A life in crises?

Crisis is a popular word these days. To mention a few, we are (in theory) affected by the global financial crisis, the global warming crisis, the socio-economic crisis and the political crisis in Madagascar. Affected by all these crises you should think that we live a quite tough life, but as our visitors from Norway could witness, our life is far from very tough. Except for an exceptional identity crisis or the more common “I have to run to the bathroom – crisis”, we are by no means in need of crisis management.

To say that we live a totally normal life these days is to exaggerate, since waking up to the sounds of grenades and gunshots is not a part of our daily routine. Neither is to wake up with police equipped with Kaleshnikovs and bulletproof vests, having a check point outside our house. However, a part from those incidents and the fact that we are very attentive to the news, our life is pretty normal. We have restarted our English teaching, and the students seemed very happy to have us back. Yesterday we had a conversation class, where the discussion of course was the political situation of Madagascar. Some of them are very well informed about what’s going on, others are relying on information they are getting from others. In a situation like this it is very interesting to hear all the rumors that go around, some of them quite spectacular.

The situation in the capital however, is reported to be critical. The opposition claims to control the army, and gave the president a deadline to leave his post. However, the president has made it clear that he will not do so, even after the opposition took control of prime minister’s office. So we are back to the same question we have been asking ourselves for the last two months: “What will happen next?” The president seems isolated, but how isolated is he, since he’s not leaving the presidential palace? Is the army really controlled by the opposition, or is it not that simple? We have given up on the guessing game, it’s just to wait and see…

The Americans are as usually having a bit more of a precautionary approach. The US Embassy has asked their citizens to consider leaving the country, and the substantial amount of American Peace Corps volunteers that are here, are according to our information being brought to South-Africa.

It was interesting to see the reactions of our students when we told them about the Americans leaving the country. We often get the feeling that many do not understand the gravity of the situation for the country. After a week as “tourists” we saw how difficult the situation is for the tourist business. We were basically alone in all hotels along the road between Antsirabe and Tulear. We saw businesses were people were laid off. In the magnificent National Parc Isalo, we were the only visitors that day. In Anakao, south of Tulear, three out of about 20 hotels bothered to be open. And of course, most likely, this is just the beginning…

In Tana there have been new rounds of looting just recently. The country has proved itself unable to protect private investments, making it impossible for foreign investors who used to see Madagascar as a country of opportunity. Tourists won’t come in big numbers for a long time. Another crisis is in the air…

Italiano: Una vita in crisi?

Crisi e’ una parola popolare di questi tempi. Per esempio siamo (in teoria) in piena crisi finaziaria globale, c’e’ la crisi per il cambiamento climatico, e la crisi socio-economica nonche’ politica in Madagascar... Con tutte queste crisi penserete che la nostra vita qui e’ abbastanza difficile. Invece, come hanno constatato i nostri ospiti norvegesi, il nostro quotidiano e’ lontano dall’essere complicato. Eccetto per le eccezionali crisi d’identita’: la piu’ comune “devo correre al bagno-crisi”, non abbiamo bisogno di una speciale unita’ di gestione della crisi.

In ogni caso, dire che abbiamo una vita totalmente normale in questi giorni, e’ esagerato, dato che svegliarsi al suono delle granate e colpi di fucile non e’ parte della nostra normale routine. Come non lo e’ svegliarsi e trovare la polizia armata di Kaleshnikovs e giubbotti antiproiettili per creare un posto di blocco davanti a casa nostra. In ogni caso, a parte questo tipo d’incidenti ed il fatto che siamo molto attenti alle notizie, la nostra vita e’ piuttosto normale. Abbiamo ricominciato con l’insegnamento dell’inglese, e gli studenti sono sembrati molto contenti di riaverci tra loro. Ieri facevamo conversazione in classe, e la discussione era naturalmente sulla crisi politica in Madagscar. Alcuni studenti sono molto ben informati su quello che accade, mente altri si basano piuttosto sui sentito dire. In situazioni come questa e’ molto interessante sentire tutte le voci che girano, alcune di queste sono alquanto spettacolari.

In ogni caso la situazione nella capitale appare critica. L’opposizione afferma di controllare l’esercito, e ha dato al presidente un ultimatum per lasciare l’incarico. Ciononostante, il presidente ha rifiutato di andarsene, pur sapendo che l’ufficio del primo ministro e’ ormai nelle mani dell’opposizione. Quindi torniamo a chiederci la stessa domanda che ci siamo chiesti negli ultimi due mesi: “cosa succedera’ adesso?” Il presidente sembra isolato, ma quanto e’ isolato dato che rifiuta di lasciare il palazzo presidenziale? L’opposizione controlla davvero l’esercito o ne controlla solo una parte? Abbiamo smesso il gioco del tirare a indovinare, aspettiamo per vedere...

