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INSIDE AFRICA
Crisis in Chad; Africa Cup of Nations Final Preview
Aired February 9, 2008 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Isha Sesay in for Femi Oke. Welcome to INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly window to the continent. On the program this week -- crisis in Chad. Rebel attacks in the capital further destabilize an already fragile government and threaten relief efforts for hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people. Also ahead, we'll preview the final match of this year's Africa Cup of Nations.
We begin in Chad, where the Red Cross says fighting between rebels and government forces has left hundreds of civilians dead and hundreds more wounded. President Idriss Deby announced Wednesday that his forces were in, quote, "total control of the situation." But he conceded in his first public appearance since the rebellion that he didn't know where about three-quarters of his government had gone, and he called them "traitors."
As Richard Roth explains, Chad has a long history of rebel attacks and instability.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rebels go on the offensive in the Chadian capital. Government forces battle back. Hundreds of Chadian civilians and international visitors are caught in the crossfire.
It's the second rebel assault against Chad's capital in two years, aimed at toppling President Idriss Deby. The United Nations expressed its support for the Chadian government and backed African Union efforts to mediate the crisis.
RICARDO ALBERTO ARIAS, PANAMIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through interpreter): The Security Council supports the decision of the African Union dated 2nd of February 2008 strongly condemning the attacks perpetrated by armed groups against the Chadian government, demanding to put an immediate end to the violence.
ROTH: The U.N. Security Council has called on member states to aid Chad's government. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy said the French military would intervene in the country's former colony if necessary. Hundreds of French troops already in Chad when the fighting broke out have been helping to evacuate civilians. The U.N.'s refugee agency estimates that about 30,000 people have fled to Cameroon.
ANN MAYMANN, UNHCR: Food distributions have been -- have been done. There are some, one of two camps, that we're still, you know, working on to get the food aid out. That's going to be -- one of the most important problems is fuel. I mean, to make sure that we have this fuel where it's needed.
ROTH: Chad has endured repeated conflicts since gaining independence from France in 1960. This latest conflict has major implications. In recent years, eastern Chad has become a haven for about a quarter of million of refugees who have fled violence in neighboring Darfur. The U.N. estimates another 50,000 refugees from the Central African Republic live in camps in southern Chad. And another 180,000 displaced Chadians depend on aid groups for their survival. The fighting threatens the flow of critically needed relief shipments.
CHRISTOPHE DROEVEN, CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES: People are not thinking about fighting. They're thinking about to eat something or to find water and all to kind of survive in the few next day, waiting any type of humanitarian aid. So, you know, I think people are not doing any analyze. No, they're just occupated with survive and find food for their children and to survive themselves.
ROSS: Chadian President Deby has repeatedly accused Sudan of backing the rebels. Sudan denies the charge. But this much is clear: Finding a way to end the fighting and a refugee crisis will be a major feat in a region so accustomed to conflict.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Coming up on INSIDE AFRICA -- we'll hear from an aid group providing medical care in Chad about the dangers they face in their efforts to save lives.
And later, a preview of the Africa Cup of Nations championship match.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Now, back to our top story, the crisis in Chad. The aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, has been treating dozens of people wounded in the recent fighting, mostly civilians. The organization was already in the country providing medical care for scores of refugees and internally displaced Chadians. Jim Clancy asks executive director Nicolas de Torrente about the wounds that MSF volunteers are seeing in Chad and the dangers they face wherever they work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLAS DE TORRENTE, MSF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Over the weekend, the fighting was very intense. You know, in the city, and lots of people were affected. Our team, in one of the hospitals in the southern part of the city, managed to treat about 100 war-wounded casualties. They were all hit by gunfire, or even heavy weaponry. So this was quite intense in terms of the effect that it's had on the civilian population.
