All Hell Broke Loose
Saturday, February 26th, 2005All hell broke loose at school yesterday. It was about one minute before the end of the hour when all the kids by the door jumped up and ran out the door. All the kids started scrambling for the windows and the door, jumping on desks, falling, trampling each other and yelling. I had no idea what was going on and of course reverted to yelling, “Stop!” in English, which did no good. Chaotic and scary.
It turned out that there had been a big fight around the front of the school and the gendarmes (military police – picture big guys in camo fatigues, big black boots, aviator sunglasses and turbans or berets and rifles slung over their shoulders – not cool) had come. 3 trucks full. All of the students were out of class and watching the action unfold and occasionally chanting and yelling. When they hauled the kids who had fought out of the proviseur’s office and into the back of one of the trucks, the kids formed this huge mob trying to see who the fighters were. They were dispersed by a turban-wearing gendarme running at them at full tilt and whipping them with a branch from a thorn tree. The kids in the back of the truck were surrounded by about 8 gendarmes and when the kids started brawling again, the gendarmes nearest them whipped the hell out of them with belts.
Fighting is a big thing here. There are constantly fights at school and most involve biting, hair-pulling, wailing fists and knives or other weapons. My sister’s friend, Zara, gets in about a fight a week. Last week, someone bit her earlobe off in a fight and yesterday, she slammed a girl against the wall and semi-strangled her, causing the gendarmes to be called a second time.
Chadian culture, or more specifically, northern Chadian culture seems to be based a lot on strength. If someone badmouths you, you beat them up, lest you be considered weak. I’ve seen guys walking around town with spears and lots of men carry knives. I don’t know if the tendency towards violence is a cultural thing or if it’s the result of the constant hardship and frustration.
