spotlight madagascar

So, when I went to bed last night, there was no news. I got maybe 3 Google Alerts all day. My website went from 8000 hits 2 days ago to 3ooo yesterday. Everyone thought things were calmed down, from what I could glean from news and the internet. But the emails and texts and messages I was getting from friends throughout the island still reflected fear and uncertainty. When I opened my eyes this morning and then opened my computer, I had 15 Alerts and facebook was aflutter with the vaovao. There’s a smorgasbord of things for you to much on today.

• from the BBC:

“Since the president and the government have not taken their responsibilities… I will run all national affairs as of today,” he [Rajaolina] said.

• from AFP:

“I want to head this democratic transition. It is the wish of the people. There is need for fresh blood, a new vision,” he [Rajaolina] told reporters.

• from China View:

• This is one of most interesting articles I’ve read all week. Christianity Times Online interviewed Todd MacGregor, an American serving as the Anglican Bishop of Tulear, via email. Here’s an excerpt of the article, entitled “Jesus weeps in Madagascar”:

The root causes are numerous. I have chosen just a few to comment on: the economy, opposing leadership styles, and politics.

People are not happy about the economy. The majority of the people are extremely poor and life has not improved for them. The poor are getting poorer and the wealthy are becoming wealthier. Some claim the president may have used his position to benefit personally and financially.

• Bloomberg mentions that there were 2000 people at today’s rally (which still might be going on).

And then there was a bunch of articles, from AFP, CNN, Reuters, and the Associated Press.

Some are asking, how can Rajaolina just proclaim that he’s in charge? Some are asking, where is Ravalomanana? Even more are asking, who is financially backing the Mayor in this endeavor to gain power over Madagascar? (Dare I even mention his name?) With this transition, will there be greater democracy and equality for the people–will anything change?