Le Président Gbagbo s’adresse aux Ivoiriens à L’occasion de la fête nationale

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great People1 Comment
Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Gbagbo

J’ai trouvé le discours du Président Gbagbo à l’occasion de la fête d’independance Ivoirienne très très pertinent, surtout face aux problemes actuels de l’Afrique (Côte d’Ivoire, Libye, Zimbabwe, …) dans le nouvel ordre mondial du gangsterisme! J’invite tout africain à le lire. L’intégralité du discours se trouve sur Revue de Presse CI ——

Ivoiriens, Ivoiriennes, peuples de CÔTE D’IVOIRE, très chers compatriotes, très chers habitants de la CÔTE D’IVOIRE.

Je voudrais, en ce jour solennel qui marque le 51ème anniversaire de l’Indépendance de notre pays, me joindre à chacun de vous pour rendre d’abord gloire à Dieu, notre Maître qui continue de manifester sa fidélité à notre pays, malgré les tribulations de ces derniers moments. […]

Cette réflexion est un exercice de prospection de nous-mêmes qui s’impose à chaque citoyen de ce pays, mais surtout aux dirigeants, et aux responsables politiques et administratifs qui ont la charge de conduire le destin de notre nation, surtout dans le contexte actuel de grands traumatismes causés à notre peuple, qui n’aspire qu’à vivre sa souveraineté en tant qu’acteur et sujet de l’humanité, et non pas comme simple objet ou simple spectateur de la construction de sa propre histoire.

L’Indépendance est une notion forte, qui renvoie à un mouvement de rupture. La rupture ici ne s’entend point d’un isolement ou d’un repli sur soi, position idéale des faibles, mais elle correspond plutôt à une métamorphose de la conscience, qui fait passer celui qui s’en prévaut, de la servitude à sa pleine responsabilisation dans le processus de construction de l’humanité. […]

Je mesure mieux de ma position, les grandes souffrances, mais en même temps le grand mérite de tous ces hommes qui, à travers l’Histoire, ont combattu pour la Liberté et l’Indépendance de leur peuple. Je pense notamment à Martin LUTHER KING, dont l’engagement politique jusqu’à la mort a permis, plus de quarante ans après, l’élection de Barack OBAMA comme Président des ETATS-UNIS d’Amérique; à GHANDI, dont l’ œuvre continue de nourrir l’âme de la grande INDE; au Général de GAULLE qui a refusé la fatalité de la défaite pour restaurer la grandeur perdue de la France; à Mao TSE TOUNG, qui a rompu les liens de la servitude au prix d’énormes sacrifices pour donner à la CHINE sa gloire d’aujourd’hui.

Je loue le courage de MANDELA, de Kwame NKRUMAH, de Patrice LUMUMBA et de tous les autres dignes combattants de l’Afrique, qui sont des exemples de don de soi pour la liberté et la fierté du peuple africain. Je salue plus particulièrement la mémoire de nos illustres pères qui ont combattu pour dessiner les contours de ce que nous appelons Indépendance. Leur mérite est tout à fait grand dans le contexte qui était le leur.

Mais nous devons avoir à l’esprit que leur combat serait vain si nous nous arrêtions à admirer seulement leurs acquis. Les symboles de l’Etat et les armoiries de la République nous rappellent chaque jour notre devoir et notre responsabilité devant notre propre destin. Chacun est appelé à leur donner un sens réel. C’est le combat permanent qui doit mobiliser toutes les énergies des filles et fils de notre pays. […] Continue reading “Le Président Gbagbo s’adresse aux Ivoiriens à L’occasion de la fête nationale” →

Agostinho Neto: doctor, poet, president, and father of Angolan independence

On By Dr. Y.In Great People17 Comments
Agostinho Neto
Agostinho Neto

Agostinho Neto was the first president of Angola, and served from 1975 to his death in 1979. He was born in a Methodist family (his father was a Methodist pastor), attended high school in Luanda, and studied medicine in Lisbon (specializing in gynecology).  In Lisbon, he befriended future political leaders such as Amilcar Cabral (Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde) and Marcelino dos Santos (Mozambique). He combined his academic life with covert political activities.

