Problems and solution attempts

Monday the 17th of March

Since few days some young guys from the city who call themselves Antibalakas (although they never fought against Selekas) are in turmoil. They asked the Mediation Committee to place bars in and out of Bozoum. The Committee (including the Prefect General Secretary, the Mayor, the Priest, the Vicar, the President of Wali-GAla (women traders), all representatives of Misca, CAritas, Justice & Peace, MSF and Red Cross) has refused their request. But they went and placed them anyway, then used the excuse of MSF leaving Bozoum and took it on the hospital personnel, accusing them to force MSF to leave. Despite the Mediation Committee and MSF representative pointed out that their departure had been previously scheduled and they were needed elsewhere (Bocaranga, Ngaudaye and Bang) these self-called Antibalakas didn't stop their complaint and kept on threatening the hospital staff. I believe it's important not to forget these people at the Bozoum hospital have been working throughout the whole crisis, under continuous menace by the Selekas, the Peuls, Muslims and now the Antibalakas. Even during combats they ensured their presence and activity, they took in the sick despite threats (In January the Selekas even shot in the hospital grounds)

This morning the young guys in question occupied the hospital and kidnapped Mrs.Koikouma Marie Renée, she's the nurse in charge of the medical interim.

they came in with rifles and canes,threatened her life and promised to hurt the staff. Thanks to the MISCA intervention the guys left. They did manage to steal one door and shut down the hospital water pump which serve the sick and the residents.

Of course the hospital has been closed and the sick are now left to themselves. 

The Mediation Commitee invited this morning for their daily 8 am meeting all neighbourhoods' representatives who came in number. Goal of this meeting was to involve the whole community and especially these representatives, in order to ensure their effective reaction to violence and extorsions caused by these guys 

Every representative made a list of everything that's going on in their hood and we all decided to:

• have a meeting in every neighbourhood to highlight every issue, especially those related to theft, weapons and drugs
• have a Monday meetings with all representatives and the Mediation Commitee
• elect a group of wise men to act and regulate conflicts and avoid that these selfcalled Antibalakas can be autoregulated
• write an official document to the Governon and highlight this issue, the necessity of a new Prefect, and to have more police and armed forces from the Authority
• open a call center for immediate assistance

Tuesday 18th of March 2014

I went to Bocaranga to purchase and distribute peanut oil in the surronding areas. I left at 6.15 am, and i stopped at the MISCA after the shooting of last night.

The situation seemed under control, however the guys i mentioned above shot MISCAs at 11 pm last night, thankfully nobody got hurt.

After 85 km I saw few people on the street with stuff all around.  Evidently they were Peuls who had been under attack. Only later we were positive: some Peuls, who were passing by with some 100 or 200 of their livestock had been attacked and their animal scattered or destroyed. Antibalakas did this.

I realized I saw many people on the way carrying meat and many cooking it.

All around this country  animals are being killed rather than being used as future investment. People wouuld rather kill and eat instead of thinking of tomorrow. In few months time, it will be really hard to find meat. Furthermore we must remember most of animals belong to the Chadians....

On my way back, I stopped also in Kake, 30 km from Bocaranga because i saw many Peuls there. Mostly there were women and children, who escaped here after the attacks of last Sunday and they did find some protection here. They're very tired and unhealthy, I tried my best to comfort them and asked the locals to bring them to a safe place and get them water. Once i got home i immediately advised MSF and the Bocaranga Mission so they will make sure these people will be looked after....
Wednesday 19th of March 2014

I went to Baoro with Father Norberto to a meeting with other Carmelitans from Bouar, Baoro and Bangui. It has been a year since we all gathered, it was a great joy to see each other again!

Thursday 20th of March 2014
Meeting at 8 am. Today it seems less tense, the hospital has been resuming its activities and yesterday some of the guys from last week offered their apologies....

Riunione con i capi quartiere
Réunion avec les chefs de quartier

il luogo del combattimento, dove gli antibalaka hanno attaccato i Peuls, che hanno abbandonato tutto quello che avevano
Scène de bataille: ici les Peuls, , attaqués par les antibalaka, ont tout abandonné...

Fiori di frangipane
Fleurs de Frangipanier

un vitello, appena nato e già rubato...
un petit veau, qui vient de naitre, et d'etre volé...

La concelebrazione della Messa a Baoro
la concélébration de la Messe à Baoro

Marie Renée, l'infermiera minacciata dagli antibalaka
Marie Renée, le major menacé par les antibalaka

Sunny and Clody spells

Our situation remains fragile. In Bangui, our capital there are moments of quiet alternating moments of violences and shootings.

