Wrapping Up

Jonathon came down with a fever of 103 at preschool. Needless to say my afternoon plans just changed from a stop at the grocery store followed by packing and massive clearing, cleaning and purging to keeping the house quiet and making sure he gets his medicine and rest.

Last night he woke crying around 9 p.m. and when a regular trip to the toilet didn't calm him down I figured something was up. But when he's incoherent and crying and rolling in bed not wanting to be held there's not much to do but sit for a bit and rub his back. It seemed to help and he finally fell back into a deep sleep around 10. Obviously something is wrong because he's napping now and burning up. I'm glad I planned tomorrow as an at-home day for the boys. We'll be going to ISM in the afternoon to have little going away parties for the girls. The boys will have a going away party next Wednesday at Club Lunch with their AmeriKids friends.
Nicholas has been very sweet with his sick brother, sharing stickers and saying he didn't want to go to Katie's house since Jonathon was sick. He just wanted to come home and watch a movie. A quiet movie so it doesn't wake Jonathon. He really is a sweetheart.
In other news, Faure Gnassingbe' was sworn in as President of Togo and the constitution has been changed to allow him to complete his father's "term" through 2008. The African Union is not at all pleased with what's going on in Lome', calling it a military coup. An emergency summit will be held in Niger to discuss what options are available for getting Togo back on the road to democracy. It's interesting reading the replublicoftogo site to see the view from the ground, or at least from the mouthpiece of the Togolese government. They lambast the foreign media's portrayal of the change in government and say that everything is hunkydorey.
Read it all here. I have included a translation of my own, PURELY for my own practice. If you want to know what it -really- says, ask a Frenchman. :
http://www.republicoftogo.com/fr/news/news.asp?rubID=1&srubID=1&themeID=1&newsID=9174
Putsch militaire, coup d’état civil, monarchie, népotisme. Les médias étrangers tirent à boulet rouge sur le Togo. Sur le terrain, la situation est un peu différente.
[Military takeover, civil coup, monarchy, nepotism. The foreign medias have shot (a red ball? bullseye?) on Togo. On the ground, the situation is a little different.]
« On comprend la réaction de la communauté internationale » explique un proche de l’entourage du nouveau chef de l’Etat, Faure Gnassingbé. « Elle a pu être choquée par les procédés utilisés quelques heures après le décès du président Eyadéma, mais il y avait urgence ».
["We understand the reaction of the international community" explained a close member of the new Chief of State's entourage. "They are perhaps stunned/outaged/shocked by the procedures used several hours after the death of President Eyadema, but there was an urgency."]
Non seulement urgence mais vide constitutionnel car le président de l’Assemblée nationale était en Europe. Il fallait faire vite pour éviter que le vide ne s’installe.
[Not just urgency but a constitutional void as the president of the national Assembly was in Europe. It had to be done quickly to avoid having the void take hold.]
Et contrairement a ce qu’indiquent depuis samedi radios et télévisions étrangères, Fambaré Natchaba Ouattara, le président du Parlement, n’a pas été empêché de rentrer à Lomé, c’est lui qui a pris la décision de rester à Cotonou. D’où sa destitution intervenue dimanche soir.
[And contrary to what has been indicated since Saturday on the foreign radio and television, the president of the Parliament was not forbidden to reenter Lome', it was he who made the decision to stay in Cotonou. ?....? Sunday night]
En moins de 24 heures, l’ordre constitutionnel a été rétabli au Togo. Réunis en session extraordinaire, les députés ont élu Faure Gnassingbé au perchoir lui donnant ainsi la possibilité d’accéder à la magistrature suprême comme le prévoit la constitution.
[In less than 24 hours, constitutional order was reestablished in Togo. Reunited in an extaordinay session, the members had chosen Faure Gnassingbe' to... hmmm, it means something like they wanted to give him the position of the speaker to allow him to follow the constitutional provisions of rising to the presidency. I cannot wrap my brain around the actual word translations though.]
La solution d’urgence utilisée quelques minutes après le décès du président Gnassingbé Eyadema aura duré donc duré moins de 24 heures.