In 1948 he published his first volume of poetry and was arrested for the first time. There followed a series of arrests and detention, which interrupted his studies. He joined the Movimento Popular da Libertação de Angola (MPLA, People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola) when it formed in 1956. He was released from detention and allowed to complete his studies in 1958, retuning shortly afterwards to Angola (1959), where he set up a private medical practice.

Flag of Angola
Flag of Angola

On 6 June 1960, Agostinho Neto was arrested at his practice as a result of his campaigning against the Portuguese colonial administration of Angola. When patients, friends, and supporters marched in demonstration for his release, the police opened fire and 30 were killed, 200 more injured.  This became known as the Massacre de Icolo e Bengo (his birthplace). Neto was exiled to and held in captivity initially in Cape Verde and then in Portugal, where he wrote his second volume of poetry. After international pressures, the Portuguese government put him under house arrest, where he escaped to Morocco and later to Zaire (Congo).

He became president of the MPLA in 1962, and looked for support in the American government against Portugal, but was turned down. He received the support of Cuba and the Soviet Union for the fight for the freedom of the people of Angola from Portuguese imperialism.

After the Revolução dos Cravos (Carnation Revolution) in 1974 in Portugal, which took down the government by a military coup, Portugal’s foreign policy changed in its African colonies. On 11 November 1975, Angola became independent, and Neto was proclaimed president on that day. The country was effectively held under the rule of three independence movements, with the MPLA holding the central section and the capital.

Agostinho Neto & Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Agostinho Neto & Jose Eduardo dos Santos

Neto’s rule was marked by armed conflict with Holden Roberto’s FNLA (supported by Mobutu of Zaire, and the US) and Jonas Savimbi‘s UNITA which had military support from South Africa. While Neto enjoyed the help and support of the Soviet Union and Cuba, he still encouraged Western investment in the country – especially in oil production. He died of cancer on September 10th, 1979 in Moscow.  After his death, the civil war in Angola lasted for over a quarter of a century opposing Jose Eduardo dos Santos (his successor) and Jonas Savimbi.

Agostinho Neto was not only Angola’s first president, he was also a medical doctor, and a poet; he is actually one of Angola’s most acclaimed writer and poet. Please check out the website of the Fundação António Agostinho Neto, which has done a brilliant work in presenting Neto’s writings, debates, and comments by other leaders on Neto. Now I leave you with his great saying: “A luta Continua … A Vitória é certa!”

“Regresso” or “Mamãi Velha” by Amilcar Cabral

On By Dr. Y.In Great Art, Great PeopleLeave a comment

Amilcar Cabral
Amilcar Cabral

Amilcar Cabral was not only an agronomic engineer, or a freedom fighter, or the father of Bissau and Cape-Verde independence, but he was also a poet… like Che Guevarra or Sankara… he was a visionary with a poetic mind.  In the following lines, you will read the poem ‘Regresso‘ also known as ‘Mamãi Velha‘ which was sung by the Cape-Verde singers Cesaria Evora (appeared in album Sao Vicente di Longe (2001)), and Isa Pereira.

Regresso

Old mama, come and let’s listen
To the beat of the rain against the door
It’s a friendly beat
That pounds in my heart

The rain, our friend, old mama
The rain that hasn’t been falling this way
In a long time I heard that Cidade Velha
The entire island becomes a garden
In just a few days

I heard that the country is covered in green
The most beautiful colour
The colour of hope
That now, the soil really looks like Cape Verde
Peace has now replaced the storm

Come old mama, come
Regain your strengths and come to the door
The rain, our friend, sends its salvation
And can beat in my heart

—-

Regresso
Mamãi Velha, venha ouvir comigo
o bater da chuva lá no seu portão.
É um bater de amigo
que vibra dentro do meu coração.

A chuva amiga, Mamãi Velha, a chuva
que há tanto tempo não batia assim…
Ouvi dizer que a Cidade Velha,
– a Ilha toda –
em poucos dias já virou jardim…

Dizem que o campo se cobriu de verde,
da côr mais bela, porque é a côr da esp’rança.
Que a terra, agora, é mesmo Cabo Verde,
– É tempestade que virou bonança…

Venha comigo, Mamãi Velha, venha
recobre a força e chegue-se ao portão.
A chuva amiga já falou mantenha
e bate dentro de meu coração.

