“People in Motion”: Voice4Thought festival 2016

People move, in motion, in politics, in themselves

21-26 September, Leiden

Impressions from Mirjam and Eefje, directors of the festival

Valséro, a critical and engaged artist from Cameroon, was right when he said: “We are all ‘people in motion’, and to understand why there are problems between us and them, let’s have a look in our own societies? Why do we do the way we do? We always search for outside explanations, but what if it is simply us?”He joined us at the festival because he was eager to think!

This was the best compliment we could expect to receive. The Voice4Thought festival is not merely a festival, it is meant to be a moment, a few days when people can meet, discuss current issues and share ideas on how matters could improve.

Opening

The opening ceremony on Wednesday 21 September at the Museum of Antiquities was a surprise  [ ]. The opening dance choreographed by Ita was splendid. Joumana, Director of the Prins Claus Fund was touching in her speech . She revealed her personal story of movement and pointed out that we are moving in the world and need to keep on moving in order to shape that very same world. Her presence was special as both V4T and Prins Claus Fund share the ideology of exchange between art and academia.

Dancer Yaya at the Museum of Antiquities

The dance of Yaya from Chad was the highlight of the afternoon. He was fascinating. Painted in yellow,  he nearly struck fear into (the audience and staff at the museum) because his paint should not leave traces on the floor or on the beautiful temple in the middle of the hall. That temple and the danger in his performance made Yaaya flourish even more. It felt like he danced for us, and only for us.. and the experience was breathtaking. His dance was inspired by the Fulani, a nomadic people roaming all over the Sahel. Their freedom of mobility was overflowing from his dance.

The kind words of Aphroditi (LeidenGlobal) and Ton Dietz (ASCL) concluded the opening with spoken words and Didier, an exceptional and admirable talent from Chad, did the same with singing words. In the end guests, artists and members of the foundation  had drinks together to mark the beginning of a week of amazing performances and experiences.

J’suis pas là pour contrer la bible mais confirmer qu’il est invisible

Que tu sois de l’Islam ne fait pas semblant de regarder le coran

Que tu sois du christianisme ne fait semblant de feuilleter la bible

Il faut le reciter pour mieux le métriser

Il donc la lire pour éviter le pir

Ohlé ohlé ohlééééé

Juste la paix, la paix qu’il nous a donnée

Juste l’amour, l’amour qu’il nous a laissé

DIDIER, Juste la paix

Youth participation

The conference of the pupils from a Leiden-based school resulted in a very enjoyable film. It showed how stereotypes often define the other and how all of us make assumptions which most often do not coincide with reality. The pupils’ interpretation of ‘people in motion’ was one of searching for the other in society and especially why and how we define the other. Some of the movie’s participants were astonished by their own beliefs about the other, and they realized that what they perceive is not per se who the other really is. After all, we are us/ourselves and the other at the same time.

# let’s talk: Being in motion; a debate

With this discussion we find ourselves at the heart of the ‘refugee problem’ and the way a society can and has to handle it. First of all, we define it as a problem. But for whom is it a problem and why? The panel discussion tried to turn the question around – refugees are not a problem, but instead they are at the center of the force of our society. History shows, as Irial Glynn, migration historian LU, explained in his opening lecture, that the contribution of migrants to our societies is immense and a world without migrants is unthinkable.

Dr. Irial Glynn at the beginning of the panel discussion

From the panelists we heard many hopeful stories, as they had all come from somewhere and have been successful in their own way. But the stories of Yemen (Rana), of Ivory Coast’s civil war (Amee), now a decade ago, the Mali conflict (Aziz), still puzzle policy-makers. Those panelists representing the ‘solution’ were not bringing forth very encouraging thoughts. Embracing African ideologies is far from the reality in Europe, and a successful business can only be a solution for few. Yes, indeed, we need to listen to the voices of ‘people in motion’ and Isaac’s story was moving.  His call to listen actively and do something for his people, the pygmies in the forest of Congo, deeply illustrates the problems that we encounter daily, such as the complete denial of people’s rights and the rejection of migrants’ creativity and promising contributions to our society. Instead, we build borders and frontiers become of hard stone. The panel did ultimately reflect the reality of the world although its call for a listening ear aimed at the people in motion seems to be still a call in the dark.