Here in Bozoum, after few weeks of calm, few antibalakas are taking over the city now, they reistated the bariers on the way in and out Bozoum. On Friday as I was getting out of my car I asked one of them how old he was (he's not 15) An older guy, a "chief" came towards me saying not to say anything to me!!! I began laughing and I asked him if he as afraid....

I was in Bouar Friday and Saturday, for a Meeting with CAritas, 250 km with no problems.

In Bouar at Yole, I met the great Enrico Massone who, despite the war and stuff, as every year came to help us out. He's currently working on the Yole Road and completing a bridge. It's great work, thanks also to the Siriri Association help, from Czeck Republic

On my way back i stopped in Baoro, were few Peuls remain at the parish, some of them have been wounded by the Antibalakas.

In Bossentele i found the village in turmoil. they have been attacked by Peuls, Muslims and Selekas, they have wunded people and burned houses....

Peace seems yet faraway....

Enrico Massone

During the dry season, we are not without blossoms...

Salendo sul Binon il mercoledì delle Ceneri
En montant sur le Bino, le mrecredi des Cendres

Time is quickly passing by, and here we are in Lent! On wednesday we began with visiting the Binon, which is a hill upon Bozoum. There's a statue of Jesus, with his arms open who is protecting and blessing the city. and here, under his arms we gathered to celebrate Mass, where we received the Ashes:symbol of a conversion that we all need. All of us. Especially here in CAR, during  this crisis. We must ask ourselves which are the profound reasons of all this hatred and tension and begin a change of heart. There are thousands of houses to rebuild, but it's definitely more urgent to rebuild our hearts and minds...and to do it we need an infinite courage, That only God can give us. Him, who had no fear to  take on temptations and win.

On Thursday evening few cars arrived: it was the Archbishop of Bangui, Mons. Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the Imam and a Protestant. They came as Mediation Platform representing all religious creeds, visiting Bozoum and to see how and if it will be possible to reach some tranquility, to restrain damages and reopen the schools.

On Friday morning they all attending our 8 am meeting, in which we evaluate the situation each day and try to make the best decision accordingly in order to keep peace in the city. The Archbishop thanked for this and the Platform encouraged us to keep up the good work.

Along with them also came few journalists from Famille Chretienne, AFP and BBC. We went together to witness another small miracle in Tatale, 50 km far from here the population took in and protected 650 Mbororo, Muslims breeders.

Even if there's the dry season there certainly are some flowers blossoming....

la Messa sul Bino, con Bozoum sullo sfondo
La Messe sur le Binon, avec Bozoum à nos pieds

Un antibalaka a Tatale

Mamma e bimbo, Peul, a Tatale
Maman et enfants Peuls à Tatale

Il Mercato di Bozoum
Le marché de Bozoum

La riunione delle 8, con l'Arcivescovo, l'Imam e il Pastore
la réunion de 8h, avec Archéveque, Imam et Pasteur

2 white roses

 
2 white roses

It has been tre months since I went to Bouar, where the dioceses and other Carmelitan's communities are located. I finally went on Monday with abbé Mirek, the vicar, who was visiting.

On our way we came across a big trucks convoy going to Bangui: transportation is still dangerous, they were escorted by MISCA

In Baoro I finally met father Dieudonne, father Daniel and the nuns. Since last month they have been hosting 3700 people, 1700 of which were Muslims. Just few days ago they set off to Cameroon, the rest f the people came back home... However what home? Selekas burned more than 1300 houses these past weeks!

In Bouar I was leased to see the fathers and the sisters, brave missionaries who stayed, despite everything! On Tuesday afternoon we had caritas meeting, to assess the situation and decide what to do next. It strikes me how any religious homes and parishes are open to help refugees without any discrimination between Christians or Muslims! These people, laics, monks, nuns, of different ages and countless countries (car, Cameroon, Chad, Madagascar, India, Uruguay, Italy, France, Poland, Czech Republic) caritas international!

Last week, father Emilio Martinez, the vicar of the Carmelitan's family, was here. And he had a wonderful idea. He brought two roses to Pope Francis, as a symbol of all the work done here by the missionaries. Here's what he also wrote:

I was able to give these two white roses to Pope Francis during the hearing on Wednesday. I told Hume these roses were from Car, from the missionaries and their refugees

I wish I could describe my feeling when he told his assistant “Esto me lo sube arriba, a mi despacho”, which means "bring this into my office ”.

