Elections, pasta, and LOST

A rather hard week...could very well get harder. It’s seems that they're finally going to happen. The presidential elections that were delayed and postponed four times since the first round in June are finally going to take place tomorrow, Sunday.

I’ve come to realize over the course of the week that this calmness and resignation that I sensed upon our return to Conakry (last blog) was not quite accurate. It was more cynicism, disillusionment, and apathy from the general public in regards to this new thing called democracy. There appears to be less and less hope that democracy in Guinea, and in Africa for that matter, can work. Its seems that politics in Africa boils down to "he who has the biggest tribe wins, and he who doesn't, will contest the election violently". Politics in a tribal culture are based on ethnicity, not ideology. Couple that with poverty, and rampant corruption, and you will always get an election contested in blood.

So tomorrow, the Guineans finally go to the polls. We expect a quiet day. This is the message received by the Canadian Embassy yesterday...reminded us of the weekly advisories we received when we were in Riyadh.

Dear citizen,

Please pass on the contents of this letter to any other Canadian citizens who you know and ask them to communicate their coordinates to us if they are not already registered with the Embassy.

The second round of Guinea's presidential elections will be held on Sunday November 7th. We recommend that Canadian citizens follow general security guidelines from the approach of the elections until the period following the declaration of the results.

Please note that on the election day, mobility will be reduced, as restrictions will be imposed:

* The Government of Guinea will prohibit vehicular travel;

* The borders of the country will be closed;

* Canadians who are to travel by plane on Sunday should alter travel arrangements;

We would like to remind you of the following general security guidelines:

* You should avoid going out at night

* You should reduce your outside activities to essential ones only

* You should avoid large gatherings and be vigilant in crowded places

* Keep on hand enough supplies of non perishable food, water, fuel and cooking fuel as well as some form of emergency lighting.

* Collect all important documents and, if your passport has expired, contact our office immediately.

If there is trouble, and most people say that there is a certainty of trouble, it will not be on election day. The trouble will occur when the results come out later next week. The two largest ethnic groups, Peul and Malinké form the principle bases of support for the two parties. The losing party will certainly contest the results. One group will contest because, if they were to lose, it would be obviously the result of election fraud (this group got the vast majority of votes in the first round, and, unless people have changed their minds in the course of the last 4 months, they are guaranteed victory); and the other party, if they lose, they’ll be upset on the basis that...well, they’ve never governed before so they better win because it’s their turn to govern, and if they don’t, well, they won’t just take their ball and go home, people will pay, and there will be blood...and on and on and on. Hmmm....great political platform, don’t you agree?

So, either way, Conakry will likely be engulfed in civil unrest over the course of the next few weeks. As a precaution, the Guinean government has closed all public schools from November 6th to the 22nd. To err on the side of caution, I decided to shut down the school on Monday, so we have an unexpected long weekend. We are officially ‘hunkered down’ in our apartement with enough food and water to keep us going for awhile. I don’t feel very happy about the decision to close down the school, even it is only for one day, but, after consulting with people at the US Embassy, the School Board, and the staff, I think it was the right thing to do. Found it difficult writing that letter to parents advising them of the school closure, especially that it immediately followed our weekly newsletter, which was very up and up welcome-back-to-school-let’s-make- this-second-term-even-better-than-the-first-term (http://www.iscguinea.org/index_files/G11.pdf). The rumor mill runs at full speed and overtime in this heated political environment. The city is fraught with political tension and election anxiety. Even Bivan, our usually quiet, cool, calm, collected driver went on a political rant this week when I asked his opinion on the situation. I figure if Bivan lost it, then we’re not too far from the deep end. I didn’t want my letter to parents to be alarming and assured them that closing the school was first and foremost a precautionary measure. Security at school is tight; however, it’s the security of our students as they travel between their home and the school that is cause for concern.

So here we are, Madeleine and I, sitting in our little apartment, anticipating an intense weekend of TV watching (we got a hold of Season 1 & 2 of LOST), and with enough pasta to cater a Soprano family Sunday dinner. Promises to be an interesting weekend.