Ismail, the tailor made me a dress this week. Ismail lives down the street. Things are looking up!
ELECTION Results
« La Guinée est libérée ! » these words came from Bivan’s mouth on our morning drive to work. These words rolled out, not with a sigh but with strength and hope from the quiet and temperate man that Bivan is. Spoken from the heart, Bivan’s words reached me. I had goose bumps. This is a man that has known Guinea forever, well at least for the 57 years of his life. Those words were said as we discussed the final announcement from the Supreme Court stating the winner of the elections of November 7 as final. We were asking Bivan at what time the announcement of the results had been made on the radio. Bivan admitted that he fell asleep with the radio on his ear and that he missed the news. His son woke him up with the official results at 1AM ! Good old Bivan ! I could imagine him fast asleep with the radio acting as a pillow. He had been so afraid all week, very tense and stressed. He told us that many families were evacuating the city. The women and children had fled to villages out of Conakry this week due to the upcoming news from the Supreme Court. They feared that violence would erupt again so they fled. The Guineans have been through so much that many decisions are based on fear. The Guineans also have had coup d’etat, 3-4 month-long strikes and Marshall Law, under the army’s control . They are afraid. Who can blame them?
Our conversation of the Guinean elections transitioned over to the elections in Ivory Coast where violence has erupted this week. Very similar situation to Guinea. Violence, riots and people killed. At that point in the conversation, I tuned out. Can we finally put the elections on the back burner and start living again? Since last May, school registration , visions and projections have been halted because all conversations start with…. « after the elections…. » It is time to turn the page and move forward. The elections are over, the new president starts his work and we have a glimmer of hope of keeping our little school alive because expatriate families will return. Maybe, just maybe our enrollment will climb from 42 to 60 and then by next year perhaps 100 students. These elections are behind us but the good news is that there is now a president to run this country. This was the first good news of the day.
A place called our own for Christmas
At recess this morning, Raymond arrives in my class with an email message. He handed it over with these words « read this » I said “ is it good news or bad news ? » Just read it, he said. I could not tell by his tone whether it was positive or negative. I knew that this message carried news from the latest search for an apartment at Christmas. We were feeling excited about the prospect of subletting a 2 bedroom apartment in the West End of Vancouver. I was nervous at the prospect of a negative answer. I quickly grabbed the paper and poured over the message. It said : Yes we’d love to rent our place to you guys ! I jumped up and down and hugged Raymond ! « YES, yes, yes!” I exclaimed, “finally we are getting good news” ! I am so excited I told Ann, my teacher colleague. I explained that we have been searching on the internet and emailing friends since September in order to find accommodations for our family for Christmas. We’ve had many disappointments, some near positive answers and close calls but never a definitive answer. This was great news…we could celebrate Christmas together after all ! It would not only be in a place of our own but in an area of Vancouver that has so much to offer and it boasted of a picturesque view of English Bay ! What more could we want? This was the second good news.
Generator repaired :
Our daily school life depends on the school’s generator. It is a big monster of a machine that hums loudly throughout the day. Unfortunately it breaks down and then the trouble begins. The generator feeds us electricity. Electricity gives us light in our classrooms, extremely slow internet and AIR CONDITIONING. This last item is of utmost importance. Without the air conditioning, it is impossible to work. Someone like me who already has to deal with hot flashes cannot afford 10 minutes without the air condition. Water drips down my back as if I have just stepped out of the shower. All my students start complaining and we end up moving our desks outdoors; at least we can breathe outside even if it is extremely hot. The rainy season is over and the dry season has started and it is HOT ! I have no idea what the actual temperature is……somehow no one ever asks "how hot is it anyway?”
Why do we have a generator? The area where our school is situated in Conakry is called Matam-Lido. This area of the city has limited access to electricity. In concrete terms, this means that the population of this area gets electricity from midnight to 6am. This is why our little school needs its own source of electricity, hence the generator. In a desperate attempt to get the generator repaired as quickly as possible, Raymond made several phone calls, including the US Embassy. Help was on its way but in African terms, this could mean 2 -3 hours waiting before the repair guys would arrive. Raymond decided that if the generator was not running by noon, we would start calling the families and close school in the afternoon. After all, these conditions were not conducive to learning, let alone breathing! Within an hour, seven repairmen were gathered around the generator scratching their heads. Thirty minutes later the sweet purring sound of the generator permeated every square inch of our school campus. Cheers from the children and sighs of relief from the staff marked an end to this sorrow episode of the broken generator. The crew also repaired the back-up generator which hadn’t been working since 2008. So we are in good hands now. This was the third good news of the day.
We needed good news in a time when we have struggled with the uncertainty of the political situation and our own adaptation to life in Guinea. At times, I felt that I was carrying the sorrow and despair of the entire Guinean country. No wonder I am tired! But I realized that this despair and sadness is not for me to carry. It is the reality of my environment but it is not mine personally. The good news came at a time where both Raymond and I needed a little lift for our spirits. As we are counting down the days before our Christmas holiday back in Canada, it is with a sigh of contentment that I receive these three gifts! Funny how these are not material gifts...
