large forest…. This really angers me, often I wonder why I came back to Côte d’Ivoire. People say the war is over, but I can’t even return to my land.122 Each time the man had gone to speak with the occupants, he brought several members of the Ivorian military with him for protection, believing the Burkinabés are armed. He paid the soldiers a small sum to accompany him, as well as gas for their motorbikes.123 On the one hand, it showed the improving relations between the Guéré community and the military (see text box below). But it also demonstrated the deep distrust that remains between some Guérés and Burkinabés in the region. Human Rights Watch documented several similar cases in Médibly village, with the Guérés involved in the disputes also claiming that the Burkinabés referred to their illegal land occupation as a “reward” for having fought during the crisis. The French word “récompense” (reward) was cited independently by each of the Guérés involved in these four cases. One Médibly victim told Human Rights Watch that the sub-prefect in Bloléquin had tried to resolve the dispute, but the Burkinabés remained on the land: When we came out of the bush when the war was finished, I found that my land had been invaded by Burkinabés…. When I asked them why they were there, they said their “boss” had told them to install themselves there, that it was their “reward” for making war. One of them referred to himself as a “chef de guerre.” … I said it was my land, and they said they thought it was protected forest. My campement is six kilometers from the village, and the protected forest [of Goin-Débé] is just beyond it. What they took was my family’s virgin forest. My father died during the crisis, and my brother is still in Liberia, so I am the eldest here…. There are so many Burkinabés [in my forest]; I couldn’t tell you the number. [Dozens], at least. They are clearing out area, hectare by hectare, and planting cocoa…. I brought a complaint to the sub-prefect. He told them to leave the land, but they didn’t. He even sent two members of the security 122 Human Rights Watch interview with Diboké resident whose land was allegedly taken by force by armed Burkinabés, Diboké, June 6, 2013. 123 Ibid. 45 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | OCTOBER 2013