SFCG President Meets with President Ouattara in Cote d’Ivoire
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah (2nd from left), SFCG VP Susan Collin Marks (4th from left), President John Marks (3rd from right) and Cote d'Ivoire Country Director Quentin Kanyatsi (2nd from right) meeting with Cote d'Ivoire's President, Alassane Ouattara (center) and other Ivoirian officials.
Our President and Vice President, John and Susan Collin Marks recently traveled to Côte d’Ivoire; their first visit to our country offices since Alassane Ouattara’s installation as President.
During the height of the violence in Abidjan, our office was looted twice and all our furniture and equipment taken. Staff members tried to save the three SFCG vans by placing them on blocks and moving the tires to another location. The looters were undeterred, however, and they later returned with the right size tires to steal the cars. Our office in Daloa fared better, but all of our staff were touched, in some way, by the violence.
Susan Collin Marks facilitated a session with staff, to help them tell their own stories and hear each others. “The stories poured out,” Susan says. “Everyone spoke, some at length, tears just held back, the fear and trauma and heroism relived. Their stories of how they tried to save the Search office were moving beyond words.”
We resumed activities in Côte d’Ivoire in early May with Our Talking Drum Studio producing a series of radio spots to promote peace. Based on street interviews conducted throughout the country, they asked, “How should you act when you love your country?” The segments amplified voices of moderation, tolerance and forgiveness in the aftermath of the crisis.
A second season of The Team, with new episodes addressing the civil strife is one of the many projects SFCG is working on to promote reconciliation in Cote d'Ivoire.
New episodes of our popular radio program, Wôrô Wôrô Tour, have also supported reconciliation. In the sketch comedy series, Wôrô Wôrô (taxi) driver, Morry, advises his passengers and recent episodes of the comedy series, have addressed solidarity, religious tolerance, information management during crisis and how all citizens can contribute to rebuilding the country.
Our approach for achieving lasting peace in Côte d’Ivoire is bottom up and top-down. Thus, in addition to the resumption of wide-reaching media programs, John and Susan also met with top officials in the new government.
Accompanied by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, former Mauritanian Foreign Minister, John and Susan were able to meet with President Ouattara who endorsed our work. They were also able to meet with former Prime Minister, Charles Konan Banny, recently named head of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue who was equally enthusiastic about SFCG’s involvement in the reconciliation process.
Other important actors in the path to peace are traditional leaders, who hold wide sway and influence and who many Ivoirians look toward for moral guidance. The Search team met with the Traditional Leaders Council, which asked for help in conducting a purification ceremony. The ceremony is intended to cleanse the land and requires 19 cows to be sacrificed across the country.
Ivoirians have a challenging road ahead of them. While the immediate violence has receded, there are many who remain unhappy with Ouattara’s election as president. Furthermore, issues of xenophobia, and religious intolerance precede 2010’s contested election and must be addressed on community and national levels. Our programming has achieve successes in reducing violence and fostering dialogue, and we’re looking forward to the various ways in which SFCG can continue to support and facilitate reconciliation and sustainable peace in Côte d’Ivoire.
