Peter DiCampo

Ivory Coast - War's End in the West?: War's End in the West?

The post-election violence that plagued Ivory Coast for months has finally ended, as Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of presidential elections, wrestled control from the hands of Laurent Gbagbo, the tyrannical former president. But in the western part of the country, these names were merely the backdrop for a continuing conflict over land rights and cocoa farming profits.

Migrant workers from nearby Mali, Burkina Faso, and other regions of Ivory Coast moved to the west en masse decades ago to farm cocoa in the fertile soil. At first they worked and lived harmoniously with the local tribes, and various unofficial land agreements were made between the two. In many cases, the land was given or sold to the migrants—only to be forcefully taken back once the cocoa trade became enormously profitable.

The wounds of their rivalries, both old and new, are still healing. The recent conflict brought two massacres to the region, one committed by each side, with hundreds of civilians killed. At least 28,000 local people are living in IDP camps, and thousands of locals and immigrants have fled into neighboring Liberia, both afraid to return home for fear of continued reprisal attacks. With the new shift in power, there is hope that those who work the fields will finally reap the benefits of their toil, regardless of their origin. But considering the current state of the region – uncertain and tumultuous to say the least – it remains to be seen whether the next chapter in Ivory Coast’s story will be of continued conflict or a newly forged peace.

A young man hides his face after recounting the story of his injuries from post-election violence, Bangolo Hospital, western Ivory Coast. He was shot by advancing pro-Ouattara forces and left for dead until a passing soldier heard him groan. Out of bullets, the soldier began hacking at him with a machete.
   
An internally displaced woman hides her face after recounting her story of post-election violence, Bangolo Hospital, western Ivory Coast. She was forcibly displaced and beaten by advancing pro-Ouattara forces.
   
A man hides his face after recounting the story of an assault on his four children during post-election violence. They were fleeing from an attack by pro-Ouattara forces in their village when four of his five children were shot with hunting rifles. All of them survived.
     
  
A man hides his face after recounting the story of his injuries from post-election violence. When advancing pro-Ouattara foces attacked his village, his legs were set on fire, and he was badly burned and beaten.
   
Four young men hide their faces after recounting their story of post-election violence, Guiglo, western Ivory Coast. The four of them survived a massacre committed by retreating pro-Gbagbo forces in nearby Blolekin.
   
A woman hides her face after recounting her story of post-election violence in Duékoué, western Ivory Coast. Advancing pro-Ouattara forces killed two of her children and one of her brothers. She now lives in a nearby camp for internally displaced people, as she is still too scared to permanently return home. Estimates of the total number killed in Duékoué are as high as 800 people.
     
  
A man hides his face after recounting an attack on his village, Diahouin, western Ivory Coast. Advancing pro-Ouattara forces destroyed much of the village, including the cocoa garden he stands in front of. Disputes over cocoa land rights are the root cause of conflict in the western part of the country, where migrant workers were given land to farm until it became profitable, at which point many locals forcibly took their land back. As immigrants generally side with Ouattara, some of them took advantage of the shift in power to strike back.
   
A woman hides her face after recounting the story of her injuries and assault during post-election violence, Bangolo Hospital, western Ivory Coast. She was hiding in the bush for four days after fleeing from her neighborhood, but was eventually found and was beaten and sexually assaulted. Her two-year-old son was shot and killed as they fled.
   
A young boy looks at buildings that were destroyed during post-election violence in Diahouin.
     
  
A destroyed home in Duékoué. The massacre at Duékoué was perhaps the largest of the conflict, where estimates of those killed are as high as 800 people, many of them civilians. Now the people of this neighborhood live in a camp for internally displaced people just a few miles away, as they are too afraid to return home.
   
A destroyed home in Duékoué.
   
A destroyed home in Duékoué.
     
  
A pile of sandals, including those of a child, inside an office building in Blolekin, where dozens if not hundreds of people were killed during post-election violence. As fighting intensified, the Forces Republique de Cote d'Ivoire had gathered all of their civilians from the surrounding area into a building they deemed safe; but the retreating militias loyal to former President Gbagbo broke in and killed everyone they could.
   