Your faces, your lives,  as well as the nuns and friends, each and everyone of the refugees especially the children...I carried all of this in my heart, after my visit and gave it to Pope Francis and I felt I've been your messenger and carrier of such treasure, thanks to The Lord!

Please do send this message to all brothers and sisters: the pope is with you and you are with him! Thank you all for everything, your smaller brother, Emilio.

On Wednesday I went to the North with couple of journalists from the associated press.

We passed by Bohong, where it finally seems possible co-existing of Muslims and non-Muslims, after months of fighting. Along the way we saw many of the villages burnt by Selekas, and almost all chapels have bullets in their walls, their holes are clearly visible!

I saw the capuchins in Ngaundaye, they are reorganizing for reconstructions. I also drove Father Francesco down to his farm (it's 3 km fR from here and Selekas stole his car so he must walk and he's not as young anymore!) I was able to see hundreds of small plants and mangos sprouts.

And today I saw the primary schools kids all excited because it's quarter end and they'll get their reports soon. Seems little, but it's actually a big step, especially now....

rifugiati alla Misisone di Baoro
réfugiés à la Mision de Baoro

convoglio di camions provenienti dal Cameroun e diretti a Bangui
le convoi provenant du Cameroun, destinés à Bangui

Fra Francesco con i suoi manghi innesati
frère Francesco, avec ses mangues greffés

A little hope

Chrétiens et Musulmans ensemble, à Tatale
Cristiani e Musulmani insieme, a Tatale

l'école de BATA
La scuola di Bata

Bozoum begins to breathe again, but tension remains high. There's little shootings but we need to stay alert! Every morning at 8 am we have a meeting (the prefect, the MISCA chief, myself, the Red Cross,  , MSF , l'UNHCR e OCHA , justice and peace, caritas and an evangelic priest) to evaluate the current situation and which solutions are best to put in place.

The remaining of the country also is in great tension and distress: in Bangui there have been many shootings, in Bocaranga and Ngaundaye are still afraid the Baba Ladde rebels will show. In our parish in Baoro (where more than 3000 Christians and Muslims hide) people have begun to go home and a thousand Peuls have set foot to Cameroon.

Finally the Pam food has arrived and we began to hand it out to 1500 families (that's 6000 people more or less) who had their houses burnt down. Most of them have started building again and often we come across people remaking their roof or collecting hay.

On Saturday and Sunday we received a visit which made us happy three times.

First because since November last many ongs left, second because father Marco and father Claudio came over to show love and affection forum our religious family from our province in Genova, Italy. And third because father Emilio Martinez, General vicar of our order has come to 

Give his support to all the Carmelita's brothers and sisters.

Their arrival and departure has been a real adventure. They came here from Cameroon with a bus and left from Bangui under shootings attacks.......

we keep on checking the schools in our area, we have two projects that have been financed by the Czech Republic and by UNICEF.

In Bozoum 50% of the students have started school again. Not much, but it is something.

On Friday the 21st of February I went 60 km far from here, in Bokpayen and Tatale

Which are hosting 700 Peuls. This is a rather unqualified case, but not the only one! 

We met with the villagers and we encouraged them to keep this path of peace and cohabiting.

Few grains of Hope in a country where tensions between communities keep on getting worse.

Distribution du matériel scolaire à Bockpayen
Distribuzione di quaderni e matite a Bockpayen

Réunion à Tatale

Chretiens et Mususlmans, réfugiés à la Paroisse de Baoro
Cristiani e musulmani rifugiati nella Parrocchia di Baoro

Pères et Soeur de Baoro au travail pour les réfugiés
Padri (Daniel e Dieudonné) e Suore al lavoro per i rifugiati

And the fight goes on....

Antibalaka à Bozoum

As the wind keeps on blowing (here they call it Harmattan), this country is still shaken by violence: a neighborhood against another, new rebels against old ones....We are trying our best to carry on, but nothing here is certain! We witness the civil war's folly taking over, all aorund here in Bozoum, in Bouar, Bocaranga, Ngaundaye....and dreams od peace and progress are moving away. But we mustn't despair. there are also few good news. Hyppolite,they kid form Bozoum, who is paralized waist-down is finally in Italy and had his main surgery on Wedesday and he's doing ok! so a big thanks is in order to all the medical staff, the surgeons and to Maurizio, Marta and Alessandra and all who contributed to make this dream possible!

