The Law is a Human Institution

            About two months ago, I returned back to my site after a very nice Christmas vacation in Diego-Suarez, the northernmost city in Madagascar. It was great to be back where I was integrated into the Malagasy society where folks are used to seeing me and aren't surprised at the fact of seeing a white person who knows how to speak their language. My best friend at site, Tahiry, came over and caught me up what was going with him. He informed me that this sister's daughter, his niece of 12 years old, had disappeared from her house just before Christmas and had not been heard of since (two weeks at the time). He asked me if he could borrow my bike so that he could go to Moramanga, the closest banking town and where his sister's family lives, and help with the police investigation and help in the search for his niece. Sorry Peace Corps, I know we're not supposed to do it, but I let him borrow my bike for two days. He came back, having had no luck looking for the girl. He and his family had filed all the necessary paper work with the police and had asked around the town for any information they could gather, finding none. The girl's younger sister claimed that she saw her getting into a white car with a bunch of people in it.  I asked Tahiry if this kind of thing happened often in Madagascar. He told me that child disappearances were actually a fairly common experience on the island, mostly from kidnappings. This brought to mind stories of kidnappings in Mexico, where people are held for ransom. When asked why children were being kidnapped in Madagascar (this country being extremely poor, making kidnapping for ransom not a very lucrative practice), Tahiry told me that children are often kidnapped by organ thieves. There are often reports of bodies found, organs missing. A grim outlook for a family with a missing child. Asked what the police would do about the situation, I was told that pictures of the girl would be put up at police stations in the region, with little hope of actually finding the girl. Police stations do not have computer systems as well (still in the typewriter age). Now, the girl has been missing for more than 2 months, without a word or lead as to where she may be and little hope of the law enforcement system being of any help.

About 3 weeks ago, several gentleman from community were released from jail after being accused of cutting areas of eucalyptus forest owned by a woman who lives in Antananarivo. The idea of "innocent until proven guilty" is either loosely enforced or non-existent in Madagascar. The woman who owns the trees simply brought forth the accusation to the Gendarmerie that these certain gentlemen had committed this crime, and they were duly arrested and held in prison for a month and a half without trial. There trial date was finally held and the proper fines (bribes?) were payed to the court officials so that they could be released from jail. No evidence was ever found in favor of the plaintiff.

             There is a scene in the Cohen Brothers' film "O Brother Where Art Thou?", where Everett and his companions are about to be hung by the sheriff and Everett says, "It ain't the law!". The sheriff replies, "The law? The law is a human institution."Brings to mind that earlier in the movie, Tommy Johnson describes his encounter with devil, to whom he had sold his soul, and describes the devil's appearance as being very similar to that of the sheriff. Indeed, the sheriff's character may have indeed been the devil. However, the law is a human institution, free to be influenced by passion, money, power, and malaise.