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Feature Story:

War and Peace in West Africa
A former deputy assistant secretary for Africa finds hope for the future in this tumultuous region.

Story and photos by Vicki Huddleston
The author, formerly principal deputy assistant secretary in the Africa Bureau, is now the principal officer in the U.S. Interest Section in Havana.

A Tuareg tribesman.

A Tuareg tribesman with Malian flag in Timbuktu."

 
 

During a visit last March to Dakar, Bissau, Bamako, Timbuktu, Conakry and Freetown, I was struck by the contrast among West African countries that are well governed and those that are not.

President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali--the next president of the Economic Community of West African States--envisions a subregion where borders between the 16 states are mere formalities, and the powerhouse Nigerian economy propels the region into a prosperous 21st century. In Bamako, President Konare's brainchild, the West African Moratorium for Small Arms, has committed West African states to banning the importation, exportation and fabrication of small arms. Mali also adopted a groundbreaking code of conduct that commits its military to improved civil-military relations and respect for human rights.

Timbuktu, Mali, honored the anniversary of the end of the Tuareg rebellion and the symbol of the "Flame de la Paix" by burning the weapons of war. Tuaregs, the people who settled Timbuktu in the 11th century, now are working with U.S. assistance programs run by nongovernmental organizations to build schools and improve health. The people are part of the process that has metamorphosed this nation from a famine-ravaged dictatorship into a credible grassroots democracy, moving toward decentralized governance with a 5 percent economic growth rate.

When war strikes, civilians are the victims. Sierra Leone's tragedy has become the region's tragedy. Guinea, which just managed its first-ever democratic elections, has opened its territory to more than 700,000 Sierra Leonean refugees while struggling to defend its borders from the Sierra Leonean insurgents. No other country in Africa, or perhaps the world, has been so welcoming as Guinea, one of the world's poorest. Despite the burden the refugees have imposed on the economy and the destruction of land and forest, the Guinean people have welcomed them into their towns and hamlets, allowing them to take scarce jobs and become fully integrated into their Guinean communities.

Tuaregs with camels.

Tuaregs with camels gather for Flame of Peace ceremony.

The mayor of the 12,000-strong refugee camp, Kalia, praised Guinean generosity but acknowledged that his people want to return home. Despite the terrible atrocities, his advice to Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was "to come down and sit with the rebels so we can go home."

Viewed from our helicopter, part of the U.S. logistics package to support the West African peacekeeping troops, Freetown appears to snuggle peacefully among the lush green hills overlooking the Atlantic. But Freetown and Sierra Leone are far from the idealized home the "Amistad" crew sought so desperately to return to. Burnt-out neighborhoods, hospitals filled with civilian amputees and temporary camps for thousands of displaced people profile a ravaged land, misused wealth, broken promises and security so tenuous that thousands continue to live in camps in Freetown where living conditions are minimal.

Many, however, are frustrated and unprepared to begin rebuilding homes and futures. The future of their children, who are without schools, has been shattered by loss of home, parent, sibling or limbs. Worse, many girls and boys have been forced to serve the insurgents as porters, cooks, prostitutes and warriors.

The government and the rebels signed a peace agreement in Lome, Togo, last July. With luck and a lot of hard work it should hold, giving the people of Sierra Leone a fresh chance to rebuild their country in peace.

In Bissau, still a sleepy village, the war has ended. Disarmament is almost completed by the West African peacekeeping troops from Niger, Benin, Togo and The Gambia. Senegal and Guinea, which sent troops to support the elected government, have withdrawn. Rebel General Ausamane Maré and President Joao Bernardo Vieira signed a peace accord in March. Since then, Mr. Vieira has been forced into exile. Although both sides in the conflict were accused of running illicit arms to rebels in the Casamance area of Senegal, the Guinea-Bissau conflict has not spilled over there.

Guinea-Bissau's conflict served as a wake-up call to Senegal, which now seeks a serious resolution to the long-festering violence in the Casamance region. In Bissau, it won't be just the people who must rebuild. Many embassies, including our own, suffered serious damage. Although looters failed to break into the U.S. Embassy chancery, they killed two guards while looting the ambassador's and deputy chief of mission's residences. A fire in the Chinese compound next door destroyed four residences and the property of the officers who had earlier been evacuated.

The author.

The author, and Ambassador Tibor Nagy, left, with children refugees in Guinea.

Let me end this cautionary tale of war and peace with a look at my first stop: Senegal. There, a stable government and sound leadership have resulted in economic growth, respect for human rights and progress in devolving governance to local communities. Although this picture is imperfect, it does illustrate what good can be done with Africa's great potential, even in a country with limited natural resources.

One of the sad lessons of Sierra Leone and Guinea is that closed political processes are breeding grounds for dissent and, ultimately, violence. Wise leaders and prudent use of resources can provide--as Senegal and Mali show--Africa's people the opportunity to fulfill the vision of an integrated, open and prosperous African continent.

Displaced Sierra Leoneans.

Displaced Sierra Leoneans find shelter in a car inside a large warehouse in Freetown after their homes were burned.

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