Saturday, the 8th of February 2014

Again some shootings last night. This mornning we had a meeting with few authorities and some Antibalakas. We all said: ENOUGH! we managed to make the Selekas leave, all the Muslims are gone...what more do you want? We did chastised them quite a lot. we tried our best to make them understand it's about time they are to stop shooting, stealing, ransacking, hurting and killing. all this violence is only but preventing any progress whatsoever!

We demanded to stop shooting, no more weapons in the city, no more military uniforms....

since this morning it's ok. let's hope for the best! I also received a call from Chad. one of the Muslims from Bozoum who left with the convoy called in to let me know they arrived safe and sound and to thank me. I was happy to know they are fine. at 10.30 pm i also got the last news for today: Hyppolite is in Bologna airport!


Sunday, the 9th of February 2014

Few shootings during the day and rather quie day. I celebrated the Masses in purple, no Glorias and very little songs today. I said they were Penitential ones, to ask for forgiveness for our sins,  for not only letting the Muslims go but for especially making an happy event out of it, and for some to take advantage to hurt people and steal....

Monday, the 10th of February 2014

Meeting with those Antibalakas who occupied the Gendarmery. Eventually they moved out....only to occupy another building!

 

Tuesday and Wednesday, 11th and 12th of February 2014

Along with a doctor and an MSF representative we set off at 6 am towards Bocaranga, Ndim and Ngaudaye. We arrived at 4 pm after 210 km of disastrous roads. We came across many people holding homemade weapons, but we encountered no bars on the way (we found 3 on our way back home) We know there are Baba Laddé rebels in Bang, on the Cameron's borders and that Antibalakas are trying to hunt them down, unsuccesfully so far.  On that same Tuesday those rebels burned down villages between Bang and Ngaudaye, the risk for an attack is very high indeed. Especially because, despite our pleads, no army has come to protect the population. Not the French Sangaris, not Cameroonian MISCA.

We found villages almost deserted. In Ngaudaye there are few houses burned and the hospital is completely empty....there are no patients in there. No doctors, no medicines...

There are 4 Capuchins: two from CAR, one Italian, one Polish, two nuns and a laic nun. They're all still in shock, after the Selekas left their mark passing by on the 21st of January they have been threatened and robbed of everything one can imagine. Father Roland was also kidnapped for few hours. Any activity here is suspended (school, women's center, hospital)...and the future is very dark indeed.

There is no progress at all. Military forces as the MISCA are far from effective: when the Selekas was leaving the country to go back to Chad they were left unattended, anyone can plainly see the disaster they left behind, a trail of ransacks, fires, murders and robberies. On the other hand, few days afterward they did escort them, but towards Paua, and Kaga Bandoro, an area which the Selekas wanted to occupy in order to divide the country between themselves....

On our way back we stopped in Nzakoun, 14 km far from Ngaudaye. Here the Selekas killed 22 people, of which 14 women, in their own houses. they launched a small missile on the medical centre and now it's totally destroyed.

How long will we have to endure this folly?


Thursday the 13th of February 2014

Finally the MISCAs have arrived here in Bozoum. Meeting at 8 pm as usual, there's also a guy from a local force called FACA. Although they are regulated we have few doubts. he said he was here as a mission, but he had no ID nor mission papers.

We met the MISCAs and of course presented them with all our concerns on the situation in town, as the Antibalakas still carry weapons around.

I heard from Ngaudaye, MISCAs have arrived also in the morning and met the Antibalakas and other rebels from the APRD and hired them on to attack Bang, the border's village where Baba Ladde's are, fully armed. Once they got there the rebels fled to the forest and MISCAs left only Antibalakas over there....

In the end...the border is in the Antibalakas' hands, the rebels in the forest. The future? is completely in the dark. 

If MISCAs do not stay here, only a disaster is forseeable for the entire border area and its villages.

In bozoum, i met with public school staff and students at 4pm in order to see if it's possible to resume activities. They had to shut down last november, the 11th and then again on the 4th of December. the High school has been completely stripped to its bones (they stole doors, windows, boards and books). we asked everyone to look for the stolen material and see if we can resume school's activities on Monday.... We shall see!

Antibalaka à Bozoum... avec des toles volées
Antibalaka con armi e bagagli (lamiere rubate)

Antibalaka

Boutques pillées en décembre par la Seleka à Ngutere
Negozi saccheggiati dalla Seleka a Ngutere

Ngaundaye: Pères Capucins et Soeurs polonaises à la prière du matin
Ngaundaye: i padri cappuccini e le suore polacche alla preghiera del mattino

le poste de santé de Hanzoung détruit par les Seleka le 4 février
il dispensario di Hanzoung distrutto dalla Seleka il 4 febbraio

Le poste de santé de Hanzoung
il dispensario di Hanzoung

Figaro qua, Figaro là

These days I've been around and visited communities in two nearby villages

Bocaranga: 125 km from here. Here the Selekas attacked on Tuesday on the 21st of January. They shot some refugees at the catholic mission and they stole everything they could. Once they left the Antibalakas completed the opera and plundered shops and burned several Muslims houses.

