Action takes place in the Central African Republic?
A number of people in a number of threads have asked where the film takes place. My money is on the Central African Republic.
Here's the path I took. You can make up your own mind. Of course, your opinion matters and this thread is for discussion.
1, 10000 Central African CFA franc banknote (http://www.banknotes.com/cas210u.htm)
Maria pulls a few score of US banknotes and 4 wads of these 10000 CFA franc notes out of her safe. She uses the US dollars for the medicines she picks up at the pharmacy in town, but she pays the local workers CFA francs. This particular note was first issued in 2002.
2, Central African CFA franc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_CFA_franc)
Central African CFA francs are legal tender in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. They often leak into the countries that use the West African CFA franc because both francs are guaranteed by the French government and both are pegged to the euro (and to the French franc prior to the euro), so they are pretty convertible. But the sheer numbers of these notes that Maria possesses & the fact that she pays the local workers with these notes argues that the film takes place in one of the countries of CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale) listed above.
3, Child soldiers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children#Africa)
Civil wars or insurrections (especially those in which child soldiers played a part) arguably eliminate all but the Central African Republic & Chad.
4, No coffee from Chad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_coffee_production & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Chad)
Well, it is possible that a tiny amount of coffee is grown in soudanian Chad.
If you throw out Chad, that leaves the Central African Republic. I believe the film is based on events in CAR.
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