Dear Friends,

After a good and enriching experience on home leave in 2001, we came back to Madagascar just as the calendar turned to 2002, arriving in time to land in the middle of a uniquely Malagasy form of political crisis.

In December 2001, Madagascar held a presidential election. There were six candidates. Two of them—President Didier Ratsiraka and Antananarivo (Madagascar’s capital) Mayor Marc Ravalomanana—were clearly the men to beat by election day. When we arrived in January, the votes had been counted and "official" results were in, stating that no candidate had won 50% of the vote, requiring a runoff. But the Ravalomanana camp stated that he had won 52% of the vote. There was an impasse.

Late last month, the High Constitutional Court ruled that the "official" results were to stand and the country was to proceed to a run-off election. So, it would seem simple that all that would be required at that point was to go forward toward the second round. But this seemingly simple state of affairs masks a number of issues.

There is strong evidence of massive election fraud in the first round. Didier Ratsiraka was the military dictator of Madagascar for 16 years (1975-91) and then was elected president (in an election also riddled with fraud) in 1996. Under his leadership, the country has sunk deeper and deeper into international debt; hundreds of thousands of people have died of starvation, malnutrition and preventable disease; illnesses from malaria to cholera to tuberculosis to plague, all of which were more or less under control before the Ratsiraka era, have come back with a vengeance. The military also has grown tremendously. Since there is no threat of foreign invasion, the military are only there to protect the regime from the citizens. All of this has occurred while the Malagasy upper class has gotten richer and richer, and if you’re related to or friendly with the president, you too can receive the benefits of a living on the comfortable side of the huge gap between stunningly rich and devastatingly poor on the island.

So, when a viable candidate that presented a real choice for freedom and democracy arose, people were ready, and they voted their opinions. Many people have told us that they will not vote in the second round. They believe that both the "official" results and the decision of the High Court are irredeemably tainted. So they are not ready to go to the polls a second time, believing that the run-off will be even more fraudulently run than the first round.

So—they are demonstrating. A million or more of them at a time in the capital; tens of thousands in provincial capitals like Fianarantsoa where we live. They are demonstrating in peaceful ways, in joyous ways, in celebrative ways. Our children, when we have seen the demonstrators parading, have wanted to join the party. And that’s what it feels like—a really big party, the guest of which is democracy, and freedom, and hope. Every weekday for the past three weeks there have been huge demonstrations. Schools are closed; businesses are for the most part closed; government offices are closed. People are out on the streets, listening to speeches, carrying banners, shouting their demands for "fahamarinana"—a beautiful Malagasy word that means truth, honesty, and righteousness. Above all, they are lifting their voices to the hills to let everyone know that they know what it is to hope and they can’t go back now.

International journalists struggle to make sense of Malagasy political procedures. International powers scramble to negotiate a way out of the impasse; churches and embassies prepare statements. Through it all, the Malagasy people continue to stand up and say they are ready for change, and they are working toward it peacefully. We are humbled by their strength and their willingness to celebrate their desire and their right to make a change.

On our Web page you will find copies of the letter the Rev. Edmond Razafimahefa, president of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (PC(USA)’s partner on the island), wrote to the PC(USA) General Assembly and the letter the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, PC(USA) Stated Clerk, wrote to President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote in response to Rev. Razafimahefa’s letter. We encourage you to take a moment and pray for the people of Madagascar on the day you receive this letter. Then we encourage you to take a further step—to join with our General Assembly in contacting the U.S. government and letting them know that you as a concerned citizen are asking for support of the Malagasy people as they work peacefully, joyfully, and prayerfully toward democracy, freedom, and hope. In this Lenten season, let us together take up the discipline of sharing the blessings all of us have received from living in a free society with those who have not been blessed so well. We and our Malagasy friends, students and colleagues say

Misaotra mialoha amin’ny anaran’i Jesoa Kristy tompontsika aminareo —

Thanks so much in advance to all of you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

In The Hope of Peace,

Cynthia Holder Rich

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 41