USAID/Guinea: Kadébah Camara Learns her Rights

JANUARY 30, 2003

Kadébah Camara Learns Her Rights

Kadébah Camara learns the importance of having a marriage certificate during a USAID-sponsored training on the rights and responsibilities of Guinean citizens.

During a presentation on the rights and responsibilities of Guinean citizens in her small village of Barenfory, outside of Kindia, Kadébah Camara learned how important it is to obtain important papers for her and her family such as birth and death certificates, and marriage certificates in case divorce or the death of a spouse. "I didn't have a marriage certificate," says the elderly wife of the village chief, "but now I know that it's important, and I'm going to get one." Says Kadébah, "Even though my husband and I are old, and I hope we'll always stay together, I'm still going to make sure I get the certificate." Her husband, the village chief, nods his head in approval.

Kadebah Camara with her husband

In a month-long series of presentations in villages throughout Guinea in October, 2002, USAID-sponsored NGO International Foundation for Electoral Systems trained local trainers to introduce 115,000 people to some very basic but very important ideas about citizenship, including citizens' rights and responsibilities under Guinean national law-Guineans learned what they need to know to fully exercise their rights as Guinean citizens.

As part of the nationwide civic education campaign, 18 regional debates were also held at the regional and prefectural level in which 1,700 participants spoke about the rights and responsibilities of Guinean citizens. To ensure attendance and to peak people's interest, audiocassette messages about citizenship as well as announcements about the training sessions in local towns and villages went out over rural radio in 420 radio broadcasts in nine local languages. In villages, leaflets on citizenship were also distributed in local languages, and a video entitled, "I Know my Rights, I Assume my Responsibilities" was distributed nationwide and seen by over 18,000 people.

"We really have to explain everything," says trainer Mariama Soumah. "These are our parents--it's important."

"We've learned that we are all Guinean citizens," says young Souribah Soumah, "whether we're women or men, and regardless of our race or whether we're men or women, or young or old. We've learned what our rights are, like the right to education and good health. We've learned that we have the responsibility to make sure we have all of our important papers, like identification cards."

According to Elizabeth Côté, IFES/Guinea Representative, civic education in the Guinean context needed to address two key issues. The first is the danger of ethnic conflict, to help Guineans avoid the type of problems seen recently in neighboring Côte d'Ivoire. In a country where ethnic division is seen to be a potential source of conflict, promoting a sense of national identity that surpasses regional or ethnic affiliations can help moderate tensions. Says Côté, "The civic education defines citizens as Guinean regardless of their race or ethnic origin." Election issues were also introduced. Says Côté, "This is the first in a series of trainings that will build up to an understanding of citizenship and the responsibilities that come with it."

Says Madame Mariama Soumah, a village-level trainer in the Kindia area, "We tell them about their rights, and they say, 'Our 'rights? What's that?' We really have to explain everything-it's important, these are our parents. We explain that they have the right to vote, but that they have to have their papers in order to reclaim this right. They want to get the papers, but the problem is finding the money. Out of maybe 35 women in one village, two had a marriage certificate."

But what about the day-to-day needs of villagers? Says Salifou Camara, District President and village chief of Barenfory, "If we want improvements in our village such as repairing our road or asking that a local health center by built, it's our members of the national assembly that should be helping us out. Locally, it's our Regional Development Committee that we talk to about such matters." As Guinean citizens like those in Barenfory village become better-informed citizens, they will be in a better position to demand more responsive and transparent governance from Guinean leaders, and better able to meet their everyday needs.

Story and photos by Laura Lartigue