I (Sal) would like to share some information about this country, which I've grown an interest in since meeting "H" is a new UMM Int'l Student attending UMM this year (Fall of 2005), which I've learned a lot since I picked him up from Alexandria the day before classes!
I told him that I became more familiar of this country when it made news 5 or so years ago. The country had the United Nations intervene during a civil war. My local associate pastor had relatives there during the uprising, which he and his wife had to flee the country. This country borders Ghana, which I'm very familiar with friends from there. Herman actually told me his ancestors/family members came from a tribe in Ghana! The food in the Ivory Coast is very similar to Ghanan, which I like! I had the opportunity to taste this myself the other day when Herman invited me to eat some spicy chicken with bread (from Willies). Also, this country was colonized by France, which they claimed their independence in 1960.
"H" had the opportunity last weekend to attend his first "American" football game...
An Article Written from A UMM Student from the Ivory Coast-Africa
"Hello guys! My name is "H" . I am a citizen of the Ivory Coast. No, its not a Caribbean islanduh, a coast made of ivory? Dont think soand its not in Oceania either, sorry. I know, I know and its okayI cant really blame you. Maybe youd find the correct answer if I told you that in December 1999, my country knew its first military coup; in 2000, violent political rivalries led to the death of 200 civilians and in 2004, France even had to intervene militarily. See now? Wait a minuteAre you talking about an African country? Yeah, there you go! Nice try!...
"Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government."
"A video posted online shows a peaceful demonstration in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan transformed into a slaughter. U.S. officials said seven women were killed. (Due to graphic content, viewer discretion is advised"
"(CNN) -- A video posted online documents in chilling, graphic detail the transformation Thursday of a peaceful demonstration in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan to a slaughter by what appear to be forces loyal to self-proclaimed President Laurent Gbabgo.
U.S. officials said Friday that the attack left seven women dead, but Gbagbo rival Alassane Ouattara put the death toll at 12, including a child, with another 110 people wounded.
The video was broadcast widely on opposition television in the Ivory Coast. CNN staffers familiar with Abidjan said the video appeared to have been recorded in the capital city.
The video, about eight minutes, is posted on YouTube. In it, hundreds of people, most of them women dressed in brightly colored garb, are seen smiling, chanting, playing horns, blowing whistles and dancing. Many of them are carrying signs with slogans written in French that refer to Gbagbo as "assassin" and "robber of power." One of them holds a poster declaring Gbagbo's rival, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, as president. None of them appears to be carrying a weapon.
Dark clouds hang low.
But the chanting soon stops, replaced by an eerie quiet, as the hand-held camera turns away from the crowd and focuses on the approach of a convoy of three camouflage-painted armored vehicles, one of them bearing the word "Police."
Without any apparent warning, a volley of three bursts from a heavy-caliber gun pierces the quiet, followed by screams as the marchers, including whoever is holding the camera, run from the street, leaving behind pavement littered with flip-flops, clothing and tote bags.
To a soundtrack of wailing, the camera then makes its way toward individual mounds of flesh on the pavement, each steeped in a pool of red. One woman appears to have been decapitated; another has suffered a deep wound in the neck; yet another a deep wound in the back. The latter, her torso soaked in red, tries to raise her head from the pavement but soon gives up, lowering back down.
A spokesman for Gbagbo, Sylvere Nebout, said in a telephone interview that he knew nothing about the video, but added that this is "as usual, a manipulation from the opposition."
He forwarded a statement from army spokesman Col. Hilaire Babri Gohourou, which aired Friday night on television. It denied involvement of defense and security forces. "These charges are necessarily false and without any ground," he said, adding that no security and defense forces had been in the area of the attack -- the Abidjan suburb of Abobo -- on Thursday.
"I'm in a state of shock," said Youssoufou Bamba, the U.N. ambassador to the Ivory Coast and a supporter of Ouattara. "Having watched that video now, I'm quite depressed.
He accused Gbagbo -- a southern Christian -- of seeking to foment the nation's descent toward civil war. "Actually, he's conducting an ethnic cleansing because the people who have been killed have been killed along ethnic lines," Bamba said, referring to the mostly Muslim people from the northern and central parts of the country and from neighboring countries.
