People who are so important that they don’t have to stop.
January 6, 2017 5:23 PM Subscribe
All life travels the ribbon of asphalt that cuts through Mokong, Cameroon. The women carrying their onions to market atop their heads step aside when a car approaches. The occasional stray cow ambles down the center, chased by local herders. The men with logs balance jerkily, while an entire family wobbles precariously by on one bicycle. And children — so many children — dart across the pavement, keeping an eye on the cattle while kicking soccer balls back and forth. Vehicle in convoy of US Ambassador to UN kills boy in Cameroon.
Helene Cooper, The Times’s Pentagon correspondent, explains why she went back to Cameroon months later to write a second article about “The Boy, the Ambassador and the Deadly Encounter on the Road.”
Helene Cooper, The Times’s Pentagon correspondent, explains why she went back to Cameroon months later to write a second article about “The Boy, the Ambassador and the Deadly Encounter on the Road.”
As I recall, the reason they don't stop is that, if they do, they are often dragged from their cars by a local mob and killed.
posted by percor at 7:23 PM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by percor at 7:23 PM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
As I recall, the reason they don't stop is that, if they do, they are often dragged from their cars by a local mob and killed.
Yeah. That local mob that was literally just families going about their day-to-day life despite some of the trouble in their country.
This heavily armed and armoured convoy ran over a six year old child because they were acting out of fear despite being from the most heavily armed and armoured nation in the world, likely with more firepower on them than the sum total of the Boko Haram presence in the area.
Romeo Dallaire ordered the troops under his command not to run over dead people in the road in Rwanda in 1994. There were literally piles of bodies. And they actually moved them to the side of the road, or attempted to drive around them.
In the depths of the Rwandan genocide, the UNAMIR contingent had a handful of working APCs, a few clapped-out and unarmoured vans and SUVs, and some brave people like Mbaye Diagne of Senegal or Stefan Stec of Poland, both of whom were racing around trying to rescue people where they could.
As the genocide took hold, the entire UNAMIR contingent consisted 270 people. Ghanaian and Tunisian troops stayed, and military observers from a number of countries stayed, people like Diagne (who was killed in Rwanda) and Stec (who would later stop eating and die as a result of his PTSD). That was it - while close to a million people were being slaughtered in under 100 days.
So I guess all of this is to say racing around like this while heavily armed and with absolute capability to use force in the field suggests that no fucks are given about human beings by the people who are supposedly the humanitarian intervenors. Indeed a Problem from Hell.
I'm glad Cooper came forward with this.
It was a cowardly act by the world's most powerful yet oh-so-frightened nation. What about the person who actually hit Toussaint Birwe?
This is telling, though:
Correction: April 22, 2016
Because of an editing error, an article on Tuesday about the death of a Cameroonian boy who was struck by a vehicle in a convoy carrying Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, to meetings with West African victims of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram referred incorrectly to Mokolo, one of the cities she visited. It is a departmental capital in Cameroon, not the national capital. (That is Yaoundé.)
If the paper can't correctly identify a national capital on the first go-around, maybe it can't cover that country - indeed, the rest of the world - as well as you could, yeah?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:28 PM on January 6, 2017 [34 favorites]
Yeah. That local mob that was literally just families going about their day-to-day life despite some of the trouble in their country.
This heavily armed and armoured convoy ran over a six year old child because they were acting out of fear despite being from the most heavily armed and armoured nation in the world, likely with more firepower on them than the sum total of the Boko Haram presence in the area.
Romeo Dallaire ordered the troops under his command not to run over dead people in the road in Rwanda in 1994. There were literally piles of bodies. And they actually moved them to the side of the road, or attempted to drive around them.
In the depths of the Rwandan genocide, the UNAMIR contingent had a handful of working APCs, a few clapped-out and unarmoured vans and SUVs, and some brave people like Mbaye Diagne of Senegal or Stefan Stec of Poland, both of whom were racing around trying to rescue people where they could.
As the genocide took hold, the entire UNAMIR contingent consisted 270 people. Ghanaian and Tunisian troops stayed, and military observers from a number of countries stayed, people like Diagne (who was killed in Rwanda) and Stec (who would later stop eating and die as a result of his PTSD). That was it - while close to a million people were being slaughtered in under 100 days.
