The Inside Scoop
by Stephanie Chasteen

Ghosts of French Bwanas - an interesting Yahoo! travel article on Guinea

After having lived for a year and a half in Guinea, I have many opinions on the country, its cultures, its economics and politics. If you want the in-depth analyses of daily experience, I urge you to read my letters, where I ruminate on various aspects of Guinea and my life here. But if you want the quick and dirty, here you are.

Guinea is amazingly rich compared to its neighbors. It has huge stores of bauxite, diamonds, and gold. And above all, it has water. Lots of water. As you can see above, only Liberia surpasses its annual rainfall. Directly to the north and east is the sahel and desert of Senegal and Mali. We did our training in Senegal and got used to seeing the emaciated horses, batting away flies, and squinting against the dust and sun. It was only beautiful for a few days, and then just oppressive. Flat and tan. When we landed in the airport in Guinea we marveled at the huge green mountains in the distance, and wound our way through vine-covered roads, and green hillsides dotted with palm trees. But we couldn't help noticing how the "National Highway", marked with an impressive red line on the map, was a narrow two-lane road with no shoulder, passing by small villages. In Senegal, the main highway was a huge four-lane road lined with gas stations and nice houses.

Guinea is rich in resources, but not in money or power. It was closed off from the world by the dictator Sekou Toure for so long that it missed out on the bulk of international development and commerce. And now its people are still scarred from the history of oppression. Free enterprise and creativity were not encouraged under Sekou Toure, and it is going to take a long time for the country to change. While fatalism is endemic to many Muslim countries, I don't think the helpless apathy shown by most Guineans (especially rural) is due simply to Islam. "What can one do?" they often say with a shrug. The accepted response is, "Nothing."

Yet, on the positive side, Guinea is relatively unspoiled and innocent, the people trusting and pleasant (unless they hold public office). I travelled briefly to Mali and was disgusted by the attitude towards tourists there. I came very close to slapping a couple of obnoxious kids pulling on my shirt and asking for money. Their calls of "White Person!" in local language had a jeering tone. People took advantage of us at every turn. When we crossed thankfully over the border back into Guinea, the children looked at us wide-eyed, "White Person!" they cheered, and ran to shake our hand. A kind friend of a friend of a friend showed us where to sleep for the night in a strange town.

And Guinea is beautiful. The four natural regions make it a very pleasant place to travel, with everything from tropical beaches to cool mountains, hot savannah and dense jungle.

I'm glad that I'm in Guinea, but it is very poor. The lack of reliable infrastructure (roads, telephones, mail) makes it a frustrating place to live. It's considered a "hardship" post by most foreign services (Peace Corps, Embassy). But don't take that the wrong way. The difficulties of living in a Third World country are fairly similar across the board. We're just a little further down the ladder, and it shows mostly in terms of keeping in contact with home and access to imported goods.

The poverty of the country hurts its people most, not us foreigners. Fewer people here have access to health care, education is lacking, and chances for upward mobility are severely limited. And that translates to death. High death rates, and short life spans. When I remark on the lines in my friends' faces, they tell me "it's the suffering." And I believe it. How else does a 35-year-old look 50? Long hours working in the fields, trying to feed a huge family, raising more kids to work in the fields, not cultivating the land to its utmost because of a poor understanding of ecology, falling ill all the time because of poor understanding of health and inadequate health supplies. This is true in all Third-World countries. But in Guinea, I think it's worse.

At least, here there's peace. We are surrounded by war in Guinea-Bissau, the Casamance of Senegal, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Refugees are flooding in with tales of what is happening in their home countries. I am proud of Guinea for maintaining peace, even throughout the difficult December 1998 elections. There was some bloodshed but the strong military presence kept it from escalating.

So, there's some of the inside scoop on Guinea. For more experiential reports, take a look at our comprehensive Book List. If you want the blah, blah, blah statistics stuff, read on...

How wet is Guinea?

  What an encyclopaedia will tell you

Adapted from an article by William Friedland, 2000.

Here's a Printable, black and white, map

Here's the Guinean flag.

 Guinea is #162  out of 174 in the listing of the UN Human Development Rankings, based on income, health care, life expectancy and educational levels.   The US ranks #3, preceded by Canada and Norway.  Guinea is followed only by  Malawi,  Rwanda, Mali, Central African Republic, Chad, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau,  Burundi,  Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Sierra Leone

Geography.  Guinea is a small country (slightly smaller than Oregon) in SW West Africa. The capital is Conakry. It is often referred to as "Guinea-Conakry" to distinguish it from Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Neighboring countries are Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal and Mali to the north, the Ivory Coast to the east, Sierra Leone and Liberia to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. There are four distinct regions: Lower Guinea, which is moist and coastal; the Fouta Djallon region which is cooler and hilly; Upper Guinea, mostly savannah; and the Forest Region in the southeast.  The Fouta is the home of the Fulani (Pulaar) people, and Upper Guinea is primarily home to the Fulani and Malinke.  The other regions are populated by a variety of ethnic groups.  Two of West Africa's major rivers, the Niger and the Senegal (Bafing) have their sources in Guinea.  The Konkoure is another major river.

