step down.

The crowd shouted "Long live peace!" as it marched toward the presidency building. One of the marchers, an office worker in Parliament named Moussa Camara, said the demonstration had not been organized by the government but showed a true demand by residents for the mutiny to end.

The ramshackle seaside capital has been tense but calm since Thursday afternoon, when loyalist army Chief of Staff Gen. Diarra Camara called on soldiers taking part in the revolt to return to their barracks.Loyalist presidential guard units with rocket launchers patrolled the city center today in armored vehicles. Banks and many shops were closed and streets were deserted. There were no reports of gunfire.

Tensions began rising last week when Conte unexpectedly fired Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate, who soldiers said had pledged to pay them back wages and bonuses.The crisis had seemed to be easing Wednesday after the government agreed to meet several key demands, particularly a promise to pay each soldier 5 million Guinean francs — around $1,100 — within days.

The government also promised to free soldiers imprisoned in a similar revolt last year, and fired the defense minister, who had threatened to prosecute the mutinous soldiers.But gunfire broke out again as mutinous soldiers expressed concern their demands would not be met.

The mutineers are also calling for the country's top generals to resign, saying they are corrupt and have blocked lower-ranking officers from receiving promotions. The soldiers also want the already subsidized price of rice for the military to be reduced.Loyalist units and the mutineers had faced off against each other Thursday on a strategic bridge in the city. They fired into the air, but did shoot at one another.

Conte, the septuagenarian dictator, had agreed to appoint Kouyate — seen as a reformer — last year after intense union protests over his autocratic rule turned deadly and threatened to overturn the government.

Guinea, on Africa's western coast, has vast reserves of timber, gold, diamonds and bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum. Yet it is consistently listed as one of the world's poorest countries — a testament to misrule by the elite.

Associated Press writer Edward Harris contributed to this report from Lagos, Nigeria.

The Drama Continues?

Oh, Guinea. What a strange country. Yesterday our guards followed us out of the compound because they didn't want us walking around (we were only going to buy egg sandwiches about 10 meters away) and today everything is fine and we went to the market without any problems...except that it's really hot and about 100% humidity. Being sweaty makes me crabby.

Anyway, it appears that the military is split into 2 camps. The first is the group that accepts the government's agreement and the second is a group that wants a coup d'etat. We'll just have to see what happens. Cam and I bought enough food for 4 days here at the compound...frozen chicken, green beans, potatoes, etc. We subsisted on pizza, beer and chocolate yesterday but that's completely unacceptable.

We'd love to get out of here, but there's no gas. A couple days ago the military took their guns and basically held up all the gas stations, so the owners have closed them all down (good business decision...) We've heard that gas, normally an astronomical 8,500GF a liter, is now up to 25,000 (about $6) a liter on the black market. That's $24 a gallon! That being said, it looks like the soldiers have calmed down and they should be opening the gas stations soon. The good news is that none of this has spread upcountry, where things are just running normally. I got a text from one of my students, I'll reprint it below because it's just so funny. I appreciate him trying to write in English!

Hello haw do you feel, and your family about the demonstration of militery,if there is more dangerouse please take your family and come back in Timbi.because here we are feeling very well.so great me Camilo and your "tante." Bah Mamadou's Daum.

I guess he doesn't understand the whole bit about the roadblocks and how there's no gas to be found, but at least he's thinking about me!

Anyway, we are fine, but a little concerned that this is going to screw up Cam's mom's visit. She is supposed to arrive the 4th. Probably everything will be back to normal by Monday, but here you just never know. And if there's no gas there's no point in her coming even if everything is calm because we wouldn't be able to get out of Conakry (and if you come to Guinea and don't leave Conakry it would be a gigantic waste of time!)

A Little Bit of Drama

We are in Conakry still and are planning on leaving tomorrow - yesterday we just layed low here at the compound (swimming, internet, a SATC marathon). While I cannot comment on Guinean politics, I can point out 2 things. 1. the soldiers will all be receiving 5 million francs in back pay (a teacher is paid 250,000 a month) and 2. last night soldiers vandalized gas stations, held people in restaurants up at gunpoint and took all their money and 3. took some government officials hostage. Today their demands were met. I don't like guns.

An AP article is below. Rest assured that all is calm and we are fine. My biggest concern right now is that it's 11am and I haven't eaten anything today!

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea's new prime minister announced a deal to pay mutinous soldiers years of salary arrears, effectively ending the West African nation's latest crisis.
Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare said in a televised statement late Tuesday that the government would pay soldiers 5 million Guinean francs — around US$1,100 — each for back-pay and raises stretching back over the last eight years.

Conakry, the capital, was quiet Wednesday for the first time since sporadic gunfire began echoing across the city Monday from military bases in town.