Exhibition – Exposition In Movement

It all began with offering people the floor to present themselves and to show who they are.

Artwork of Sapin Makengele

The exhibition which opened on Friday fulfilled exactly this objective. The pamphlets that were shown, made by Sjoerd Sijsma together with several researchers from Leiden University, are a presentation in themselves. Jomard, a refugee from Syria, shared a genuinely moving pamphlet in which he discloses the story of his itinerary from Syria and into Dutch society. The artworks of Zoe, Sapin and Cindy, displayed during this exhibition were an interpretation of movement both in political and geographical sense. References to the African continent, where political movements are increasingly influencing its societies, were at the center of these presentations.

#letswatch

In a week of various artistic expressions, a film cannot be absent. First we scheduled the film “Le Président” in which Valséro had a cameo appearance, criticizing the Cameroonian government while singing his song “Le président”. In the end, the final choice for a movie screening landed on “Stranded in Canton” presented by ASCL. The film, exploring the affairs of a Congolese entrepreneur in China was a beautiful addition to the stories of the ‘people in motion’. Prior to the projection, Lieve Joris read out aloud an intriguing excerpt from her book ‘Op de vleugels van de draak’. Both the book and movie presentation sparked a discussion among the audience and the evening was concluded with the possibility for networking and ideas exchange.

Collaboration

From 18th of September onwards, during the entire week, guest artists had been working on their repertoire. They were asked to collaborate with Dutch and ‘refugee’ artists. Together, the ‘people in motion’ managed to create emotion. The Friday evening concert began with the enchanting performance of the Iraqi group, led by Carolien on piano and Sattar  on various instruments. Then, we listened to a delightfully presented spoken-word lyrics of Dutch origin, exclaimed by Mette and accompanied on guitar by Gosse. This was followed by a beauty story and the slam lyrics of Amee from Côte d’Ivoire and by the ambassador of slam Aziz Siten’k  from Mali.

#letsdance

The Saturday concert, being the climax of the festival, made everyone initially a little bit nervous.

Bamba Aminata a.k.a. Amee

Its execution proved it to indeed be a climax. Croquemort creatively presented himself with the Band4Thought who played as well during the first edition last year. The band had meanwhile been in Tchad at Croquemort’s festival and a complete synergy between the group and the slam artist had been achieved. They had truly become a band. The performance was moving; e-motions remained no longer hidden. The other highlight was the song written by Ernst Jansz and based on the research work of historian Maartje Janse in which academy and art crossed paths.

Amee was again stunning, with the saxo, the piano and just herself. The closing act was Valséro, backed by Martijn, DJ and music producer from the Antilounge record label.

Political rapper Valsero

Together on stage, their synchronised performance was overwhelming. Valséro and his songs critique Cameroon and its regime, but simultaneously assess the world and the inequality in it. By and large, a very special man whom we hope to welcome back in the Netherlands.

The concert was exquisite, it showed new coalitions, real, tangible people in motion, people together, a new rencontre, new music. It brought the beginning of a possible future which only we can forge!

#Letswrite

The blog workshop on Saturday gathered together human and political rights activists, writers and researchers. It aimed to inspire and to encourage (potential) bloggers to share their unusual and sometimes harsh experiences and to find ways in which to convey the message properly.

Blog workshop in progress

Being a blogger, Abel Maina tells, requires to verify your information and to conceive methods to engage your listeners either through social media channels or, like our cartoonists,  through visual art. The V4T blog workshop’s motto is to ‘show the unseen, write about the untold’. No matter how challenging, the network of bloggers V4T has begun to establish sets out to support freedom of expression in any possible sense.

