The calm AFTER the storm

It is Sunday November 21 today. It has been 4 full months since our arrival in Conakry, Guinée. Why does it feel like we have been gone from Canada for years? I suppose the answer to that would be that we have lived so many experiences in such a short time. Everything has been so intense and so foreign. With a forced week-long holiday, due to security reasons, I had time to relax and take in all that I had experienced in the last 4 months.

The calm that has reigned in Conakry since the curfew was enforced  has had a very positive effect.  So what is a curfew? A curfew like the ones we as parents imposed on our children is a time when you must come home. Here in Conakry the curfew was imposed from 6pm to 9am. In concrete terms, this means that vehicular traffic are not permitted around the city between these hours. The curfew started on Wednesday and I noticed a huge difference. When the sun came down at about 6:30pm, people went in their homes and everything quieted down, no music played and no kids were kicking soccer balls on the street below.  Loud conversations that used to be held by groups of men and women sitting on outside benches, some drinking tea, others with a baby on their laps were non-existent. Life quieted down considerably. As a result, I slept very well during this past week. That was really good!

I surprised myself this week. I stayed calm and peaceful. The first 2 days I did not go out at all; Raymond and I just stood on our balcony to observe Guinean life and took in some hot and humid air. I couldn’t help comparing my experience to my experience in Saudi Arabia. At that time, I was so frightened. I was vibrating at a level of fear almost constantly. Because we had our children with us and we were told to be vigilant in our whereabouts, I was always afraid that something would happen to them. I was full of anxiety. Reflecting on this, I realize that I have grown and have dealt with many of my worries and anxiety in the past 6 years. True that while living in Saudi we were dealing with a different issue as was the entire world. We were all trying to get a grip of this issue called terrorism. It was new to all of us and it had come to shake our world.

My experience here is different. A city in chaos, burning tires, gunfire, violence by youth as the election results angered the losing candidate partisans is nothing new to developing countries.  Guinée, since its independence 52 years ago, has never held democratic elections. It is a new experience for all. Something else is at play here: poverty, extreme poverty. What I have learned from my daughter Nadine and her research of the past years with STEEP is that poverty and violence go hand in hand. When you are poor and hungry, you can become violent very quickly. Despair sets in and rational thinking goes out. Consequently, education is also needed, a good sound education that is meaningful and pertinent. The entire school system in Guinée needs to be completely revamped. This country has so many challenges and it will take many years before real change happens.

Back in my apartment, I realized that even if I have had a restrictive life this past week, I did not feel trapped or imprisoned. I felt free and grounded. I accepted my situation as it was: confined to our apartment for security reasons. I had a deep inner knowing that everything would be ok. I did not get pulled into by the sensationalism of the acts of violence that were occurring in other parts of my city. I stayed at peace within myself. I felt this was a time of rest, a time when I could do whatever I wanted moment by moment and day by day. I baked, read books, reorganized our apartment, exercised with my yoga CD’s, wrote, did some hand sewing and did go out for short walks around our neighbourhood. I felt comfortable and peaceful. The words a friend of mine had told me surfaced during this week. She said she had never felt so free as the time she had spent 3 months in prison. Those words had always struck me and they came back to me this week. She had found who she was in prison and had freed herself. Not like I am in prison here, but being confined did have an effect on my choices.  Choices to react negatively or positively. It was a good week. 

School starts  up again tomorrow. Month number 5,  here we come!

 

 

Effervesence

Effervesence : to show high spirits or vitality

The results of the Guinee elections were announced last evening.  Raymond and I were sitting in our living room, attentively listening  to the radio, our  best source of local news. It was 8pm and the leader of the election committee proceeded to read the results from all 72 regions. This included the percentage of voter participation and then the results of candidate #1 Cellou Diallo and candidate #2 Alpha Conde.  The final results were read out after 1 hour of details….and the winner is Alpha Conde who won by 52% and Cellou Diallo just behind by 47%. 

