by Xavier Costa
Fr. Marquès observes “the situation of the youth in Duékoué, marked by the wars of 1997 and 2011. Last year there were the first presidential elections after the electoral crisis of 2011, despite the fact through boycott a part of the population continues to support president Gagbo (…). When a country has been marked by war, the first thing one notices is the lack of acknowledgement of the results achieved by the supporters of those in power”.
The young in Ivory Coast speak of the war. Perhaps the peace and tranquillity that surround them are the ones of those who do not want or who cannot help it; because everyday one has to find food, to pay for the school of the children, to cure the sick and, in possible, to save some money.
The children of the Handicraft and Rural Vocational Centre (Centro Professionale Artigianale e Rurale - CPAR) share the same mentality. “For them there is no culture of planning, but rather the culture of the immediate; i.e. a vocational diploma to enter the labour market. This challenge gives them purpose, but at the same time it also turns them indifferent to the political life of their country. Many are of age to vote, but very few participated in the latest elections, because they do not believe any more in politics and politicians,” Fr. Marques explains.
“For Salesians and educators the challenge is to know how to promote the values of social conscience and of political responsibility and not to let oneself be carried off by the inertia of the urgency of every day. Peace cannot merely be the absence of violence, it must also become a project for the future,” the Salesian concludes.