So I guess all of this is to say racing around like this while heavily armed and with absolute capability to use force in the field suggests that no fucks are given about human beings by the people who are supposedly the humanitarian intervenors. Indeed a Problem from Hell.
I'm glad Cooper came forward with this.
It was a cowardly act by the world's most powerful yet oh-so-frightened nation. What about the person who actually hit Toussaint Birwe?
This is telling, though:
Correction: April 22, 2016
Because of an editing error, an article on Tuesday about the death of a Cameroonian boy who was struck by a vehicle in a convoy carrying Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, to meetings with West African victims of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram referred incorrectly to Mokolo, one of the cities she visited. It is a departmental capital in Cameroon, not the national capital. (That is Yaoundé.)
If the paper can't correctly identify a national capital on the first go-around, maybe it can't cover that country - indeed, the rest of the world - as well as you could, yeah?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:28 PM on January 6, 2017 [34 favorites]
Cooper did what she needed to to as a journalist by coming back about this:
I was angry at the State Department aide who questioned why the reporters were writing about Toussaint, saying there were better things for us to cover. I was angry when I went back to the scene of the crime months later and sat in Toussaint’s house with his father and grandparents, listening to them as they struggled to answer my intrusive questions. I was angry when, before the story ran, a top Obama administration national security aide asked me at the White House Christmas party why we were revisiting the story of Toussaint.
At the time, I didn’t know what to say to her, and I stammered over my answer before mumbling something about how I just thought it was important. I was furious afterward with my lame response.
This is what I should have said, but didn’t: We went back and wrote about Toussaint because The New York Times believes that African lives are as important as American ones. That the death of a little boy in northern Cameroon should count as much as the death of a little boy in Washington, D.C.
I wish I had told her that. I’m still kicking myself.
The fact she calls it a crime says one hell of a lot about her integrity.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:34 PM on January 6, 2017 [32 favorites]
I was angry at the State Department aide who questioned why the reporters were writing about Toussaint, saying there were better things for us to cover. I was angry when I went back to the scene of the crime months later and sat in Toussaint’s house with his father and grandparents, listening to them as they struggled to answer my intrusive questions. I was angry when, before the story ran, a top Obama administration national security aide asked me at the White House Christmas party why we were revisiting the story of Toussaint.
At the time, I didn’t know what to say to her, and I stammered over my answer before mumbling something about how I just thought it was important. I was furious afterward with my lame response.
This is what I should have said, but didn’t: We went back and wrote about Toussaint because The New York Times believes that African lives are as important as American ones. That the death of a little boy in northern Cameroon should count as much as the death of a little boy in Washington, D.C.
I wish I had told her that. I’m still kicking myself.
The fact she calls it a crime says one hell of a lot about her integrity.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:34 PM on January 6, 2017 [32 favorites]
As I recall, the reason they don't stop is that, if they do, they are often dragged from their cars by a local mob and killed.
That might be a reason not to stop if you were on your own, but they were in a convoy escorted by both US security personnel and Cameroonian special forces. They were worried about militants, not villagers, but as the article says:
posted by Dip Flash at 7:43 PM on January 6, 2017 [7 favorites]
That might be a reason not to stop if you were on your own, but they were in a convoy escorted by both US security personnel and Cameroonian special forces. They were worried about militants, not villagers, but as the article says:
To the villagers in Mokong, that assault was a distant 20 miles away. To the United States security officials escorting the convoy, that attack was far too close for comfort. That difference in perception says much about African and American cultures, and the varying tolerances each has for risk.It's a heartbreaking story and I am glad that they have continued to cover it.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:43 PM on January 6, 2017 [7 favorites]
In Bradt guide for Uganda, one of better rated travel guide for the country, it was recommended that in case your car hits someone on the road, you should simply drive away to avoid a mob descending upon you. Such cold brutal advice in a book that otherwise described Ugandans with warmth and respect is one reason we decided not drive cars ourselves there.
posted by Pantalaimon at 7:44 PM on January 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Pantalaimon at 7:44 PM on January 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
As I recall, the reason they don't stop is that, if they do, they are often dragged from their cars by a local mob and killed.
