WEEK FROM HELL

WEEK FROM HELL
Time flies by and days here are busy due to beginning of school and problems with rebels and refugees....

On Monday we received PAM deliveries (Worldwide food programme) for food assignment to all refugees.we distributed the food in 3 days, from Tuesday to Thursday to more than 5000 people. Now we still have to go to the Bozoum-Bossangoa track, for food delivery to the rest 1300 people who remained in the outskirts of the villages, afraid of more raids from the Seleka rebels.

here you can find links to some videos 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9nytegq4hf9ymna/Bozoum%20sept%202014%2C%20viveri%20ai%20rifugiati.mp4 e https://www.dropbox.com/s/w1nity7ogwip3g9/Bozoum%2C%20sept%202014%2C%20distribution%20PAM.MP4).

Rebels keep on causing troubles. In Bossangoa this week there have been more clashes and houses burnt down, with thousands run aways....and again on Friday in Tolle, a village 70 km from Bozoum, the rebels killed a man and burned down tens of houses.....
Although the President declared the dissolution of the seleka rebels it only remains on paper.....
After the smack they gave me last monday something happened, (my face aside) this thing went around: i got phone calls from all over! 

Also the rebel's chief got a call from AIA, from the International Crown Court House, in the person of  Caroline N.M.Bayiha, founder of the Stichting Lydia Foundation, activist for human rights. this definitely put him on the spot.

therefore on thursday morning the Seleka chief here in Bozoum asked for a private talk, so i sent for him.

he came in the afternoon, with his gang, the mayor, a police officer and one from the gendarmerie.

So many! too many for just one guy!

He apologized for what happened. told me when there is a problem i should call him, not to go to the base quarter myself....I repeated once more that it's time to put an end to violence, to random arrests, tortures, lootings.

He replied they arrested only whom had weapons. I said that's not true, many are taken only for ransoms and that's not enough to take weapons off people. they can still kill with bare hands or stones: if we do not change our hearts, possessing weapons or not doesnt make much of a difference! We parted well. let's hope for the best!

Tomorrow morning, the 23rd of September schools will re open again. from creche to secondary school. we'll have more than 1200 pupils once more through joys and hustles of schooling life. Here going to school it's always a tiny miracle.Day before yesterday i was preparing enrollments and a lady came by with her daughter. I asked her which class does her daughter go to. the daughter replied. Asked her for her name and the child replied. So i asked was she happy to go back to school, she nodded happily with a huge smile.
In these days we had a lovely news. through the SIRIRI organization from Czeck Republic we'll get help and open schoools for refugees!
these are the things that really matter, that we want war and violence to stop for.

however, the future remains dark. there are still 25000 rebels around us, very little hope for peace.

Last week in Bangui they were once more disarming: results? 130 rifles in 12 days.....and middle term perspective are disastrous. in itself this situation could allow new election within 15 months....but no one believes that. there are no records anymore, no prefects are back and it is impossible to travel freely.

only between Bozoum and  Ngaundaye there are 9 barriers in 200 km. All managed by rebels......