Central African Republic: The parable of the 11 stolen motorcycles - The Mail & Guardian

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Read it again: How one man's principles put a spoke in a cycle of violence in Bangui.

In 2015, in a vicious round of riots in the capital of the Central African Republic , Sylvestre Dothe’s house was burned to the ground. He lost all his possessions but managed to escape with his wife and children, fleeing into neighbouring Cameroon for several months before returning home and starting from scratch.

Without his knowledge, or his consent, a group of Christian youths decided to take revenge. Several hours later, they proudly told him that they had stolen five motorcycles from Muslim owners in retaliation. They planned to sell these and buy Dothe another brand-new motorcycle, and split any profits among themselves.Dothe was horrified.

They even knew the identity of the thief who had stolen Soulé’s motorcycle — and, sure enough, that thief had had his motorcycle stolen just hours before that.At this point, Dothe began to despair. This was the spiral of revenge that he had been so worried about. Determined to prevent further violence, he decided to approach the police to see whether they could intervene. The police referred him to the national prosecutor.

And then everyone looked at Dothe. Would he accept the compromise of the second-hand motorbike, and put an end to the tit-for-tat thefts?

 

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