Mes Souhaites

So, we've had a coup. Ould Taya is out and Ould Abdel Aziz is in. I want to write about it, by my writing is crap today, so I'll give the news to you as most of it came to me: though a string of text messages from Miranda.

To give a brief background, I went to the airport at about 7H to see Helen off. When we arrived they wouldn't let anyone in and they wouldn't let us within 40 feet of the building. I sat there until about 9H chatting and then Em and I gave up and headed out. Along our way we had to detour because there were guys with machine guns blocking one of the roads. This has happened before though, so I just figured that it was something official going on. Before I made it home though I got a call from my APCD asking where I was and what I was doing. That's the first time that's happened, so my curiosity was piqued. I got to Marc's to find him asleep and unconcerned. I figured I'd catch a little sleep and as I was lying there these messages were coming in. Marc's response to the report of a coup was, "Damn, I hope the gym isn't closed today, I really want to go." Miranda was a bit more excitable, as you will see. My response is closer to Marc's, all in all, as none of these messages roused me from bed until about 14H.

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2005/08/03 09^h38: Will! Coup d'etat just took place so network is overloaded! This is very serious. Contact buro now for update. Please b very careful in town, as u may know, the day b4 yesterday Prez Maouya went 2 Saoudi Arabia to attend King Fahad's funeral, last nite 99% ministers military agreed on peaceful coup d'etat so no military is out on the streets! The emb and no one knows who is new Prez. Probably Islamists. Practically everything is closed. Kindly fw this msg!

2005/08/03 09^h46:Everyone on the streets who dares go out speak in hushed tones excited and scared about who is now in charge and how this will affect all?! I'm now hitting the streets in black mulafa to learn more. We are living in exciting times Will darling! They attempt to pass info on. If u feel safer @ my place, Bismillah! But take a cab please altho hard to come by 2day!

I sent a message at this point asking if the coup had been successful since there have been two unsuccessful ones since I've been here.

2005/08/03 09^h49: Yes, since they won't let prez back and general population is fed up with general situation.

2005/08/03 10^h02:US Emb wants us to keep low key and stay put until they and we know who is in control and how this will affect us. We must prepare for eventual evacuation as soon as in the 24/48 hrs to come if it turns out we as americans and all westerners arte threatened. USAF Military are on stand-by and we are all in mode and code red (high alert) I can't believe warden system didn't contact u yet.

2005/08/03 10^h09:Where are you? Just in case emb needs me to contact u and phone system shuts down…! TV and radio already taken over by new govt. Logically, Mauritel and Mattel are next to better control population and prevent potential retaliation since not everyone is thrilled about having the rug pulled from under them!

2005/08/03 13^h13:Pls FW Myra's Coup Update: Maouya's plane made emergency landing in Niger. All incoming/outgoing flights suspended. Intl borders have been shut. All Chefs d'Etat Major (military chiefs of staff) under artrest. TV & Radio, Palais de Congres & all Ministries under lock'n key & guarded. Repeated attempts 2 scramble Al Ja Embs all closed 2 public but workin. Suburbs cut off from city, only few green cabs allowed 2 taxi. All 4 now. -Myra gone underground

2005/08/03 14^h45:Myra's Coup Update: Everyone is out cheering & honking and shops reopening! Listen to radio @ 15pm. New president is Abdel Aziz, Natl Guard Chief of staff. -Myra on the beat.

2005/08/03 16^h49:Myra's Coup Update: Prayer call is back since 14:30 as are taxis and minibuses since 15pm. Military Army regime now officially in power so US Emb says 18pm curfew is probable. No official declaration as yet. French and US ask their citizens to stay home. Keep cellphones on, charged and with enough credit to text or call for help, have passport money and water ready to get thru the night, lock doors and turn on TV & radio and keep everyone updated!

2005/08/03 18^h45:Hope y'all r still safe since my last update… No curfew as yet from either military govt or US or French Embassies. -Myra burning 1000k Mauritel credit every 2hrs to keep y'all up-to-date every half hr, better than CNN!

2005/08/04 8^h02:Myra's Coup Update: Good Mornin' Nkc! Hope y'all r ok since logged off @ 2am. On da beat again since @ 6:30am. New 12 men all Maure Col. "Comité Militaire pour la Justice & le Démocracie an Mauritanie" officially declared last nite that the next 2 yrs they would bring J&D 2 RIM b4 restoring power to civilians after 21 yrs of totalitarian Maouya.

2005/08/04 18^h27:Myra Scoop: There r pro Maouya people also honking w Maouya posters and being arrested. Wonderful! Can't wait 4…!