He called for the United Nations to be given "a robust mandate" for its peacekeeping operation in the country. And the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, should step in and protect the civilians," Bamba said. "Otherwise, as long as this crisis lasts, people will be killed." He put the death toll in the past three months at 600.
The United Nations has said that at least 365 people have been killed since the crisis started in December.
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that the United States "strongly condemns Laurent Gbagbo's acts of violence perpetrated against the people of Cote d'Ivoire, including his security forces' attack yesterday on unarmed women demonstrators that left seven dead. Gbagbo and his forces have shown a callous disregard for human life and the rule of law, preying on the unarmed and the innocent. He should step aside immediately in the name of peace."
She called for an immediate end to the violence. "Military leaders, regime officials, and others responsible for directing or committing violent acts against civilians will have to answer for their actions," she said.
In early December, Ivory Coast's Independent Electoral Commission declared Ouattara the winner of the presidential election but the Constitutional Council refused to validate the results. The head of the CC is an ally of Gbagbo.
The IEC says Ouattara received 54.1% of the runoff vote, but Gbagbo said results from a northern region were fraudulent.
The U.N. Security Council and international powers endorsed Outtara.
Both men have named their own cabinets and are claiming the presidency. Outtara has been working from a hotel and has been protected by U.N. peacekeepers.
The French Foreign Ministry also condemned the attacks and called on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to "establish an inquiry commission which will be credible, independent and impartial under the U.N. auspices."
The ministry also called on the "Ivorian Laurent Gbagbo-controlled media to stop spreading messages of hatred and violence."
Since the clashes began, hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, with about 200,000 leaving the Abidjan area alone.
The United Nations refugee agency warned Friday that it is becoming impossible to maintain access to people in need of urgent humanitarian aid due to the escalating violence. "
"AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- Ivory Coast (IC) is a nation on an ethnic-religious fault-line with a predominantly agrarian Muslim north and a predominantly urbanised, industrial and administrative Christian and animist south. Presidential aspirant Alassane Ouattara is an ambitious former Prime Minister and Northern Muslim who plays the race and religion cards for political gain. This has fuelled tensions and aggravated divisions during economically stressful times as IC has been struggling under the weight of decades of mass Muslim immigration. Ouattara has long sought the naturalisation of all immigrants which would mean an immediate Muslim majority in IC. Those who object to that outcome are labelled 'Islamophobic', 'racist' and 'xenophobic'. Ouattara has the backing of Islamic states precisely because he is a Muslim prepared to play the Muslim-as-victim card for political gain.
Ivory Coast (IC) went to the polls on 31 October 2010 even though the northern rebels, in violation of all agreements, had not disarmed. In IC, as in most democracies, an electoral commission manages the mechanics of an election whilst a constitutional council or court investigates complaints before proclaiming the final result. On 2 December IC's Electoral Commission -- dominated by Ouattara supporters by a margin of 20-2 -- illegally pre-empted the Constitutional Council's decision and broadcast via French TV from Ouattara's headquarters that Ouattara had won the election. When the Constitutional Council, which had been investigating irregularities, announced on 3 December that Gbagbo was the winner, a political stalemate ensued.
Fortunately for Ouattara, numerous foreign powers covet access to IC's immense agricultural (coffee, cocoa) and mineral (diamonds, oil) wealth. Because he is prepared to sell out IC's sovereignty and wealth in exchange for power, Ouattara has the backing of these resource-hungry foreign powers, especially neo-colonialist France. Bolstered by the support of the 'international community', Ouattara has moved to take power by force.
As noted in last week's RLPB, IC as a former French colony is obliged to hand over 85 percent of all its foreign currency reserves to the French treasury. This poverty-perpetuating neo-colonialism is exactly what President Laurent Gbagbo, a staunch nationalist, has been fighting against. This is why France is so keen for regime change in IC that it has sent attack helicopters against the Presidential Palace and Ivorian military barracks (in the name of 'humanitarianism'!) ignoring the fact that these facilities not only house whole families but also abut residential areas.
