Korhogo (Fides Service) - "With the power of love we replied to those who tried to chase us away" missionaries in Korhogo, in the far north of Ivory Coast tell Fides Service. Since September 2002 the city has been in the hands of the rebels Ivory Coast Patriotic Movement. "Since the agreement was made between the rebels and the government the situation is calm, although there remains the problem of prisoners still held by the rebels who need to be liberated" say the missionaries.
"The people want peace and they see and appreciate the efforts made by the Christian community to provide humanitarian assistance and promote reconciliation. While some Muslim extremists during the war prayed for war, we have always prayed for peace and the people remember this. Now from the mosques in the city we hear only words of peace and this makes us very happy".
"The humanitarian efforts of the Church focus on three areas: educaiton, youth and health-care. State schools are all closed since teachers fled. So we have opened schools in every parish. In the Don Bosco parish alone we have 4000 pupils ages 6 to 17 and more than 60% of them are Muslims. This too is a sign of reconciliation much appreciated by the people.
"Bides this we have afternoon recreation activities to relieve the tension of war. Keeping children at school is also a way to keep the young people occupied and prevent them from being recruited. Our concern is in fact that 14-15 year olds, and even younger boys, could be forced to join adult troops.
"We have also set up health-care structures in support of the local hospital. At present there is a shortage of blood for transfusions. One poor mother died giving birth because the hospital had not blood for a transfusion. We are calling on people, even our older school pupils, to go to the hospital to donate their blood ".
The refugee emergency continues. According to the UN World Food Programme there are at least 37,000 refugees around Guiglo (north-west) and between 40,000 and 50,000 more around the town of Duekoue. Missionaries of the local Salesian mission contacted by Fides Service say they are assisting some 3,000 displaced persons, mostly Burkina Faso citizens.
At the political level on 3 April there was the first the Cabinet Meeting at which rebel leaders also participated. Political observers contacted by Fides Service, voice cautious optimism with regard to the future evolution of the country: "The fact that the rebels agreed at last to take part in the Cabinet Meeting is a reason for prudent optimism, because full agreement on issues such as disarmament, on which opinions differ, has yet to be reached. LM (Fides Service 4/4/2003 EM lines 33 Words: 458)