Maryse Condé: The Birth of the African Epic Fiction

On By Dr. Y.In Great Literature, Great People4 Comments

Maryse Condé
Maryse Condé

Maryse Condé is a Guadelopean/ French writer.  She was married to a Guinean actor, and as such has always kept the patronym ‘Condé’ which hails from Guinea.  She is a strong writer, and in my opinion, one of the best female writers of African descent.  Her writing is deep, and encompasses a mixture of creole ancestry, and African culture.  She has had a distinguished career as a writer and has taught at several prestigious universities in the US and France: Columbia University, University of California Berkeley, Harvard University, UCLA, University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Sorbonne, and Nanterre.

She tends to write historic fiction where she focuses on racial, gender, and cultural issues. I am an avid reader of Condé’s books.  In I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem [Moi, Tituba Sorciere] she explores slavery, and black presence during the Salem witch trials (until I read this book, it had never crossed my mind that there could be Blacks in Salem at that time).

'Segu' by Maryse Conde
‘Segu’ by Maryse Conde

One of the best novels ever written on an African kingdom was that of the capital of the Bambara Empire  Segu [Ségou] by Maryse Condé, which is deep and resurrects a very well-known kingdom in Mali, as well as slavery at that time, tribal warfare, the advance of islam in West Africa, the clash of cultures between muslims and animists, as well as muslims and Christians later on, and finally the presence of the white colons and the start of European imperialism in Africa. Through her novel, one finds strong historical facts, such as the battle between Fanti and Ashanti people in Ghana divided between French and English (An African version of the French-Indian war), the presence of Yoruba people in Sierra Leone, the presence of slave communities of Yoruba descent in Brazil and Jamaica, the different historic places such as the Gold coast, the Slave coast, the Grain coast, the weakening of the Bambara by the Islamic conquest which left them vulnerable to any advance by the French colonizers, etc… The depth of this book makes it one of the best African epic novel. For anybody craving for a history of Africa in the 18th/19th century, Segu is the best out there!

Moi, Tituba Sorciere
Moi, Tituba Sorciere

Asked about the meaning of her writing, Condé says: Je ne suis pas un ‘écrivain à message.’ J’écris d’abord pour moi, pour m’aider à comprendre et supporter la vie. En racontant des histoires que j’espère signifiantes, je souhaite aussi aider les autres, ceux de mon peuple en particulier, à comprendre et à la supporter à leur tour. [I am not a ‘writer of messages’. I write first for myself, to help me understand and bare life. By telling stories that I deem meaningful, I hope to help others also, particularly my people, to understand and bare life as well.]

Condé has received several awards, including the Prix Liberatur (Germany) for Segu, the Grand Prix Littéraire de la Femme for I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe for Desirada, the Prix Marguerite Yourcenar for Le Coeur À Rire et À Pleurer (1999, Tales from the Heart: True Stories from my Childhood), and Le Grand Prix du roman métis for En Attendant la Montée des Eaux (2010). In 2001 she was ordained Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France and in 2004 she was made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.  Please help me acclaim one of the greatest writers of African descent!!!  Enjoy this interview given by Maryse Conde to Elizabeth Nunez on Grioo.com   The website “ile-en-ile” provides a complete bibliography of her work. You will find a detailed biography of Condé on Kirjasto, and this interview of Maryse Conde where she discusses her book Victoire: My Mother’s Mother, about her grandmother.

NATO’s debacle in Libya

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments8 Comments

Libyan flag
Libyan flag

This article by Alexander Cockburn is on the Pambazuka website.

———-

After three and a half months of bombing and arms supply to various rebel factions, NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) failure in its efforts to promote ‘regime change’ in Libya is now glaring. Obviously NATO’s commanders are still hoping that a lucky bomb may kill Gaddafi, but to date the staying power has been with the Libyan leader, whereas it is the relevant NATO powers who are fighting among themselves.

