The war is not over...

When I left Danan?he mood amongst the locals was up-beat. “The war is over”, “The UN are finally arriving” etc. Even the owners of businesses such as the sawmill had visited the town to see what was left of their factories. But when I debriefed in Abidjan the mood was quite different - the peace process was stalling and the political situation going downhill. And indeed it has totally unravelled in the last few weeks. The best source of news for the time being is the bbc news website (http://news.bbc.co.uk) and the most uptodate reports are best found on the world service (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/wsnews_aod.shtml). I have been in touch with my friends in the Ivory Coast and the last I heard from Grace was on Friday: The Bin-Houy?roject had evacuated and they had been ready to do the same, but did not get the green light. Given the violence demonstrated by Gbagbo’s supporters, I would imagine that they won’t be heading for Abidjan. I hope to hear from them soon... preferably from an internet cafe in Accra or Monrovia!