Sunday, February 12, 2017

PARLEZ VOUS FRANCAIS

WHAT YOU SOW SO SHALL YOU REAP!


PARLEZ VOUS FRANCAIS

Since colonial times, the French have always been a controversial nation, especial their soldiers. One just has to look at the rampage and the mass rape of Italian women by these French Colonial Soldiers during and WWII and after the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. Historians claims that the "French Genocidal Fuhrer Napoleon" was as "barbaric" as Hitler, if not worse because Hitler considered Napoleon as his Hero. Napoleon was ruthless and responsible for thousands of executions. With this force of might the French as a nation colonized several remote countries, the likes of Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada and Haiti as well as several countries in Africa, among which are the Ivory Coast, Benin, Mali, French Guinea, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Algeria, etc. 


However, independence to all the natives of these countries came at a huge personal cost because France was determined not to relinquish its strong-hold over its ex-colonies, whatsoever the cost. For several decades, France sucked the natural wealth out of Africa like a gigantic parasite, causing poverty, disease , hunger, malnutrition and underdevelopment; which in turn fueled despair, conflict and tremendous violence. As long ago as 1957 Former French president  François Mitterand prophesied that: 

“Without Africa, France will have 
no history in the 21st century”.

His successor, former French President Jacques Chirac shared his sentiments when he said; 


“Without Africa, France will slide down 
into the rank of a third world power”. 

The amount of power France usurped from these countries through monetary control is really astounding, and ever since all members of the CFA Franc are mandated to deposit up to 85 per cent of their country’s foreign exchange earnings in the French national treasury.

One could consider France's stronghold over these countries as a "colonial tax", charged for the benefits of slavery and colonization they left behind.  When President Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea opted for independence, the french colonial elite in Paris threw a historic fit and in their fury destroyed everything in Guinea  that represented the benefits of French colonization. Schools, research institute instruments, public administration buildings,  cars, books, medicine and tractors were destroyed,  horses, cows on farms were killed and any food stored in warehouses were either burned or poisoned. 

Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo didn't want a repeat performance of this in his country when he sought independence , so he agreed to reimbursement the “colonial debt” which was virtually half the country's budget at the time. But this didn't change anything because France got an ex French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe to assassinate Olympio.

When Modiba Keita, the first president of the Republic of Mali, withdraw from the  french colonial currency, he became the victim of a coup carried out by another ex French Foreign legionnaire -Lieutenant Moussa Traoré. 

David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic did the same and suffered the same consequences by the hand of ex-french foreign legionnaire  Jean-Bédel Bokassa. 

Maurice Yaméogo, the first President of Burkina Faso, was another victim of a coup carried by  an ex French legionnaire Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana. 

President Hubert Maga, the first President of the Republic of Benin, also suffered the same fate when  a coup was carried out against him by Mathieu Kérékou, his personal  security guard who had French Foreign legion ties. And the list goes on.

While I was in Magagascar, involved in the national role-out of an educational network, President Mark Ravalamanana decided to cut ties with France and to import technology from Germany and America. Within days a coup took place against him  and President Mark Ravalamanana was quickly replaced my acting Malagasy President Andry Nirina Rajoelina. With all the roadblocks and a massive military presence who harassed all foreigners,  it was time to leave. But after witnessing a gun battle at the president house, we left immediately.

During the past 50 years, a total of 67 coups took place in  Africa, 16 of which occurred in Francophone countries, instigated or orchestrated by France. Most of these French speaking nations in Africa can bear testimony to the level of violence France perpetrated against its ex-colonial subjects. So, using the words of President Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea they collectively declare that,


“We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.” 

Today many of Africa's populace want France to restore whatever she has usurped and some are willing to force France to take responsibility for her atrocities. So, when the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) bomber who was "responsible for the Paris metro attack"  decide to get some payback for all the torture, mass murder, rape and oppression committed by the French in Algeria, the World was up in arm and everyone still wonders why France became  the first western European country to suffer "Radical Islamist terrorism" and is continually targeted by terrorist attacks. Admittedly it's really tragic, when someone extracts revenge on "innocent people" who are not directly responsible for the atrocities of their forebears. Undeniably, it is their right to fight to ward off oppression, because oppression is certainly worse than murder. Though this bring to mind the biblical verse Ezekiel 18:20. 


"The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity,
nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity".


In my book, there is no justification for such attacks on innocents, but invariably people may forgive but seldom forget. Hence the phrase, "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". 

RAPED BY POLICE


Just a few days ago four French policeman were accused of sexually raping and assaulting a '22 year-old black man' with a truncheon during a brutal arrest in Saint-Denis. Protesters demanding justice for this black man, and were fired upon with teargas. As a result they set fire to several rubbish bins and cars. I suppose rape and brutal force, torture, murder and oppression has always been the French colonial way for centuries, though it's not fair to pant all french peoples with the same brush. My personal experience with the French whilst I lived in Versailles as well as in Saint-Denis whilst in Paris, was really bad. They are an unfriendly, unhelpful and a snobbish bunch of people. Once again I shouldn't generalize because there are some good folk among them.

Case in point, just a few days ago a  French farmer by the name of Cedric Herrou was on trial for helping migrants across Italian border, however he was charged with  a €3000 suspended fine in the high court. He is a scholar and a gentleman,  among a nation of brutes and usurpers who are totally complacent and very contented that their economy scavenges off the poor people of Africa. Africa as a continent is extremely rich in resources, yet the bulk of its people are extremely poor. All thanks to France with the backing of the IMF and the World Bank.