Gli Amercani hanno come al solito in queste cose, un approccio piu’ cauto. L’Ambasciata americana ha chiesto ai suoi cittadini di lasciare il paese, ad esempio i numerosi volontari (peace corps) normalmente presenti qui, sono stati trasferiti in Sud Africa.

Vedere le reazioni dei nostri studenti alla notizia che della partena degli americani, e’ stato interessante. In quanto spesso ci sembra che molti qui non si rendano pienamente conto della gravita’ di quello che sta succedendo. Dopo una settimana da “turisti” con i nostri amici venuti a trovarci, abbiamo visto quanto e’ difficile la situazione per gli operatori turistici. Eravamo infatti praticamente soli nei vari hotels sulla strada tra Antsirabe e Toliara. Abbiamo visitato diversi posti dove il personale e’ in cassa integrazione (non pagato). Nel magnifico Parco Nazionale dell’Isalo eravamo gli unici turisti. Ad Anakao, sud di Toliara, solo tre dei circa 20 hotel, erano aperti. E naturlamente, molto probabilmente, questo e’ solo l’inizio...

In Tana recentemente ci sono stati dei nuovi furti di massa. Il Paese ha dimostrato di essere incapace di difendere gli investimenti dei privati, perdendo l’opportunita’ di attirare investimenti dagli stranieri che vedevano il Madagascar come un posto sicuro. Probabilmente i turisti non si faranno vedere per un bel po. Un altra crisi nell’aria...

Madagascar: Waiting and uncertainty follows “Red Saturday”

from http://www.afrika.no/Detailed/18010.html
By Venusia Vinciguerra and Lucien David (photo) for www. afrika.no in Madagascar | 03.03.2009



The Tiko stores are the property of Madagascar's president Ravalomanana. Many of them were looted during the unrest (Photo: Lucien David)


Antsirabe (Madagascar - Venusia Vinciguerra) - Uncertainty is now the most common feeling for the people living in Madagascar. The population, as well as the expatriates in the country, appears exhausted from the constant feeling that something big will soon happen, but then nothing seems to really happen.
Andry Rajoelina, former major of Antananarivo, proclaimed himself new head of state, and attempted to create a parallel administration and install his ministers into position. He started his “orange revolution” after president Ravalomanana closed his TV channel, VIVA TV, due to the broadcasting of an interview with the former president, Didier Ratsiraka.
The young Rajoelina called for a general strike in Antananarivo on January 26th, a strike that turned into a mass looting in the capital. The main factories and retails stores of Tiko, the president’s company, were attacked, robbed and destroyed. In addition, his TV and radio channels where destroyed, together with the national TV and radio channels, leaving most of Madagascar without broadcasts. The mass pillaging went on, destroying the few well functioning malls of the city, and emptying many rice storages, owned by privates. leaving the impression that the looting was not driven only by political intentions, but also by desperation or by opportunism.
The same escalation was witnessed the day after in other cities, as Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga and Toliara, where Tiko storages and stores as well as rice reserves were emptied and vandalized. Looting continued over night between Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th. Reportedly about 100 people died or got injured, mostly due to accidents connected to the pillaging, while the army remained mostly an observer of the happenings. In Toliara there was a broad and massive participation, entire families carried as many rice bags as they could handle: on bikes, rickshaws, carts or on their shoulders. Also children were involved, and some made themselves thieves for a bag of orange juice, or for parts of broken toys. BIANCO, an anticorruption agency financed partly by Norway, was also vandalized: computers were stolen and sold, documents were thoroughly burned (!), and even windows, toilets, cables and roof’s components disappeared. The looting left the city of Toliara with a feeling of Wild West in the air. Stores remained closed for some days; especially those run by Indo-Pakistanis, who fear the anger of the Malagasy people against their commercial supremacy. Some goods are now scarce in the city: milk and butter, which are produced and distributed only by Tiko, but also oil is hard to find. Many foresee an increase of rice prices, the main staple for Malagasy people, and market prices for vegetables and fruits rose already.
Some weeks passed in uncertainty and apparent calmness, until Saturday 7th of February. Samedi Rouge (Red Saturday), as it is called by the Malagasy press, witnessed the shooting against the demonstrators who crossed the “red line” in front of the presidential palace in Antananarivo, making 28 victims (including a reporter), and numerous injured. A video reconstruction of the shooting is now being sold on DVDs and publicly screened in several Malagasy towns.
Ravalomanana did not recognize Rajoelina as a counterpart for negotiations in the beginning, and discharged and replaced him from his post as mayor of the capital. Predictably Rajoelina did not accept this decision, and went on to designate another replacement, leaving the city with two unelected mayors.
Finally on February 23rd, negotiations between Mark Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina started, with the assistance of representatives from the Council of Christian Churches in Madagascar (FFKM). Three meetings between the two contenders increased the hope for a peaceful solution. However, the hope diminished when the president did not personally attend the 4th meeting. Predictably Rajoelina declared the end of negotiations, and did not show up to the next meeting. Also the archbishop of Antananarivo, Odon Razanakolona, one of the facilitators, quit the negotiations, as he saw no developments. As a result, demonstration restarted, leading to two other fatalities in Fianarantsoa. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed the former foreign minister of Mali, Tiebilé Dramé, as facilitator, and asked the archbishop to rejoin the negotiations.
The consequences of this political instability are numerous. Among others, the crisis of the tourism market, with nearly 100% cancellations, and 50% workers sent home according to the FHORM (Fédération des hôteliers et restaurateurs de Madagascar), and the Malagasy National Tourism Office, who made an official declaration asking the parties to quickly find an agreement. Another immediate consequence is the delay of the start of the new university year, with even the risk of a year cancellation due to lack of security (L’express de Madagascar, 28.02.2009).
Many are tired of the president’s actions, denouncing him of focusing on his own interests over those of the population. At the same time, it is not clear if the young businessman and former DJ Rajoelina will be the answer. It seems like the ex-major will continue his efforts to remove the president; but after the last events in Antananarivo, his popularity seems uncertain. Many see in this situation a repetition of Ravalomanana’s struggle to take the power from Didier Ratsiraka in 2002. However, there is a core difference: in 2002 the two contenders where conflicting over a contested election, while Rajoelina’s current request is not related to any electoral event.
Finally, this contest involves two merinas (the ethnic group of the highlands), and might not seem a fair play to the coastal population, who would like to see their ethnicities well represented, maybe by a president.
Uncertainty spreads in Madagascar, people wait.