The reports from Istanbul of the deliberations of NATO’s contact group have a surreal quality as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Minister William Hague gravely re-emphasise their commitment to regime change and the strengthening of ties to the Transitional Council in Benghazi, while the humiliation of the entire NATO expedition is entering the history books as an advertisement of the dangers of political fantasy in the service of ‘humanitarian interventionism’, appalling intelligence work, illusions about bombing and air power and some of the worst press coverage in living memory.

[….] Cameron, like Sarkozy, Clinton and Barack Obama presumably had intelligence assessments of the situation in Libya. Did any of them say that Gaddafi might be a tougher nut to crack than the presidents of Tunisia or Egypt, might even command some popular support in Tripoli and western Libya, historically at odds with Benghazi and the eastern region? If they did, did they pay any attention?

The Western press, along with al-Jazeera, was no help. The early charges of Gaddafi committing ‘genocide’ against his own people or ordering mass rapes were based on unverified rumour or propaganda bulletins from Benghazi and have now been decisively discredited by reputable organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Any pretensions the International Criminal Court (ICC) might have had to judicial impartiality have been undermined by the ICC’s role as NATO’s creature, rushing out indictments of Gaddafi and his closest associates whenever NATO’s propaganda agenda has demanded it. […]

All history shows that the dropping of thousands of bombs and missiles, with whatever supposed standards of ‘pin point accuracy’, never elicits the enthusiastic support of civilians on the receiving end, even if a certificate of humanitarian assistance and merciful intent is stamped on every projectile. Recent pro-government rallies in Tripoli have been vast. Libya has a population of about 6 million, with 4 million in Tripoli. Gaddafi barrels around the city in an open jeep. Large amounts of AK-47s have been distributed to civilian defence committees. Were they all compelled to demonstrate by Gaddafi’s enforcers? It seems unlikely. […]

In early March, Sarkozy, languishing in the polls, believed the counsel of ‘new philosopher’ Bernard-Henri Lévy, after the latter’s 6 March excursion to Benghazi, that Libya and its oil were up for grabs. On 11 March Sarkozy took the precipitate step of recognising the Benghazi gang as the legitimate government of Libya and awaited Gaddafi’s collapse with a confident heart. In a hilarious inside account of the NATO debacle, Vincent Jauvert of Le Nouvel Observateur has recently disclosed that French intelligence services assured Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Alain Juppé ‘from the first [air] strike, thousands of soldiers would defect from Gaddafi’. They also predicted that the rebels would move quickly to Sirte, the hometown of Gaddafi and force him to flee the country. This was triumphantly and erroneously trumpeted by the NATO powers, which even proclaimed that he had flown to Venezuela. By all means opt for the ‘big lie’ as a propaganda ploy, but not if it is inevitably going to be discredited 24 hours later.

‘We underestimated al-Gaddafi,’ one French officer told Jauvert. ‘He was preparing for forty-one years for an invasion. We did not imagine he would adapt as quickly. No one expects, for example, to transport its troops and missile batteries, Gaddafi will go out and buy hundreds of Toyota pick-up in Niger and Mali. It is a stroke of genius: the trucks are identical to those used by the rebels. NATO is paralysed. It delays its strikes. Before bombing the vehicles, drivers need to be sure they are whose forces are Gaddafi’s. “We asked the rebels to a particular signal on the roof of their pick-up truck,” said a soldier, “but we were never sure. They are so disorganised…?”’

Read the rest here → Pambazuka: Nato’s debacle in Libya

Small trades: Selling African Ice Cream/ Vente Ambulante de la Glace Africaine

On By Dr. Y.In Great Art, Great Economy6 Comments

Ice cream
Ice cream

It is extremely hot today! When I think that temperatures could go up to 40C… I have a shiver or rather a sweat. This makes me think of having ice cream, African ice cream. Today I am introducing you to a small trade in Cameroon… that of selling ice cream…  When we were growing up, we used to call them ‘lapon‘… How did you call them in your country?  Enjoy! and cool down!