While UN and French helicopters were attacking Ivorian positions in Abidjan, northern militias allied to Alassane Ouattara were pressing south. As this RLPB was being prepared, UN peacekeepers were guarding tens of thousands of civilians seeking refuge in a church in Duekoue, the southern town where some 800 were recently killed during an attack by northern militias. Virtually all state institutions, including the army, are loyal to President Gbagbo -- as is at least half the registered population -- so Abidjan will not submit willingly. The rebels would never be able to win or retain power without Western support. Fortunately for them, Islamic and Western 'interests' meet once again. Their goal: the removal of a secular (in this case Christian) staunchly nationalist president and replacing him with an ambitious, exploitable puppet who will advance not IC's interests but his own.
In 1913 William Wade Harris of Liberia crossed into Ivory Coast preaching the power of Christ over spirits. Dressed in white and carrying a cross, a Bible and a bowl, he baptised thousands and according to E Isichei (1995) 'permanently rewrote the religious geography of the Ivory Coast'. But permanence can never be assumed. Good must be treasured and preserved. What Harris achieved, greed and mass Muslim immigration have undone. Once the most free and prosperous country in all West Africa, IC may never recover. Religious liberty and Christian security, once 'guaranteed', will be tenuous now."
"Helping an African community in Ivory Coast to recover from the ravages of civil war by providing books, desks, medical equipment and building materials. For more information go to http://aid4gogo.blogspot.com"
"I carried the cross through West Africa from Sierra Leone through Cameroon. I had a Land Rover with supplies and a bed inside. In each nation or language area I would hire a driver that could also be my interpreter when I preached. I would stand on the hood of the Land Rover and preach. The driver would go in front for a few miles or to the next village and wait for me to arrive. Should it be a village I would preach. Most of the time almost everyone in the village or town would gather to hear the message and see the cross. Often in a day I would preach to from a few thousand to tens of thousands of people. Many hundreds to thousands of people prayed the sinner's prayer to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord and to become a follower of Jesus.
Every day was hot. I poured sweat and had to drink, drink, and drink, not to dehydrate. Sometimes I was in open country but much of the time I carried the cross through bush trees with small farms along the roadside. Then every short distance was another village. I could see crowds of people around the Land Rover looking and waiting for me to arrive. I would arrive, get some water to drink then stand on the hood of the Land Rover and preach. Then I would do a brief Bible study to show how to live for Jesus.
Then I would sit and rest a few minutes before walking on. People were crowding around trying to talk with me as I rested. Sometime I used the interpreter but often the people who came up to talk spoke English.
In most villages and towns many people would walk through the streets with me. Sometimes I would have hundreds leave town walking and would slowly loose the crowd, as we got further out of town.
Oh, I loved the people! Often the village people were bringing me food to eat as I rested.
Late in the evening we would park the Land Rover in a village near a house and spend the night. I liked to sleep in the homemade bed we had constructed inside the back of the Land Rover. With the windows open it I had a breeze and all my supplies were nearby. I had a radio and could pick up BBC and Voice of America radio. This was my way of keeping up with the world. ...
Today is Easter, the day of the cross. This day we remember that Jesus carried the cross at Calvary. Were it not for this day there would be no hope, no salvation, no life for eternity. But because He died I walk to spread the word of His life. As I pause this day at noon I am exhausted, perhaps as tired as I have ever been. I hurt all over and am so hot. I am so weak I can hardly stand up. I made only 11 miles this morning. I am so sad. I don't know why except the thoughts of Jesus dying for my sins and the sins of the world has filled me with the overwhelming realization of Jesus dying on the cross. I cried and cried and cried. I think of my Lord Jesus, and of all the lost people. The world is so lost and few Christians really care.
I remember the sign we hung over the cross when I was fasting in Hollywood for 28 day. The sign said "Does Anyone Care?" Well, we could hang that sign on the world. Oh how I long to feel the total presence of God in Heaven and I pray I will be a light to the world, way out here in this distant bush....
One day I was carrying the cross along the road. A blind man and a little girl were waiting by the road. When I approached, the blind man wanted to be healed. He had waited two days for me to come.
I prayed for him fully believing he would be healed. He had great faith and had come to the cross. I know the power of God can meet every need as well as heal completely. The man was not healed. At least during the time I was with him. I told him about Jesus and we prayed the prayer to receive Jesus as Savior.