"I appeal on the military to stay calm," Souare said, adding the government would gradually begin paying the salary arrears at the end of the month.

Guinea has been tense since last week, when President Lansana Conte unexpectedly fired Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate, who came to power last year after deadly demonstrations led by unions angry over Conte's long rule. The soldiers said Kouyate had promised to pay soldiers years of back-pay and began revolting on hearing rumors they would not receive it.
Guinea, on Africa's western coast, has vast reserves of timber, gold, diamonds and bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum. Yet it is consistently listed as one of the world's poorest countries, a testament to its misrule by the elite.

Conte, the septuagenarian dictator, has ruled the country since a 1984 coup.

Gunfire could be heard from two main military camps in Conakry on Monday and Tuesday, and soldiers in trucks crisscrossed the capital, shooting in the air for more than one hour at midday Tuesday. But the ramshackle seaside city fell calm by late afternoon when President Conte's convoy drove inside one of the bases, Camp Samory, in an apparent bid to negotiate with disgruntled soldiers, witnesses said.

Also Tuesday, Conte fired Defense Minister Bailo Diallo, one of several demands made by junior officers.

At least two civilians were wounded by stray bullets, including a young girl and man, witnesses said.

The unions had wanted Conte to step down last year, but Kouyate's appointment was a compromise. Conte had managed to retain power by agreeing to name a prime minister from a list approved by the unions.

Other demands of the soldiers included the release of an unspecified number of soldiers who took part in a three-day revolt at the Alpha Yaya Diallo barracks a year ago.

Party Planning

After over a month of telling Cam I wasn't going to have a party, I've decided to have not one, but two. The first one will be with Cam and Cheryl June 14th at my house for my Terminale students. Originally it was going to be a “Congratulations, you finished the Bac!” party but now the Bac is the week after so it's going to be a good luck party instead. I've already got the menu planned – spaghetti with alfredo sauce, garlic bread, popcorn and fudge. And the ubiquitous bottled Coke products, of course. I have no idea how we are going to manage to make all that food for 50 people given my lack of cooking materials and 2 burner range, but I'm determined to make it happen!! The kids have been really cute about it and everyone says they are coming.

It makes me a little sad that there are so few opportunities to celebrate children and young adults here. Many of my childhood memories involve birthday parties, certificates, report cards (I got $3 for an A and $2 for an A-) and general celebrations – school concerts, dance recitals, etc. Here none of that stuff happens and I especially feel for my girls who are continuing their studies even though most of them have family pressure to abandon them and get married or just help out around the house. I know it's changing, but my Terminale girls really are trailblazers. The percentage of kids who finish high school is something like 10 or 20% and the percentage of girls within that block is only about 15. Anyway, I decided that I really want to have this party to show them that there are people who care about their futures and grades and career aspirations. Plus, I really want to see if they like spaghetti alfredo as much as my host family during training did!

The second party is still in the very early planning stages, but I'm hoping to have it sometime during the last two weeks in July, when Cam's dad is gone and Cam and I are back in Timbi for the last time. I'll just invite my 2 host families, guard, 12th graders, the officials and some random other people. It will be a definite mixing of social classes – from Maimouna, my neighbor from my old house who has barely enough money to survive with her 2 kids to El Hadj Bamakoure, my host father who has been to the US and loves Ohio. I think it will be 50% awkward and 50% fun. I'm going to hire someone to make rice and sauce for that one, I don't think I could handle all that cooking too!

The End of an Era

Sorry in advance if I repeated stuff from my other entries, it's hard to keep track of what I write...

I'm writing this from my house on May 20th and school will officially be over for me tomorrow. Phew! Tomorrow is the last final exam and then I'm heading to Conakry on Friday, when I will post this entry. I love having Cam's (extra) computer.

So what's been going on in Timbi? Well, I spent all last week reviewing with my classes and was a little disappointed to realize yesterday and today how much they didn't get. There's really nothing more I could have done. I had 2 extra review sessions and gave them a practice exam EXACTLY like the real one but just changed the verbs and sentences. Seriously, I practically spoon-fed them the answers. And less than half of each class received a 50%, which is a passing grade. I thank my lucky stars that all my motivated students pulled through with good grades or I would have been seriously depressed. That being said, my grades are pretty normal compared to the other teachers. Seems like there's 2-4 great students, 7 or so decent students and a bunch of bad students for every group of 20.

The end of the year has been interesting – finals always bring out the best and the worst in people!