Calvin (Andry TGV) and Hobbes (Ravalo)?

shall we translate it in malagasy and make flyers of it?







Grazie Silvia Jun per la striscia.

- What is going on?

First of all, things seem to be more and more back to normal for most people in Madagascar. However, there are at least two people that are not living a normal life these days. The two main characters in this "wanna be democratic and non-violent coup d'etat like situation" are not doing anything that we find normal, considering the situation. As soon as we feel that we understand some of the motivations behind their actions, they go out and do something unpredictable.

The self-proclaimed president/ex-mayor, yesterday finally achieved one of his main goals, to physically install his "ministers" in four of the ministries. If he achieved this because he asked wifes and children of militaries to go in front of his supporters, I don't know (he actually didn't show up himself). According to reports, the presence of young girls dressed in orange (Orange Revolution, like in Ukraine) with mini-skirt (tbc), where especially noticable in front of the protestors. As could be expected, the military forces were so stunned by this move that they let the croud enter the empty ministry buildings.

The first one to take office as a "Minister" was our old friend from our troubled visa days, mr. directeur de Cabinet (see earlier blogpost) in the Ministere de l'Interieure. But our promoted friend didn't really last long. After the "orange movement" had celebrated their victory during the evening, the Ministries were once again brought back into the control of the president, by the help of the army.

While all this is going on, the negotiations between the two parties are apparently making some progress. The situation is getting more and more confusing. There could be a solution tomorrow, but more likely 6 months is a better guess. The good thing is that the violent conflict doesn't seem to be escalating. If any of the parties is seeming to gain support, it's the president's. However, at the moment none of them seems to have a high standing among the people. And for what these two are doing to the country, I totally understand them.
Get over with it - and let the people live their normal life!

(Forced) stay in Antsirabe

We are in the very nice town of Anstirabe. It is a mountain city at about 3h south of the capital Antananarivo. Here it’s summer, but the temperature is a lot lower than in Toliara. We arrived here on our attempt to go to Tana to receive our long awaited guests. As most of you know, they had to postpone their trip, and we stopped in Antsirabe (also to get some medical controls). We got welcomed by rain (it is the season now) and chilli temperature…especially for us, used to the torrid south. Against us, the fact that we came not well equipped for this fresh welcome, and could only go around with sandals and shorts. But the sun shines in most of the mornings, and with no interruption for the last two days, showing all the beauty of this city, founded by Norwegians (!).
Yes, because Antsirabe has very little of the dusty south, with low buildings. Here the houses remind the British cottages; they are built in red bricks with dark wooden floors, and have balconies and flourishing gardens. We often walk around with wide open eyes, dreaming of living in one of those. Here it is also possible to find a lot of vegetables and fruits, fresh and tasty, not to mention all the different home made cheeses, garnished with flowered spices…

