DR

“Oh! If I was rich” used to tune a famous Raga song in the early nineties; at a time when because of my young age I would have imagined that life and financial success were easy things, just matters of good will. As time passes by and as we get older, the smell of death, and end and chaos comes closer to our nostrils. Notions and concepts that were clear and obvious to our understanding are blurring and progressively emptied of their sense and true meanings, to the point that questions such as: “what is the republic? What is laicité?” or again “what is international law?” have become difficult to answer even for the most educated among us.

The war launched on false allegations of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq eight years ago has revealed to the whole world that lies, greed and lack of consideration for civilisations with values other than ours are still and for long what fuels the economy of our western societies.

“What would you do for a few dollars, damn fool?” used to rap Kerry James, giving the impression in his lyrics that only the poor and the deprived were subject to irrational acts when it comes to collecting and gathering wealth and power. The present situation of France is proving us that reality is otherwise. It seems that money calls for more money and greed. For the sake of our economy and at the stake of the lives of many Africans, we plot, corrupt, divide and even declare wars using pretexts and false arguments in order to get free and cheap access to the raw materials we need for the functioning of our economy.

‘Colonisation was not a crime’ we are taught to think in the schools of “La république”; hence also the absence of any chapter properly dealing with this period in our history books. The whole French population has become amnesiac through the indoctrination of the values of the République; values it is important to mention here that most French intellectuals find it difficult to clearly explain and define. Scarce are, indeed, the glorious and positive episodes in the history of our nation. But the most frightening thing is without doubt the fact that we keep on repeating the same recurrent mistakes. We were in the past at the forehead of the slave trade; were also deeply involved in colonisation; collaborated with the Nazi regime in the 1940s. And later, using neo-colonialism, we carried on exploiting the ex-colonies with the help of few puppets we placed on the throne of the newly independent countries. When our technology and economy became challenged by emerging nations, we once again practised what we knew best to maintain certain supremacy; crime, dispossession, racial as well as cultural racism became the solutions to our decline and loss of influence in the world.

A nation that built itself on direct and indirect genocides and ethnocide, such is our nation, such are the true values of France and its République; such are our legacies. To the questions of national identity and secularism that the whole nation is asking itself just a year before the presidential elections, let me for once speak for those we scarcely hear. I say: “Let us dream of a better world, a better life! Let us dream of passing to our descents, values other than that of France and its shameful République, but I can’t say more things here,

‘cause too many things lingering in my mind,

I won’t utter more things here,

‘cause too many strings binding my mouth!!! ”

]]> http://www.anopeneye.org/archives/1852/feed 0 http://www.anopeneye.org/archives/732 http://www.anopeneye.org/archives/732#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:25:04 +0000 admin http://www.anopeneye.org/?p=732 It has been two years now since I have been back in the district. After having spent nearly 6 years abroad, in 2007 I decided to come to the roots. The return back in France was not that easy. To tell the truth, the first months were even awful. With no means of subsistence except for my parents, I had to pretend everything was fine and, as the perfect British man I had become used to the many credit cards I had brought with me from England. Being in debt while pretending to be well off was my new French experience. That was a strange thing for someone who before his departure for the other side of the Chanel had never really known poverty or bankruptcy. The simplest pleasures of Parisian life had become more than a nightmare for the completely broke guy I was.

Strange enough, there was however some kind of relief in learning that my poverty was not an exception. Many other young men of my generation with uncertain or temporary jobs for the luckiest ones were in difficult position, just like me. But the misery of the others was not thing to contend oneself with. So I decided to put myself to work and quick. For more than a whole academic year; working nonstop from morning till night had become my daily routine while tightening the belt as much as I could to save money. Besides the small jobs of subsistence I first found, I was also teaching some few hours in a high school located in the suburbs of Paris. I remember jumping over the gate of the French underground or metro for a whole month, just to get there without spending the least cent.  Here again, I first thought that this experience of mine of hardship and struggle after my return back from the U.K was exceptional; but of course once again, that was just before I came to the knowledge of what was really going on in the district of Paris I lived in. A great number of associations and organizations had indeed decided to take their own fate into their own hands. BGA (Les Braves Garçons D’Afrique), Une Chorba pour Tous, Rstyle or again Le Mouvement des Indigenes de la Republique, just to name a few, had become the new political leaders dealing and acting relevantly in their respective neighbourhood and field of action.

When the official or professional politicians become inefficient in France or rather disconnected with what really matters to the population, the habit wants it that after undergoing a hard time people start organising themselves and tend to rely more on nothing else but their own capacity and ability to remedy the hardship experienced. The described phenomenon is even more obvious with the younger generations. It is thus, that the BGA organization set up a decade ago by ten teenagers going to the same schools took the challenge to elevate their future condition and give their lives an aim. BGA is today not far from a decade old, it is one of the best known associations in the nineteenth district of Paris. Its range of activity goes from cultural events involving dance, fashion, and sports to education; training, and political debates. The association represents a positive sign very scarcely put on the spotlights in the official or mainstream media.  It has been two years since my return in the neighbourhood, and I am glad to notice that struggling spirit is quite common in this part of the capital. For sure the associations I observe in the north east of Paris bring some changes and improvement in the everyday life of not only the citizens but also those taking part in the planning and development of such activities.

The question I am asking myself now is the following: Why is it we the deprived struggling people in France tend to vote in both local and general elections for candidates who for a lack of understanding of our culture and true identity do not really represent us? Most surprising is the fact that for the more than thirty years we have been doing so, they have never improved our fate but rather put us in a situation where more injustice and racial discrimination were created. Were the left-wing’s social messages and lack of sincere measures to remedy social injustices always all planned so that we the deprived and segregated against, in an unachievable dream, keep on being fooled and vote for them?

One thing is sure for me now; for the next elections, be it local or general some of the most successful associations with sound field records will for sure present their own candidates. And for the few months to come, I vow to keep myself busy in helping them reach such goals. Cause, far from any form of paternalism, I am convinced that only candidates understanding and sharing my experiences, struggles, culture and my true individual identity have the right to represent me.

By Sitafa