JayneNews from Madagascar: Evacuation

Returning to Mahatsara Sud was odd. It was a million times better than being in consolidation, but the degree of uncertainty hadn't changed any. The possibility of an evacuation still loomed over everything, making me wonder if I would have time to carry out any of the projects I was working on. I didn't have access to much news in Mahatsara Sud, but the daily text messages from Peace Corps continued to provide vague updates.

"FEB 20, 13H TANA: ministries retaken by last night. no report injuries. more "sit-ins" announced for today. situation remains dynamic but surprisingly calm. pco"

"FEB 21 20H15. TGV ACCEPTED TO SUSPEND RALLIES IN TANA, FALSE REPORTS AND PROVOCATION. TGV-PREZ'S 2ND DIALOGUE PLANNED ON MONDAY."

Then this one, doing little to dispel the notion that Peace Corps is just a bunch of hippies:
"FEB 23 19H. All calm. Still negotiating. No rallies announced. Send positive thoughts! pco"

In between biting my nails and receiving these suspenseful updates everything was exactly the same in Mahatsara Sud. (Just kidding about the nail-biting; that's a good way to get intestinal worms.) I noticed the following interesting tropical climatic equation: end of hot season + incoming rainy season = steam. Very exotic. We do not get that in Virginia.

Despite or because of the worry that we could be pulled out of Madagascar any day, my last month at site was probably my best. Here's one perfect day that I wrote about in my journal:

Woke up. Charlin (kid who lives next door) brought me warm sweet breadfruit (I'd never had it cooked like this. It was like a yam. I don't know if they added sugar.). Pounded the peanuts that I roasted yesterday. Went to visit Emma. Made plans for our girls' group. Helped her make ravitoto (pounded cassava leaves) and chatted. Back to house. Made coffee. (Coffee beans grown, roasted, and pounded in Mahatsara Sud). Walked to Ambodimanga to leave letter for Merinina about baby-weighing next week. Back to house. Made lunch (rice and vegetables). Made friendship bracelet for Charlin. (That's right, a friendship bracelet. I banded all my little friends before I left. They probably use them to identify each other at their secret meetings, where they discuss their theories about why I disappeared without a word on March 12th. Alien abduction? Cold-hearted abandonment? The French?) Went swimming in the river with Charlin and Lebina. Took a nap. Went to Emma's to pound tsako-tsako (dried corn). Listened to Border Crossings (English-language music on the Voice of America. Awful awful banter provided by Larry London. shudder.) Dinner. Bed.

(Everything between parentheses was an editorial comment, not actually from my journal). I'm noticing two things about this day. First, the work:play ratio. Perhaps it was a weekend. Second, three of the day's activities involved pounding things. Perhaps this was such a great day because I got to spend a good portion of it beating things with a stick. It occurs to me that everyone might have had a less stressful time during consolidation if we'd been allowed to make our own peanut butter. It would have been extra creamy.

At the end of February the text messages got worrisome again.

Feb 27 "Good news -Tana normal today. No rally. Tulear calm but PC closing as banking town until further notice. Bad news - Fianar not calm. Clash there, one dead, many injured. As precaution, PCVL relocating to Sahambavy north of Fianar. PC sending PC vehicle there Saturday. Big rally Sat in Tana. Standfast. Cross fingers."

Feb 28 "Clashes in Fianar. DO NOT GO THERE. Now calm but still highly volatile...Hang tight! Standfast. Repeat...Don't travel to Fianar."

Feb 28 "Andry TGV held large rally in Tana today. Peaceful. Called for non-stop strikes starting Monday until Mada has new government. Maintain standfast."

Feb 29 "Tana- Confrontation between police and rally today...tear gas fired to disperse crowd. Calmer now. Tulear blew up last night. 3 shops looted. Police regained control via shots/teargas. Please observe standfast...Thanks."

The country-wide strike didn't really seem to materialize, but small clashes continued as the gendarmes tried to block areas of Tana to stop the rallies. Rumors were going around Mananjary that road blocks had been set up around Ambositra, a town on the road from Fianar to Tana, and everyone was talking about taxi-brousses getting held up and robbed. On March 4th apparently the president declared "no more rallies." In my experience (of reading newspapers) this is not usually a good move. On the 8th things got dicier:

Mar 8 "Tana calm today but forces of law and order's role in conflict now uncertain. Standfast"

As I mentioned, during consolidation they told us that the fact that the military and police were still doing their jobs was a critical condition for us to be able to go back to site.

Mar 9 "Tana - 600 military on strike. Limited police protection. Looting south Tana. Ivandry ok. Trainees not arriving. Peace Corps reviewing EAP. Please do same. STANDFAST. Be prepared."