Reporting:

Some of the outcomes and proceedings of the festival are not that apparent at first and cannot be defined by a clear-cut physical event at a specific time. The mediation of the Internet and social media turned into visitors many more than only those who were “there” at “that” time. Furthermore, it expanded the meaning of being an artist as there were participants not fitting in the regular definition of the term.

From Thursday onward, the festival became the setting for reporters with critical minds who gave their interpretations of what they saw and experienced. Fils de Maina from the Chadian diaspora in Paris introduced the festival to an international audience through his live streaming and comments on all the events. The audience was stimulated to ask questions and give remarks through social media during and after the events thus simultaneously creating a valuable archive. This approach more than tripled the number of visitors of the festival which reached far beyond the physical boundaries of even Europe.

The Voice4Thought team themselves were reporting by means of social media and created a live blog on the V4T website, documenting in several media the highlights of the festival as they were occurring. A few engaged volunteers as well as professional photographers created a gallery of wonderful photos to capture all artistic production and people’s emotions.

Cartoonist at work

And last but not least, the ninth Art was represented by the cartoonists Samy, Adjim and Augustine. They expressed their critical thoughts by drawing in more than one clever way and many times making hilarious analyses of our festival.

As the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the threats to several cartoonists in the past years has made it very clear, it has become a challenge to speak up and to delicately employ the freedom of expression. The cartoonists’ witty creations proved that this goal is obtainable and their subtle presence enlivened the whole festival.

Cameroon Alert!

Text from a Facebook post 23 June 2016: Common lawyers rubbish new penal code Bill: A penal code that says ministers cannot be arrested or tried (immunity). A penal code that says any judge who tries  a minister and sentences him will be sent to jail. Wonders!!

Gradually we’re starting to get more information from West Cameroon, where a strike by lawyers has been evolving into a general strike among teachers and finally protests in several towns in this part of Cameroon that were met with violence by the State. Today, 12 December: A call is being made on the internet for declaring a Ghost Town in Southern Cameroon (see Facebook post); what will be the response? The essence of the argument in the protest is the imposition of the Francophone laws, teaching etc. on the Anglophones, a discourse that stands for so much more.

Common Lawyers strike
It started with the strike of the Anglophone Common Lawyers. I witnessed through the eyes of a former student from Leiden the long process leading up to the strike: the first steps were made this summer. It went from a peaceful protest to a harsh and violent encounter between the lawyers and the government. On Thursday 10 November 2016, several lawyers in Buea were beaten, and their wigs and gowns seized.

From a Facebook Post summarizing the process, beginning December:

Hello Prof. Mirjam! The Common Law Lawyers of Anglophone extraction have been on strike across the entire Common law jurisdictions of the North West and South West regions. This is on account of the systemic extinction of the Common Law principles by officials of ‘La République’. Prior to this strike action we had tabled a series of demands to the head of state. It is a shame that instead of responding to our demands, the government turned a deaf ear and instead employs its traditional policy of divide and rule as a means of frustrating our cause.
Consequently, we have resorted to remain resolute, determined and steadfast to our cause. We are henceforth synergizing with other unions to advance the cause.

Cameroon on fire?
Are the protests that we are witnessing today an outcry over years of neglect and oppression? And will they finally lead to change in Cameroon? For long, journalists and academics have been wondering why there was not more protest in Cameroon. I asked this question several times to my Cameroonian friends whose answers would vary; from ‘we do not like conflict’ to ‘oppression is too harsh’. Are today’s protests a turn in Cameroonian history? Will the Anglophone grievances be picked up by the Francophones who suffer similar marginality, who are also neglected by the state and have a ruler whose family has been bathing in wealth for the past 34 years? The splitting of the country in Francophone and Anglophone parts at independence (1961) has ever since served as a language to formulate anger and to search for justice.

