[FOG/RPCV News] Possible reunion of late 90s Guinea RPCVs

RPCV Herb Caudill writes:

If you were in Peace Corps/Guinea, class of 1997, please join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Guinea1997 to participate in discussions about a possible reunion in 2009, on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of COS. Membership in the group is open (no invitation necessary). People just need to go to the address above and click the big “Join this group!” button to sign up. If you were in a Stage near ours, feel free to join as well!

[Arts news] Review of new Guinean film

Variety has a review (in English) of the new Guinean film Il va pleuvoir sur Conakry (Clouds over Conakry).

[Human rights news] Asylum help sought

Lilian Dalke of Human Rights First writes:

Human Rights First is looking for a country conditions expert on Guinea to provide an affidavit of support and testify in support of the asylum claim of one of our clients. The client is scheduled for his individual (final merits) hearing on June 24, 2008. If you are a scholar whose area of research includes Guinea and you might be able to assist in this time frame, please contact me with your CV at the information below, which I will forward to the client’s attorneys.

If you are a scholar who will not be able to assist on this particular case but might be interested in being contacted about future cases, I would appreciate hearing from you, as we handle a large number of cases from Guinea .

Thanks for any assistance you might be able to provide.

If you can help Lily, please contact her at DalkeL@HumanRightsFirst.org

[PC Guinea news] 2008 girls' conferences set for late June

PCV Camilio Forero reports: The [girls'] conference this year will be held in Mamou from June 23 - 27. The conferences this year will not be held in Kankan or Boke, as there are only 49 volunteers currently in country and we figured it would be best to combine our resources for a Girls Conference in one central location. We are planning on having about 40 attendees...

[Sports news] Guinea faces stadium ban for World Cup qualifiers

The Guinean national soccer team risks forfeiting home field advantage during its qualifying run for the 2010 World Cup. The international soccer federation FIFA has ordered the Guinean authorities to make several improvements to Conakry's 28th of September Stadium to address security concerns. Guinea's qualifying campaign is scheduled to start on May 30 at home vs Zimbabwe.

[Guinean news] Threats of another general strike

The IRIN news service has an article warning of further labor unrest in Guinea. The country's trade unions are reportedly considering whether to go ahead with a general strike at the end of March.

During the 2007 general strike, unions demanded an independent prime minister, a post filled with their accord by former diplomat Lansana Kouyaté.

However, union officials criticize the government as 'dysfunctional'. Some argue that Kouyaté has never been truly given the authority he needs to implement needed reforms.