There is a small rural community in northwestern Central African Republic, right on the border with Chad. It is a remote village in a remote region in what is essentially a forgotten part of the world. As the crow flies, it lies about 400km north of the capital Bangui, but to drive there would take more than 12 hours on rocky dirt roads.

Initially, I hadn’t planned to go there as part of Refugees International’s two-week assessment mission. But on the advice of an aid worker, my colleague and I took a detour from the main road. We were on a narrow pathway, and could tell we were the first car to use it in weeks, as the tire tracks were separated by tall grass.

The northwest is one of the most densely populated regions of CAR – and it’s rare to drive more than a few kilometers without coming across a village. In this case however, we didn’t see anything – save for the dense vegetation on either side – for the first half hour. We stopped, thinking we were headed in the wrong direction. That’s when we reached the village we were seeking.

Most of the houses on either side of the road had been abandoned for more than two years – since the Central African armed forces had burned the village and killed a man. This was a rebel-controlled area, and civilians were suspected of aiding the armed rebellion. Today, the villagers lived a few kilometers away from the road, in makeshift dwellings. We spoke to the head teacher of the community, a middle-aged man named Isaac. He had come back that day to use the school facilities. When he heard the sound of our car approaching, he instructed all the children to flee back to the bush – as motorized vehicles can mean an army convoy. It is striking that more than two years after the army’s attack – the villagers still live in a state of constant fear.

Isaac said that his community wanted peace. He was following politics in Bangui through his battery-powered short-wave radio. He was confident that the ongoing political dialogue between the rebels and the government would bring stability and security to the region.

A few days later we were in Bangui and relayed his story to the politicians there. We told them that this is what this dialogue should be about: peace and safety. But the hope of the civilian population is matched by the cynicism of politicians. This is the third national dialogue in the past decade. The previous ones have failed and already there are disagreements undermining the current one.

Yet there is no better alternative. At the very least, this dialogue should produce an agreement on ending the cycle of violence. The armed rebellion does not have the capacity to depose the national government, nor do governmental forces have the ability to defeat a dispersed guerilla group. What may ultimately make the difference this time around is that now the international community is exerting pressure on all sides.

Let us hope that Isaac is right.

--Patrick Duplat

Labels: Central African Republic