@From the blog post of Vera Bakker

I cite from a friend’s detailed report to me (in the week of 12 December). He was writing this in a cybercafé while the protests were ongoing on 30 November 2016:

But the unique aspect of the union of French speaking and English speaking Cameroonians is that it was not one through a formal union treaty. It was an informal arrangement between the peoples of the Cameroons who only share the commonality of German colonization from 1884 to 1916 who decided to cohabitate from October 1961. That is why the union has been described as a ‘Tontine Union’ in reference to the commonly found informal associations which function on the basis of unwritten agreements.

We preach no violence. At least not before peaceful options have been exhausted! But it was high time we got Yaoundé to understand that we have inalienable rights. It was high time we got Yaoundé  to understand that we are all children of God, made in his own image and lines. That we have been recognized by the international community as a people; and so we stand side by side with them as two peoples equal in status. That, flowing from that, we shall never again glorify the status of second class citizens.

Deep roots
Walter Nkwi, University Professor in Buea,  shared his analysis with me per e-mail (12 December 2016):
‘(…) Of course the problem of Bamenda [the anglophone capital of the North West Region, MdB] cannot be explained in a single email. It has deep historical roots and cannot be separated from the political upheavals of the 1990s. Over the years, the city has been abandoned by the ruling government to the extent that there is virtually no road.
This time around the story started with the lawyers who insisted that the government should translate the OHADA Law, which is a business law for the whole of French Africa. Interestingly this law has been there since 1999 or so. Apart from the translation the lawyers also demanded that the government should withdraw all the Francophone magistrates, who cannot pass and write judgment in English, from the Anglophone courts. This was also because the government had been insensitive to the fact that while the Francophones are trained in civil law the Anglophones were trained in common law. After a persistent plea to the government and the government stubbornness to listen to their plight they now called a strike.
In the midst of the strike, Anglophone teachers of secondary and higher education called a strike, firstly, in solidarity with the lawyers and also because the francophone had adulterated the English education; University of Buea [the capital of the anglophone South West Region, MdB] and Bamenda joined and all now are asking for a federal system of government while others are asking for complete secession with the francophone government. An attempt to diffuse this problem by the Prime Minister in Bamenda failed. This led to a rally in Buea to preach national unity by the CPDM [main political party, of president Paul Biya, MdB] stakeholders. This was happening just after Frundi [opposition leader, central in the riots in the 1990s] had visited Buea to attend the students who had gone on rampage on 28 November demanding for their bonuses, also known as the Presidential excellent award. Their names were omitted at the level of the Ministry of Higher Education and the university authorities were still in the process of getting the problem resolved. However, in Buea the rally “went well” but the attendance was very timid.
The CPDM delegation left for Bamenda where they met stiff resistance from the population, mostly the youths who put up barricades, blocking all the entrances into the city. The military replied with grenades and life bullets and in the confusion some youths were killed. The other youths resorted to burning down the electric and telephone poles as well as the police station at the Meta quarters and military cars. CPDM vote holders were even taken hostage at Ayaba hotel, one of the big hotels in Bamenda.
Bamenda, Buea and Cameroon at large are very tense. Anything can start at any time. The personnel of the University of Buea has been on strike for one month now and nothing is moving. Administrators have abandoned their offices and once in a while the police, in full combat gear, comes round. Nobody can say what will happen next. Like during the French revolution of 1789.  All the ingredients for a great outburst in Cameroon are present. There is an inefficient and corrupt government; a dismembered civil society; a very high level of unemployment; an efficient military; popular masses suffering from the main base of the state; a lousy 300 parties democracy; inadequate health facilities; inadequate portable water; very poor road infrastructure etc. All need a single spark to set everything alight. The conflagration can come at any time.

I have told you in trust my mind.’

Walter permitted me to publish this text that hardly contains his anger but is also an analysis that needs to reach the eyes of the readers.