Aujourd’hui, il fait très chaud! Quand je pense que les temperatures pourraient avoisinner les 40C… je grelotte… oh pardon, je transpire! Mais cela me donne envie d’une bonne glace rafraîchissante, une glace africaine.  Aujourd’hui, je vous introduit à un petit métier au Cameroun, celui de vendre de la glace (vente ambulante)… Quand nous étions petits, nous les appellions ‘lapon‘… comment les appelliez-vous chez vous?  Savourez! et rafraîchissez-vous!

Devoir de Mémoire: Gbagbo dans le tourbillon du Golfe de Guinée

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment

Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Gbagbo

Aujourd’hui, nous allons faire un rappel mémoire, et regardé ce très beau documentaire qui discute des enjeux géopolitiques et économiques de la Côte d’Ivoire, et les  liens avec la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC).  Une chose très importante à retenir c’est que les enjeux du 21 ème siècle se jouent en Afrique, et que la survie des Etats-Unis et de l’Europe face à l’avancée du géant chinois se jouera en Afrique. Alors, il est primordial pour les américains et européens d’éliminer tous ceux qui voudraient ouvrir leurs frontières aux Chinois, ou qui voudraient pour une fois négocier des contrats justes et la dignité de leurs peuples tels Gbagbo. Attention, les élections en RDC auront lieu en Novembre, et nous prions de tous nos coeurs pour la paix et la survie de notre continent.  Nous, Africains, devons rester dignes et exiger d’ être traités comme des egaux et non des subalternes. Nos sous-sols regorgent de richesses, et nous rêvons de les partager avec tous, mais nous sommes désireux d’être traités comme des partenaires économiques et non des colonies. Continuons nos prières pour la Côte d’Ivoire, pour Laurent et Simone Gbagbo et tous leurs collaborateurs qui se sont battus pour la dignité de leur pays, pour la Libye et le Guide Kadhafi qui fait face à la plus grande armée mondiale transformée en gangster, et prions également pour la RDC et pour toute l’Afrique.  Ce n’est pas parce que certains pays qui nous avaient colonisés hier, sont ruinés financièrement aujourd’hui, que nous devons continuer d’être leur chasse gardée.  Arrêtons de nous faire piétiner.  Faisons preuve de lucidité, de vision, de courage, d’unité, et surtout de force.  N’Krumah rêvait d’une Afrique unie… Le Guide Libyen rêve d’une Afrique unie… rallumons cette flamme… arrêtons de nous diviser, et levons-nous comme un seul homme! (Les Etats-Unis avec 50 états forment un seul pays).

N’oubliez pas de regarder les parties 2, 3, et 4.

Comment l’Araignée a été punie de sa Malhonnêteté

On By Dr. Y.In Great Legends & Tales3 Comments

Panthère
Panthère

Il était une fois un petit village perdu dans une grande forêt. Et dans cette forêt, vivait une panthère très rusée qui chaque nuit, venait dévorer les animaux domestiques des villageois. Le chef avait beau envoyer les meilleurs chasseurs poursuivre la bête féroce, nul ne parvenait seulement à l’approcher. Et, malgré les pièges tendus, malgré les soldats qui faisaient le guet, tous les matins, une chèvre, ou un mouton, ou une génisse avaient disparu, emportés par la panthère.

Le chef fait retentir le gong qui convoque tous les habitants du pays et lorsque tout le monde est rassemblé, il déclare: “Villageois, il faut nous débarrasser de cette bête féroce qui dévaste nos troupeaux! En tant que chef de la communauté et maître de la terre, je jure de donner la donner la moitie des richesses du village au chasseur assez fort pour la ruer et nous apporter sa peau comme preuve de sa prouesse.”

Malgré cette promesse, aucun chasseur ne se présente car tous avaient tenté de poursuivre l’animal, mais nul n’était un génie invincible.

Kakou Ananze
Kakou Ananze

Mais Kakou Ananzè, l’Araignée, se trouve passer dans le village on lui raconte l’affaire et il va trouver le chef: “Dans sept jours à partir d’aujourd’hui, je t’apporterai la peau de ton ennemie”, déclare-t-il soigneusement.

