• Jul 2, 2025

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WAR TORN DREAMS

Year Abroad

In September 2010, 6 female Ghanaian students from the University of Ghana journeyed to La Côte d’Ivoire in a quest to polish and improve the ability to speak French; that was a university requirement after 3 years of studying French in the lecture room without an exposure to the French/Francophone culture. French civilisation talks about the French Kingdom which later became a republic, the country as France and other department overseas which are considered as part of France, they are called “départments d’outre mer” such as Guadeloupe, Guyanne, Martinique, la Réunion, and Mayotte. It also extends to French gastronomy, historical events, cinema, fashion, literature etc.

These six students who were determined to master French and speak like a real “parisien”, after a year program on a foreign land, got their dreams halfway shattered. Ask me how? And why? Abidjan, which was once called “Abijé” is the commercial capital of La Côte d’Ivoire, which used to be called petit Paris (little Paris). These students were all excited to live the few months ahead of them on the land of Felix Houphouet Boigny (the first president of La Côte d’Ivoire after independence) just like the rest of their course mates who had headed for France, Switzerland, Senegal and Benin all in the quest for the same goal (year Abroad).

The year 2010 was for elections in La Côte d’Ivoire, yet these foreign students were admitted into the school and given hostel accommodation on campus. They were enrolled in a language centre of the university; Univesité de Cocody, Centre Universitaire d’études françaises (CUEF) which was just opposite the National Police Academy.

The Trip

The trip to Abidjan commenced at 6am instead of 5am as indicated on the ticket, the STC coach manoeuvred through the heavy traffic at Kaneshie, a suburb in Accra, all through to mallam junction, then to Kasoa, a town in central region yet considered by most Ghanaians as part of Accra due to settlement. The journey became smooth from Gomoa Mpotsin, a town in central region of Ghana, as the name connotes, this region is at the south-central part of Ghana. The region welcomed the passengers with road signs such as “3 persons died here” slow down, 11 persons died here, slow down. Scary right? Central region is one of the oldest region of Ghana with castles and forts of British colonial masters specifically in Cape Coast, the Gulf of Guinea stretches to this region; where there are beaches with tall coconut trees which serve as a decorative backdrop to the region, Cape Coast was the first capital town of Gold Coast, now Ghana.

There was a brief stop over in the first capital, then the journey continued, after an hour and a half, they were in Western region of Ghana. The roads were narrow, despite the frequent presence of traffic of heavy trucks carrying logs and goods from Nigeria all the way to La Côte d’Ivoire and vice versa.

Western region is one of the richest regions in Ghana endowed with thickets, oil, gold, timber etc, the weather at the time of the trip was dark and cold snowy. There was no stop over at Takoradi, the harbour city and capital town of the region.

Few hours later, the coach stopped at the border town called Elubo, for clearance to cross to Noé (a town in La Côte d’Ivoire).

 Trouble started presenting its ugly face at the border of Elubo-Noé ; when an unscrupulous border thug wanted to extort money from one of the students who was carrying a laptop with her, in order words, she must pay for carrying a laptop from Ghana, entering into La Côte d’Ivoire, eeiiii, immediately her colleagues heard of it, they begun to call for help, they called the attention of the STC ( state transport corporation) driver who intervened. Lucky her right!!! After clearance and all immigration processes, there was an hour rest before continuing the journey. Passengers got down to have lunch, these students didn’t spare the bowl of fufu with goat meat at a chop bar. 

Back on board, there were interactions with other passengers, the students identified a middle-aged woman who had lived in Abidjan for several years and raised a family there, even though a Ghanaian. This lady asked where they were headed, and she agreed to help them upon arrival in Abidjan, however she made a statement in Akan “omo b3 tu abaa, ad3n nti na mo kor ho akor sua ade”? To wit, it’s an election year why are you going there to study? This question sent cold shivers down their spines; however, they couldn’t do anything at this point, and they were not too perturbed. “We hope for the best”, said one of them. From Noé, the students watched through the coach’s window, to discover small towns like Aboisso, Adiaké and Grand Bassam. These towns are generally on the main highway connecting the two cities in La Côte d’Ivoire;Noé-Abidjan. From all observation, one could deduce that the main occupation in these towns was farming in palm plantations.