First, one of my better students was leaving the exam today and I took both the exam and the scratch paper he'd used, like I did with all the kids. He didn't want to give it to me and I basically ripped it out of his hand. Turns out he had last week's practice exam stuffed inside. He got an automatic zero and a public “I am disappointed in you, get out of my class.” With the paper he would have gotten about a 14/20. Without it I'm sure he could have pulled off an 11 and now he will fail the class. Over the weekend he stopped by my house with his 3 homeworks (I've given 6 and he only did half, even though he's good at English) to try and tell me that the 3 he had were the 3 he was missing. Then he preceded to lie to me, telling me he had ripped the other ones up. Like I was going to believe he happened to rip up the 3 that I happened to forget to record in my notebook!! I was so frustrated – I've made a serious effort to undo the 20-odd years of cheating that the kids have been able to do and most seem to get it, at least a little bit, at least in my class. But I clearly didn't make an impact on him.

A note on cheating – the kids literally cannot stop themselves. Guinea is ranked as one of the most corrupt countries on earth and I think it starts in the schools. Apparently it's possible to get your grade changed if your parents are important, if you have money or if you are a girl willing to sleep with the teachers. I don't know that any of this happens for sure at my school, but it would be naïve for me to say that it doesn't. Luckily for me I don't know whose parents are important, already have enough money and really don't care to sleep with any of the students! I can only hope that when my students have important jobs and the opportunity to be corrupt that they remember me and the expectations I set for them in my class. If they hesitate to do something bad even for a minute I'll feel that my time here was worthwhile.

Okay, on to the good things that happened. First, here is the world's cutest text message:

Hello, Mrs Dawn i'm very so Glad to you because I never had teacher like you.Plase I need your picture. As soon as you can able to do it. From the Boubacar Barry Bye and have a good time. That's God Bless you!

The grammatical errors aside, isn't that so sweet? He has the second highest grade in his class and is lucky because next year he'll do Terminale with my replacement before he takes his high school exit exam.

The other thing is that one of the other kids from Boubacar's class showed up at my house today to find out his grade (a 16, which is very good here). He was clearly pleased with himself and I was so happy for him because I know he studied really hard for the test. After I gave him his grade he got all embarrassed looking and finally told me that he really wished I would be his teacher again next year and that he was really satisfied with English class and my teaching.

Boy, I'm really tooting my own horn, aren't I? I'll stop before it gets too obnoxious, unless it already is, in which case I apologize!

In other news – today it hailed. It was the wildest thing, I was taking a nap when the rain started and all of a sudden I thought I heard hail. How on earth does that happen when it's so warm? I wish I had regular internet access so I could look that kind of stuff up. Anyway, it was really crazy and I tried to take pictures but they didn't turn out. I might post one of them just so you can see the rain. The insane rainstorms are something I will definitely miss.

Cam's stepmom arrives June 4th. We are so excited!! We'll spend a day in Conakry, then head to Boke, to Timbi and some waterfalls and then spend a night on the Islands before she leaves. At which point we'll be frantically finishing our Girls Conference planning...she leaves the 18th and it starts the 22nd...

Which brings me to exciting news – we have all the money for the conference!! I'm not sure if any of you contributed to that, but if you did I really cannot thank you enough. It's going to be a great experience for the girls and the volunteers and a lovely way to wrap things up here in Guinea. We are hoping that next year the organizers will get in touch with a local NGO and really get the Guinean community more involved. We'll have a panel of professional women and take the girls to town to see their places of employment, but it would be even better to have more involvement. As the conference evolves I think it could eventually become Guinean-run and funded (ah, the elusive goal of sustainability!!) We will use your money wisely and honestly – not ALL of Guinea is corrupt! - and I will be sure to put up the post-conference report so you can see how much your donations helped the 40 girls and 10 professional women who are taking part in the conferences!

Blog slacker and Girls Conference Information

I finally am at the internet, but unfortunately am leaving in 15 minutes. The quick update: school is going well, I have reviews this week and finals next week. After that I'm headed straight to Conakry to continue Girls Conference organizing. Everything has been going well at site, some PCVs from Mali came through Timbi last weekend and we biked out to the waterfalls I went to on that camping trip and it was really fun!

Our Girls Conference has been approved and now we are in the throes of fundraising. If you are interested in donating, I'm putting the fundraising letter and information at the end of this posting. Even if you just have $10 or $20 to spare, it's for a great cause and we will really appreciate it!

This weekend I came to Mamou to help out with the peer listening group and work on the conference. It was exciting to see all the new group after 3 months as PCVs. They are doing well and are all really nice and fun. One of them even has some new movies - unfortunately I've been doing so much work here that I didn't have time to watch them! I'm going to start making a Netflix list now in anticipation of my return to the States...

Here's the email I sent out to some of you about Girls Conference. If you have any questions, feel free to email me, I'm going to try and get to the internet over the weekend. Thanks! Also, I can't get the links to work, but if you go to peacecorps.gov and click on Donate Now! on the main page you can find it with the program number listed below or by searching for Guinea projects.

