She is adamant about clearing her family’s name<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
(CNN)<\/b> — She was named after her mother’s friend and not the doomed French queen, though at this moment in Ivory Coast’s history, some might think it unfortunate.<\/p>\n
But Marie Antoinette Singleton doesn’t care what people think of her — it’s her parents’ names that she wants to clear.<\/p>\n
Singleton, 37, watched as images of the capture of Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, flashed across her television screen Monday. It was difficult for her to see her stepfather and mother appear weak, haggard and, as she says, bearing signs of abuse.<\/p>\n
“It’s disrespectful and humiliating,” she said in a phone interview from her home in Washington, D.C., where she worked in the Ivory Coast embassy until February.<\/p>\n
She wasn’t going to serve a rebel government, she said as defiantly as her stepfather had declared his intention to remain in office. So she stopped going to work.<\/p>\n
Gbagbo insisted he won Ivory Coast’s disputed November presidential election. The international community, however, did not see it that way. The United Nations, the United States, France and other global powers threw their support behind Alassane Ouattara, a man who Singleton said has haunted her family for many years.<\/p>\n
A four-month political standoff turned bloody and this week, everything ended for Gbagbo when forces stormed his residence and detained him, Simone and several of his children.<\/p>\n
The grandeur that had graced the West African nation’s first couple quickly faded as Ouattara’s security forces took them away — a tired, feeble man seen on television in a white undershirt and a wife in a sundress and disheveled braids. Singleton was sure her father had been beaten.<\/p>\n
“This is tragic — not just for my family but for the people of Cote D’Ivoire,” Singleton said.<\/p>\n
All her life, she had known parents who she viewed as determined to pull their nation up from the remnants of a brutal colonial history. All her life, she had known parents who gave their time for building a multi-party system.<\/p>\n
The well-educated Gbagbo — he earned a Ph.D in history — stood up to Ivory Coast’s first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, known as the father of the nation. Gbagbo despised Houphouet-Boigny’s strong alliance with France, the former colonial power.<\/p>\n
Singleton recalled a campus protest in the early 1990s in which her stepfather and mother were arrested. Ouattara was then Houphouet-Boigny’s prime minister.<\/p>\n
“It has not been easy to be in opposition,” Singleton said. “They have been doing it almost all their lives.<\/p>\n
“So this is nothing new,” she said of this week’s events.<\/p>\n
Ouattara, she said, remains a puppet for the colonialists and international players who want to profit off her nation. Gbagbo, she said, paid the price for standing his ground.<\/p>\n
“When an African leader comes and says, ‘I want to serve my people,’ they don’t want to hear that,” she said. “So from the start they wanted to get President Gbagbo out of office.”<\/p>\n
Singleton has not been back home to Ivory Coast in two years. But she had been calling her parents as they hid in the basement of their residence. She worried about their safety, but they said they were fine.<\/p>\n
“It made me proud they are not quitters. They are true to the vision for Cote D’Ivoire … for independence. Because we are not independent.”<\/p>\n
But on Monday, the phone calls stopped going through. She imagined her parents’ phones had been confiscated, cut off even, because she kept hearing a message from the phone company.<\/p>\n
She said she has had no word of her family since their capture. There are many who believe Gbagbo should stand trial for allegations of human rights violations. He may even face investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.<\/p>\n
So on Wednesday, Singleton assembled a legal team that includes Jacques Verges, who defended Nazi Klaus Barbie and once offered his services to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n
Singleton has asked the lawyers to look into the arrest of her family and the legality of the French army’s intervention. She is hopeful the world will eventually see him the way she does.<\/p>\n
The world has called Gbagbo a monster. Singleton described him as affable, a man who likes to tell jokes all the time.<\/p>\n
The world has portrayed Gbagbo as power-hungry. Singleton said he was modest and humble and loved for those virtues.<\/p>\n
She thought this week of her childhood and how her parents used to insist their children have lunch with them every day. At night, her parents dabbled in politics. But the midday meal gave them time to delve into the loves and tribulations of their children.<\/p>\n
“They would not start lunch until we came back home,” Singleton said. If she was out at a friend’s house, her father sent someone to fetch her.<\/p>\n
And, if there was no rice at the table, there was no meal, she said. He also loved sardines.<\/p>\n
She told these stories of her father to explain that her father is the opposite of what he has been made out to be. Really, she said, he is not complicated.<\/p>\n
She quoted the Bible when she said no weapons formed against her parents shall prosper. The Lord, she said, will take care of her stepfather.<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Read the original post:
\nIn defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter’s view<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" STORY HIGHLIGHTS Marie Antoinette Singleton contradicts the international potrayal of Gbabgo She describes a loving, affable man who stood up for the good of his country She has hired a legal team to look into whether his arrest was illegal She is adamant about clearing her family’s name (CNN) — She was named after her mother’s friend and not the doomed French queen, though at this moment in Ivory Coast’s history, some might think it unfortunate. But Marie Antoinette Singleton doesn’t care what people think of her — it’s her parents’ names that she wants to clear. Singleton, 37, watched as images of the capture of Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, flashed across her television screen Monday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-380021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter's view - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter's view - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"STORY HIGHLIGHTS Marie Antoinette Singleton contradicts the international potrayal of Gbabgo She describes a loving, affable man who stood up for the good of his country She has hired a legal team to look into whether his arrest was illegal She is adamant about clearing her family's name (CNN) -- She was named after her mother's friend and not the doomed French queen, though at this moment in Ivory Coast's history, some might think it unfortunate. But Marie Antoinette Singleton doesn't care what people think of her -- it's her parents' names that she wants to clear. Singleton, 37, watched as images of the capture of Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, flashed across her television screen Monday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter’s view\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-13T21:00:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/\"},\"wordCount\":959,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/\",\"name\":\"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter's view - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-13T21:00:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter's view - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter's view - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"STORY HIGHLIGHTS Marie Antoinette Singleton contradicts the international potrayal of Gbabgo She describes a loving, affable man who stood up for the good of his country She has hired a legal team to look into whether his arrest was illegal She is adamant about clearing her family's name (CNN) -- She was named after her mother's friend and not the doomed French queen, though at this moment in Ivory Coast's history, some might think it unfortunate. But Marie Antoinette Singleton doesn't care what people think of her -- it's her parents' names that she wants to clear. Singleton, 37, watched as images of the capture of Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, flashed across her television screen Monday","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter’s view","datePublished":"2011-04-13T21:00:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/"},"wordCount":959,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/","name":"In defense of Gbagbo: A stepdaughter's view - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-04-13T21:00:35+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/13\/in-defense-of-gbagbo-a-stepdaughters-view\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380021\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}