THE PROSTITUTES OF DEUX-PLATEAUX

A young prostitute by Eliane de Latour

Two days ago I came back home late. Please don't ask me what I was doing outside at this time. lol. It was around 11 pm. I took a cab and the person with me showed me some girls sitting near the station Lubafrique in very short clothes.

 "They are prostitutes." 

I refused to agree with him saying that it was not possible. It seems that I'm naive. I rarely recognize prostitutes. First, because they wear the clothes that the Lambda Ivorian girl wears all over the city. Skimpy dresses, outfits that show more skin than they hide is the new fashion. If you want to use clothes to jugde, more than half of girls are prostitutes. Then I can barely identify them because I have trouble understanding how they can prostitute themselves in a place full of light, with their faces uncovered. 

What if someone recognizes you? What if your parent goes through there? What if tomorrow you want to stop this "trade"? The past does not die. It hides in a corner to reappear when we take our happiness for granted. I looked them carefully at the favor of the red light. Curvaceous, acceptable faces. In more decent clothes, they could have fit in the good mother role. What can push a lady to do that ? Is there no other alternative? 

This is a huge risk they are taking by following men they do not know in sordid places. Their life is in danger.  On the other side, the life of the customer too is in danger. Behind these angelic faces can hide serial killers, who knows? 

I was even more stunned when the person with me said, "and there are even boys disguised among them ." 

-Boys? May God help his children. 

PRESS RELEASE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF YOUNG FILMAKERS OF CÔTE D'IVOIRE

A series of seven workshops including six of screenplays rewriting of short films and one of directing ended in Abidjan this Saturday, April 21. Organized by the Association of Young Filmmakers of Côte d'Ivoire (AJTEC-CI) with support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the Netherlands, these sessions were attended by 21 young Ivorian filmmakers. 

"These workshops were great times of learning. I am sure that what I learned will help me during my whole career," said Isabelle Kouraogo, student in film directing and author of a selected scenario. 

These workshops, which started on February 18, 2012, are part of a global program to produce three short films. A screenplay competition was launched for this purpose in December 2011. The three scenarios chosen by an international jury have been rewritten in two sessions per project, led by experienced writers. These include Ivorian filmmakers Akaffou Bertin, Désiré Téhua and Ernest Kouacou. The production workshop which took place on April 21 was led by the filmmaker and film school director N'Drya Jean. 

"Additional rewriting sessions were needed to refine some projects but we are really happy with this important phase. The three scenarios are now ready to become great movies," said Honoré Essoh, Chairman of the Executive Committee of AJTEC-CI. 

 In collaboration with its partners the association will proceed in the shooting of the three films in May. Created on November 13, 2010 the AJTEC-CI is an association of young directors, cameramen, editors, screenwriters and other filmmakers. Its main objectives are to train its members and help to revitalize the film and television sectors in Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan, April, 21, 2012 

 For more information, please contact the association AJTEC-CI at email address ajtecci@yahoo.fr or phone numbers: +225 08 28 14 14 or +225 08 51 70 08.

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT AND THE COMEDY OF DEVELOPMENT

Let it be clear. This is not an Alassane Ouattara's matter. It is a problem that you can easily notice in most of our african countries. Côte d'Ivoire is just not an exception. When a president must pay a visit to a particular region, you can see people working hard and fast to make the area beautiful for the cameras. Suddenly, there is money to solve most of the problems.

See the exemple of Man. The President Alassane Ouattara must visit the population of the region. So, they are building roads, cleaning fields, renovating stadium, electrifying some places, painting buildings...Why ? This is not the reality of what people are living. This reality I think the president must see, live and experience to be able to take relevant decision to improve the well-being of population. This sound so fake to me. It's seems it's just a political move and not a real attempt of showing kindness. 

If there is money, the governement should not wait for a visit of the president to consider a solution to the problems of the population. Côte d'ivoire is not limited to Abidjan and Yamoussoukro. 

