The 14th Ghanaian Battalion (GHANBATT 14) serving with the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) on Tuesday organized a “Peace Caravan” in Bondoukou and Bouna in the Zanzan Region of the country.
The “Peace Caravan”, organized in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Save the Children, a collection of Non-governmental Organisation in that region as well as local authority, formed part of the GHANBATT’s Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC).
The event, carried over to the next day, April 20, 2011, was aimed at instilling confidence among the local population, create social cohesion and to return the area to normalcy following the post-electoral conflict in Cote d’Ivoire.
The ‘Peace Caravan’ moved along the main streets of Bondoukou, Bouna and its environs. The caravan ended at the respective central markets of Bondoukou and Bouna where messages of peace, forgiveness reconciliation and the return to normalcy were delivered in several local dialects including Dioula, Koulango, Abron, Joula and French.
On the ‘Peace Caravan’ was the Commanding Officer of the UNOCI GHANBATT 14, Lt Col William Dagbe and troops of the battalion who were the brain behind the caravan, as well as Military Observers, Police officers of the UNOCI and their UN civilian counterparts.
“It is through forgiveness and acceptances of forgiveness for one another that can make the people of the Zanzan Region live together in peaceas one people, through discipline and hard work” were some of the messages used to sensitize the populace.
Bondoukou and Bouna are towns located in the Zanzan Region of Cote d’Ivoire, which is 416 kilometers north-east of Abidjan. The Ghanaian Battalion is responsible for security in the region.
Robison Omane-Agyei (PIO Ghanaian Contingent in Cote d'Ivoire)