Reflections

Never have I ever checked the news obsessively and read almost every single article that has come up on a subject. Of course, it’s not really that big of a deal when you considered Guinea doesn’t have free press and there aren’t THAT many entities writing articles in English about the activities here. Regardless, I have never been this pulled into politics… if that’s what you want to call it.

Recently a French journal wrote an article about a potential coup in Guinea. Oh did I say French journal? I meant to say French satirical journal. People write articles about such things in jest. Kind of strange in my opinion. I understand joke articles are written daily about everything and anything. What worries me is that these journalists really lack knowledge of the context they are writing in. Guinea is about to have a legislative election that has been postponed SO many times. Do these journalist realize how delicate the situation is? How many layers exist? How tense the atmosphere is? Do they realize that Guineans lack access to information and most news spreads through word of mouth?

This article created quite a stir that even a Ministry level official was asked to comment on this alleged potential coup. What did he say? That it is plausible- he didn’t push it aside but rather declared that is may have some foundation in truth. This falsified information was deemed plausible. Thank goodness the article was a joke otherwise who knows where most volunteer’s heads would be at. In fact, many volunteers had found other news items about the coup, that didn’t allude to the fact that the journal that posted the information was satirical (probably because they didn’t know- see how information travels!) and packed bags in a worried panic. Thankfully, we got a message from Peace Corps just in time pointing to the fact that the source of all this was a piece of satire and no word of a potential coup had met any ears in Conakry.

That being said. Imagine if this news of a coup, without clarification, fell into the wrong hands. Angry youth could easily latch on to it. Youth are ready to start trouble at the drop of a hat. Many are losing faith in their country and are either looking to fight for their rights or looking for opportunities abroad; morale is low. Not a pretty situation.

None of this is meant to cause a stir. Things are fine, I am 100% safe, have a plan of action for any and all circumstances and am far away from Conakry. I’ve just been thinking…

Democracy is a funny thing. The mighty West swoops in and saves the savage African from anarchy.

What would Guinea have done if structures of Democracy hadn’t been introduced?

Would there be suffering? A lack of development? Oh wait, Guinea still isn’t all that developed.

But really, before colonization the different ethnic groups had their own ways of ruling. In the Fouta, the Peuhl people had a kingdom and the reign of power switched back and forth between two royal families. It was acknowledged and accepted that when in power each family would likely do things that benefited their own family, aka people, more than the other, but that was okay because power would eventually fall back into the hands of the other side. There was a balance. There were some cruel forms of punishment that would definitely be considered savage, but it doesn’t sound like such a bad system.

Of course I’m omitting details and am lacking a lot (A LOT) of information (I really should start reading up more on Africa post-colonial times, maybe then I won’t make grandiose statements), but I constantly come back to the idea that Europe REALLY was stupid when they divided up Africa and created these arbitrary borders that created countries out of multitudes of ethnic groups and forced them to be united under one foreign looking government. So not only have borders been drawn by outsiders, but governance is being chosen by outsiders. Insanity! Yes, countries can opt out of democracy, but SO much aid money and SO many political alliances fall through the cracks when you opt out. Doesn’t sound like much of a choice for an underdeveloped country, does it?

Let’s take a look at Guinea. Many ethnics groups have become fellow countrymen under the umbrella of ‘Guinea’. Not everyone here is ethnocentric and I do think diversity in a country is an awesome thing BUT elections have become somewhat ethnically tied; not a very democratic ideal if you ask me and something hard to fight. Anyway, here we are, we have hit a point where international aid money is disappearing as programs leave Guinea, putting pressure on the government to have fair democratic elections. Aid money WILL be forfeited if elections don’t happen before a certain date, so it really is in everyone’s interest to cooperate and is even more critical for the current ruling party to hold elections so that they aren’t the bad guys that let foreign aid money fall through the cracks. The opposition is calling foul play at every point of the process, probably because the elections in 2010 didn’t quite sit well with them. So we have two ethnic groups pitted against each other. With all this local mess in mind, the mighty West has sent in a UN moderator to help ensure that this election date is actually respected.  

Makes sense to send in an official from the developed world to help a country get through a process that has been introduced and pushed by the West.

Do I think Democracy is good? Yes. Do I think the borders that were drawn were smart? No. Do I think imposing ideas upon these countries that have been formed and then pushed around is smart? No. Have I sometimes amused myself thinking about what could happen if borders were dissolved and Africans were left to draw their own borders? Yes. Do I have a resolution for how to save humanity? No. Where does that leave us? No clue!

It can be hard to see what we are working towards in Guinea. I’m not sure what these elections are doing. I can’t help but wonder if Guineans, if given the opportunity, couldn’t come up with an innovative, culturally appropriate form of governance for themselves. Who knows?

Well one last thought: it’s a pretty cool phenomenon that America doesn’t come to a screeching halt after elections. So many people are passionate about the candidates during the campaigning period but, amazingly, after the elections, regardless of the outcome, people go to work and fulfill their American duties. Here, regardless of the outcome, Guineans who don’t agree with the result will go on strike: stop working, wreak havoc perhaps, and fight until they are satisfied or compensated. I’m not quite sure where the idea of the greater good fits into Guinean politics. People have their convictions and are steadfast, compromise isn’t a natural thing yet. 

Ugh, I have delved into politics. Please don’t rip me to shreds or think less of me!