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Central African Republic

I left the Central African Republic in May 1996 when fighting broke out between the then-called mutany rebels and the presidential guard created by then-president Ange-Félix Patassé. In the thirteen years since, much has changed, but much remains the same.

Ange-Félix Patassé (born January 25, 1937) was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé.1 Soldiers and sympathizers of the rebel movement continue to fight for their cause, and destabilize a fragile reality on a day-to-day basis.

Caught in the middle of opposing political ideologies are the people of the country. Many have had to flee their villages along the road systems for the (unguarenteed) safety of the bush. The following report (aired on French TV in July '07) attempted to shed light on the situation, and I can only assume the state of affairs is no better today, two years later. Hopefully, it isn't worse.

Of note as you watch the report:

When I left the country, the mutant rebels were well-armed. ("In The Face Of Danger" ) But more than a decade later, resources are scarce and rebels have resorted to making their own weapons. One can only imagine their make-shift guns are supplemented with cruder weapons including machetes, knives, clubs, and whatever the imagination can conjure to inflict pain or intimidate.

The villages shown in this video look exactly like the ones I worked in. The people look less joyful and thinner, but as I looked at them I was reminded of a chilling truth: When people have less to lose, they are willing to risk losing it all.

I'd designed my Peace Corps program to lower child mortality and to improve the health of women and children. We were building a rural maternity ward so women who couldn't travel to the regional hospital would no longer endure unassisted labor and delivery in their homes or fields. We trained a local woman in midwifery. However, I was evacuated from the country before the project was completed. My heart broke when I saw the images of the new mother being transported in a wheel barrow-style wagon to a hospital, presumably miles away.

The hospital in this report looks exactly like the one where I worked in Bambari (the second largest city in the Central African Republic) during our month-long midwifery training. Even in times of peace, there was no electricity (a generator was fired up in the operation room when emergency surgery was performed during the night) and no running water (except a spiquot in one building). In-patients were assigned a bed, but family members were responsible for providing bedding, drinking water and meals. Family members also had to help their patient to the latrine, or were responsible for providing and emptying bed pans.


I'm currently researching what I can do to ease the suffering in the Central African Republic. The lack of infrastructure prevents donated food, medicine and supplies from reaching the people that need it most, so supporting aid organizations that go there may be the only avenue for now. I've begun my research here: http://www.nonprofitexpert.com/countries/central%20african%20republic.htm -- wish me luck!

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Footnotes
1  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ange-F%C3%A9lix_Patass%C3%A9