Ethnic issues :

***Josh Here- Chris passed a message through the pipeline to make some changes again. Hopefully I change what I am supposed to! He is well though*** A couple interesting topics came up today that might help to better understand the workings of the 'typical' African state where so many different peoples are encircled by arbitrary boundries :

--- This morning while working with a man, who we'll call Basir, from my region who is teaching me the local language, our conversation turned to the origins of his people who have immigrated to areas throughout Togo, aswell as to Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria. According to Basir, the people moved south from Burkina Faso around the time of World War II. A hunter founded the village of *****, now *****, meaning more or less 'where the meat is good.' ***** is now the largest city in *******. ---

The conversation then turned to how one gets a 'certificate of origin,' which from what I have gathered is the first in a long series of documents and obstacles needed to obtain a Togolese national identity card. ---

When independence came around, Basir's family returned to the home region of the ****** in central Togo. Outside the ethnic borders they had been seen as foreigners, with their own language and cultural traditions, even though they were still in Togo. They moved back for at least two reasons. First, inorder to get a 'certificate of origin' one must speak to the local chief where one is residing. As perceived foreigners, the local chief may or may not agree to issue a 'certificate of origin'. The second reason for returning home was, as my friend put it, that 'en cas de qu'est-ce qu'il y a,' literally translated 'in case of a what's wrong or a what's up,' otherwised stated in case of ethnic tensions, one must stay well attached to one's ethnic homeland. ---

Elections were given as an example of an event that might spark ethnic tensions. Immigrants from a ***** region or ***** region might be blamed for having stolen an election. If they have lost all contact with their home village or ethnic region they will be stuck in a foreign land without the ability to return to a safe haven. This, it seems, has happened to many Burkinabè peoples in Ivory Coast who have been identified as foreigners in Ivory Coast even though they might have been born there. Like many immigrants in the United States many Burkinabè immigrated to Ivory Coast in search of jobs. ---

As a result of the marginalization that can affect ethnic foreigners, my friend routinely maintains contact with his ethnic region and makes regular trips to that region with his children so that they may avoid finding themselves without a safe haven. All of this happens on one 'national' territory, be it Togo or the Ivory Coast, and with so many ethnicities spanning West Africa, the true foreign element seems to be the imposed 'modern' state structure itself. I have of course surely glossed over and missed some very important points but I hope that this gives a sense of the different ethnic issues that can arrise. +++

the employee here at the cyber café said that most of what I wrote sounded right but he said that unlike in Ivory Coast, one can find local chiefs of one's own ethnicity through much of Togo. So even though you might be from the north you might still be able to find a chief in the south for your 'Certificate of Origin.' But when you then add a national boundry, as is the case of the Burkinabè in Ivory Coast, things become more complex.