But (there is a but), lately living in Antsirabe seems a bit harder. Tourists are lacking, due to the current political instability, and vendors are getting desperate. Some of them spot you from distance and offers 10 even 20 necklaces for 2 or 3 euro. We can see they need cash, and they are afraid things will get worst… we buy from some, but we can’t buy from all of them. When we go for a walk, we feel obliged to take street with fewer vendors not to get surrounded. It is sad to see, and as them we fear it might get worst.
We hope people will soon be able to enjoy again this beautiful town of Madagascar.

Bad news from Toliara

First of all: me and Birger are in Atsirabe. We're 3h south of the capital, and many hours north of Toliara. Here is so far calm. We're at the Norwegian missionary station, and we feel safe.

Yesterday afternoon (12/02/09) I got a phone call from the Italian embassy, Pretoria, South Africa. They called me because they new I am in Antsirabe, and the told me to stay here and absolutely not go back to Toliara. While talking with them, I got an sms. It was from Christine, the director of the Alliance Françoise who lives in our building in Toliara. She wrote that: looting restarted, and they (her and her son) were stuck in their flat. Esterel, an Italian neighbour restaurant, ran by a couple of friends, was attacked the evening before. Worried I called one of the two owners of Esterel. Instead I got answered by another person who spoke first Malagasy and then French to me. I asked of my friend, and with a rather scary tone I was answered that he was my friend from now! So, I called the other restaurant owner. He answered. The evening before someone attacked the restaurant, and his colleague, with a gun at his head, was forced to give away all his stuff, including passport. They haven't made it home, but to a safe place nearby, where other people also gathered. He said that the people attacked the stores owned by the karana (the Indo-Pakistani) and that the army was trying to protect the stores in the centre, with shooting and grenades. They had no phone credits left, but they were in contact with the embassy in Pretoria. Then I called Christine, she was home with her son, understandably worried. Our building is practically empty, only her, her son and a German-French couple are there now. Furthermore, our landlord is a karana as well. Anyway, it should be a safe place. It is the first time we hear of a vazaha place being attacked, and we hope it will not continue. We hardly find news on the internet, but we hope the situation will soon calm down.

I repeat: here in Antsirabe is totally calm.

Update: I spoke with some people from Toliara this morning (13/02/09), it is calm now (11.30AM), people are out.


Italiano: Prima di tutto: io e Birger siamo in Antsirabe. A 3 ore a sud della capitale e molte ore a nord di Tolira. Qui tutto e’ calmo. Siamo alla missione norvegese, al sicuro.
Ieri pomeriggio (12/02/09) mi ha telefonato l’ambascita italiana da Pretoria, Sud Africa. Sapevano che siamo ad Ansirabe, e mi hanno detto di restare e assolutamente di non tornare a Toliara. Nello stesso momento ho sicevuto un sms di Christine, direttrice de l’Alliance Françoise che vive nel nostro stesso tabile a Toliara. L’sms diceva che: furti e sommosse reano ricominciate, che lei e suo figlio erano bloccati nell’apprtamento, e che l’Esterel un ristorante italiano gestito da amici che si trova di fronte a casa nostra era stato attaccato la sera prima. Preoccupata ho chimato uno dei due gestori, ma mi ha risposto qualcuno in malgascio prima ed in francese poi. Ho chiesto del nostro amico ma ho ricevuto una risposta sarcastica, che diceva che da ora era lui il nostro amico. Quindi ho chiamato l’altro collega, che ha risposto. Mi ha detto che la sera prima qualcuno ha attaccato il ristorante e il suo collega, che con una pistola puntata contro ha docuto consegnre tutto, persino il passaporto. Non sono poi riusciti a tornare a casa, ma hanno trovato riparo in un posto sicuro li vicino, insieme ad altre persone. Per telefono mi ha anche detto che la folla ha tentato di attaccare i negozi dei karana (Indo-Pakistani), ma che l’esercito provava a difenderli sparando colpi di fucile e granate. Mi ha poi detto che erano rimsti senza credito telefonico ma che erano in contatto con l’ambasciata. Ho quindi chimato Christine, che era a casa con suo figlio, e comprensibilmente preoccupta. Il nostro stabile e’ al momento praticmente vuoto, solo lei, suo figlio ed una coppia franco-tedesca e’ li adesso. E’ la prima volta che sentiamo di un’attivita’ vazaha attaccata, e speriamo non sia la prima di molte. Non troviamo news su internet, ma speriamo che la situazione si calmi.

