27 Mar 2008

wayfaringwordhack: (maki2)
 Anjouan, Mayotte's nearest neighbor in the Comoros archipelago, is constantly a victim of military coups. Bacar, the most recent "president" and supposedly quite a number, fled the island, sneaking onto Mayotte, and is now asking the French govt for political exile.  [profile] mana_trinigot called into a work at 3am with orders to wear his bullet-proof vest because Bacar's men were carrying guns to defend themselves against attacks from their own people. (J got home safely at 7am)

The Anjounais in Mayotte are not happy about what they perceive as France siding with this dictator. So, today in Mamoudzou on Grande Terre, several mouzoungous were attacked; cars and scooters have been incinerated. Schools were shut down and an advisory warning was issued for everyone (specifically those of European descent) to remain at home.

I'm not a doomsayer, and I'm not particularly worried at this point, but already several teachers are predicting civil war. I'm just dumbfounded to think about how this one incident could serve as a bascule, changing the situation here from stability and complacency into warring and strife. 

The triangle of Mayotte, the Comoros, and France is charged with history and you'll get a different story according to who you talk to or the articles your googling pulls up. But living here and talking with the natives and different nationalities, I've seen a more complex side to it that does *not* hinge on French colonialism as some would have the masses think. I may post about it someday. 

ETA: There have also been burglaries on GT, and the Gendarmes (a division of French police associated with the military) are out of crowd-controlling ammo (like tear gas, etc), so reinforcements of material and personnel are being flown over from Réunion Island. Here in our town of Pamandzi, a police car was attacked with rocks and Molotov cocktails, probably by young people out looking for trouble rather than desirous of making a political statement.
wayfaringwordhack: (Default)

Mohamed Bacar is the man behind the current turmoil in Mayotte, and as of tonight, he is no longer here but en route for La Réunion. It remains to be seen what the Anjouanais will make of this move seeing as how he is simply being deported to another French island. (From the comments on various online articles, feelings are still running high, and the Comoriens are insisting he be turned over asap.) The French Minister for Overseas Departments and Territories is in La Réunion now and should be coming to Mayotte tomorrow to assess the situation. In an interview on the evening news, he, in the typically evasive political way, refused to plainly state what will happen to Mr Bacar and his demand for asylum. I denounce the stance, and I denounce the wisdom of according his request. Mayotte is already a point of contention with the Union of the Comoros, so there is no point getting enmeshed any more thoroughly in their affairs. They have a justice system, his crimes were committed there, and that is where he should be judged.

Because Bacar was not man enough to stay in Anjouan and face the repercussions of his lying and power grubbing, "metropolitans" (as the French of European descent are called) have been stoned, aggressed, had their vehicles burned, their houses ransacked under their noses; businesses have had to close and barricade their windows and doors; children have been deprived of their classes (yeah,  I'm sure, too, that they don't see that as such a bad thing) and the liberty of running freely about; the ferry service between the isles has been suspended trapping people away from their families; and most of all, all the islands' inhabitants have been robbed of their feeling of peace. There are even unconfirmed reports of a death.

We don't have any news on how things are going on GT now that Bacar has been flown out, but

[profile] mana_trini, who should have been off work, has to go in from 1-8am to patrol the streets. Tonight, I ask that you would keep him, his colleagues, and any other person who feels threatened  in your thoughts, and many thanks to those of you whom have left us messages of support and concern.

 

Profile

wayfaringwordhack: (Default)
wayfaringwordhack

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021 222324
2526 2728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated 9 Jul 2025 08:44 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios