Ivory Coast, the top producer of cocoa beans in the world, even with this it's economy is still low, there's still random acts of violence bring committed and the corruption in the government is way to high. I remember entering into my freshman year of high school at CIHS. I was shy but excited because I was In an environment completely different to me, I was one of the first ever freshmans at cihs, the first graduating class. There were no students above us to guide us. No one to tell us take the ACT early. No one to tell us it was a good decision to apply to college early. We ddnt even have varsity upperclassmens, just us freshmans trying to make a name for us, for our new school . I'm sure this wasn't the only threat I was feeling but the way my fellow classmates felt to. Yet with this new feel surrounding me, I couldn't help but focus more on what was going on in my home country. Election season, everyday if come home from volleyball practice & my mom would be on the phone with a sister or friend from back home. The house would be filled with ivorian news. On the TV, the radio & the discussions my parents would hold with my 3 sisters and I. the pros and cons of having Laurent gbagbo re-elected and the pros and cons of having alassane outtarra elected would always be the main topic. "Gbagbo he's for the people, he supports the ivorian people and economy before anything else." -words my mom would say regularly. She supported gbagbo bc to her the facts prove that even though he had dealt with some corruption, like an other African president, he would fight for his people, protect them and hope to bring peace to them. which he had in his reign if presidency . Disputes with the rebels in 2001, he resolved it even with the risk of splitting the country into two sections, figuratively speaking . Now alassane outtara according to many Ivorians, my mom included is not a"real" ivorian. His parents are burkinabe and if you know the history with Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso you'll know that there is much tension there. He was a Candidate with his own army. It's not normal but it's true he had his soldiers that he commanded and he was only a candidate. To some this may show dedicated supporters but to me this shows that he did not have respect to follow the ivorian laws & rules. You can't bring your own soldiers into the campaign of presidency if you have not won . They are given to you once you earn your presidency . The Burkina Faso is accused of bringing rebels
into the civ, killing hundreds and stealing the coaco resources and selling them as their own . Due to this rivalry many ivorian people stated that allasane cannot be ivorian, support us and defend us when his fathers land doesn't stand in brotherhood with us. In my opinion that was the key of this election "who is the real ivorian"? They both had the qualifications and degrees to be president, they both had the money and supporters but who would be the president that would be willing to put civ before it's self. Due to the environment of my home, my decision may be biased but I believed as still do believe that gbagbo is the president for the ivorian people . It was November 28, 2010 that the fighting, the killings & bombings officially began . It was November 28,2010 that the tears ran, the worry about your family members status and the fear of who could result dead in this war. It was November 28, 2010 that I realized I am ivorian. A couple if weeks after this anouncement of war . I wrote a letter , I ddnt know who I was sending it to or who's hand it fall into but I wrote a letter with all the facts I knew on the current situation in my country. I sent it to CNN, 10 TV news , my principals teachers family members and friends in hopes that I could educate someone on what was going on in civ. A war has started bc of disputes with two candidates & in result the people must suffer. Nothing became of my letter , but atleast I had tried, Mr. Kim El Mallawany thanked me th next day for informing him more on the situation, along with a couple teachers eho did the same . My letter didn't make the news but to the least it informed more people. As a 14 year old freshman you'd think my worries would be when's the next basketball game, is my hair done right, or who's my date to the dance. Instead my mind was filled with worry, is my grandmother ok, will she die before I really get to meet her due to the fact that no medication is being brought to her, will I ever be able to visit my country or will it be at war for years ? A saying mom woyld tell us is "les mensonges prend lassanseur pendant que la vérité prend les escaliers " this meant that as lies take the elevator to reach what they want, the truth takes the stairs and slowly but surely it will arrive . That was the case for this election. Gbagbo was sought out as the a dictator by the French and allasanebabd his supporters while outtara was sough as a man who would bring peace to the country . This may be true but when your goal is to expose one you must expose everything about that person. According to the foreign media gbagbo was a dictator but they don't tell you the whole truth . When discussing business to help civ gbagbo would be the type of person to sell a gallon on oil for 8 to competition so that 5 dollars in revenue comes to his people while allasane woyld be the type to sell it for a cheap price of 4 dollars so that the people buying it can support him . As a freshman I realized that I'm passionate about helping or finding a way to get people what they deserve. I'm passionate about equality to those that deserve it . And I'm passionate about the truth. This war in civ has led me to wanting to know more about African countries . Why must there be so much corruption ? Why aren't many kids In school ?Why is their economy rate so low if they are blessed with such valuable resources ? Why isn't Africa prosperous ? From freshman year to junior year these questions pounded my mind, leading me to be inspired to do my final capstone project on them. I focused mainly on Ivory Coast , it used to be an economic power house for west Africa but has since than been let down . Why is this country with oil coacoa beans and so much more in an economic downfall . I did research, found a mentor did a visual presentation and wrote a 15 page essay on my findings. But my thirst for knowledge hasn't been quenched yet . I want to do hands on research, I want to work with experts on this problem that's not only in civ but in every African country . I want to be the reason why African countries can be seen on the same pedestal as great countries like France USA or Russia . I want to provide a service to my country that in 20 years can still help it grow and never have to deal with poverty at such a low level . I want not only civ to be thankful it is blessed with its resources but to put them to use. I want to continue to seek knowledge on how to help not only my country but other African countries as well. I want a prosperous Africa.
