Line #5 UsefulNotes/CentralAfricanRepublic


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/central_african_republic_2400.gif]]
2
3	You cannot miss it in the map, because it’s right there in the middle, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin just as its name states]].
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5	The '''Central African Republic''' (French: ''République centrafricaine''; Sango: ''Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka'') is a Central UsefulNotes/{{Africa}}n country that started as a [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire French colony]] until it gained its independence in 1958, which kicked off a series of power struggles, and the country ended up falling in the hands of Col. Jean-Bédel Bokassa, a certified nutcase. Bokassa quickly turned the repression machine on [[AxCrazy high speed]], decided to transform the republic into [[TheEmperor an empire]] (the Central African Empire), where he crowned himself in a [[SmallNameBigEgo ridiculously expensive ceremony]] (which cost roughly 1/3 of the national GDP for that year, for an example of how extravagantly wasteful it was he had a giant eagle shaped gold plated throne commissioned for the ceremony), and generally made a spectacle of himself internationally until he was eventually deposed and tried.
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7	Sadly, the nation [[CrapsackWorld hasn’t improved much since then]], having political instability, high HIV/AIDS rate (about 11%) and being one of the poorest nations in the world. In a 2003 coup, democratically elected but notoriously corrupt president Ange-Félix Patassé was overthrown by General François Bozizé. A bush war between Bozizé's forces and various insurgent groups began in 2004. The Muslim groups joined forces in 2012, forming a new insurgent group called Séléka and attempting to overthow Bozizé. Despite succeeding in its goal, the group split up due to dispute over the spoils of victory. Faction led by one Michel Djotodia took control over the nation's capital city of Bangui and excluded the others from power. Some splinter factions of Séléka began attacking and plundering Christian communities; in return, the Christians formed a group called Anti-Balaka ("Anti-Machete"). [[FromBadToWorse At this point, the conflict became religious.]] In response to that, in December 2015 several factions of the ex-Séléka declared an independent, Muslim-dominated "Republic of Logone" in central regions of the country. As for Djotodia, he had to be evacuated from Bangui by armed peacekeepers. As if the situation is not complicated enough, also present are: [[TheRemnant remnants]] of the Bozizé regime, [[LegionofLostSouls French Foreign Legion]], African peacekeepers, Russian PrivateMilitaryContractors, as well as foreign extremist groups from neighbouring countries (most notably Chad and Sudan). The result is, more or less, a DeathWorld.
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9	Most of the country is a jungle, which has the potential of attracting hundreds of tourists (were it not for the war). Diamonds are its main export, but the poor economic development prevents its full potential.
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11	If you want an idea of Bokassa’s regime, you can watch ''Echoes from a Somber Empire'', made by Creator/WernerHerzog.
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13	If you want to see how the last years of Bozizé's rule looked like, you can watch ''The Ambassador'', made by Mads Brügger.
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15	If you want to see a documentary about the recent religious war, you can watch ''The Devil Tried to Divide Us'', made by VICE News.
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17	A minor bit of MemeticMutation on ''Series/{{Pointless}}'' has the CAR being used as the default example of 'an obscure country' whenever one is needed for a question.
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19	[[AC: The Central African flag]]
20	https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/centra_african_republic_flag_9965.png
21	->The flag combines the red/white/blue colors of UsefulNotes/{{France}}, the country's former colonial power (as Ubangi-Shari), and the red/green/yellow of the Ethiopian variant of the Pan-African colors. The blue, white, green and yellow horizontal stripes symbolize the sky and freedom, peace and dignity, hope and faith, and tolerance, respectively; a vertical stripe crossing the center is colored red (the common element of both colors) to stand for the nation's lifeblood; and the yellow star at the canton symbolizes independence.
22	----
23	[[AC:The Central African national anthem]]
24
25	->Ô Centrafrique, ô berceau des Bantous!
26	->Reprends ton droit au respect, à la vie!
27	->Longtemps soumis, longtemps brimé par tous,
28	->Mais de ce jour brisant la tyrannie.
29	->Dans le travail, l'ordre et la dignité,
30	->Tu reconquiers ton droit, ton unité,
31	->Et pour franchir cette étape nouvelle,
32	->De nos ancêtres la voix nous appelle.
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34	->Au travail dans l'ordre et la dignité,
35	->Dans le respect du droit dans l'unité,
36	->Brisant la misère et la tyrannie,
37	->Brandissant l'étendard de la Patrie.
38
39	--
40
41	->Bêafrîka, mbeso tî âBantu
42	->Kîri mo gbû gîgî tî mo-mvenî
43	->Mo bâa pâsi na gbe tî âzo kûê
44	->Me fadësô, mo ke na kürü gô
45	->Mo sö benda, mo bûngbi kûê ôko
46	->Na kusâra ngâ na nëngö-terê
47	->Tî tö ndâ tî finî dutï tî ë sô
48	->E mä gbegô tî_âkötarä tî ë
49
50	->E gbû kua nzönî na nëngö-terê
51	->E kpë ndiä nzönî na mängö-terê
52	->E kinda wasïöbê, ë tomba pâsi
53	->E yâa bandêra tî ködrö tî ë!
54
55	--
56
57	->Oh! Central Africa, cradle of the Bantu!
58	->Take up again your right to respect, to life!
59	->Long subjugated, long scorned by all,
60	->But, from today, breaking tyranny's hold.
61	->Through work, order and dignity
62	->You reconquer your rights, your unity,
63	->And to take this new step
64	->The voice of our ancestors call us.
65
66	->To work! In order and dignity,
67	->In the respect for rights and in unity,
68	->Breaking poverty and tyranny,
69	->Holding high the flag of the Fatherland.
70	----
71	[[AC:Government]]
72	* Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
73	** President: Faustin-Archange Touadéra
74	** Prime Minister: Félix Moloua
75	----
76	[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
77	* '''Capital and largest city:''' Bangui
78	* '''Population:''' 4,666,368
79	* '''Area:''' 622,984 km
80	(240,535 sq mi) (44th)
81	* '''Currency''': Central African CFA franc (FCFA) (XAF), Bitcoin (₿) (BTC) [[note]]became legal tender alongside the franc on April 27, 2022[[/note]]
82	* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' CF
83	* '''Country calling code:''' 236
84	* '''Highest point:''' Mont Ngaoui (1420 m/4,659 ft) (145th)

Context UsefulNotes / CentralAfricanRepublic