Human remains are burned outside of a home in Duékoué.
   
Human remains in a home in Duékoué.
     
  
A young man returns to the site of a massacre he survived in Blolekin.
   
A destroyed home in Duékoué.
   
The site of a mass grave in Blolekin, where dozens if not hundreds of people were killed during post-election violence. As fighting intensified, the Forces Republique de Cote d'Ivoire had gathered all of their civilians from the surrounding area into a building they deemed safe; but the retreating militias loyal to former President Gbagbo broke in and killed everyone they could.
     
  
A destroyed home in Duékoué.
   
A camp for internally displaced people at the Catholic Mission in Duékoué. Each night in the camp, about 28,000 people sleep in a space that allows for three people per square meter. Most of the displaced live just down the road, but they are too afraid leave the safety of the camp.
   
People argue over water distribution in a camp for internally displaced people at the Catholic Mission in Duékoué.
     
  
A patient who was diagnosed with hypoglycemia at an MSF dispensary inside the Duékoué IDP camp. After he was displaced by post-election violence, the man went several days without eating. MSF provides more than 200 consultations to displaced people per day.
   
A young girl is helped by her mother in Bangolo Hospital. She was shot in the foot as she fled an attack on her village, near Duékoué, during post-election violence. The wound was too severe to save her foot and it had to be amputated. Between March 28 and April 5, 285 wounded people were cared for by MSF teams in the Duékoué health facility and 150 wounded in need of surgery were treated in Bangolo.
   
A man holds the hand of his brother, who was shot in the back of the head, at MSF-supported Bangolo Hospital. The victim was shot as he tried to flee violence in his village, and was then left for dead. His family, unable to find him, began to perform his funeral before they were informed he was in Bangolo. Days later, he has only recently emerged from a coma and is not fully conscious; there is still a bullet lodged in his brain.
     
  
Young men build their own shelter out of sticks cut from a nearby forest in the Duékoué IDP camp. Each night in the camp, about 28,000 people sleep in a space that allows for three people per square meter, and the camp is still growing.
   
A woman cooks rice in the Duékoué IDP camp. Most of the displaced live just down the road, but they are too afraid leave the safety of the camp. This woman now has a business selling rice inside the camp.
   
Villagers wait for a consultation at an MSF mobile clinic held at a health center in Glepleu, western Ivory Coast. During post-election violence, the villagers fled over the nearby border into Liberia, and the health center was looted. Now most people have returned, but there is no infrastructure to provide for basic health needs. MSF comes twice a week to support the one local nurse at the center.
     
  
The leaders of several immigrant tribes meet to discuss post-war issues in a home in Guiglo. Western Ivory Coast is home to a large population of immigrants, mostly cocoa farmers, predominantly from Burkina Faso, Mali, and other regions of Ivory Coast. The leaders agreed that they would urge their people to end reprisal killings against the native tribes.
   
Seidou Sawadogo farms as his son, Abudu Fatou Sawadogo, plays next to him in the farming village of Carrefour Dela Paix, western Ivory Coast. Mr. Sawadogo's family is originally from Burkina Faso, and his father moved to Ivory Coast decades ago to farm cocoa. In 2004, immigrant farmers throughout the region were forced off of land that had previously been given to them. They lived in IDP camps for several years, while the unfarmed land went to waste. With the recent shift in political power, they are free to farm again, but it will take years for the crops to reach their previous high yeild.
   
Children play in a camp for internally displaced people at the Catholic Mission in Duékoué.
     
  
Men lie down to sleep in a camp for internally displaced people at the Catholic Mission in Duékoué. Most of the displaced live just down the road, but they are too afraid leave the safety of the camp.
   
A dead body that was thrown into a well in Duékoué. The people of this neighborhood now live in a camp for the internally displaced, just down the road. The lack of a clean water source is one of many factors that prevent them from returning to their homes.
   
Ouedraogo Ousmane on his farm in Carrefour Dela Paix. In 2004, immigrant farmers throughout the region were forced off of land that had previously been given to them. With the recent shift in political power, they are free to farm again. "If someone gives you land, they should have respect and cooperate," says Ousmane. "He cannot be your enemy."