Interview
We interviewed Steven Janssen, a man we found via a friend of ours. We did the interview via whatsapp (screenshots below), for he did not want us to record a skype call. The text below is the typed out version of the interview where we removed some grammatical and spelling mistakes.
Us:
Hello Steven, thank you very much in advance for answering our questions. To jump right in, can you first tell me something about yourself?
Steven:
Hi Daphne, no problem! Of course I will, my name is Steven Janssen and I'm thirty years old and I live in Vaassen.
Us:
As you know we do our blog about the civil war in CAR, how are you involved in this conflict?
Steven:
I am myself not involved, but my mom was born in CAR before she met my dad. Together they decided to live in the Netherlands, since CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world, but the rest of my family of my mother's side still lives there.
Us:
Has your family been affected ny the rebel groups?
Steven:
I'm not sure anymore, as you know the communication with my family was bad and i did not hear anything from them since last march. At that point they were on their way to a safety camp. I hope they are still OK. My mom has two older brothers who have families too. I still pray every night for them.
Us:
May I ask what your family's religion is?
Steven:
I am a christian, but I was not raised as one. My parents chose for that so I could choose for myself at a later age. My family in CAR is also christian, but as far as I know they are not fighting in the battle against the Seleka.
Us:
What was the last time you visited CAR and have you noticed anythings about the conflict?
Steven:
The last time I visited CAR was in 1989, when I was five years old. I cannot remember much of it, but there are pictures of me and my family. My mom told me that at that moment she could feel the unrest since the president was then just sentenced for life in prison. My parents went another time, but I could not go with them. Since then I did not have the time or the money or the courage to visit the country.
Us:
If your family could feel the unrest, do you think that the UN and France did the right thing by sending troops to intervene in the conflict?
Steven:
I think they did, but they did not do it in the right way. They tried to disarm everybody, which is in my opinion impossible. I think they must find a new tactic, becau as we can see, this is not working. I hope the new elections will help, but I think they won't.
Us:
An why do you think the new elections will not help?
Steven:
I think that the elections don't really have the power over the country. It doesn't matter who has the power, when that person does nothing, people in other areas will not care about it all. They will go on the way they did before. I think there has to come a person to power who lets everybody know that he has the power, so that the fighting will stop, but there will always be one party that is not satisfied, which can start the fight again.
Us:
So what you are saying is that you think that a dictatorship like society is the best possible solutions for CAR, a I right?
Steven:
I guess you can say so. I think for now there has to be a strong leader so that the fighting can stop, so that the people realise that the people they are fighting against are still the neighbours that they once were and that there will be more help for the sick and so that the people can bury their family that did not survive, so that they can build up their own country again. Then they can start the elections again and the people will listen to their leader.
Us:
Thank you very much for sharing your story and opinion with me. I hope you are to hear from your family soon.
Steven:
You are welcome! Thank you very much, I wish you the best of luck with your blog.
Us:
That will do!