I'm persuaded that all these works done in the hurry won't remain very long after the passage of the president. But will the television go there again to show it ? This is not so sure. According to all that, I can finally say that there is an efficient solution for the development of the entire country. We should give a schedule to the President for the five years of his exercise. In this schedule, he will have to visit every single area, town, street and village of this country. The governement will give money for the comedy of development and everybody will be happy... for a while.

MY BIRTHDAY WISHLIST

My birthday is approaching fast. It’s the 10th of this month. Last year at this same period, we were struggling with more important questions like: “are we going to live until next day?”. "Will Ado and Gbagbo let us have peace in our own country ?"

Gun noises were everywhere. Death was at the corner of each road, waiting patiently to great us, sometimes, bursting into homes,  through lost bullets. By God’s grace, here am I today. Here are we all, if we are able to read this. And I guess we are grateful to still be alive. 

During the war I learned so many things. I learned the simple life. That was the greatest gift I received. We don’t really need most of the things we are fighting to possess. I’m not saying one should stay in poverty or make a vow of austerity, if he has sufficient resources to live in opulence. I'm just declaring that we don’t really need it to be happy, purely and truly. In fact we must learn to be happy without it and confortable with it.

All the people who met me after the crisis see me as a natural woman. Natural because, I don’t use artificial hairs and I don’t put make up on my face (except for pictures), nailpolish, fake nails, fake eyelashes, fake whatever... Most of the time I don’t wear jewels. And even my clothes are simple. I am at ease in a jeans and a top. I'm not quiet sure I know how to suffer gracefully on high heels. 

Some people are happy with it.  Others are saying I should pay more attention to my appearance and be like other young girls of 23 going on 24.

Both group are wrong. I learned not to feel bad or ugly just because I don’t have all those things on me. I learned that being simple, is being me, as looking sophisticated is too. The most important, the most valuable treasure I should cherish and develop is not my appearance but what lies under the clothes, the flesh, the bones, the blood,…it’s me. The spirit living in me. My brains, my personality, my soul, all those things invisible, untouchable, so deep that I am not able myself to understand the depth of it. 

During the crisis I learned that I should value life. I should waste less and focus more on important thing. I discovered that only two spoons of sugar is sufficient in my coffee instead of the five or six I used to put in he cup. I realized that fish was delicious in a stew, even if there is no meat. I used to be a meat lover. It does not matter anymore.

So to come back to my birthday wishlist, I want first, things which will help me to learn, elevate my soul and my spirit to another level like an Ipad lol.  I'll be glad to receive jewels, watches, shoes, bags, clothes, perfume, and all those girly girly things. I like them, I need them. But it will be my greatest joy, recieving books.

-Books about spirituality. I'm a christian so, don't buy me books on other religions for the moment. I'm still trying to understand my faith, and then, I will have sufficient tools and maturity to understand other people faith, that's my point of view. No offense. Books about relationship, business and advertising.

Please don't you all buy the same books oh ! Talking about books there are some african authors I'm eager to read:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Alain Mabanckou, Serge Bilé, Chinua Achebe (Arrow of God), Calixthe Beyala...

-Laugh or not but I want to learn how to sew. I like to make my own clothes. If only I can have the opportunity to get the training in a school, few hours, each week-end, I'll be really really happy. A book showing how to sew won't be bad.

-I want to improve my german. Let's be honest. I want to learn it all over again. I really like the language and even if you can find all the information you need on internet, I would like to have a scholarchip to learn at Goethe Institut.

Apart from it, I would appreciate DVD of Adams Apples by the Ghanaian Shirley Frimpong Manso. I only have the chapter one and the chapter two of the series. I also search "The figurine", by Kunle Afolayan and some others I don't even know if it has already been put in DVD.lol.

Some people asked me what I want for my bithday. Even if the article is a little answer, I think as I  told them that they should act according to their heart. A gift is a gift. A "happy B day", a call, a prayer, are gifts too, valuable gifts. If you don't forget the date, it's sufficient.