Hi friends and family! Below is the information about the big project Cam and I are coordinating before we head back to the States this fall. Everyone is really excited and we are well on the way to meeting our fundraising goal. Anything you can donate will be greatly appreciated. Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions about the project. If you are in grad school, unemployed or a current PCV this is an informational email only - I don'texpect you to donate!!

I'm bringing a girl from my 12th grade class named Aissatou - she wants to be a journalist and has the highest overall average and English grade out of the whole class. That's really unusual for a girl in Guinea! She will be a great role model for some of the younger girls and will also be able to do projects at my school with the new Volunteer next year.

Thanks in advance and feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested in donating!

Jen

Dear Friend,

Peace Corps Guinea is currently planning our annual Girls' Conferences in Mamou and Kankan. The Girls Conferences will be three-day conferences June 22-26, 2008. The participants are approximately 40 school-aged Guinean girls' volunteers' towns and villages.

Why a Girls Conference?

In Guinea, as in all of West Africa, the challenges that young women face each day are abundant and all too common.

Limited resources, social mores, and cultural expectations all play a part. Many families are too poor to send all of their children to school and will often send sons before daughters. A Guinean girl can be married off as young as 13 or 14, increasing her domestic responsibilities and affecting her scholastic career. Exhaustion from domestic work, little to no free time to study or complete school work, sexual harassment by teachers and other school officials, unequal treatment in the classroom, and ridicule in the school and community settings (for either doing too well or too poorly) all create barriers to girls' education. The social status of a girl or young woman in Guinean society means that she has very little say, and very little experience making her own decisions.

In addition to education, Guinean faces several other crises for women. The rate of female genital mutilation still tops 95 percent, resulting in health risks and suffering each new generation of young women. Malnutrition results in death, blindness, and countless other health problems for Guineans nationwide. Educating young Guinean women on the benefits of foods to which they already have access is essential to improving overall health. In its impoverished state, Guinea's youth also face the spread of HIV: "Out of every nine [Guineans], five are children or young people…Because of poverty, they are made vulnerable to epidemics like HIV/AIDS," according to UNICEF country representative Marcel Rudasingwa (UN News Services 2006).

These topics form the foundation of education that takes place at Girls Conferences each year.

Your contribution today can help us fund the 2008 Girls Conference.

What is Girls Conference?

Local contributors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and volunteers work together to direct the Conferences, planning interactive sessions on topics crucial to the success and well-being of the girls. The girls learn techniques for success in school, educational and professional possibilities, and personal health (including preventing HIV transmission and family planning), among other topics. At the same time, they develop skills such as critical reasoning and public speaking so that, by the end of the Conferences, they will be able to confidently present the information they've learned.

A group of professional Guinean women will lead the girls through a typical day at their places of work and converse with them in a panel discussion on personal and career success. For many participants, this is their first such encounter with accomplished professional women. The schedule always includes a day spent on women's health issues with presentations about HIV/AIDS, family planning and nutrition. Recent conferences also included: basic computer skills, educational films (including women's rights, HIV/AIDS, and genital mutilation), invited speakers on women's role in Islam, guided discussions about polygamy and the effects on women, workshops on communication skills and public speaking and participation in sports and extracurricular activities encouraging teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking skills.

This year's conference is particularly important because it is occurring at a critical time in Peace Corps Guinea. After nine years of consecutive conferences, the strikes and civil unrest in January 2007 and suspension of the Peace Corps program prevented the conferences from taking place last year. With the successful completion of this year's conference, we will be protecting our institutional memory and the tradition of Girls' Conferences for future generations of Volunteers and the communities they serve across Guinea.

How Can You Help?

We are now raising money for the conferences taking place in Mamou and Kankan from June 22-26, 2008. Per Peace Corps regulations, the communities of the participating girls will be contributing 25% of the Conferences' costs. We hope to raise the remaining cost via donations through the Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP).

The total cost of the conferences will be $7,690. Towns and villages throughout Guinea, the female participants and their families, and local NGOs and government officials will be providing $1,940.

Therefore, our fundraising goal for the 2008 Girls Conferences is $5,748.

If you are able to help educate these girls and their communities to give these girls the tools and knowledge to build a better future for themselves, please contribute now. Our deadline is May 20th, so contribute soon!

To donate, just click on the link below or copy and paste the URL into your web browser.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE – EVERY CONTRIBUTION COUNTS

Thank you in advance,

Peace Corps Guinea Girls' Conference 2008

Project Donation Page URL :
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=675-132

The project number is 675-132 and Volunteer Coordinator is C. Forero