The word "often" stands out. How many times do you believe this has happened?
That people are afraid something might happen, and this is their motivation, is plausible. That the US often loses UN ambassadors to this sort of incident is not.
posted by mark k at 8:25 PM on January 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
The word "often" stands out. How many times do you believe this has happened?
That people are afraid something might happen, and this is their motivation, is plausible. That the US often loses UN ambassadors to this sort of incident is not.
posted by mark k at 8:25 PM on January 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
It is unfortunate that that response came up second in the thread, because it risks making the whole thread a reaction to it. Yet a statement like that demands response. I know I want to respond to it, and using words I probably shouldn't.
posted by JHarris at 8:38 PM on January 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 8:38 PM on January 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
The word "often" stands out. How many times do you believe this has happened?
Mob violence after accidents is a real thing and is something to take seriously when driving (or riding in a taxi) in many countries, but again, as the article makes clear, was not the concern in this case.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:39 PM on January 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mob violence after accidents is a real thing and is something to take seriously when driving (or riding in a taxi) in many countries, but again, as the article makes clear, was not the concern in this case.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:39 PM on January 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mod note: Couple comments deleted. Let's not jump to post more obviously-fight-starty comments about this please.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:22 PM on January 6, 2017
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:22 PM on January 6, 2017
I could add an exhaustive list of disclaimers but I am not. I am personally appalled at the actions of the U.S. convoy and the subsequent actions of the administration in this incident. I do believe the given reason for not stopping had merit, but I'm not judging it justified in the given situation. A similar thing happened in the U.S. only a few miles away from me:
http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Austin-crowd-kills-passenger-of-car-that-hit-child-1672411.php
Separately, I did read the Dallaire 2004 book and consider it an important book. I was happy to read in this thread he has a new one out on PTSD and have already ordered it.
posted by BurnMage at 9:31 PM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Austin-crowd-kills-passenger-of-car-that-hit-child-1672411.php
Separately, I did read the Dallaire 2004 book and consider it an important book. I was happy to read in this thread he has a new one out on PTSD and have already ordered it.
posted by BurnMage at 9:31 PM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
I used to work for a company with a lot of expats on the payroll who were living and working in Papua New Guinea and their standard operating procedures in case of a car/local- human collision are "keep going, do not stop, evacuate".
It's a thing. Sad but true in many contexts. Aid and development, indeed.
posted by esto-again at 11:15 PM on January 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's a thing. Sad but true in many contexts. Aid and development, indeed.
posted by esto-again at 11:15 PM on January 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
I hope the driver of the car that hit Toussaint faced criminal charges, but i doubt it, however, the convoy did the correct thing by not stopping. An angry mob could have formed, and they had a dignitary to protect. Military protection doesn't mean protection from further bloodshed. What it means is that, if a crowd had come seeking vengeance, there may have been even more casualties.
It's a tragic, terrible situation.
posted by dazed_one at 12:18 AM on January 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
It's a tragic, terrible situation.
posted by dazed_one at 12:18 AM on January 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
After hitting the boy, one S.U.V. carrying State Department employees pulled to the side of the road. The rest of the motorcade continued on its way.Lot of people here seem to have missed these parts.
...
One of the ambulances that was part of Ms. Power’s motorcade was dispatched to transfer the boy to a nearby hospital.
...
The vehicles, engines idling, sat on the road for 30 minutes as Ms. Power went in to pay her respects to the boy’s parents.
posted by Etrigan at 5:05 AM on January 7, 2017 [16 favorites]
Two years ago I was nearly run over by the security detail for Penny Pritzker, the US Secretary of Commerce, as they blew right through a four way stop at high speed making a left hand turn. My wife probably saved my life when she pulled me back. This was in Chicago on what is now called 'Billionaire Row' in Lincoln Park.
This was the same year Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, paid for his motorcade's 21 red-light tickets. They claimed they had to blow through the lights because of 'security concerns'. The mayor's own political justification for red-light camera ticketing is the safety of children and the lights are located near parks. So the mayor's security detail had an explicit policy of deliberately endangering children's lives in order to protect the mayor against non-existent but possible risks.
