The boarders of Ivory Coast have been set by two
major factors- Geography and European powers. Before Africa was parcels off by
the European powers the area encompassed by
Ivory Coast
was host to 66 people and language groups. The languages all had major
similarities and are believed to be from the same root family; however the
mountains, jungle, and rivers kept travel over the centuries to a minimum which
allowed for such diversity within such a small region.
Compared to the other nations along the coast of north West Africa, Cote d’Ivoire is quite large
actually. To the west along the coast and separated by the Cavalla and Cess
rivers is Liberia , which was
occupied for a time by the United
States and thus had English influences. To
the East is Ghana
which was a British Colony. Guinea
on its North West and Mali on its center north and Burkina Faso along the east portion bordered
much of the way by the Black
Volta River Mali
was quite different being so rooted in the Islamic culture. The north border is
drawn a great deal along mountain ranges.
For much of Ivory
Coasts history since independence Africans
from other nations have sought refuge within its borders due to its relative
economic and political stability. This changed for a period following the civil
unrest in the early 2000s through 2012. Liberia
and Ghana
were over run with refugees, both unable to handle the crisis nor able to
supply their own resources sufficiently to employ or care for such population
influxes. As the government stabilized joint meetings with the bordering
nations took place to ensure both sides were confident in their national
security and trade interests. Only last year Ivory Coast took the unpopular but
understandable position of closing all of its land borders during the Ebola out
break in an attempt to prevent its entering the nation. Considering the poor
state of the nation’s health infrastructure this plague would have been
devastating if it had broken out as it did in many other African nations.
Holland, Leslie. Ivory Coast closing border due to
Ebola outbreak. CNN. Augustus 25th, 2014. Accessed June 23, 2015.
Dosso, Zoom. Liberia
struggles with violence along insecure Ivory Coast border. AFP-Yahoo!
News. May 24th, 2015. Accessed June 23rd, 2015.
country operations
profile – Cote d’Ivoire .
UNHCR Global Appeal 2015 update. Accessed June 23rd, 2015.
CBLOMBAUM. Ghana ,
Cote d’Ivoire
the Great Maritime Boundary Battle. Guardian Global Resources- West Africa . October 7, 2014. Accessed June 23rd,
2015.
Kaplin, Seth. Cote d’Ivoire ’s Ethnic, Religious,
and Geographic Division. Fragile States. Accesed June 23rd, 2015
http://www.fragilestates.org/2012/06/06/cote-divoire-ethnic-division/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cote-divoire-ethnic-division