We've also now have been able to visit with other medical teams, the International Committee of the Red Cross and others, two of the other main hospitals in N'Djamena. And they report about having had about 500 admissions over the course of the fighting over the weekend. Only few able to be treated, because the staff wasn't present, and a lot of them actually have left. Families took their wounded away and tried to find other places for them to get treatment. Our team in Cameroon just saw 80 wounded in Cameroon that in a hospital were admitted there from the N'Djamena fighting.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In many ways N'Djamena remains a hub for the humanitarian workers all around that region of Africa. To what extent does fighting like this disrupt overall humanitarian relief efforts even as far away as Darfur, because these rebels are also the ones that are active down there on the border between Sudan and Chad?
DE TORRENTE: Well, the relief effort in Darfur comes -- does not come through Chad. It comes through -- it comes through Sudan. It comes through Khartoum and into Darfur. So it's not directly affected. But you're right that there's a connection. The border there has been very -- very volatile and very insecure. We have about over 200,000 refugees from Darfur in -- in Chad. We also have several hundred thousand internally displaced Chadians who have been affected by fighting over the past couple of years. So, there is a big relief operation ongoing there. It's been affected by the fighting, since lots of the teams have been reduced and staffing has been reduced.
So far, activities continue. But if it remains very unstable in N'Djamena, then the supply for that area, for eastern Chad, may well be affected.
CLANCY: Your own teams are always, wherever they are, at risk, and such was the case sadly when three of them lost their lives in Somalia. You know, our heart goes out to their families, that included some local staff as well. But how does that affect your operations? You have to react.
DE TORRENTE: Well, in the case of Somalia, this seems to have been a premeditated, planned attack on -- on our -- on the vehicle in which our staff was traveling. We did, of course, this is a devastating blow. We have had to take our international teams out of the country. We've had over 80 staff in Somalia. Somalia is undergoing a very, very serious humanitarian crisis.
So we're assessing the situation now, trying to understand what happened. Why if we were targeted, why that was the case, and the consequences we have to draw. I mean, we -- it's very hard for us to expose volunteers and staff to direct targeting. And so, we have to understand what happened and to draw the consequences. We're not there yet. We're trying to understand.
CLANCY: You know, it has to affect everyone, not only at MSF, but other organizations. What's the reaction of the people that hold up their hands and say, I volunteered to go do this job, even though I know about the dangers, whether I'm in Chad, whether I'm in Cameroon or Somalia.
DE TORRENTE: Well, you know, when we do this, we understand there is a level of risk and danger. We do everything possible to minimize it. We stay out of the places that were, you know, dangerous, the most extreme. We really reinforce our impartial medical humanitarian identity, explaining to everyone that we don't have any other, you know, motive to be there but to provide services. We have no political, religious, economic agenda. And the acceptance of all sides is really still the basis -- the basic, you know, premise on which we operate and the best card we have to play to try -- to work in places where, as you mentioned, the need is very great.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Coming up on INSIDE AFRICA, Kenya's political crisis. Is it causing the flower business to wilt?
Also ahead, Terry Baddoo's preview of the Africa Cup of Nations final.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making business news in Africa this week. The U.S. Treasury reportedly is preparing to penalize companies that it says have violated sanctions against Sudan. Reuters.com reports the department is cracking down as part of Washington's toughening stance against atrocities in Darfur. The companies facing punishment were not named, but a Treasury spokesman told Reuters they include both U.S. and foreign companies operating within the United States.
And the International Monetary Fund says Africa is a positive exception to a recent global economic downturn. The IMF has lowered its global growth forecast to just over 4 percent this year, compared to almost 5 percent last year. But it says the sluggishness will mainly affect rich countries. IMF economists expect Africa's economy to grow by 7 percent this year, up a percentage point from last year. They say Africa is benefiting from high prices for commodity exports and improved economic policies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. We turn now to Kenya, where post- election violence has killed more than 1,000 people, displaced more than 300,000 and devastated the economy. David McKenzie examines the impact on one of Kenya's signature industries, flowers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CBS CORRESPONDENT: In the spillover of the disputed elections in Kenya, the beautiful highland region around Lake Naivasha looks close to war. Armed Kikuyu gangs man roadblocks and rampage through the town of Naivasha, in revenge attacks against minority tribes.