Ripeto: ad Ansirabe e’ calmo.

Aggiornamento: Ho parlato con delle persone a Toliara questa mattina (13/02/09), tutto e’ calmo al momento (11.30AM), le persone circolano liberamete.

The conflict escalates in Antananarivo

As many of you probably have seen in the news, things have not at all calmed down in Madagascar. Saturday, after a big rally in the capital, the crouds decidided to storm the President's palace, with the result that the police started to fire shots into the croud...

Read more here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7876543.stm

We were in fact on our way to the capital to meet our friends that were suppose to come to visit us from Europe, but after the dramatic event, they were forced to cancel/postpone.

We had a rather strange journey north from Tulear. Having a real malagasy experience with a Taxi Brousse that went "en panne" after 1 1/2 hours drive, leaving us on the side of the road for several hours until we were able to hitch a ride with a car that passed. We stopped in Antsirabe, which is 3 hours south of Tana. We are staying at my old school. It will be very interesting to see what happends the next days... The conflict will surely continue in Tana, and we fear that it will spread to other cities as well.

We'll keep you updated on the situation.

Waiting for what may or may not happen

More than one week has passed since we witnessed the looting from our safe balcony and windows in Tulear. It has been a strange week. As the true humans we are, our biggest worries were related to ourselves, and the question if our friends (Børre, Annelise and Jan) would be able to come as planned in February. After a week where good and bad news have been replacing each other, it seems however that the country is calming down. However, it still has two people saying they are presidents, and the capital has two mayors. So, yesterday we had the great news that we will have guests in a few days. We will have to travel the almost 1000 km to Tana to receive them. We hope for a nice calm trip back down to Tulear, stopping at National parks and in interesting villages, far away from demonstrations and politics.

The TV-stations don’t broadcast in Tulear at the moment, and now that we are actually interested in the President’s whereabouts. The few radio stations that broadcast from Madagascar either play music or talk in Malagasy. RFI (Radio France International) is our best news source, but it also reports from the rest of the world, (quite annoying actually!) and it not always very detailed on the situation. And …in good French manner it decided to go on strike for a day!

Our other source of news is the “jungle telegraph”, and these days it is very active. To understand what’s going on you have to talk to a lot of people, and of course they are not all telling the same things, so you have to try to deduct your own truth from all the different facts and rumours you hear. After the looting in Tulear many people, including us, were worried for the demonstration that was announced for Saturday. Since the stores owned by the not always popular Indo-Pakistani population were left untouched on Tuesday, many people feared that we would see a new day of looting. Over a dinner at our French neighbours the other day, different scenarios were discussed, and we even speculated on a possible evacuation. The next day it seemed totally ridiculous, since Saturday passed without major happenings, and we enjoyed a day by the pool in a calm city.

Now it seems that a new demonstration is planned every second day. We’re getting used to them, also because they go on quite peacefully.

We hope that a solution to this political deadlock can be peacefully achieved, as we think that Madagascar needs some stability. 

The following photos are form Lucien David, a university professor in Toliara and one of our host partners. 

The 2 contenders: the ex-mayor of Tana on the left, and president Ravalomanana on the right, from a malagasy newspaper:

A bike loaded with rice during the looting in Toliara:
People pillaging a rice storage close to our house. To empty the storage people needed almost 24h, and several people got injured:
This is the Tiko agency in Toliara, now is nearly impossible to find butter or milk and other goods (as they were produced and distributed only by Tiko): 

Photos

NEWS from Toliara

The situation is calm now, we hope it will last.

Norsk tekst -Birger (testo Italiano in fondo -Venusia)

