How does a country in crisis feel? Would you feel anything? Are you the famous frog, slowly boiling alive, which rather will not perceive the danger and will be finally cooked to death? You might be it if you have been living in the same country for a long-time. [more]
How does a country in crisis feel? Would you feel anything? Are you the famous frog, slowly boiling alive, which rather will not perceive the danger and will be finally cooked to death? You might be it if you have been living in the same country for a long-time. What if you come to a country for the first time and you already know that this particular country is considered to be in crisis? Are you looking for any signs of crisis? Are you even hoping to experience some? Which can be as stupid as being boiled slowly. Are you in the state of mind of some kind of danger, always ready to jump, and always a little disappointed if there is nothing to jump away from?
End of February, I traveled to the Ivory Coast* to examine some de-worming projects in remote villages in the jungle. My travel group consisted of two guys from a philanthropy fund by UBS. And they were reminded every single evening that they are travelling in a country considered to be rather unsafe. A security guy from London had to call them every evening at around 8 pm to check if they were sticking to their travel plans and if they were still alive. It became a kind of ritual for them to confirm their existence while drinking beer in a research station outside Abidjan.
Although the Ivory Coat never felt like there was any kind of danger, there was a certain feeling of tensions. Army trucks of the French driving through the city, a young woman lying dead on a market, overrun by a car. A nervous driver not really letting you out of a car. Small signs, like little earth quakes you hardly feel. And you knew, even a security guy from UBS in London could not help you in any way if something happened. Maybe that’s the state of mind in a country in crisis. It’s not very comfortable, even if you are not boiling slowly. And at the same time you can leave the country easily, unless you are born there.
* To remind you why the Ivory Coast is considered to be a country in crisis, read the statement of the UN mission (UNOCI – United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire) on site:
“Alassane Ouattara was declared winner of the November 2010 UN-certified presidential election, which, it was hoped, would advance the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire. Instead, the country lurched back into civil war when incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down, using troops, paramilitaries and mercenaries to entrench his position and crush dissent. The five-month impasse ended with the arrest of Mr. Gbagbo and the inauguration of the legitimate President on 21 May 2011.“