Vive la liberté – a glimmer of hope from CAR

As I slowly wake up, I step outside to see the sun rising over the Oubangui River, and I hear a fisherman yelling, ‘vive la liberte’, followed by loud cheering. They are celebrating the news that Transitional President, Djotodia has stepped down, immediately leading to widespread celebrations in Bangui.

I wonder how long this celebration will last. I hold no banner for either side, but how long before a new leader takes the country into deeper poverty? Will this move end the massacres? Will vengeance be sought against the minority Muslim population?  I speak to younger people and they are hopeful, they believe things will get better, but when I speak to the older generations, who have seen the cycles of violence, it’s clear that hope is far away. Their spirits are broken.

Djotodia came into power following a coup last year. Since then 20 per cent of the population of the Central African Republic have had to flee their homes because of the ruthless violence that has spread throughout the country due to fighting between Muslims and Christians and non-religious alike.

Yet in the midst of this I have had the privilege of meeting three men of significant influence, who hold strong to hope, anchored in their faith. The Catholic Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the President of the Evangelical Alliance in CAR, Revd Nicolas Geurekoyame-Gbangou, and the leading Imam, Oumar Layama, are searching for peace as the people seek leadership in a political vacuum. The imam is even staying with the archbishop at the moment, because it’s the safest place.

We invite the media to meet these religious leaders in the hope of getting their message of unity out to the wider world. As we travel to the archbishop’s residence we pass a large contingent of French troops, African Union roadblocks and thousands of displaced people seeking refuge in the Archbishop’s compound; a visual assault which stresses the gravity of expectation.

There are many people waiting to see the three faith leaders. They conduct their interviews; their phones are constantly ringing. But they take time out of all this to sit with us and talk about their country and their hopes. Their friendship and respect for each other is evident though they are each so different; the archbishop has such a hearty and genuine laugh, the Imam is very humble and gentle and the Evangelical President has the voice for the sizeable Protestant community.

They tell us about their desire for peace and reconciliation, how they want to build schools for Muslims, Christians and those of no religion to come together. They recognise the importance of targeting young people. They want to get their message of unity and peace out to rural areas. They need radios to reach the most remote places – and we understand why – as later that day we hear that, as we were speaking, 25 Muslims had been massacred north of Bangui.

As the meeting ends they ask me when I’ll be back. Their questions hit me, along with my own: how can I walk away from here and not feel some sort of responsibility for what is happening? Here is yet another brutal African conflict – and the world watches it happen. The French have made a bold military intervention, but poverty, poor governance, political instability and conflict goes around in circles. How can we, and the Church, not do something?

Amy Cummings is an aid worker with the Christian charity Tearfund