I went on down the road very broken hearted. I was walking along the seaside and I saw a log where I sat and cried. I was asking the Lord Jesus 'why' the man was not healed, was it my lack of faith, the man's or both or what? Jesus spoke to me words like these. “Arthur you walk on. Just pick up that cross and walk on. You prayed, you believed, you did what you are supposed to do. Now leave the results to Me.'
Wiping my tears I picked up the cross and walked on. ...
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Ministry: Healing "..A many days later I carried the cross into Abidjan the capital. A big crowd of people gathered around the cross as I started into the city. I preached and then started to walk on. There were some missionaries from local churches with me, as well as local church members and good interpreters. A blind man stood in the crowd. He wanted to be healed the interpreter explained. I could see he did not even have eyeballs. I could see in my mind the blind man back down the road that was not healed. My mind was filled this time not with faith but fear. Not being able to avoid the man I prayed a short prayer. Lay hands on the man and ask if he knew Jesus as his Savior. He said he was Muslim and would not respond further. I soon walked on through the crowd. A short distance away I heard shouting and the crowd pushed wildly about me trying to touch the cross and me. I was almost knocked down.
"What is happening,' I cried out. The missionaries rushed up and said the blind man was healed. He has eyeballs and can see! Because of the crowd now growing into the thousands I could not get back to see the man. The street was blocked with thousands of pushing, shoving people trying to get to me. People were being knocked down and stepped on by the mobs of people. I went into a store with the cross and out the back way to another street. The police asked me to come back the next day to carry the cross on into town so they could provide me protection and crowd control. We put the cross on top of a car and drove off.
To make a long story short, the next day I carried the cross into the city with tens of thousands lining the streets. We stopped to preach nearly every block or two. Instead of just staying in Abidjan a few days I stayed several weeks! Carrying the cross into a different area each day. It was a time of Holy Glory!
My family flew in to see me including my children, Gina, Joel, Joy and Joshua. ..
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Movies: The Passion, Crucification, Easter, Resurrection, etc..
Bringing Christ to the Loron - Ministry Videos
"Evangelism, Bible translation, literacy and church planting among the Loron tribal people of Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, West Africa"
"Emmanuel moved to the Ivory Coast from Jamaica and then found Christ there. He prayed for his wife, Ramada to find Jesus too. Eventually, both former Muslims were Christian, and they started seeing miracles in their life. Now they are very happy because they have Jesus in their lives and know the true God"
*see Muslim
From : Bennett Adelle
Reply-To : Bennett Adelle prayingsoul@mixmail.com
Sent : Sunday, September 18, 2005 5:41 AM
To : goodnewsumm
Subject : Prayer Request...
Beloved In Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ the Prince of peace and the KING
of kings.
It's a great pleassure for me to write you this short mail of mine, I am Bennett
Adelle a 23 years old single female, I am sorry for any inconveniency that this
mail may cause you. I don't have a computer of my own, a missionary from France
allows me to use her computer since she can't help me in any other way.
I am a Victim of war in (COTE D'IVOIRE) Africa, I do have a small business
before the war where I make my ends meet and take care of my old mother but
unfortunately the REBELS came and destroyed all my properties and set fire on
houses and offices of which mine is one of them, all my things are gone with
fire,all what I have worked for in the past years
are gone just on one day.
You know very well that a victim of war have nothing left for herthat is why I
am writing you this mail to help me in any way the Lord Lord lay in your heart,
to feed and clothe myself and if possible to
re-start my little business again and I know that the Lord shall bless you in
return for doing this, If you can't help me financially I will be glad if you
can help me with FOOD and clothes, and also shoes, any
other things that the LORD lay in your heart for me will be of a great help to
me as well.
I as at now I NO have where to sleep comfortable, no good clothes, no shoes,
infact I lack so many things, I am recently living with my pastor where we are
about 11 people living in a single room. Please I am begger
and not a THIEF, A SWINDLER OR A FRAUDSTER, anything that the Lord lay in your
heart for me will really be of a great HELP at this point in time as I am
seriously going hunger,Please kindly let me know what help you can render so
that I can send you where to send it.
