Cote D'Ivoire

"Mini Paris": This was the nickname of Abidjan, economic centre of the Ivory Coast, where I was born and raised. This country gained its independence from France in 1960, and was first led by Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Under him, the Ivory Coast achieved a lot : He developed the economy, made this country a stable, peaceful and beautiful place to live in. 

However, after his death in 1993, the country went on a decline. He was succeeded by Bedie, who didn't really help the Ivory Coast fulfill its potential.  Under Bedie, the country's economic growth began to decline. It is no secret that the government was corrupted and most officials would transfer the gains obtained from exports of Cocoa (world's largest producer) to their own personal bank accounts. 

Ivorians were unhappy, protests happened all over the country but nothing really concrete as Bedie was the leader of the PDCI-RDA, the ruling and most popular party. His rival, Alassane Ouatarra who served as Houphouet's Prime Minister was wrongly accused of not being of Ivorian decent, hence  barred from being a candidate. Bedie promoted the concept of "ivoirite". Without going into much details, this concept led to xenophobic behaviours where migrants from neighbouring countries (Burkina Faso especially) were targeted. People were upset that migrants would come to the Ivory Coast, accept lower wages, and hence "take our jobs away".

Nonetheless, Cote D'Ivoire still had its charm, attracting lots of foreigners who enjoyed living in this tropical country. All of this until 1999, where the situation went totally out of control. It all suddenly happened during Christmas Eve. The army, led by Robert Guei, launched a coup d'etat, and ousted Bedie out of the country. We spent Christmas at home, in the dark, with gun firing happening next to our house. Ivory Coast, which was stable since its independence, is now progressively turning into a war zone. This was followed by election disputes, led by countless civil wars, economic instability, frustration, corruption up to today.

The 2010 elections were meant to bring peace back. The main candidates were Gbagbo (who replaced Guei in 2001) and Alassane Ouatarra. The first round was a success in terms of organisation with no major incidents. Ouatarra was declared President with 56% of the votes in the second round. Gbagbo contested this decision, and claimed the results in the North of the country (Ouatarra's region) were rigged. He was adamant, and nothing could stop him. From November 2010 to January 2011, the country had 2 Prime Ministers and 2 Presidents. Ouatarra was recognised by the International community. This led to another round of riots, incidents where people lost their lives. Gbagbo was eventually sent packing with the help of the French troops. 

We can only wait to see what happens next, but it is hard to see peace return to this country. Being born and raised there for thirteen years, it hurts me to see the current situation. The values of Union, Discipline, Travail seem to have been forgotten.