Bossemptélé, 87 km on the south side has been taken by the Antibalakas. They killed several people, plundered all Muslims and Peuls' belongings. 

Here in Bozoum, comparing the rest of the country the situation is better: the Antibalakas do not enter the city armed and despite few shootings per day, it is quite calm. On Monday morning Public schools reopened and this is good news. On Wednesday we had some UN visitors and we tried to push things a bit for the reconstruction. Along came some journalists. Here is the article from "le figaro" written by Adrien Jaulmes

Bozoum, specialist reporter

In the sticks as in the small city of Bozoum, father Aurelio is a celebrity. They all wave hello when he's passing by, and his car gets immediately surrounded when he stops. In the whole region his silhouette is well known.

He's as thin as a rake, 52, although he looks ten years younger, wears a small Wooden cross, blue shirt, shorts, red laterite sandals, trimmed beard. The Italian missionary is everywhere welcomed as the man who brings hope, support and reassurance.

Isolated in this small city, 400 km far from Bangui, only weapons: one mobile, a rare energy and infallible courage and moral fiber. For months now,  Father Aurelio has led an almost impossible fight.

Refusing violence's inevitability, he's been trying to stop the terrible circle of abuses and reprisals here in the Car.

As he wrote, he tried to "bring some humanity and rationality in the folly of this civil war".

Father Aurelio however didn't manage to stop all violences and destruction. In several occasions he managed to bring reason and sometimes to avoid the worse. Since many months now he's been warning as for those growing dangers. Then once the infernal machine started, he tried to intervene and have both parties to lay down their weapons, often disarming people himself, talking directly to these assassins, trying his best to calm down spirits and avoid bloodshed.

Aurelio arrived here in Car beginning of the nineties and since 2003 has been responsible for the saint Michel parish in Bozoum. The arrival of the Selekas transformed his apostolic mission. They came on the 26th of March 2013, as modern medieval bandits and as in the rest of the country they have been fierce predators in the territory: they stole, extorted, robbed, raped, ransacked, tortured, killed. "They were on the loose" told Aurelio, always trying to stop them to abuse people. " I often went to see their colonel Yahya Massar, at least one could reason with him, however his authority wasn't  always followed by his men".

Father Aurelio himself  experienced their brutality. "Selekas had tortured a young man for ten days. They had him tied up for so long that he lost his hands. I went to see them and told them they had no right to torture people. They told me they were soldiers, they could do as they pleased. One of them stood up and slapped me. I left. Anyways they did seem to fear me a bit...perhaps it's because they are cowards and in the end they always took it on the weakest ones....if one stood against them one could bend them, at least in some ways."

On his blog, Father Aurelio often told tales of these horrible abuses and pointed out the problems occurring here, tried to alert the international public, media and governments of this drama which eats up This country. "We immediately realized that Selekas' brutality would have disastrous consequences and that created immediate hatred between communities" said Aurelio."since August, many exasperated people organized a local militias called Antibalaka" the end of the Selekas'regime began in December with groups of African and French forces. In Bozoum as in the rest of the country was a new wave of destruction and killings. This time the roles were swapped. The Antibalakas, militias of farmers armed of rifles and machetes were attacking. Muslims and Peuls, wether right or wrong associated to Selekas and hated for this, became victims of violence

They reached the  End of the line on the 10th of January when Djotodia was forced to resign and the face of the Selekas was removed out of Bangui. Then the Selekas'gangs  rampaged up as if they wanted to leave only ashes and destruction behind.

With their Peul and Muslim friends they destroyed villages around the city terrorizing the population.

"They acted out of stupidity and cruelty rather than a precise reason" says Father Aurelio. At least 1300 houses had been burned. The people were so scared they fled to the forest or to the saint Michel mission in Bozoum. Boyele, a village just on the Northside has been completely destroyed by fire.  People are sitting on the steps of their poor houses now just ruins and try to pick up any small objects that hasn't been burned.

