Adrienne Yabouza (born 1965) is a writer from the Central African Republic. She is of Yakoma heritage. [1] She has written several novels and a book for children, [2] a number of which were penned in collaboration with French writer Yves Pinguilly. [3] [4]
Yabouza began writing when she was ten years old. [1] As a young woman she fled the civil war in the Central African Republic and traveled to the Republic of the Congo; from there she fled to France, where she demanded political asylum. [2] She never attended any institution of higher education. [5] Although she later returned to her home country, she has continued to speak out against the political violence with which it has been plagued, including the 2013 coup d'état. [6]
Yabouza was a hairdresser for many years in Bangui, and has held numerous other jobs throughout her career. [3] She lives in the Lakouanga neighborhood of Bangui. [7] She writes in French, and also speaks Sango and Lingala in addition to her native Yakoma. [1] Her work deals with the difficulties facing women in the Central African Republic, and many of the stories she tells are derived from family stories and from things she has heard in her neighborhood and working in the salon, locations in which women feel free to speak among themselves. She has said that she invents truths, that the lives of her heroines are not particularly based on her own. Among her influences she cites both Mariama Bâ and Ousmane Sembène. [6] The first three of her novels were intended to be viewed as a trilogy. [1] Widowed, she has five children and is a grandmother; [2] she raised her children on her own, as a single mother. [6]
The Central African Republic (CAR), formerly known as Ubangi-Shari, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west. Bangui is the country's capital and largest city, at the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Central African Republic covers a land area of about 620,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi). As of 2021, it had an estimated population of around 5.5 million. As of 2024, the Central African Republic is the scene of a civil war, which has been ongoing since 2012.
The history of the Central African Republic is roughly composed of four distinct periods. The earliest period of settlement began around 10,000 years ago when nomadic people first began to settle, farm and fish in the region. The next period began around 10,000 years prior.
The Central African Armed Forces are the armed forces of the Central African Republic and have been barely functional since the outbreak of the civil war in 2012. Today they are among the world's weakest armed forces, dependent on international support to provide security in the country. In recent years the government has struggled to form a unified national army. It consists of the Ground Force, the gendarmerie, and the National Police.
Jean-Bédel Bokassa, also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its successor state, the Central African Empire (CAE), from the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966 until his overthrow in a subsequent coup in 1979.
François Bozizé Yangouvonda is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. He was the only Central African president born in modern-day Gabon.
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was a Central African politician, who was the fourth President of the Central African Republic (CAR), from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'état in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Félix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993. Kolingba retained the strong support of France until the end of the Cold War in 1992, after which both internal and external pressure forced him to hold presidential elections which he lost.
A coup d'état in Haiti on 29 February 2004, following several weeks of conflict, resulted in the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. On 5 February, a rebel group, called the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti, took control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves. By 22 February, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien and were besieging the capital, Port-au-Prince by the end of February. On the morning of 29 February, Aristide resigned under controversial circumstances and was flown from Haiti by U.S. military and security personnel. He went into exile, being flown directly to the Central African Republic, before eventually settling in South Africa.
Sibut, formerly Fort Sibut is the capital of Kémo, one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. An important transport hub, it is situated 188 km (117 mi) north of the capital Bangui and is known for its market.
Jean-Luc Mandaba was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 25 October 1993 to 12 April 1995 under President Ange-Félix Patassé.
Édouard Frank is a Central African magistrate and political figure. He was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 15 March 1991 to 4 December 1992.
The Central African Republic Bush War was a civil war in the Central African Republic which lasted from 2004 to 2007 between Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels and government forces. The rebellion began after François Bozizé seized the nation's presidency in 2003. Actual fighting began in 2004. Around 10,000 people were displaced because of the civil unrest.
Yakoma are an ethnic group who primarily reside in the Central African Republic, as of June 2008, the Yakoma make up 4% of the country's population. Additionally, 10,000 live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état was a coup d'état staged by Jean-Bédel Bokassa, commander-in-chief of the Central African Republic (CAR) army, and his officers against the government of President David Dacko on 31 December 1965 and 1 January 1966. Dacko, Bokassa's cousin, took over the country in 1960, and Bokassa, an officer in the French army, joined the CAR army in 1962. By 1965, the country was in turmoil—plagued by corruption and slow economic growth, while its borders were breached by rebels from neighboring countries. Dacko obtained financial aid from the People's Republic of China, but despite this support, the country's problems persisted. Bokassa made plans to take over the government; Dacko was made aware of this, and attempted to counter by forming the gendarmerie headed by Jean Izamo, who quickly became Dacko's closest adviser.
A coup d'état occurred in March 2003 in the Central African Republic when the forces of General François Bozizé marched on Bangui, the country's capital, while President Ange-Félix Patassé was attending a regional Community of Sahel–Saharan States leaders' summit in Niger.
Central African Republic–France relations are foreign relations between the Central African Republic (CAR) and France. Both nations are members of the Francophonie and the United Nations.
From 2013 to 2020, around 15,000 Muslims were been besieged in PK5 district in Bangui, Central African Republic.
The Coalition of Patriots for Change is a coalition of major rebel groups in the Central African Republic created in 2020 to disrupt the 2020–21 Central African general election.
On 13 January 2021 around 200 rebels from Coalition of Patriots for Change attacked Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, in an attempt to overthrow the government which resulted in failure.
Sylvestre Bangui was a Central African general, diplomat and politician. He rose amongst the ranks of the Central African Armed Forces to become a general, and was away for military training when Jean-Bédel Bokassa carried out his coup d'état in 1965. Bokassa appointed him as an ambassador, first to Canada and then to France. In 1979, he carried out a press conference where he denounced his government for carrying out a massacre of children, resigned and formed an opposition group. After Bokassa's deposition, he served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1979 and 1980. He also served as the Minister of Economy and Finance in 1983 and 1984.
Joseph Bendounga, nicknamed Joe Ben, is a Central African politician. He is known for his eternal opponent of every country's administration since Patasse, which led to him to get arrested several times.