Ivory Coast: in Bloléquin, the difficult mourning of the relatives of victims of the violence of 2011
Members of a pro-Ouattara militia face the remains of a charred house near Bloléquin, April 21, 2011. (photo illustration) AFP - PHILIPPE DESMAZES
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The Ministers of National Reconciliation, Solidarity and the Public Service proceeded, Wednesday, March 8, to the delivery of the bodies of the victims of the 2010-2011 crisis, which had caused nearly 3,000 deaths.
In Bloléquin, many families of victims left the area after the violence of March 2011. Making the link between the victims and their families is not easy.
There, the identification work was complex, and the families oscillate between relief and deep pain.
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With our special correspondent in Bloléquin,
Bineta Diagne
Nesma Bah lost three relatives in the attacks in Bloléquin
in March 2011
.
These attacks were perpetrated by militiamen from Liberia, particularly within the walls of the former prefecture, where many people had taken refuge.
Twelve years after the events, only one member of his family has been identified.
He confides, on the sidelines of the
ceremony of restitution of the bodies of the victims
:
“
We, in fact, had forgotten.
Today, we leave this room and we are going to turn the page.
We must move forward, look ahead.
Everything has already been planned for our brother's funeral, may he be buried with dignity.
»
At his side, in the cramped room of the prefecture where the ceremony was organized, is Roger Ka.
This old man lost his mother in March 2011. Reluctantly, in 2015, he finally accepted that his remains, buried in his garden, be exhumed and transferred to Abidjan for the purposes of the investigation.
But for eight years, Roger Ka felt pain and frustration rising within him:
“
For me, this day means absolutely nothing.
1.5 million CFA francs cannot be enough for me to take care not only of myself, but also of my children.
In any case, the means do not interest me!
It was my mother's life that mattered to me.
»
In Bloléquin, out of 58 exhumed bodies, only 12 could be identified.
Ten were handed over to their relatives.
For the remaining forty families, the absence of remains is a source of questioning.
“
The process is continuing
,” assures Kouadio Konan Bertin, the Minister of National Reconciliation.
We have come to return these bodies to make the final mourning of the war...
Kouadio Konan Bertin, Minister of National Reconciliation, speaks to Bloléquin
Bineta Diagne
Three human rights organizations believe that the presidential amnesty law of August 2018 "
has had the effect of canceling all the justice efforts undertaken until then
".
Consequence: “
None of the victims of Guiglo, Bloléquin or Toulepleu has obtained justice for the crimes suffered during the crisis.
»
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To read also Ivory Coast: 10 years after the post-election crisis, Alassane Ouattara receives Laurent Gbagbo
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