BEAUTIES AND BEASTS

Miss Cote d'Ivoire, the pursuit of excellence. The slogan can be shocking when you listen to the questionable interventions of contestants. However, there is no reason to be offended. One thing is to seek excellence, another is to find it. This is perhaps what explains the great annual journey across the entire country, of the Organizers. They want to find that rare girl combining physical and intellectual beauty and it's quite difficult. 

Each year, this national competition raises questions about the reasons of its existence and its durability. But if some people want it to be canceled, others require the decoration of the Chairperson of the committee. Why not start by removing the phase of 'general culture'? That would be a breath of oxygen, for the reputation of the organizers, suffocating under the weight of criticism due to the intellect of the young ladies. 

On Saturday, June 4, 2012 again, the answers of pretenders to the throne were almost pitiful. They looked like pupils reciting a lesson not well learned. It was a shame. Then, Miss Gabon spoke, and it was  last nail to the cross of the shame of Ivorian. 

The show has so many things wrong. A faulty sound system, technical failures and a troubled host with bad jokes. Whether we liked it or not, a new beauty queen was elected. To help the frail shoulders of the girl, who must bear alone the burden of representing the Ivorian beauty on the international scene...gifts, great gifts and ... millions. 

A home to be well protected from the weather. A car not to exhaust her legs in the jungle of Abidjan pedestrians. Millions, to congratulate her for her efforts because walking with high heels is not everybody's portion! The contestant number 15 has learned it the hard way. 

Who said that there is no money in this country? The millions are here. Let's girls start parading in swimsuits. You see sponsors opening their big wallet. Are they not free to invest their money in the activity they like? What if the first lady wants to give a contribution? Who are we to complain? 

Nobody! Nobody but Ivorian noticing that governments are coming and going, elected or installed by force, but this competition remains the same. Worse, it gives birth to other versions by district, campus, age group, body parts. 

We are only bitter. As far as our mind can think,  we don't see how we could win over 15 million CFA francs, a villa and a car by only one-night of hard work. 

Maybe, we are idiots, beasts of burden because we cannot understand. We cannot understand people asking us to walk on the golden way of patience, with an empty stomach, when all the gold are constantly  removed for Queens' crown and to strengthen Kings' power.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PRISONNERS HUNT

Published in  L'intelligent d'Abidjan of May 22, 2012 

Prison break in Korhogo, Katiola Dimbokro Agboville, Abidjan ... It seems our prisons are real sieves. Yet they rebuilt the House of Detention and Correction of Abidjan after the post-election crisis. Around  two billions francs CFA spent. Obviously,  it did not include the strengthening of the security, but only the beauty and comfort of the infrastructure. But even in gold, a prison remains a prison, and the new prison, just as porous as the old one , has unleashed a flood of residents. Now, the police is trying to catch them. 

It's quiet amazing, when you know that safety is a priority for the new government which promised big changes. Easier said than done. Unable to prevent, they try to heal and sometimes find themselves playing the doctors after death. The exercise of power is not easy. 

In an attempt to catch the escapees, raids were introduced. The announcement was made on television to make it official and reassure all the people worried by the increased presence of military in the streets.

At 21heures, they invest the streets exactly as they do when there is a curfew. Strangely they don't check the identity of drivers. There target are pedestrians only.

It is known, fugitives moves only at night and by foot. Since "escaped" is not written on someone's forehead or on the identity card, people caught are taken to the police academy for verification. Which one ? Do they have a software which can tell if someone has been in jail, if he has finished to pay his debt to society or not, just by using his digital print, or entering his name ? I doubt it!

So the good citizens are forced to remain confined in their homes, not to risk falling into the tight mesh of a net that does not immediately distinguish between varieties of fish he takes. Finally, we are all prisoners.

With this campaign, the government exposed itself to critics. And they have already started. They are  talking about abuse, violence, injury to the dignity of man and torture during the arrests. They say it is a diversion to legitimize the witch hunt, or rather the "pro-Gbagbo sorcerers." hunt.

Whose fault is it, if such statements are made ? We are not in a usual scenario. There was a violent and bloody conflict, before the new President could start leading the country. Each step should be focused on reconciliation and surrounded by a good communication campaign.

INVITATIONS AND ME

People often get angry with me because I don't honor their invitations. I want to explain one reason behind my behavior.

When it comes to invitations, I have two principles and I am trying so hard to stick to it : 1-Never accept an invitation that will require spending money when I have no money and 2-never order something that my money cannot buy. I must have at least  in my pocket my transportation fees and the price of the food I eat.

Some guys  invite girls to eat and then  run away without paying. Others  ask you to come with a taxi, promising to pay. But, you cannot find them at the place of the appointement. I've heard so many embarrassing situations on the subject.

 A friend had been invited by a well known DJ. We were still in secondary school. He was not as famous as he is today. She had very little money and she wasted it on phone calls (because he was late) and drinks (she was thirsty while waiting). When he finally came, he did not pay for her drinks and for the calls.  Worse, he said he had an urgent appointment. They took a cab and once he arrived at his destination, he paid the exact amount appearing on the counter at that moment.  (750 or 950 F CFA , I don't remember). She had no money. She went to a friend's house to borrow money. The friend was absent. She had to explain everything to her friend's mother. All this embarrassement could have been avoided. 

Another acquaintance was invited to the beach by a suitor. When they ordered, he received a phone call. He had to make a quick run to Abidjan, but he promised to come back soon. He left 20 000 CFA francs to the girl. She was sitting at the table and ate well. It was getting late. No news of the guy. Phone closed. She decided to ask for the bill: 20 000 FCFA. She had nothing to go home. Can you imagine ? Alone, at night, in Bassam. I'll spare you more details. Thank God, she is still there to tell this story. 

When I finally explain why I didn't accept their invitation, some people are offended. 

"You do not trust me ! I thought we were friends" 

"When I invite a woman I take care of everything. What is this misplaced feminism?"

Gentlemen, it is not a problem of trust or feminism. I just do not want to get to wash dishes in a restaurant. I refuse to have to beg for money on the street. 

"Excuse me, I came to see a friend who told me he was going to pay my transportation to go home, but he is not there and his phone is closed. I need 500 CFA. Please. " God forbid.

It can be done in order to do harm or not (something unexpected can happen), but the result is the same: shame, humiliation. One word is enough for the wise.

 Photos: atoo.ci

PUBLISHED OR NOT A VIDEO OF YOUR THIEF?

The most influential blogger in Nigeria, Linda Ikeji, was robbed of her phone while she was trying on shoes in a store. She realized the device was missing when she was in her car. Apart from the shop workers, there was another client, a woman, who was already gone when she went back to search her phone. The vendors said they had not seen it and she returned home.

Few days later, she was contacted by the same store. The phone has not been found yet but one of their camera filmed from start to finish how the device was stolen by the other client, a woman. Incredible! She clearly saw the young woman retrieving the device from her bag, hiding it under clothes.
Once her victim was gone, she put the phone in her own bag and left the shop after writing a fake name and a wrong phone number in the register of the store.

Now, the shop manager is ready to give this video to the blogger, who receives over 50,000 hits a day on her site.She has the authorization to do whatever she wants with it: post on youtube, twitter, facebook, everywhere. But she wonders if it would be a good thing. It can ruin the life of the thief and after all it's just a phone. What do you think? Should her post the video or not?

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.