November 14 – Readjustment Movement Day in Guinea-Bissau

nPosted on November 14, 2018

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nThe more I write about world holidays, the more I realize that self-government and democracy are HARD. They are worthwhile goals, of course – who wants to be ruled by a dictator? – but it takes shared effort, knowledge, and values. It’s definitely not something you should take for granted.

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nIn Guinea-Bissau, once independence was won from Portugal by way of a 1974 military coup, the new nation’s president used his military forces to punish people who had not been on his “side.” Years of unrest and of human rights violations followed from this decision.

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nThe nation’s prime minister overthrew the president and became the new president on this date in 1980. He suspended the constitution and appointed a group to help him run the country. He SAID he wanted to correct the last president’s mistakes…But he, too, made mistakes.

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nAnd he, too, was overthrown, and then the next president was overthrown, and then…

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nWell, long story short, since 1974, no president has ever served his five-year term!

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nThat kind of political instability probably means that there are still human rights violations, and that the citizens do not have as much voice in their government as they should! In other words, the government isn’t the most gorgeous government ever.

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nThere are some things in Guinea-Bissau that ARE gorgeous, though:

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nPlan ahead:

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• nNovember holidays

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• nNovember birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in November

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• nDecember holidays

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• nDecember birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in December

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