This is a little out of date now, but I wanted to post it nonetheless. Internet access has been shoddy at best. I will be sure and update further once I have a chance.
The current political situation in Madagascar is extremely complicated and it will take years for people much smarter and with better resources then I to understand what exactly has been going on here for the last couple of months. There are huge underlying problems including poverty and corruption and misuse of government funds. Issues that it would take books to analyze.
But for those that have asked here is a quick and overly simplified recap of the current political situation in Madagascar and the situation of Peace Corps, as I understand it. In January 2008 there were mayoral elections here in Madagascar and the man that was elected as Mayor of the capitol (Tana) is a man named Andry who is not part of the President's (Marc) political party TIM. Both Andry and Marc are consummate businessmen and very wealthy. Marc is the richest man in the country. He owns a company called Tiko, which has a virtual monopoly on essential food products like oil and all dairy products. He also owns the Hilton hotel in Tana and a large number of other businesses as well as TV and radio stations. Andry comes from a rich family and is a well known DJ. About 12 or 13 years ago (or possibly more) Andry was dating Marc's daughter and it is said that she got pregnant and Andry's family (being from old money) did not approve of her and refused to let Andry marry Marc's daughter. So, there is the family feud part of the story.
In December of last year Andry started running anti-Marc stuff on his TV station VIVA. So Marc closed VIVA. As soon as the station was closed Andry started calling for protests in the center of town. For a number of weeks running there were anti-Marc protests every Saturday in Tana. Then on Sunday, January 25th Marc got fed up with being protested so he put out an arrest warrant for Marc. This really pissed people off and set off large protests throughout the city. Which then led to even larger protests and rioting on Monday January 26th which involved looting and burning of stores and the national TV station and all the ware houses that stocked Tiko products. On Tuesday the rioting and looting spread from Tana to other cities including, Tamatave and Mahajanga. ON Tuesday afternoon Peace Corps decided to put all PCVs on high alert, telling us to prepare for consolidation and possible evacuation.
On Tuesday evening I left Anivorano with Mbola's family as there had been threats against the family. The threats never came to anything but we wanted to be safe so we went to Brickaville and spent two days there. Everyone was scared and rumors were flying. All the radio and TV stations had been cut so there was no way to get news except by rumor. On Thursday Peace Corps called all volunteers to consolidate. Depending on your location in the country and the situation in each location volunteers were consolidated to a number of safe and secure locations. Most of the volunteers in my region, Tamatave, were consolidated to a small mission 6 km north of the city where another PCV worked. Because Peace Corps did not want us entering the city and because my site is one of the few south of Tamatave I was consolidated directly to Tana on Friday and moved to the Peace Corps training center on Saturday. The Training center is in a small town called Mantasoa about 70 km from Tana. It is a large compound with beds for over 80 volunteers and staff to keep us fed and clean for as long as necessary. The first couple of days at Mantasoa there were approximately 60 volunteers, by the time we deconsolidated there were 80 as Peace Corps continued to further consolidate volunteers to be on the safe side.
The 18 days that we were in Mantasoa were extremely challenging and heart rending. We never knew from one day to the next what was going to happen. If we would be returning to site or being evacuated. I didn't know when I would see Mbola again. Maybe it would be a couple of days, maybe not for a year. It was an emotional roller coaster.
During the time that we were in Mantasoa Andry declared himself president of Madagascar. He called for the people to march on the ministries and take over the government. Marc then declared that Andry was no longer Mayor of Tana and appointed a new major. On the same day Andry resigned as mayor and appointed another replacement. The worst was on February 7th when protesters marched on the presidential palace and the military opened fire on a crowed of unarmed civilians. Over 20 people were killed and hundreds injured. We though for sure at this point that we would all get evacuated. But ten days later Peace Corps had decided that it was safe enough for us to return to our sites. Things had calmed down and there were promises of negotiations.
Because of the uncertainty of the situation Peace Corps gave everyone the option of closing service and leaving country if they did not feel safe in the country or did not want to stay. A number of volunteers took this option but the majority have stayed.
The political situation is still extremely unstable. Talks between Marc and Andry have recently broken down leading to a resurgence of protest marches and minor violence in the capitol. On Friday February 27th Andry called for renewed protest marches and a general strike starting Monday and ending only when Madagascar has a new government. As of Wednesday Marc forbid any further protests and has closed the center of Tana. Using a large military presence and tear gas to disperse the crowds and prevent anyone from entering the center of town. This has caused the protests and violence to spread throughout the city instead of being concentrated in the center. As of Friday March 6th, there are continued clashes between protesters and police.
None of us knows what is going to happen. There is still the possibility that things could get worse and Peace Corps could be evacuated. But we cannot live in a state of constant uncertainty so we are going about our lives and making plans and moving forward on those plans, with the idea in the backs of our minds that evacuation is still a possibility.
Peace Corps has done an amazing job of keeping is all safe and informed, and doing everything they can in this very difficult situation to help each and everyone of us deal with our problems and make the decision that is best for us.