Some try to place some form of roof onto the charred walls. Boyele's people are alive only because they run away. "The morning of the 10th of January we heard canon shots" said a villager "so we run into the forest. Selekas and Peuls arrived and set the houses on fire. We all saw smoke rising to the sky. Once we came back here in the afternoon, everything was destroyed. We lost it all: seeds, harvest, furniture, house."

So the Antibalakas play their vendetta on isolated Muslims, setting ambushes on the roads. Muslims all regroup in Bozoum, the last village remaining in the Selekas' power, although they are now surrounded.

"The situation was extremely delicate" says Aurelio "we had 3500 refugees at the mission, almost 1500 Peuls at the mosque and about 50 armed Selekas in town, potentially dangerous" 

So the Father tried to mediate."they called me from Chad asking to organize the Muslim civils' evacuation, I said I was ok to do it only if the whole Selekas would agree to leave with them. I spent two whole days trying to make them go. Up until the very last moment they tried to stay. I ended up threatening the MISCA (multinational African military force) saying I would leave my car on the Ouham bridge to obstaculate their passage and that they would have to shoot me to pass." That bridge was built back in 1943 by Italian was prisoners, at the time of the Equatorial French Africa and it is still the only crossing point towards north and the Chadian border, therefore their only escaping route. Selekas eventually agreed to leave the city. 

Only this made Aurelio the bull's eye of the whole Muslim community which was angry at him making their only protection reference going away.

"It was a moment of tension" he said "many Muslims surrounded my car and began to throw stones" he remarked with  nonchalance. His toyota's windscreen looks like a mosaic.

"Surprisingly a Muslim and a Seleka called 10/15 who was one of the nastiest ones protected me".

So everyone in Saint Michel believed I was killed. "Once I got back it was like an explosion of joy, people thought it was a sort of miracle, they placed robes in the street to greet me, it looked a bit as Palm Sunday"

As soon as the Selekas' danger was over, Father Aurelio faces the population's vendetta. They went crazy after so many months of terrors. Often victims become perfect executioners. It's time for the Muslims to pay off for the abuses. The Antibalakas are now the issue" says Aurelio "for many are just delinquents with no chief. They are just there to vandalize, steal and kill. Some kidnap Peul children and demand ransoms, the destroy their properties and scatter their herds. It's hard to convince people to tell Muslim, Peul and Selekas apart, because the Muslims didn't definitely break away from the Selekas and now they pay the price for it." Without justifying anyone it's clear that father Aurelio has no doubts on what's causing these violent attacks.

"For example, Peuls are victims of their own mistakes, they weren't able to see ahead on the future. They allied  with Selekas without thinking  of the consequences. I did try to advise them, that one day they would find themselves in an impossible situation. With no possibility for them to stay in the villages they would end up having to move into town with their herds....but they didn't listen..."

Under the MISCA protection, here with a small section from Camerun, 2500 Muslims are now forced to live and stay in a small area in Bozoum. They sit on their bags and the few things they were able to bring along after the ransacks, these people are waiting to be transferred out of the country. " our time in CAR is over" said Djodo Mahamatom, delegate of Bozoum's trades, collector of gold and diamonds. "We cannot remain here".

Whole Peul families, semi-nomad shepherds with pale skin are cooking on small fires. Women are wearing colorful robes, have braided hair, wear silver necklaces and some have beautiful tattoos on their face and arms

Everyday Father Aurelio brings them rice which has bought himself.

"Bad father brings good stuff" said the neighborhood's chief, Saleh Ibrahim 

"He's joking" said Aurelio "that's what they called me when they wanted to kill me. Among these people, there are those who tried to stone me few days ago" and waved hello to those sitting on their bags as if nothing had happened.

"He's our only help" said Ibrahim "we lost everything, our shops have been plundered, our live stocks stolen. We cannot leave this road. Only few meters past the Cameron soldiers and the Antibalakas want to kill us and kidnap our kids. We're ready to leave this country but we have no trucks to do it" said the old chief, 45 years lived in Bozoum, "I'm old but the young ones need a safer place to live their life"

Saleh Ibrahim is one of the victims rather than being an ally of the Selekas. "It was their arrival that torn Bozoum apart" he said "before them there was no violence between Muslims and Christians. They did us wrong"

In Father Aurelio's opinion, this civil war has nothing to do with religion. "I strongly believe we should all avoid this word: there are no Christian militias, nor Muslim militias. This is mainly a political, ethical and cultural problem. I don't believe Selekas had Islamization project in mind. They were Muslims, spoke Arab and relied upon the Arab community here, the traders and the   

Breeders. Now what's done is done, it will be very difficult to go back the way it was"