February 2011

Due to continued violent crime, the cholera outbreak and frequent disturbances in Port-au-Prince and provincial cities, the US Department of State recommends against nonessential travel to Haiti.

In March 2009, with the military’s backing, Andry Rajoelina toppled the elected president of Madagascar. On Nov. 17 in a controversial vote, Madagascar citizens approved a new constitution, one which could keep Rajoelina in power indefinitely. Midway through voting day, a group of mutinous officers tried to seize power; the rebel officers were captured four days later.

Courts approved the new constitution, and the government scheduled parliamentary elections for March 2011 and presidential elections for May. Political demonstrations are probable during those months.

At press time, although Guinea has been relatively calm since the interim government declared a state of emergency on Nov. 18 to deter violence and protests following the disputed Nov. 7 presidential election, large crowds of demonstrators have continued to block major intersections throughout the capital, pelting passing vehicles with rocks. Also, an upsurge in property crime resulted in the issuance of a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The Department of State recommends avoiding all travel to eastern Chad and all border regions. Outbreaks of robbery, carjacking and murder follow periods of calm, without warning. Violence is often associated with car accidents and other events causing injury to Chadian nationals.

The risks for carjacking and kidnapping for ransom increase during the dry season, which in 2010 began in November and could last until July 2011.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), armed militia groups, bandits and poachers present real dangers in most parts of the country.

At press time, in a referendum scheduled for Jan. 9 in Sudan, the mostly Christian and animist population of the south was to vote on whether or not to split from the primarily Muslim and Arab northern part of the country. The referendum is part of a 2005 peace accord which ended a civil war that left two million people dead.

In the north, political parties that oppose the northern government’s acceptance of possible secession have threatened to continue an armed struggle for resource-rich regions in the center of the country.

At press time, the situation remained very tense in Côte d’Ivoire. Political violence over a contested presidential election held on Nov. 28, 2010, had resulted in over 170 deaths and the fleeing of about 14,000 refugees to Liberia.

The incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, and his opponent, Alassane Ouattara, each claimed to be the elected president. The United Nations and the African Union as well as neighboring countries were urging Gbagbo to step down to prevent another civil war.

By late December, heavy rains that began on Nov. 25 had caused the worst floods in over 40 years in Venezuela and Colombia, killing more than 200 people and leaving thousands homeless. Roads and bridges were washed away or covered by landslides.

In Venezuela, a state of emergency was declared for Caracas and the states of Miranda, the Capital District, Vargas and Falcon.

In Colombia a national state of emergency was declared, with the area around Medellín and along the Atlantic coast hardest hit. Nearly a quarter of all roads sustained damage.

Upon returning from a September-October 2010 trip to Ethiopia, I had two occasions to use the papers that I had squirreled away relating to the trip.

My wife, Rosalie, and I spent three days in Barcelona in June ’10. One of Barcelona’s most popular tourist attractions is Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, the church Sagrada Família.