The next day I heard a rumor that we were being reconsolidated, which fortunately was not confirmed when I called my boss with an overly optimistic question about a project I was planning for the next month. I also held the first (and, sigh, only) meeting of my girls' club. I was super nervous because I knew they would all be really shy this first time and it would be hard to have a group conversation, but they were great, and Emma (a teacher at the elementary school and my best friend at site) was a champ and took everything I said and made it clear and understandable. I was hoping that we would plan the sessions together and then she and the girls could keep it going after I left, but since we only met once all together I'm pretty sure it just stopped after I left. This is the thing that I feel most guilty about having to abandon. We played some name/clapping games and then talked about why might we need a girls' group in Mahatsara Sud/what should we do. We ended by going outside and playing Duck Duck Goose ('Gana Gana Gisa'), which was a riot. Everyone was cracking up and by the end we had quite an audience, which probably had something to do with the girls making me the goose about every other go. I challenge any of you to not look ridiculous being chased in a circle by little girls. There may have been some squealing/arm-flailing.

Girls like Emmedine

And Nadia.

The 10th brought this long message:

Mar 10 "Voluntary Departure for US Mission families authorized. PCV authorized to take interrupted service as well. No PC staff leaving. TANA: Pro-TGV and Pro-TIM supporters clash. Police break it up. TGV seeks asylum with UN and French. President on radio says made mistakes wants to reconcile. Contact PC on Wed if not taken PC survey via telephone yet."

I listened to the president's apology speech on the radio with Emma and another teacher's family. Their reaction was "too little, too late." The survey mentioned was about our feelings about how consolidation was handled. Um, fine I guess. Under the circumstances. Then:

Mar 11, 19:01 "Decision made to suspend PC Madagascar. Very sad. Process of leaving will be lengthy. Prepare tonight for consolidation and onward as flights are confirmed. STAY IN SITE. For now we must be able to find you."

Mar 11, 19:50 "Advice - DO NOT TELL FOLKS YOU ARE EVACUATING. Tell them you are going to a conference. Let closest friends know that you may not be able to come back. Bring valuables 20 kilo limit. Make lists of PC and personal property. Bring it with you."

I was finishing my dinner when I got that first message. I spent a few hours staring into space and trying to think about packing all my stuff. The next morning I brought some stuff over to give to Emma. I didn't say that I was going to a conference, but it was too hard to say I was never coming back. I think I said that I had to leave now, but if the political situation got better maybe I could come back. I said goodbye to a couple people, but Ihanta was in Mananjary, and Charlin and Lebina were in school and their parents and Josie were working in the rice paddies. So in the end I left without much in the way of explanation or goodbyes. I stuffed a bunch of random clothes into my purple backpack and crammed some other stuff in my trunk to be sent to me later. I tried to make a list of people I wanted to get things from my house, but that was pretty impossible. Too many little things (e.g. orange bucket to Maman'i Charlin, big rice pot to Josie, etc) and too many people. I hiked into Mananjary and went to see Ihanta to say goodbye. I think I had convinced myself that there was still a chance it would all blow over and we'd be sent back to site, until I called the PC office and heard that some people would already be heading to Johannesburg that night. I spent the night at my vazaha friends' house (both regularly employed individuals with no intention of leaving) and caught the 4am taxi brousse to Fianar.

Last shot of Mananjary

View from the taxi brousse driving to Fianar.

Back again. Welcome to the Fianar Meva.

Chez Ninie

Getting ready to leave Fianar.

The Fianar Group

Our caravan of PC vans.

Inside the van.

All us Fianar region PCVs slept at the Peace Corps house, then drove in a caravan to Mantasoa the next day. We had to drive through a couple checkpoints, but it was all uneventful until we were about an hour out of Tana, when Nirina got a call that there might be a tank heading toward the president's palace, which we had to pass. People kept calling Nirina from the PC office because Andry TGV had announced that the president had resigned, after which the president announced that that was not the case, so then Andry said that he had 4 hours to get out or TGV was coming for him. When we got to the road that leads to the palace the president's supporters had set up big roadblocks and we had to drive slowly through all these people carrying wooden clubs, milling around and waiting to repel TGV I guess. They waved us through at each barrier, but it was a little tense, with people peering through the windows at us (two vanloads of vazaha). Towards the far edge of the gathering were a lot of well-dressed people standing around and leaning against a long line of expensive parked cars. They were also carrying clubs. The president had a lot of wealthy supporters.

Our group slept at Mantasoa that night, then went to Tana the next morning to fill out paperwork and get our passports and valuables from the PC safe. I saw Mika for an hour or so, and said I had no idea what I was going to do or whether I would be able to come back. The next day I was on a plane to Johannesburg.