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Fragility Factors and Reconciliation Needs in Forest Guinea

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In December 2013 the first Ebola cases surfaced in Guéckedou district, near the Liberian and Sierra Leon borders in the Forest Region of Guinea. The outbreak quickly spread from Forest Guinea to the rest of the country and, through the borders, to neighbouring countries. It took three months to identify the Ebola virus as the causative agent of the burgeoning epidemic, longer for the Guinean government to understand the importance of treating the outbreak as a national emergency, and even more time for everyone involved to appreciate the great social toll of Ebola.

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As the epicentre of the epidemic, Forest Guinea felt the brunt of the disease and of the sudden intervention of outsiders into their communities. For a region where the State had previously been all but absent and even mistrusted, there was great resistance towards health care workers and outbreak control teams. Violence shortly followed. The most serious episode occurred in mid-September 2014 in Womey, an ethnic forestier village located in an area of major international mining interests near the region’s capital of Nzerekoré. Villagers who suspected a government-led health education delegation of in fact spreading the virus killed eight members of the team. The government reacted by militarising the town. The scared inhabitants fled into the surrounding forest for several weeks as fear of a government reprisal and rumours of former ULIMO and Dozos militias among the army circulated. Looting and lawlessness ensued. It was not until November of that year that residents could return to their village.

The cultural, social and political environments in Forest Guinea have developed a complex matrix of structures that renders the region both fragile and unstable. The Ebola outbreak, and in particular the Womey episode, should be taken as a paradigm that reflects the latent forces affecting the region. This is characterised by a combination of intercommunal tensions, disenfranchisement from power, and perceptions of insecurity. The aim of this short paper is to provide a socio-political framework through which the structural violence of the Forest Guinea region can be understood.

 

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Fragility Factors and Reconciliation Needs in Forest Guinea

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Subsaharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa Center
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Founded in 2007, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa center produces an in-depth analysis of the African continent and its security, geopolitical, political and socio-economic dynamics (in particular the phenomenon of urbanization). The Center aims to be both, through various publications and conferences, a space for disseminating analyzes intended for the media and the public but also a decision-making tool for political and economic actors with regard to the continent.

The center produces analyses for various organizations such as the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the French Development Agency (AFD) and even for various private supports. Its researchers are regularly interviewed by parliamentary committees.

The organization of events of various formats complements the production of analyzes by bringing the different spheres of the public space (academic, political, media, economic and civil society) to meet and exchange analytical tools and visions of the continent. The Sub-Saharan Africa Center regularly welcomes political leaders from different sub-Saharan African countries.

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Date de publication
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Date de publication
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The Evolution of City Diplomacy in Africa: Impact, Potential, and Ongoing Challenges of African Cities’ International Activities.

Date de publication
15 November 2024
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Over the past decades, African cities have ranked among the leading players in the evolution of city diplomacy. Indeed, municipalities across the continent have gone beyond simply adapting to shifting trends in international cooperation. They have been shaping the current partnership approach that sees local authorities worldwide working together to pursue shared goals and address common urban challenges such as climate change, migration, and social justice.

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The High Authority for Peacebuilding (HACP) in Niger 2011-2023. Placing the State at the heart of conflict prevention and management.

Date de publication
06 November 2024
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Like other Sahelian countries, Niger has been affected by terrorism for almost two decades now. This issue has highlighted both the limits of these countries’ security systems and, more profoundly, their inability to offer stability to the populations of certain parts of the country. In a way, these “jihadized insurgencies” are a continuity of groups that regularly take up arms against central states.

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Fragility Factors and Reconciliation Needs in Forest Guinea