This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @terresco: La vie sous un coup d'Etat, partie 3
As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.
Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @terresco, a French guy.
The coup d'etat of 1999 in Côte d'Ivoire surprised us on vacation on our favorite beach, where, cut off from the world, we had no information. Guessing that something was wrong we decided to take the risk of returning to Abidjan, looking for news, opportunities to communicate and perhaps a little security. On the road, up to the entrance of Abidjan where this episode begins, everything went well, except for a disturbing calm. My camera under the driver's seat was ready to immortalize the situation.
The crossing of Abidjan
As we expected, the airport roundabout was occupied by a large roadblock, manned by soldiers. We later learned that, as often in Africa, the coup came from the army. They were the masters of the field, they held the boulevards and avenues overflowing with the joy of their recent victory. Although we expected the worst, the barrier was a brutal encounter with reality. Soldiers, at least people wearing military uniforms, armed with war rifles, mostly masked, over-excited by their success and more than likely by alcohol or even some drugs were shooting in the air on all sides.
On this first roadblock there was a manager, an officer I suppose, wearing a gorilla mask but calmer than average. I do not know why, he let us go. The bad news was that we were the only civilians out there that day; with our red car we had to travel about 20 kilometers through the city to get home. Historical truth forces me to confess that the part of a great reporter who was born in me that very morning had evaporated. The camera remained under the seat of the car, as much hidden as possible.
It would be too long and tedious to tell about each roadblock, each negotiation. Let's not talk about the level of stress that we've had. Still, we were advancing, congratulating some diplomatically, not to say hypocritically, gratifying others with a small gift, trying to make fun of a third group. I even had to shoot a burst of a rifle to show my joy of the event, in the air it goes without saying. At least military service, compulsory at the time, was useful to me on this occasion.
Strangely it is the last roadblock, less than two kilometers from our house, which was the most dangerous. The military, maybe those were faked, ordered us to get off the car. We immediately understood that they wanted to steal it, which information later confirmed. They were extremely aggressive but maybe not 100% sure of them, we did not obey and we forced the roadblock, step by step first then full speed. Their hesitation favored us. Do not believe in great courage, rather the instinct of what to do at that moment.
Never, arrived at home, appeared to me so sweet! Car in the garage, doors closed and locked, an impression of security has invaded us, along with a sudden and great tiredness: past stress and the fallout of adrenaline. We were feeling secure in Abidjan after the coup, everything is really relative in life.
What was known at the time about the situation
The phone worked more or less. With a little patience we could talk to friends to reassure each other and know a little what was happening. I'm talking about the version circulating, probably made of manipulations and rumors. The historical truth is surely more complex, I leave it to each one to make an idea of it, if the subject interests them, thanks to the abundant information on the Internet.
A small group of soldiers reportedly blocked a well-known roundabout demanding back pay. Bédié, the president, did not care about it and was finally overthrown on December 24th. As simple as what was later known elsewhere as the Arab Spring. Too simple? Everyone has to judge by themselves.
The new strongman was General Robert Guéï who, moreover, said he was completely foreign to the coup d'etat. In his introductory speech, long as only African politicians know how to do it, he explained that the young people (the soldiers having blocked the roundabout then the TV) had come to look for him while he took care of his garden in his house in the center of the country, to ask him to restore order. Initially, he did not want to intervene but his sense of duty finally forced him to accept.
A sentence pronounced in this same speech became famous: "We came to sweep the house". It is this phrase who will inspire Tiken Jah Fakoly, an Ivorian singer, his song: "Le balayeur balayé" (the sweeper swept). [Robert Gueï will be defeated in elections the following year and assassinated in 2002]. Some have passed Gueï for a saint who came to improve things, a naive surpassed by events. I do not know the truth but the past of the general does not lead me to give much faith to this too Manichean version.
#The evening of December 25
This is what we knew and in what situation we were at the end of Christmas day. More or less distant shots exploded here and there, we were already used to it, we had noticed this morning that they were often pointing to the sky, festive if we can say. The curfew was declared, which for this first day was not very restrictive. Who would have wanted to go for a walk? We had walked enough. We just needed to get organized a bit in case the situation lasted.
Our guard was stuck at home, we loved him. I really think he would have died for us despite our repeated instructions to let thieves through if they came to rob one day. He was a terrific man, he came from Burkina Faso and dreamed of going back to raise a pig farm. I was determined to help him when I left to turn this dream into reality.
What in fact happened was different, consequences of this coup d'etat, barely 24 hours old, probably took him elsewhere in the months that followed. I looked for him a long time, in Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
But during those days, between Christmas and the year 2000, when the world was wondering about the clocks of computers, the bug of the year 2000, we enjoyed together a life where time did not matter more.
It was necessary to organize our life for the days which followed, a few days of life during the coup d'etat ...
Continue to Part 4.
-- @terresco