According to IOL News, six women lost their lives today, April 7, 2011 in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire’s capitol, Abidjan, at the hands of forces loyal to the embattled former President, Laurent Gbagbo. The women were participating in a women-only march demanding the defeated former president leave, stop the civil war that is killing hundreds and allow the new President-elect Alassane Ouattara to govern.
The Ivory Coast, as it is referred to by English-speaking nations, doesn’t have oil. According to Wikipedia, this country located on the west coast of Africa is the world’s largest exporter of cocoa. Not much worth fighting for, I suppose. In 2004, the life expectancy for a male was just 41 years old; a woman could expect to live to 47. Most women are illiterate.
Still, today, hundreds of those women took their places beside one another, waving branches and calling for peace. Watch the video. They are united. Turn up the volume and listen to what they heard as the gunshots echoed and they scattered, only to find some of their own,unable to outrun the bullets, lying dead in the street when the chaos ended.
To our GIRLFRIENDS in the Ivory Coast, we will pray for you and while the world might be able to close their eyes or turn their focus elsewhere, we will stand beside you and weep with you when a life is lost.