But today, the flower plants that are the economic engine of this part of Kenya are a picture of organization. Flowers are stacked, sorted, and put into fridges within 20 minutes. Then shipped to Europe, in a continuous chain of refrigeration.
Naivasha's flowers are second only to tea as a foreign currency earner in Kenya's agricultural sector. But they need stability.
Greenhouses like this help drive the Kenyan economy. The industry employs more than 50,000 people and supplies over 30 percent of the European flower market. But with continued political strife, there could be a slowdown in the robust growth that this industry has seen for over a decade.
PETER SZAPARY, LAKE NAIVASHA GROWERS GROUP: All our people are long-term employees.
MCKENZIE: So far, so good. Peter Szapary has planted here for 12 years, and he says that they are on target at this busy time, and he isn't going anywhere.
SZAPARY: The commercial damage has been contained, but the humanitarian problem which has resulted out of this unrest is absolutely huge.
MCKENZIE: Wildfire (ph) lost 20 percent of its employees because of the violence, most of them Luo, driven out by rival Kikuyu. Many ended up here, sheltering at Naivasha prison. They were chased from their homes and farms.
Francis worked as a plumber at Wildfire. He says it's unsafe to go back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I enjoyed my job, but according to the situation.
MCKENZIE: He's leaving his Kikuyu wife and his three children to return to his home town in another part of Kenya. He joins thousands of others who went to leave, removing an important part of this vibrant community. Though it's not said openly, some people here say privately that they are happy to see the others go, putting people like Francis in an impossible situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really love my family. And I know God will help me to come together again with my family. If he decides, he'll come back. If he does not decide, I will choose my tribe.
MCKENZIE: These missing workers have left a hole at the owner-managed farms that were once an example of tribal tranquility in Kenya. And a sign of its fast improving economy.
SZAPARY: Overtime, hopefully, can start a healing process up from the grassroots, where we can reintegrate these people back into our communities here, which is absolutely essential, and which must happen.
MCKENZIE: Flowers growers are holding jobs open, hoping that the workers will return. But that will depend on a peaceful solution in Kenya.
David McKenzie, CNN, Naivasha, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Now to Ghana, where the Africa Cup of Nations has been a boon to tourism. Scores of football fans from all around the continent have poured into the country to support their teams. But as Christian Purefoy reports, the festivities are beyond the reach of most Ghanaians.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 15-year-old Malik impresses younger kids with his skills. But he hasn't been able to see his idols in the Africa Cup of Nations because he can't afford a ticket.
MALIK YUSSIF, GHANAIAN FOOTBALL FAN: I feel (inaudible). It's my country, we play Africa Cup in my country. I didn't get money to go and support my country so that we can lift the cup up.
PUREFOY: The cheapest tickets for African Cup games are $4 each. But ticket scouts (ph) have made a business of buying up many of them and selling them on, sometimes for as much as $100. Passionate fans desperate to see their team play are often left with no choice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I give you 15 Ghana cedis, said it is OK, bring it. So I bought it for 15 Ghana cedis.
PUREFOY: So that's more expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very expensive. But because I want to watch the match, I have to buy it.
PUREFOY: And 15 cedis is more than $15. It's about one-third of the monthly wage here.
And it's not just ticket prices that have gone up. Some hotels in Ghana have doubled their prices. One honest but shrewd hotel manager explained to us her reasons for increasing her rates.
VIVIEN AMEGBLETOR, HOTEL MANAGER: We know more people are going to come, and we just want to take advantage of that and make some more money, yeah. That is all.
PUREFOY: This is the first time in 30 years that Ghana has hosted the African Cup, and it's a showcase for one of West Africa's fastest growing economies. Organizers are hoping that by the final whistle, visitors will have spent as much as $1 billion, with taxi drivers and street vendors benefiting, as well as the big hotels.
