Too much wealth?
As is life, this week there were moments of grief and others of hope.
Last
Friday Yves Woko died in Bangui, he was one of our teachers: 73 years
old, a lifelong teacher (first in the ranks of the state, and for the
last 20 years in our Bozoum school). A righteous man, full of faith and
gratitude for everything, even though life was quite hard on him.
Saturday morning I went to
the river Ouham, to try to understand if the Ministry's decision to
suspend all the gold extraction activities by the Chinese company was
respected or not. Arriving half a mile from the river, you could already
hear the sounds of the machinery. I walked the coast of the river for
more than a mile along the construction site. It was awesome! They
diverted the river water with a 4 meter wide channel, and 4 bulldozers
were loading all the gravel and sand from the bottom onto a machine to
sift and extract the gold. No checks, no attention from the authorities.
The yards are developed for at least ten kilometers. The country's
resources, which could be used for its development, are stolen without
shame, and leave deep scars, not only in the river bed.
I
wonder (and unfortunately I already know the answer), whether the
decision of the ministry is a serious act, or is it simply a facade
operation.
Monday
I left for Bocaranga (passing through Bouar). The Bishop asked me to go
with him, Tuesday, to the Koui area, where the 3R rebels have taken up
residence for 4 years. The lands are rich in water and vegetation, and
for this very reason rich in pastures and livestock. Perhaps too rich:
here hundreds of thousands of cows are located, and this generates
tensions between cattle farmers and agricultural farmers, but also
between different ethnic groups.
In
recent years there have been many episodes of violence, and people have
often had to flee. We found a village, Lobaye, on the road between
Bouar and Bocaranga, where there are about 500 people who come from
Koui.
Tuesday
morning we went to Boyay Wantonou, a village about ten kilometers from
Koui, for a meeting of prayer and of reconciliation. Besides the Bishop,
there were also the Protestant imams and pastors (and the mayor was
also present, as well as Sidiki, the rebel leader). It was a moment of
intense prayer and sharing, which slowly turned into a beautiful party.
In
the afternoon we had a similar experience to Koui: a village where
typical buildings are mixed, with more Chadian or Sudanese ones, and
with a small and beautiful mosque. Just as we prayed, the rain came as a
blessing.
I
am here as Caritas, to try to understand the needs and see what can be
done. The needs are many, we are in a part of the country that is almost
abandoned (there is only one state teacher for 20 schools. The other 42
teachers are all "maîtres-parents": young people and adults who have
taken the commitment to teach something to children).
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| Rifugiati nel villaggio di Lobaye Déplacés dans le village de Lobaye |
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| P.Robert, ecc P.Robert, etc |
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| Preghiera per la pace Prière pour la piax Prayer for peace |
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| Yves Woko |
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| 6 aprile 2019: un cantiere per l'oro 6 avril 2019: un des chaniters pour l'extraction de l'or |
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