Implementation of the reparations program / Emotions and compassion in Bè
The penultimate stage of the HCRRUN awareness tour on the reparations program took place this Tuesday, May 30, 2017, in the gardens of the Bè Community Center in Lomé. Residents from the 5 districts of the commune of Lomé were invited to hear explanations from the President of HCRRUN, Mrs. Awa Nana-Daboya, and the resource persons accompanying her. Also present were administrative, local, and traditional authorities, notably the president of the special delegation of the city of Lomé, Fogan Adegnon.
Participants at this meeting expressed that they felt honored by their presence and by this HCRRUN initiative, which allowed them to better understand the reparation process as presented by HCRRUN resource persons. “I am in favor of compensation, but not symbolic compensation, because the events of 2005 have left me ill to this day. I ask for full care and support,” stated one speaker to HCRRUN when the floor was opened to the public.
Other concerns focused on the bodies in the Bè lagoon, expropriations, the start and duration of compensation, and the guarantee of non-repetition. “Since my son was killed in 2005 and taken to the Lomé morgue, I have not seen his body. I was recently informed that the body was buried somewhere, without the location being known. I ask HCRRUN to enlighten me on this point,” said another speaker, sparking visible emotion among the audience.
The emotion grew even stronger when another speaker, recounting her ordeal with soldiers in 2005—the after-effects of which persist to this day—asked that forgiveness be the creed of all Togolese. “Hatred does us no good. Only forgiveness should count now,” she said.
In response to these interventions, the President of HCRRUN, the resource persons, and the president of the special delegation of the city of Lomé found the right words to soothe bruised hearts. “We have understood your pain and your suffering. We will work on it,” concluded Awa NANA DABOYA, visibly moved by all the testimonies heard during this explanatory session in Bè.