-De tar tilbake det presidenten har tatt fra dem

Vår gassiske venninne forklarer kanskje hva de tenker, de mange tusener som deltar i plyndringen og raseringen av presidentens bedrifter i Toliara, men det gir likevel ingen berettigelse til det vi har vært vitne til de siste dagene.
Selv om det er en konflikt mellom to politikere, president Marc Ravalomanana og ordføreren i Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina som danner utgangspunktet for det vi har sett i Toliara og i resten av landet de siste dagene, er det lite som minner om en demokratisk manifestasjon i gatene. Det er dessverre ikke gatas parlament som berettiget viser sin misnøye presidenten, men en mer eller mindre uorganisert mobb som i frustrasjon og misnøye utnytter muligheten til å skaffe seg kortsiktig gevinst. For på lengre sikt er det denne fattigste delen av befolkningen som kommer til å lide mest for de siste dagers hendelser.
Tirsdag 27. januar, startet rolig i Toliara. Vi passerte lageret til TIKO, presidentens meieri. Det var 5-6 uniformerte og bevæpnede vakter utenfor. Det begynte å gå opp for oss at noe var på gang da vi la merke til at mange butikker og internettkafeer var stengte. Da vi kjørte forbi Toliaras eneste supermarked Magro, som også er eid av presidenten, var det til vår overraskelse bare de to sedvanlige uniformerte vaktene som lå henslengt foran bygningen. Vi fant en åpen internettkafé, og meldte hjem om fred og ingen fare i Toliara, selv om vi fikk en gryende følelse at noe var på gang. Vi brøt opp før vi hadde tenkt, og kom oss hjem.
Der kunne vi fra vinduer og balkonger se en horde som stimlet seg sammen. I følge ryktene var TIKO allerede tatt, plyndret og satt i brann. Nå beveget folkemengden seg oppover mot Magro, som ligger ca. 300 meter fra der vi bor. Folk i alle aldre; unge menn, barn, kvinner og eldre menn kom løpende smilende og leende nedover gata, med hendene fulle av TIKO produkter. Etter hvert begynte folk å bli mer oppfinnsomme, og tok i bruk handlevogner og pousse-pousser. Vi undret oss over de som fornøyde kom spaserende med én skarve juskartong i hånden –lite å gjøre seg til tyv for. Etter at alle varer var robbet begynte bygningsmaterialene å komme. Stolper, dører, tak, vegger, utelamper, plastikkorger og emballasje – alt som potensielt kunne ha noen verdi. Vi fikk også for første gang i livet se noen bære et toalett på hodet! Lurte også litt på hva den 10 år gamle jenten skulle med to dukkebein. Resten av kroppen hadde vel noen andre stukket av med.
Rundt lunsjtider roet det seg litt ned utenfor, og vi hadde et håp om at opprøret hadde lagt seg. Senere på ettermiddagen stimlet folk seg igjen sammen på gaten utenfor. Jeg må innrømme at jeg hadde en viss frykt for at de hadde bestemt seg for å ta vår bygning eller stamrestauranten på den andre siden. Det viste seg at lengre nedi gata var det et rislager, tilhørende en inder. De første rissekkene kom småløpende ut kl. 16.30 om ettermiddagen. Senere ble de kjørt ut etter alle kunstens regler. Hele familier bærte rissekkene sammen, sykler var et svært populært transportmiddel. Senere kom også mopeder, pousse-pousser, oksekjerrer fulle av ris. Det var tragikomisk å observere en grådig pousse-pousse trekker, som hadde forsynt seg med en rissekk for mye, slik at hele kjerren datt sammen. Kl. 9 dagen etter strømmet det fortsatt folk til lageret. Det føltes som om halve byen var innom rislageret i løpet av natten. Tallene varierer, men det mest forsiktige anslaget er på 10 tonn ris, og det er heller ikke det eneste lageret som er tømt.
På gaten utenfor kunne vi også observere en velkledd familie som kjøpte opp ris. Det sies at man kunne kjøpe en 50 kg rissekk på gata for 5000 Ariary. Mindre enn 1/10 del av vanlig pris. Det fremstår som fullstendig meningsløst å selge til den prisen. Når reservelagrene er tømt og når importørene er konkurs vil den velklede familien selge risen de har kjøpt opp for langt mer. Den fattige selgeren vil da ikke ha råd til ris…
Den indiske huseieren min kunne fortelle meg at indiske forretningsdrivende har betalt store summer til militæret for å få beskyttelse. En beskyttelse som totalt uteble, da horden angrep. Ifølge huseieren omkom 11 personer under tømmingen av rislageret. Sannsynligvis trampet i hjel. Vi var selv vitne til flere skadede som ble kjørt ut.
Jeg har stor forståelse for at ordensmakten viser forsiktighet med å bruke makt i slike situasjoner, men samtidig er det skremmende å se at staten overhodet ikke oppfyller sin viktigste oppgave - det å beskytte sine innbyggere mot overgrep. Hvordan skal utenlandske bedrifter kunne investere i et slikt klima?
Samtidig er det skremmende for den fremtidige politiske situasjonen på Madagaskar å registrere at presidenten ikke er i stand til å beskytte sine egne investeringer, selv i en situasjon der han hadde god tid til å forberede seg på et angrep. På samme måte er det trist å registrere at den flunkende nye norskfinansierte bygningen til antikorrupsjonsbyrået BIANCO i Toliara er fullstendig rasert. De splitter nye datamaskinene ble solgt på svartebørsen for 100 000 Ariary (ca 300 kr). Hva har BIANCO med presidenten å gjøre?
Det er mulig at det er et snev av sannhet i påstanden om at de bare tar tilbake det presidenten har tatt fra dem. Å kjøpe en privat luksusjet for skattebetalernes penger må oppleves veldig frustrerende for dem som må gå 40 km hver dag for å hente vann, og det kan vanskelig kategoriseres som en fornuftig bruk av skattebetalernes penger. Misnøyen mot presidenten er stor i Toliara, noe som folket uten tvil er i sin fulle rett til å gi uttrykk for gjennom fredelige demonstrasjoner. Inderen som fikk se sitt rislager tømt har likevel ingenting med presidenten å gjøre. Han hadde bare mye av det befolkningen har lite av, og som de dessverre om noen måneder vil ha enda mindre av.

