As the world watches Libya and their crazy leader self-destruct, few are paying attention to Côte d'Ivoire. Over the past 24 hours, pro-Gbagbo (loser of the presidential election who won't step down) fired upon UN arms inspectors in the political capital of Yamoussoukro. There has been heavy artillery fire throughout much of the economic and de facto capital of Abidjan. Water and electricity have been cut to the entire north of the country, where the rebel forces are centered. Foreign and domestic news sources that are not tied to the pro-Gbagbo "government" have been forced to shut down, including the BBC and Radio France International. Text messaging, a major source of communication, has been suspended.
It's getting pretty scary. Much of what is happening is very reminiscent of Rwanda. I am very concerned. I emailed our former team members today and received responses back from a few of them. Granted, those in the North wouldn't be able to respond, but it's comforting to know that at least a few of the people I worked with are ok. My one wish is that the international community would pay more attention to this crisis. Amy and her colleague from grad school are starting a website to help the world pay more attention to crises in sub-Saharan Africa. It's too bad that it's not up and running already! Support africaprotestwatch.org!
Photo credit: abidjan.net
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