I will be expecting your response my beloved in Christ.May the Lord bless you
abundanly and grant you success in all your dealinds. May the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you and your house hold for ever.
Yours Sister In Christ,
Bennett Adelle
NB: If you have doubts due to too many FRAUDS going on the internet nowadays, I
will send you my PHOTOGRAPH and the contacts of my pastor for you to contact him
and confirm things from him directly.
mrsgloriakrishna@everymail.net
To: mrsgloriakrishna@everymail.net
CC:
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 16:32:22 +0200
Subject: From: Mrs Gloria U. Krishna
From: Mrs Gloria U. Krishna
Abidjan Cote DIvoire,
West Africa.
Dear Good Friend .
I am Mrs. Gloria U. Krisha from Ivory Coast. I am
married to Mr. Lobi U Krishna who worked with our Embassy
in France for nine years before he died in the year 2001.
We were married for eleven years without a child. He died
after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.
Before his death we were both born again Christian. Since
his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside
my matrimonial home which the Bible is against.When my
late husband was alive he deposited the sum of
$1,500.000.00 with a Bank here in Cote D lvoire. Presently
this money is still in the custody of the Bank.
Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the
next eight months due to cancer problem. Having known my
condition I decided to donate this fund to a
church,organization or good person that will utilize
this money the way I am going to instruct herein.
I want a church,organization or good person that will use
this fund for orphanages, widows and for other peoples
that needs help and also propagating the word of God and
to endeavor that the house of God is maintained.
The Bible made us to understand that"Blessed is the hand
that giveth". l took this decision because I don't have
any child that will inherit this money and my husband
relatives are not Christians not even good at all because
they are the one that responsible for the death of my
husband in other to have all my late husband prperties and
I don't want my husband's efforts to be used by those that
conspired for his death.
This is why I am taking this decision, I am not afraid of
death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am
going to be in the bosom of the Lord.Exodus 14 VS 14 says
that "the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my
peace".
I don't need any telephone communication in this regard
because of my health hence the presence of my husband's
relatives around me always. I don't want them to know
about this development and I know that With God all things
are possible.
As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the
contact of the lawyer that will asist us in this project.
I will also issue a letter of authorization to the bank
that will prove you the present beneficiary of this money.
I also want you,church or the organization to always pray
for me because the lord is my only shephard.My happiness
is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that
Wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and
Truth. Please always be prayerful all through your life.
Contact me on the this email address and any delay in your
reply will give me room in sourcing another good person,
church,organization for this same purpose.Please assure me
that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein.
Hoping to receive your response immedaitely.
Thanks and Remain blessed in the Lord.
l remain yours sister in Christ.
Mrs Gloria U. Krishna
For Future Emails Contact (mrsgloriakrishna@yahoo.fr)
------------------- Werbung -----------------------
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und NUR EUR 16,00/Jahr * http://www.emerion.com
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*** sent through http://www.everymail.net FREE e-mail
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 02:56:29 +0200 (CEST)
From: "H"
Subject: RE: Sal-E-mail from Ivory Coast?
To: "Alpha Omega"
Hey Sal,
I've visited your website. It's a good one with interesting facts on my country. The article "Christians facing Terror in Ivory Coast" was amazingly accurate and not so much unbiased, especially from someone who's not an ivorian citizen. About the junk emails you've received, put them where they should be, I mean in the trash bin, because they REALLY junk emails. I sometimes receive many like this. I'll save one for you the next time a fraudster sends me one. Since the political unrest, dishonest people (most of them non-ivorians) prey on innocent victims like NGOs, humanitarian organizations, asking them for money, and so on. Beware not to fall into their trap. Maybe you should send out alerts to affiliate religious organizations like yours to warn them. The senders of the 2 emails you received are not french-speaking persons. I can tell from their last names. Besides, they speak much too good English for people living in Ivory Coast. Besides, the domaine names used are the ones used to deceive people like ..... @everymail is not recognized as a well established server. We'll talk about it next time we meet. Good job with your website
Thank you for visiting GoodnewsEverybody! Please feel free to e-mail me (Sal) at info@goodnewseverybody.com on any comments, suggestions (e.g. any new websites),complaints, or anytype of feedback to improve this website.