Motorcades seem to take the entitlement of ordinary drivers and increase it exponentially to the point where the people in them think they are gods and servants of gods.
posted by srboisvert at 6:31 AM on January 7, 2017 [11 favorites]
This was the same year Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, paid for his motorcade's 21 red-light tickets. They claimed they had to blow through the lights because of 'security concerns'. The mayor's own political justification for red-light camera ticketing is the safety of children and the lights are located near parks. So the mayor's security detail had an explicit policy of deliberately endangering children's lives in order to protect the mayor against non-existent but possible risks.
Motorcades seem to take the entitlement of ordinary drivers and increase it exponentially to the point where the people in them think they are gods and servants of gods.
posted by srboisvert at 6:31 AM on January 7, 2017 [11 favorites]
I see people running red lights every day. I mean, not-even-close running red lights. And doing 40-and-up in my residential neighborhood, and casually blowing through stop signs. These drivers are not rushing pregnant women to the hospital--not all of them (and if they were, that'd be a reason to drive extra-carefully). They're just regular folks who would rather kill themselves or somebody else than wait thirty seconds for the light to change, or miss an opportunity to show the slow guy in front of them the error of his ways. Hell, I've done stupid shit while driving, and so have you, and if nothing happened to get us on the evening news, it's due to dumb luck.
At least the people in the convoy can say there was a small chance, no matter how vanishingly small, that they'd have been in danger if they stopped. Certainly the drivers' jobs, if not their lives, depended on following protocols which most assuredly tell them not to stop. And they're responsible for their passengers' safety, too, and don't have the right to put them at risk, whatever they might like to do for their own parts.
In any case, talk is cheap; if we're all better than this, it becomes difficult to account for an awful lot of lousy driving that's going on.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:49 AM on January 7, 2017
At least the people in the convoy can say there was a small chance, no matter how vanishingly small, that they'd have been in danger if they stopped. Certainly the drivers' jobs, if not their lives, depended on following protocols which most assuredly tell them not to stop. And they're responsible for their passengers' safety, too, and don't have the right to put them at risk, whatever they might like to do for their own parts.
In any case, talk is cheap; if we're all better than this, it becomes difficult to account for an awful lot of lousy driving that's going on.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:49 AM on January 7, 2017
"I hope the driver of the car that hit Toussaint faced criminal charges"Maybe I missed something, but is there any reason at all to think that the driver involved did something criminal? Awful yes, but accidents happen, and most countries don't criminalize them unless there is some form of active negligence or malice - neither of which seem to be present here. As this was a diplomatic mission, local law would not apply just like it doesn't apply to an awful lot of shitty and drunk drivers in DC.
posted by Blasdelb at 7:52 AM on January 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Blasdelb, we can not continue to call motor collisions, particularly those with deadly consequences, "accidents" and just avoid seeking justice. Criminal charges would involve a criminal investigation, which can more rightly conclude the criminal culpability of the driver than someone with a $5 Metafilter account and a few opinions.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 9:01 AM on January 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 9:01 AM on January 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Blasdelb was pretty clearly drawing a line between "any collision involving a motor vehicle" and "accident" there, and tacitly drawing one between "criminal charges" and "criminal investigation".
posted by Etrigan at 9:26 AM on January 7, 2017
posted by Etrigan at 9:26 AM on January 7, 2017
This poor kid. His poor family.
posted by E. Whitehall at 8:39 PM on January 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by E. Whitehall at 8:39 PM on January 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Austin-crowd-kills-passenger-of-car-that-hit-child-1672411.php
In the story given here to lend credence to the idea that it is reasonable to think an angry mob will attack a driver if they strike a pedestrian--it even happens in Austin, surely it is commonplace in Cameroon--the police chief states he has never heard of a similar incident in 28 years of duty. Meanwhile, approximately 30 pedestrians were struck and killed in Austin in 2015...
posted by nequalsone at 11:26 AM on January 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the story given here to lend credence to the idea that it is reasonable to think an angry mob will attack a driver if they strike a pedestrian--it even happens in Austin, surely it is commonplace in Cameroon--the police chief states he has never heard of a similar incident in 28 years of duty. Meanwhile, approximately 30 pedestrians were struck and killed in Austin in 2015...
posted by nequalsone at 11:26 AM on January 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
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