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Che cosa succede in Madagascar? La distruzione di Toliara, e non solo.

Che cosa succede in Madagascar? Onestamente ce lo chiediamo anche noi, se lo chiedono un po’ tutti i vazaha. La ragazza che ci aiuta in casa ha detto: la gente si riprende quello che gli è stato preso dal presidente. Ma cerchiamo di andare con ordine.
Il presidente della repubblica Malgascia si chiama Marc Ravalomanana. E’ un imprenditore, proprietario della Tiko specializzata in prodotti caseari, ma anche proprietario di molte altre cose, tra cui una radio e il canale televisivo MBS. “Ravalo” è anche a volte chiamato “Berlusconi tropical”, per intenderci. Arrivato al potere attraverso una difficile elezione per spodestare Ratsiraka nel 2002, è stato riconfermato nel 2006. Siamo qui da troppo poco per comprendere e giudicare la politica locale attraverso i nostri valori universali, che poco tengono conto dei valori parziali della gente che deve sopravvivere alla giornata (come direbbe Busi), ma semplificando diciamo che il Presidente ha mostrato tanta voglia di fare, e ha fatto anche, ma ultimamente ha cominciato ad avere un po’ di atteggiamenti da “presidente africano”, nel senso negativo del regime. Ha chiuso una radio a Toliara, e sospeso un canale televisivo appartenente al giovane sindaco (Andry Rajoelina) della capitale Antananarivo, perché aveva trasmesso un’intervista all’ex presidente Ratsiraka. Infine, poche settimane fa, Ravalomanana ha acquistato un secondo aereo presidenziale, l’air force one (two!), costosissimo e lussuosissimo, non proprio in linea con lo standard di vita della maggior parte della popolazione malgascia.
Il sindaco di Rajoelina, opponente dichiarato del presidente, ha organizzato una manifestazione per l’inaugurazione della Place de la démocratie, nella capitale con una grande risposta di pubblico. Pochi giorni dopo, lunedì 26.01.09, il sindaco, ha chiamato la popolazione allo sciopero generale, con massiccia partecipazione nonostante il giorno feriale. La massa ha però saccheggiato gli studi di due canali televisivi (quello nazionale e quello del presidente), di una radio, e dei magazzini Magro, punti vendita riconducibili a Ravalomanana, mettendo poi fuoco a tutto. Ovviamente i canali televisivi sono oscurati da lunedì. Il giorno dopo, martedì qui a Toliara tutto sembrava tranquillo, anche se alcuni negozi erano chiusi e noi abbiamo faticato per trovare un internet point aperto, per dirvi che tutto andava bene. Invece intorno a mezzogiorno, la situazione precipita in altre città, tra cui Toliara (dove abitiamo noi), unica città a non aver riconfermato il presidente nelle ultime elezioni (e per questo alquanto ignorata dalla politica presidenziale).
A Toliara, però, il vandalismo, la distruzione e i saccheggi sembrano avere ben poco a che fare con la protesta politica, a nostro avviso. Dal nostro balcone abbiamo potuto osservare il flusso di persone, la massa che ha cominciato depredando Magro (a 300mt da casa nostra), e il magazzino della Tiko. Di questi non è rimasto davvero più nulla (vedi foto), e noi abbiamo visto grandi, bambini, donne passare prima con prodotti alimentari, e poi con porte, finestre, cavi, pezzi di tetto, wc, pezzi di roba rotta. Della gente si è fatta ladra per un litro di succo d’arancia, bevuto in strada sorridendo… Poi saccheggio e distruzione sono passati ai depositi di riso, di proprietà’ di privati (persone di origini indiane e pachistane, che qui in Madagascar controllano gran parte del commercio). Uno proprio vicino a casa nostra, dove il saccheggio è iniziato vero le 16.30 di martedì fino alle 11.00 del mattino di mercoledì. Ininterrottamente per tutta la notte. Ovviamente, la folla è difficile da governare, ci sono numerosi feriti e morti (anche bambini), schiacciati o feriti dai cavi scoperti, vetri ecc.: è difficile fare un conto preciso e le voci che girano, riportano numeri molto diversi (apparentemente 11 morti nel deposito vicino casa nostra). Ma l’atto che ci ha lasciato forse più attoniti è stato forse la distruzione dei nuovissimi uffici di BIANCO, una associazione contro la corruzione (quindi assolutamente al servizio della popolazione e che c’entra poco col presidente), finanziata dal governo norvegese. BIANCO, inaugurata da poco a Toliara, è stata depredata dei nuovissimi computer (rivenduti a 100.000 Ariari- 42 euro circa!!), ma anche di porte, finestre, tegole, cavi elettrici ecc. Mercoledì tutti i negozi sono rimasti chiusi, come anche le banche, e’ difficile (se non impossibile) comprare credito per i telefoni, benzina, medicinali, ecc.
Insomma, una distruzione che ci sembra avere poco della protesta politica e dell’atto simbolico; al contrario ci è sembrata pura follia, disperazione di alcuni, ignoranza di altri. Qualcuno di sicuro farà anche dei bei soldi rivendendo riso rubato o comprato a pochissimo ora, quando questo scarseggerà nei prossimi mesi, dato che le riserve sono state razziate. Noi ci domandiamo quale sarà la mossa di Ravalomanana, quale la mossa di Rajoelina. E ci auguriamo che l’evoluzione politica del paese avvenga in maniera democratica e non attraverso la forza.
Incrociamo le dita.