As for Malik, he has to enjoy double disappointment. He won't get a ticket to the final, and his beloved Black Stars of Ghana won't be playing in it after being knocked out by Cameroon. But as he continues refining his skills, maybe he'll be playing in the Africa Cup one day.
Christian Purefoy, CNN, Accra, Ghana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: After the break, we'll check in on the football action that brought all of those fans into Ghana. Terry Baddoo has the preview of the Africa Cup of Nations final.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. The Africa Cup of Nations is down to two teams. Who's the favorite -- defending champion Egypt or Cameroon? Terry Baddoo is here with a preview -- Terry.
TERRY BADDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a brave man or woman who will bet on which one is the favorite. It's a final nobody expected. Cameroon and Egypt having upstaged Ghana and the Ivory Coast respectively in the semifinals, leaving the host nation devastated, and the Ivory Coast, who were runners-up in 2006, absolutely stunned. The Ghanaians having gone down 1:0 in Accra to a goal from substitute Alain Nkong that came against (inaudible) play, while Egypt beat the Ivory Coast 4:1 in Kumasi, crashing the title favorites, who previously conceded just one goal in the whole tournament.
SESAY: So, Terry, given that it's the final nobody predicted, how impressed have you been with the level of football, the standard these two sides have played up until this point?
BADDOO: Well, certainly as far as Egypt is concerned, they've kind of slipped through under the radar. They are a team that all the players are basically based in Egypt. Nobody thought they'd travel well. Everybody thought they won the last Africa Cup of Nations because of their home support. So they've been a bit of a surprise.
Their coach says that their strength and depth is what's got them to where they are now. He's got a very, a very strong bench. Not too many stars. There are a couple. One of them by the name of Rabou, the other one named Zaki, who got two goals in the semifinals. Aboutriaka runs the midfield. So they have got players of note. But because they are a bit of an unknown quantity in some respects, because they only play in Egypt, whereas the Cameroonians tend to play all over the place, mainly in Europe, they've come as a bit of a surprise.
SESAY: Having said that, you know, Egypt, they are defending champions, obviously, going into this final, and Cameroon, they've been to a couple of these finals as well. I think maybe five...
BADDOO: They're going for their fifth.
SESAY: They're going for -- this is their fifth.
It's been said that these two sides are coached by cerebral minds, as it were. So with that on the table, how do you see them approaching this game?
BADDOO: They would have expected to face either the Ivory Coast or Ghana respectably, so it's hard to say how the coaches are going to approach this.
I will say that they, apart from Cameroon, there aren't really any superstars who I think are going to turn the game. The one exception, of course, being Samuel Eto, the Barcelona striker. He's the top scorer in the competition this year, with five goals, and the all-time leading scorer. So he's a real match winner. Beyond that, I don't know that the coaches have an awful lot to rely on in terms of an actual match winner.
SESAY: Staying with Cameroon, Samuel Eto is seen as a kind of talisman. Defender Andre Bikey sent off in the semifinals. Tell us about that and how much he'll be missed.
BADDOO: I think that was the most ridiculous sending off that I've ever seen, a complete rush of blood to the head. He's 23 years old, so you can forgive him for being a bit impetuous, but to get sent off in stoppage time of a semifinal for pushing a medical officer who is treating your own player is beyond belief.
But as I said, they are not a team full of stars, and they do have a deep bench, so he is replaceable, but I mean, what a heartbreaker for the player himself.
SESAY: Only the third red card of the entire tournament. Putting it in context, I mean, that would seem to me that they've actually been pretty well behaved, that sportsmanship has been pretty good at Africa Nations Cup this year.
BADDOO: The sportsmanship, and also, in the past, African teams, African players have been thought of as being a bit impetuous, and that's in some ways the way that African football has come on now. They are disciplined. They recognize the magnitude of the situation, and they recognize how important it is to stay on the pitch. So that's been very impressive throughout this competition.
SESAY: Terry Baddoo, thanks for the insights.
OK, that's it for this edition of INSIDE AFRICA. We leave you now with some standout moments from the Africa Cup of Nations. Until next week, take care.
END
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