Central African Republic: 6: Coups, Wars, and Hidden Beauty

There are some countries that I’m finding have a vast array of books either written about them or set there. Choosing what to read can therefore be difficult. There are others that have a few options and so making a selection can be quite easy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Central African Republic doesn’t have a huge range of national literature to choose from. With a literacy rate of just over 50% this is perhaps not so surprising.

I’ve read a little about CAR lately in relation to the latest political violence and humanitarian situation. A month or two ago we met with Medecines San Frontiers – the medical group who is doing some good humanitarian work there. One of the women had lived in CAR. She said that CAR was actually very beautiful – with forested landscapes and very warm and welcoming people. Hence I decided on a book that would hopefully provide a view of this kind of CAR. So I chose Central African Republic: in pictures by Matt Doeden. This is a series of books of countries in pictures and seems to target upper primary school or middle school children. But I found it a nice read (particularly as I’m tackling a few dense books that will feature later), and provides a simple and easy overview of elements of CAR.

The book was written in 2009. It has a weirdish feel like you are kind of on the internet – some words are highlighted as though they are a link, and a cursur sometimes features on the page. But there are pictures which helps to paint a picture what CAR actually look like (I actually wish there were actually more) and it does give a bit of a sense of what it might be like there.

Despite a long and ancient history, CAR has suffered in recent times – from aggressive slavery, to colonial profit by the French, to perhaps premature independence which sparked a spate of autocratic regimes to most recently a series of political coups amid some awful violence. Despicably greedy regimes have kept the majority of people in poverty and fuelled conflict by lawless rebel groups.

Interesting, many of CAR’s leaders have had expansionist views. In 1958 they adopted the very nice and colourful flag which was designed by CAR’s first Prime Minister who had originally designed it for the United States of Latin Africa.

Then there came CAR’s ‘self proclaimed emperor’ who ruled from 1965 – 1979, Jean-Bedel Bokassa who not only crowned himself emperor of the nation – he also renamed it the Central African Empire. The crowning ceremony cost half of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product. He fed his enemies to crocodiles and was brutal in his treatment of civilians while lining his pockets and future with diamond wealth. I’ve added Dark Age to my future reading list.

I learnt that the official currency of CAR is the CFA Franc. CFA stands for Communaute Financiere Africaine, or African Financial Community. The CFA franc is also the currency of neighbouring Cameroon, Chad Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

As to the future of CAR, the introduction pretty much sums it up:

“Since 1960 the nation has faltered under inefficient and often corrupt leadership. The level of production achieved by some parts of the economy in the early years of independence has been lost. Despite many promise of political freedom for Central Africans, government officials have abused their power. National leaders have postponed elections, broken their country’s laws, and taken financial advantage of their governmental positions.

“The Central African Republic faces a host of challenges in the present and near future. The nation’s economy is in shambles. The government doesn’t have enough money to pay its employees. Constant rebellions and attempts to take over the government have badly destabilised the nation, and political unrest in the neighbouring countries of Chad and Sudan has spilled across CAR borders. Short life expectancy, low literacy rates, and an undeveloped infrastructure intensify the challenges.

“But hope remains. The nation is rich in natural resources, from diamonds to timber to natural beauty. A strong leader and stable government would be an important first step towards progress and prosperity.”

Gee, let’s hope so!