Riots in Madagascar

Some of you contacted us to ask if everything is ok. We are in Toliara almost 1000Km south of the capital Antananarivo. Here the situation is calm. However, people are listening to the news and a few stores are closed. So no need to worry for us!  Anyway, here you find an article from the BBC's website:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7851275.stm

Anti-government protesters in Madagascar have looted and set fire to the offices of the state broadcaster in the capital Antananarivo.

The building was attacked during a demonstration by supporters of the city's mayor and opposition leader, Andry Rajoelina. His own television and radio stations have been shut down by the government. The police had banned the protests and President Marc Ravalomanana says the opposition is trying to stage a coup. Earlier on Monday, tens of thousands of people had gathered in the capital to hear a speech by Mr Rajoelina.Crowds then moved to the state broadcaster's offices, where soldiers briefly tried to defend the building before dispersing in apparent sympathy with the protesters, a witness told the BBC. Looters were seen coming out of the offices, cheering and smashing equipment on the ground. Some made off with chairs, desks and door frames. The protests have led President Ravalomanana to cut short a trip to South Africa.Mr Rajoelina's TV network Viva was closed last month, after broadcasting an interview with Mr Ravalomanana's foe, former President Didier Ratsiraka, AFP news agency reports.The BBC's Christina Corbett in Antananarivo says the protests have left people afraid of a return to the kind of political deadlock that preceded Mr Ravalomanana's election in 2002. 

Here more from Reuters:   

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSLR70416220090127?sp=true

Rain

The rain finally is in Toliara. A cyclone passed in the area, without touching the "city of sun". However, the flat and dry Toliara is not made for the water, as you can see from the photos of the road to our home... But today Toliara is back, the sun is up, warm and strong as usual. 

Italiano: La pioggia alla fine e' arrivata anche a Toliara. Un ciclone e' passato non lontano di qui. Nonostante non abbia toccato la "citta' del sole", si capisce che Toliara non e' fatta per l'acqua (vedi le foto della strada che porta a casa nostra). In ogni caso, Toliara oggi e' tornata alla normalita', con il sole che risplende caldo e forte, come al solito. 

surprise

Today was a day of surprises. 

We got MAIL! Yes we got a cute card from Katherine... it was so nice to receive a friendly mail (we received something before, but it was tax stuff from the norwegian governement, which is not quite the same). 

So thanks Katherine!

The second surprise was our lunch. Voanghy made pig brain for us! :-o  

(Maybe we should save some for Børre and Annelise?)

Oggi e' stato un giorno di sorprese. Abbiamo ricevuto posta! Una bel biglietto della nostra amica Katherine... e' stato bello ricevere posta da amici a casa (avevamo gia ricevuto qualcosa settimane fa, lettere dall'ufficio delle tasse del governo norvegese, che non e' proprio la stessa cosa).

Grazie Katherine!

la seconda sorpresa a pranzo: Voanghy ci ha cucinato cervello di maiale! :-o

Some photos....

Some photos From our Christmas lunch with Bertin (our teacher of Malagasy) and his family. But first a photo of his wife with their newborn son (4.7 Kg!).