Few hours later, they arrived safely in Abidjan, the one who was supposed to pick them from the lorry park was not there, it was already 8pm, the students didn’t have a local sim to make calls, WhatsApp not the order of the day at the time. The woman was worried about the situation, thankfully the vehicle which came to pick her up could accommodate at least 5 of the students but not all 6. Among these students, was a half cast girl, she couldn’t get space in the lady’s vehicle therefore she picked a taxi ahead of them and left the station before the rest of them, but she didn’t arrive at the hostel before the rest. Fear gripped them when they looked around and she was nowhere to be found, the woman made it worse with her reactions and sentiments. Aïe aïe ça se présent mal!! the French will say. Tensions were high, funny thoughts begun to run through their minds, was she kidnapped? killed? or they had lost their bearings. After half an hour, there was a taxi which entered the compound of the hostel and there they were. They had finally arrived with stories, anyway they were glad to have arrived. They offloaded their luggage and headed to their various rooms which was well prepared before their arrival. It was 3 in a room with bunk beds, bathroom and sink but the washroom was in the building but outside the rooms, there was also a kitchen outside the building. The night was serene, and restful.

The next day they met with the hostel head who was affectionately called “Maman”, she spelt out the rules and regulations of the hostel, such as no usage of electric appliances in the room, no quarrels, no fighting, stealing or whatsoever. There were few Nigerians occupying the hostel before their arrival, subsequently there came a Kenyan.

After the meeting, they presented themselves at the language centre for payment of tuition fees and hostel fees and to write the language test for placement in classes that corresponded with their level, though these students were in the same class back in the University. That was the norm.

Next, one student was placed in B2 (intermediate, level 2) two students were placed in B1 (intermediate level 1) two were in A2 (beginner level 2) and one was in A1(beginner level 1).

Life in Abidjan

All administrative processes were carried out for them to settle in well, start their studies and discover petit Paris, the landscape and the Ivorian culture. Abidjan is a beautiful city, known for its bustling streets and beautiful architecture at the city centre. Abidjan has elite areas such as Riviera, Treichville, Zone 4, Marcory, Plateau, Cocody etc and has several areas of the indigenous people such as Adjamé, Yopougon, Abobo, Koumassi etc. The staple food is mainly attiéké, which is made of cassava. Life in Abidjan was always enjoyable because of the way of life; Ivoirians love parties, celebrations, clubbing and eating good food. Dinner was always late, which the students found weird in the beginning because dinner in most homes in Ghana was from 6pm to latest 9pm, however dinner starts at 9pm in Abidjan. There was a term the students used on Fridays “Vendredi soir, ça va chauffer” to wit, “Friday night, it’s gonna be hot”. Nightlife in Abidjan was not taken lightly at all, people were seen in their work uniforms at pubs, night clubs, local restaurants, on the streets etc. Due to this lifestyle, some preferred to go to church on Saturday mornings, though not an Adventist but there were options for Saturday services, that way, they could have time to chill the whole Saturday night till “mama calls”.

School Life

School lasted for 6 weeks and after which, there was exams. There was promotion from one class to the other till the end of the academic year. Classes finished at 3pm from Monday to Friday, school was interesting, there were different nationalities such as Iranians, Kenyan, Sierra Leonean, Mauritanian, Nigerians etc. The lecturers were well learned and patient in teaching French. These students did not let their guard down in discovery of the city of Abidjan. They really integrated into the Ivorian system, they made friends, some of them took gym class, cooking lessons, they went to the beach, night club, movies etc. The savouring of Ivorian gastronomy was the order of the day; it seemed that was the reason for their stay in Abidjan. The early morning breakfast was sold by the roadside, which was stuffing of liver, avocado pear, veggies with olive oil in hot baguette (French bread), was a ritual. They savoured this combination so much that they wanted to make it last forever. Saturdays were for “Adjamé-gare en haut”, the equivalent of Makola market, where these girls picked gbaka (trotro) and bargained for the fare, isn’t that strange? Meanwhile, in Accra there’s a fix price for each distance, travel and see they say right!

It was this period that android phones were slightly in vogue and Facebook was only accessed on computers, as such these students were always in the internet cafés to chat with loved ones, family and friends, if there was no hanging out. There was no dull moment during their stay in Abidjan either one friend is taking them out or they were at the internet café browsing. In the evenings, the scrumptious “gariba” (attiéke with salted tuna and chopped pepper, tomatoes, onions, a pinch of seasoning cube, and mayonnaise) or smoked spiced fish with attiéke was never to be missed.

As time passed, these 6 students were expressing themselves in French, in other words, they had improved their language skills in communication (spoken, written, listening, reading). As a result, after 6 weeks, they had excelled in their examination, and they were promoted to the next class. Wow!! kudos!! Chapeau!! …… TO BE CONTINUED