Kakou Ananzè est très rusé, et grand inventeur  de fourberies; tout le monde sait cela. C’est pourquoi il quitte le village, prend le chemin de la forêt, armée de flèches et de sagaies. Mais au lieu de se lancer sur les traces de la panthère, il se rend dans une ville assez éloignée et, pendant la nuit, vole la peau de panthère qui décore la case du roi. Puis, il repart sans être vu.

Le matin du septième jour, Kakou Ananzè revient triomphalement trouver le chef qui a promis la moitie des richesses de la communauté et jette la peau de panthère à ses pieds. Les gens s’émerveillent de son habilité et de son courage.

J’ai suivi la bête féroce sept jours et sept nuits sans me lasser, déclare-t-il, d’une voix forte. Et au milieu de la septième nuit, je l’ai tuée ! Continue reading “Comment l’Araignée a été punie de sa Malhonnêteté” →

African Puppeteer

On By Dr. Y.In Great Art2 Comments

Yaya Coulibaly during a performance (source: BBC)
Yaya Coulibaly during a performance (source: BBC)

A few days ago, I came across a photo-article on BBC about the life of an African puppeteer.  I thought that this fits well with the section ‘Great Art’ of this blog.  Indeed, the craft of African puppeteer in Mali, and many other African countries (Niger, Angola, DRC, Togo, South Africa, etc), is passed on from generation to generation.  The man interviewed in the BBC photo article, Yaya Coulibaly, said that his family had been African puppeteers since the 11th century.  He learned the craft at the age of 12, and greatly cherishes the opportunity to make children and adults laugh in villages across Mali and the world.  He has an entire collection of thousands of puppets accumulated over the years, and passed to him by his forefathers.  He is not only a puppet master, but an adept storyteller, leaning on centuries of Malian legends, and tales.  The puppets are made of wood, and in some areas of Africa, raffia is also used to make the puppets’ dresses.  The art of puppeteering was first recorded in 2000 BC in Egypt, where most puppets were painted with natural colors using plants and roots; some puppets made of clay and ivory have been found in some ancient Egyptian tombs.  Today, Mr. Coulibaly uses acrylic paint, and covers his puppets with bright colors (his own signature).  His performances usually last about 1 h, and as always in African ceremonies, drums play a major part of the show.  He has his own puppet company called Sogolon, which employs about 15 people.

Check out this great photo-article on BBC, and enjoy the work of an African puppet master!  I also found great videos of a South African puppet master harmoniously choreographing a dance with two puppets and a performance by a Togolese puppet group… Simply outstanding!  Check out the Museum for African Art discussing African puppetry, puppets in Kenya, the Rand African Art and the puppetry news blog which published the video below.  Enjoy African puppetry!

Patrice Lumumba: ’30 June 1960′ Independence Speech

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great People4 Comments

Today, we will do a Memory recall… Please enjoy this great independence speech delivered by Patrice Lumumba in 1960 to the people of Congo, few months before his assassination. It is a pure jewel! The French version is here → LUMUMBA discours. Don’t forget to watch the video!!!

——————-

Men and women of the Congo,

Victorious fighters for independence, today victorious, I greet you in the name of the Congolese Government. All of you, my friends, who have fought tirelessly at our sides, I ask you to make this June 30, 1960, an illustrious date that you will keep indelibly engraved in your hearts, a date of significance of which you will teach to your children, so that they will make known to their sons and to their grandchildren the glorious history of our fight for liberty.

For this independence of the Congo, even as it is celebrated today with Belgium, a friendly country with whom we deal as equal to equal, no Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that is was by fighting that it has been won, a day-to-day fight, an ardent and idealistic fight, a fight in which we were spared neither privation nor suffering, and for which we gave our strength and our blood.

We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force.

This was our fate for eighty years of a colonial regime; our wounds are too fresh and too painful still for us to drive them from our memory. We have known harassing work, exacted in exchange for salaries which did not permit us to eat enough to drive away hunger, or to clothe ourselves, or to house ourselves decently, or to raise our children as creatures dear to us.

We have known ironies, insults, blows that we endured morning, noon, and evening, because we are Negroes. Who will forget that to a black one said “tu“, certainly not as to a friend, but because the more honorable “vous” was reserved for whites alone? Read the full speech here → Patrice Lumumba Independence speech