In response to my question of how things were going in town:

2005/08/05 16^h29:No all is not fine in town. Just appears so. Interesting dangerous dev. US Emb will probably evac u in wk or less. They want 2 cut diplo ties w RIM which has already been deleted from African union. France & EU & UN r also crossing out RIM from World map & pulling out.

2005/08/06 16^h10:Myra's 4pm Coup Update: Air France has resumed their flights and is landing in NKC w/ passengers as we speak. Long waiting list on both ends as 1st wave of expat evac begins and anxious Mauritanians abroad want to rush home to figure out what is going on and also flee with families if necessary. Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts… We expect major turbulence!

It is about this time that I get a call from Obie asking if I'm still living with Miranda and when I respond "no," he tells me he has forbidden her to send her messages to Peace Corps volunteers. I tell him that I'm taking her messages with a grain of salt and I'm not overly concerned.

2005/08/06 16^h53:Myra's Coup Update: Immediate reaction to last bulletin: Embassies, Govt Agencies, IO & Intl Companies vehemently deny there is an ongoing expat evac, saying these are exaggerated rumors and want to reassure us that all is calm, keep standfast but absolutely no need for panic, go about your business, let's just wait and see!

2005/08/06 23^h55:Myra's 00:00 Coup Flash: Rumors continue about Prez Taya hiding in Morocco since yesterday. Moroccan Emb neither confirms nor denies this. Moroccans in Nkc aren't happy with new uncertainty worry about having 2 go back home 2 unemployment & an apparently free modern Kingdom where women have less freedom & power than Mauritanian women under Taya's regime. Will women gain more freedom or go back to Sharia Law of pre-Taya era 21 yrs ago?¿?

I was out with some guys when this went out and Ricardo sent back a fairly harsh reply about unsubstantiated rumors and gibberish. I personally was entertained by the messages, but he was worried about his position with the EU and it put him a bit on edge.

2005/08/08 10^h50:Myra's Morn Coup Update: Last night double std military curfew cont. 2 B enforced in poorer, predominantly blk & non-PRDS Maure neighborhoods & suburbs. Less people in "free zone" (TZ, LP, A, B & E & center) streets / restaurants as both organized & sporadic honking died down 10pm-2am unlike other nights when mostly well-off PRDS Maure women & youth were allowed 2 run amok & break every driving law. Prez Taya now planning 2 take refuge in Senegal.

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Well, supposed to be home by dark and it's dark.

I've been a bit remiss in getting updates written. This means that memorable events such as the tcheub-u-jen eating contest and my subsequent failed attempt at bulemia will be left to no better record than my abysmal memory. Oh well, so it goes… ☺

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Chemchoune El Arab, l'un des grandes, one of the greats. Chemchoune is the Arabic form of Samson, and the man is fixture in the mythos of Mauritania. I'd heard tales of his feats of strength from past volunteers, but had given up hope of actually seeing him perform. Much to my pleasure did I notice a poster featuring a big man with a handlebar mustache performing feats of strength and fortitude. In one corner he was buried under a pile of rocks, another showed him pulling a car with his teeth and a third with him swarmed with children. My pulse quickened, as this looked like the Chemchoune of lore, but the poster was in Arabic, so I couldn't be sure.

A short time later though, I saw the same poster, but this time in French. It was Chemchoune and he was going to be performing at one of the local basketball courts on Saturday! So, 16h Saturday saw myself and a group of interested volunteers at the Stade Sebkah.

( The Amazing Exploits of Chemchoune El Arab )

I've been spending the day spinning my wheels pretty much. I'm trying to get the firewall configured for my lab, but every time I make a little progress I hit another wall. Right now the perl script for adding users to the samba domain controller is choking on the unicode characters in the LDAP distinguished name. Doesn't that just figure?

Anyhow, I've also been ramping up to finish our semester one class. I was hoping to do it tonight and I told all the students we would be, but in looking at the info I'd have to cover it just isn't going to happen. I'm really not sure how this is going to work out. I've got a couple really good attentive students who have been coming to class. It really does make a world of difference to have at least one or two students who come to class and seem to give a damn.

For the others, I don't know what to do other than fail them. People can usually manage to squeeze by here, but this time it is going to be tough. I don't decide on the curriculum and I don't make the exams. There really is a huge amount of information to learn. I sent the lists of goals to them today to maybe put a bit of a scare into some of them and get them to come to class.

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( Les Buts de Cisco Semestre 1 )