Military Rule Is Not Cool: Do Not Over Stay Your Welcome

My time in Africa laid bare what I took to be a self-evident truth: everyone has a breaking point. When I saw the abject poverty that people lived with in Guinea and the sometimes callous indifference of rulers to that, I said to myself, "How can a people stay passive to this kind of abuse?"

For most of my time in Guinea, they stayed relatively passive, saving their ire for a near-annual ritual set of protests about the availability and price of imported rice, or getting very angry that electricity was not available to ensure viewing of international soccer. But, eventually, small groups and then almost the whole population said "Enough!" They rioted violently. They were met with severe repression. Many were killed.

Politicians promised change. It was not much and not fast. Then, the key catalyst occurred: the president, who had been in charge and symbolised all the wrong, died. The military took over quickly--a scenario that had been predicted many years before. The new military ruler promised to clean house and that he would then leave after two years and call elections for president, and would not stand himself.

Fast forward. The people were generally happy with the change of regime and the prospects of new elections. Then, wind came that the military ruler would stand in the next presidential race. The people said again, "Enough!" They rioted yesterday, on September 28. Reports indicated about 60 people were killed as some 50,000 people gathered in the appropriately named September 28 stadium to protest against the junta. The military responded violently to this protest against Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (pictured). Later reports suggest 87 dead. The international community was again quick to condemn the military actions (see Human Rights Watch report).

We are not accustomed to military coups in the English speaking Caribbean. We are not really that accustomed to civil insurrection, either. I imagine that for most people in our region they can barely relate to what is going on in Guinea, perhaps citing images of Haiti or some central or south American country as a near parallel. I cannot say if those images are really the same. To me, none of them is. Guinea's historical place is similar to Haiti's in that they both poked the French in the eye to take independence. But Haiti never had Guinea's natural riches to make a great go of things. Guinea just never managed to get its motor running after the French went, and the result is a country that is so poor that it makes you cry to see no water, no electricity, sick people, etc.

Yet, I'm sure that in Guinea if you ask people today how are things going ("Ca va?" in French), they will reply "Like a Guinean...a little," ("Ca va...un peu"). That little is never very much but when it's all you have, it's a lot.

The junta leader has quickly admitted that soldiers lost control of the situation (see BBC report.As they would also say in Guinea, "Ah bon?" (Oh really?). But, maybe it's better now that an acknowledgement like that has been made.That's progress of a kind...of a very strange but real kind. But the dead are still dead.