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West Africa, Malta and the Balkans in 1999

GUINEA

Bec
2004-09-18 19:41:09

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Conakry
On the flight from Gambia I met a Dutch aid worker who had been evacuated from Freetown with all other ONG expat personnel after it had been encircled by the rebels. She informed me that the airport had been closed and that the town was expected to fall at any time. Having just missed visiting Guinea Bissau because the civil war there, I was naturally upset to be kept out of Sierra Leone by similar events.

I was picked up at the airport by Talal Abou Khalil's chauffeur, Lanfia who drove me into town. He was visibly dismayed when I asked him to stop to take this photo of Conakry's "Grande Mosque". Only later did I realise that there was a phobia about picture taking in Guinea.

The pension Doherty was fairly expensive at 20$US for a modest room with ceiling fan and shower but the manager Princess and her daughter Dona were friendly and interesting.

Neither the Guinea Bissau civil war nor the one in Sierra Leone are motivated by ideological conflicts. They both arise from greed for the benefits of the corruption associated with power. In Guinea Bissau, a general accused of selling arms on the black market rebelled against the government. In Sierra Leone the struggle for power appears to be related to tribal competition between the Temnes from the north and the Mendes from the south but the real issue is the control of the diamond and gold mines that are a source of great wealth for the few that hold power while they have it.

Drinks at the "Papillon" with Talal (on the right), his Swiss friend Oswald Loosli and wife Joyce (Canadian Consul in Conakry) and their Guinean friend whose name I have forgotten.

I passed immigration at the airport with a letter of invitation signed by the chief of police which my friend Talal had sent me by e-mail but I had to relinquish my passport which I was supposed to pick up duly stamped the following day. It turned out to be not that simple as I got my ...