The instant the results were announced on the radio, we heard screams of joy from down the street. We quickly jumped up and went to our balcony. Our balcony has been since the very first day  in Conakry, our window into Guinean life.  It has given us information minute by minute as to the political and cultural climate as well as the actual temperature.  People were running up and down the street, hugging, dancing and screaming. They were speaking in their dialect so we did not know exactly what they were saying but their body language was speaking loud and clear. Young boys had whistles and they were blowing as loud as they could as they skipped, arms linked unable to contain their joy.  Women and girls were dancing, twirling about totally free and unashamed. More boys came running with a publicity banner of Alpha Conde they had just torn off from up the street poles, ecstatic and bouncing with energy. It was an amazing sight to see ! We had our entertainment live, no need for television here.  Some men came out from nowhere banging on empty plastic water cans, imitating the rhythm of the African drums.  Then,  huge loudspeakers were placed on the side of the street and the music blared out. Women and girls immediately danced, moving their bodies freely  and  rhythmically. We stood in awe of this demonstration of boundless joy and effervesence.

As people continued their dynamic celebration, flashes of lightning were brightening up the dark navy colored sky. It was as if Nature was joining the celebrations, giving us an organic display of fireworks. Within 20 minutes, blinding rain poured down  and the monsoon-like wind blew violently shaking the palm trees and the mango trees. I admire that these trees never break under all this pressure and terrific storms. They seem to just let the wind and rain blow them around and they kind of « go with it », not trying to resist. Maybe I need to learn this,  let go of my worries and concerns and try not to resist…do like the palm trees….just flow with life ! Food for thought…..

The rain had a calming effect on the crowds as they dispersed, scurrying to shelter. A dozen young people kept dancing, oblivious to the pouring rain. A few others arrived with umbrellas but they were thrown aside as if these were useless objects. The jubilation of the moment mattered more than anything else.  There were some young children dancing and jumping alongside the adults, mesmerized by the magic-like event. Children seem to just be part of life here. I was concerned about the very small ones being crushed by the crowd, but nothing like this happened. I’ve noticed that children seem to be trained very young to watch out for danger, whether  it is a speeding car, a wobbly bike rider or a team of men pushing heavy carts overfilled with garbage. Small children intuitivly move away from danger. The adults seemed child-like themselves, naïve and bounding with joy, a joy that could not be contained. I wondered if my Guinean brothers were celebrating the actual candidate’s victory or if they were celebrating much more than this. I have a sense that they were celebrating much more than the results of this election. Since this was the first democratic election in 52 years, this means that 2 generations have lived under  strained and oppressing goverments. The Guineans have not experienced freedom and hope for many years.  This dance of victory was a celebration of freedom, freedom to choose their leader and freedom for a new life. This was also a dance of hope, a hope that their lives  will change for the better. I am witness to history unfolding before my eyes. How cool is that!

 

 

 

Quaint and quirky

We’ve been back one week from our  holiday break and what a week it has been! Report cards and parent-teacher conferences all in the same week….and I survived it all! Whew what a week it was:  stressful, too busy and extremely tiring!

Coming back to Guinee last week was quaint and quirky at the same time. It was feeling like home after visiting Kenya and Mali. Home I asked myself? Conakry is home?  How odd to even think this. Everything around me was familiar! The ride from the airport where I could recognize the statues at each roundabout, the skinny goats grazing along the railway track, the bicycle chickens scurrying across the road and the people selling their goods along the highway all seemed to be exactly as I remembered them. The streets did not seem as dirty as I remembered them and the chaos as we drove by the market seemed non-existant. Was it me that had changed or did Conakry clean up its act while I was away?

I did have a new perspective on life in Guinee. I was back on my street and then back in our little apartment and it was cozy.  Though my life is confined here and there are few choices, it was comforting to be in the “known”. It was good to buy the baguettes from Ashram again. The security guards in our building welcomed us so warmly, holding their hands in prayer  as we walked in, that we were both  very touched. “It looks like they missed us,” I said to Raymond.

As we unpacked our luggage and bought a few groceries, I had to implement a new routine. I had just found out that to avoid getting parasites, we need to bleach our vegetables and fruits. Our sensitive Canadian tummies seem to be prone to getting attacked by parasites so bleaching is the remedy. This consists of filling my sink with tap water and a capful of bleach, yes Clorox! Next, I dump all the fruits and vegetables that will fit in the sink and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then everything comes out and is rinsed in purified bottled water. The last step consists of letting all the produce dry on a big towel. When everything is completely dry, it gets placed in the fridge.  This is a quirky thing to do, but it has been recommended from other expats. So far, no parasites and no bleach taste in our fruits and veggies. Look at all this wonderful produce…and papaya season has just started! Yummmm!