[The emergency solution implemented minutes after the death of President Eyadema lasted, then lasted less than 24 hours.]
Mais pour les médias étrangers, Français notamment, toujours prompts à accabler le Togo, ce qui vient de se dérouler à Lomé n’est autre qu’un putsch militaire, un putsch civil, un coup de force constitutionnel. Dynastie, monarchie, népotisme, voila, entre autres, les expressions récurrentes utilisées par les journaux, radios et TV pour décrire ce qui se passe au Togo.
[But for foreign medias, notably France, always ready to condemn Togo, what came to unroll Lome' was nothing more than a military takover, a constitutional coup. Dynasty, monarchy, nepotism, there among others, the recurring expressions used by journalists, radio and TV to describe what happened in Togo.
L’oscar de la désinformation revient sans doute à Radio France Internationale (RFI). « Cette radio ne respecte même pas la mémoire d’un disparu », s’étonne Pitang Tchalla, le ministre de la Communication.
[The oscar of disinformation goes without a doubt to Radio France International. "That station doesn't respect the memory of the departed" said Tchalla, Communications minister.]
« RFI s’est lancée dans une campagne de désinformation et de déstabilisation » dénonce M. Tchalla.
["RFI has launched a campaign of disinformation and destabilization" denounced Mr. Tchalla]
Il est vrai que depuis l’annonce de la mort du président Eyadema samedi soir, la radio française diffusant vers l’Afrique offre une large tribune aux opposants de tout poil, politiciens, journalistes, « experts » du Togo, historiens de l’Afrique de l’ouest, etc…
Ses tranches d’information depuis 24 heures n’ont pas accordé la moindre place à un responsable politique togolais susceptible d’exprimer une opinion contradictoire.
[It's true that since the announcement of the death of President Eyadema Saturday night, French radio is spreading around Africa, offering a large soapbox to opposition (something about hair??), politicians, journalists, "experts" on Togo, West Africa historians, etc. These slices of infomation over 24 hours should not be accorded the merest place in responsible Togolese politics (what does the rest of that sentence mean?)]
« Où est l’équilibre en matière de traitement de l’information ? » se demande Pitang Tchalla.
["Where is the equality in material and treatment of information?" asked Tchalla.]
La mauvaise connaissance ou tout simplement l’absence d’information sur les réalités togolaises conduisent les médias étrangers à écrire un peu n’importe quoi. A cela s’ajoute un parti pris évident de la part de certains journalistes qui ne voyaient en Eyadema qu’un horrible dictateur et qui considèrent son fils comme le dépositaire de pratiques condamnables.
[The bad information or simply the absence of information on the realities of Togo leads the foreign media to write what is untrue. This adds a party take evident on the part of certain journalists who did not see in Eyadema anything but a horrible dictator and who consider his son an agent of condemnable practices.]
Les jours qui viennent démontreront la faiblesse de leur analyse.
Enfin, on signalera que les capacités d’investigation de la presse sont étrangement limitées. Aucun journaliste ne s’est vraiment intéressé à l’ancien président de l’Assemblée nationale, présenté à l’étranger comme une sorte de martyr bloqué derrière les barbelés de la frontière. Il aurait été intéressant pour les lecteurs de connaître sa vision politique du Togo.
[The coming days will demonstrate the faults in their analysis. Finally, it signals that the investigation capacities of the press are strangely limited. Many journalists aren't really interested in the old National Assembly president, presented to the foreign community as a sort of martyr stuck behind the fences at the border. They are more interested in realizing their own political visions for Togo.]
Quand il était à l’Assemblée, il exposait volontiers son programme à ses visiteurs. Non à la dictature de l’Europe, non au dialogue avec l’opposition.
[When we was in the Assembly he voluntarily exposed his programs to visitors. not to the Euopean dictator, nor in dialogue with the opposition]
La communauté internationale étai-elle prête à avaliser ce discours. Sans doute pas.
[Is the international community ready to support this discussion? Without a doubt not.]
We wait with bated breath. And can I say my brain hurts from that pathetic attempt at translation? As far as I know Ian is learning French this summer no matter what, so it's good practice for me. But practice is all it is and it's exhausting.