The people are primarily Muslim (85%). The official language is French, but most speak a tribal language. The three main tribes are Fulani, Malinke, and Soussou. Most are subsistence agriculturalists, and the Gross Domestic Product is about $500 per year. Primary products are rice, cassava, millett, corn, coffee, bananas, pineapples, livestock, and forestry products. Commercial activity has increased in recent years. Major exports are bauxite, aluminum, gold, diamonds, pineapples, bananas, palm products, and coffee.

Guinea has a tropical climate with two seasons, the wet season from April/May to October/November and a dry season from November to April. During the dry season the dust-laden Harmattan winds blow from the Sahara desert. Average temperature ranges from 72 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit (22-32 degrees Celsuis). In the rainy season, it rains at least once a day. Average rainfall is 430 cm (169 in.).

Guinea was the first French colony in Africa to opt out of French rule, and has paid the price economically.  Currently, it is the 2nd poorest country in the world, following neighboring Sierra Leone.  The primary activities are agricultural, and the per-capita average income is about $500.  Traditional farmers make a living raising livestock, such as cattle and goats, and growing rice, cassava, millet, and a variety of crops.  Cash crops include bananas, citrus, pineapples, coffee, peanuts, tobacco, cotton, and seeds, on a small scale.  Bauxite, diamonds, and gold are also important national products.

Guinea has repeatedly made the top-10 list of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, due largely to its low literacy rate and short life expectancy. The infant mortality rate is at 145 per 1000 live births (compared with an average of 10 per 1000 in developed countries).

The educational system was nationalized in 1961.  The adult literacy rate in Guinea is only 36%, most of which are male. Only 17% of boys, and 6% of girls, graduate from primary school. Infant mortality is at 133 per 1,000 births, maternal mortality at 219 per 1000 (compared to 10 in the U.S.A.). Only 40% have access to health services within 1 hour's travel, and 56% of the rural population have access to potable water. Women have an average of 6.8 children over their lifetime. Life expectancy is 44.7 years. HIV is only at 1%, but climbing rapidly due to the increase in the permeability of the country's borders.

The Peace Corps has been expelled from the country twice due to strained relations between Sekou Toure (president until his death in 1984) and the United States. Peace Corps returned to Guinea in 1986. President Lansana Conte has held office since 1984, though the "democratic" elections have had contested results. The government continues to abuse human rights, although much progress has been made since the rule of Sekou Toure. There is occasional civil unrest in the country. Telephones are only available in the major cities, and the road network is very underdeveloped. Bush taxis (broken down Peugeot 504s and 505s) are the main means of transport. Theft is common, and Conakry is particularly dangerous.

Health is a real issue, and vaccinations against Yellow Fever, Typhoid Fever, Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitus, Rabies, and Meningitis are needed. In addition, an anti-malarial agent should be taken (such as mefloquine or chloriquine). AIDS is prevalent in all areas of Africa, and the water is usually not safe to drink without treatment. It's also not safe to swim in freshwater due to the prevalence of Schistosomiasis and Guinea worm.

History.      In the 11th century A.D. the Arabs moved from northern Africa into the regions of the Sudan.  >From then on, it is believed, a number of kingdoms existed in the area, such as the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Gao.  At various times, the Fouta Djallon was part of these kingdoms.
    The Portuguese came into the area sometime during the 14th century.  However, they did not establish any lasting settlements in what is now Guinea.  The French established trading posts along the Atlantic coast inland from Senegal.  They developed commercial interests in Guinea in the 1850's.  As they moved inland, they came into conflict with a kingdom created by Samory Toure.  Toure led a brilliant campaign, but his forces were outnumbered and had to retreat.  By 1896 Toure had lost much of his kingdom within Guinea.  His memory is revered.  After Toure's death, Guinea's history followed that of the other French West African colonies.
    Until the end of World War II, French policy emphasized the differences between the ethnic groups in Guinea and those in other parts of French Africa.  In the years following the war, a new sense of unity began to emerge among the educated Aricans -- the sense of being African.  A political party arose in Guinea that emphasized the similarities between Africans rather than the differences between ethnic groups.  A leader of this party was Sekou Toure.  He pointed out again and again that all men are brothers and all men are equal.  The Guinea Democratic Party (PDG) soon emerged and began to move the coutnry toward independence.  This was achieved on October 2, 1958, after the Guinean people, following the leadership of the PDG, voted against association with France.  Sekou Toure became the first president of the new Republic of Guinea.
    In practice, Guinea became a one-party mobilization stae.  There was only opne legal political party.  The government took a very active role int he economy through state agencies and long term planning.
    On March 27, 1984, Toure died of a heart ailment.  Only a week later the armed forces staged a coup.  After parliamentary elections planned for late 1992 and presidential elections in 1993, Guinea was to return to civilian rule.

- Adapted from an article by William Friedland