Croquemort: ‘Je voudrais porter un casque’

‘There is a lot more hidden behind the helmets!’,  I tweeted on 9 March. Indeed there is. The student manifestation in N’Djamena at the beginning of March and the way it was turned down provoked a lot of discussion in society, of which some was posted on Facebook. Discussions that do not only reveal anger, but that also request change. It discloses a discussion about change that competes with our (academic) theories of (social and political) movements. Let the population in Africa first decide what this change should be. Africa is the world and we need to solve problems together, but together means foremost that we listen.

The students have started following lectures again since 1 April, although their demands have not been met.

Slammeur Croquemort composed a song that analyses what is behind the helmets. He introduced it on Facebook as follows:

“My contribution to help advance my beloved country Chad that I adore so much. The title is: ‘Je voudrais porter un casque’.”

Translation of the song text (the original French text is below):

I would like to wear a helmet

I would like to wear a helmet
One that protects me against traffic accidents
To avoid head wounds
Or to be completely crushed
To avoid blowing up my cherished  brain

I would like to wear a helmet
That protects me against the electricity cuts
Of the grimy streets in my neighbourhood
To be able to watch TV
One that protects against our discharged computers
And our closed petty trades

I would like a helmet
One that fights against the police atrocities
And the violence at schools
All the students who were beaten
While writing their exams at the faculty
Who will end up traumatized
The emergency rooms overcrowded

I would like to wear a helmet
Not just a kind of mask

I would like to wear a helmet
One that lowers the market prices
The emptiness felt in the shopping baskets
And the expensiveness of a bag of cement
The trouble caused by the scarcity of fuel

I would like to wear a helmet
One that protects us against insecurity
That will save our robbed motorcyclists
Killed in our non-illuminated streets
By free running assassins

I would like to wear a helmet
One that gives drinking water to our cities
That protects our children against diarrhea,
Malnourishment, fever and headaches
The pupils that sit on the cold soil
In their classrooms made of Seko (dried grass),
ignorant of their rights

I would like to wear a helmet
That prohibits the shooting on children in Doba
Sarh, Moundou or N’Djamena
Unpunished blows of rubber sticks
On innocent children’s bodies

I would like to wear a helmet
That protects us against the lies
The realities that are washed away
The faked autopsies
And the broken Hippocrates oath

I would like to wear a helmet
Not just a kind of mask

I would like to wear a helmet
One that punishes the embezzlement of public funds
By the potbellied who steal our money
And who never worry
Because they have never been in jail
One that cries over the emptied treasure
That holds the free thieves accountable

I would like to wear a helmet
One steering the dialogues between those in power and the population
That confronts our problems and their solutions
That responds to the cry of the youth
With real promises
And not with shooting of teargas
The killing, the detentions with no shame

I would like to wear a helmet
One that fights against unemployment
One that punishes the unjust bargaining
In the coulisses of the public service
Or in the police quarters.

I would like to wear a helmet
One that guarantees freedom of expression
That allows us to speak of pain and deception
That does not silence our convictions
That allows the population a voice.

I would like to wear a real helmet
Not just a kind of mask

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Original French text:

Je voudrais porter un casque

Je voudrais porter un casque
Celui qui me protège contre les accidents de circulation
Pour m’éviter sur la tête des lésions
Ou d’être complètement broyé
Eviter d’éclater mon cerveau tant prisé.

Je voudrais porter un casque
Qui me protège contre les coupures d’électricité
Des rues lugubres de mon quartier
Pour qu’on puisse regarder la télé,
Qui protège contre nos ordis décharges
Et nos petits commerces fermés.

Je voudrais d’un casque
Celui qui lutte contre les exactions policières
Et les violences en milieu scolaire,
Tous ces étudiants recevant la raclée
En plein examen dans leur faculté
Et qui finissent traumatises,
Les urgences bondées

Je voudrais porter un casque
Pas juste une sorte de masque

Je voudrais porter un casque
Celui qui baisse les prix sur le marché
Le vide ressenti dans les paniers
Et la cherté du sac de ciment
Le tort causé par la pénurie du carburant

Je voudrais porter un casque,
Celui qui nous protège de l’insécurité
Qui sauve nos motards braqués,
Assassinés dans nos rues non illuminées
Et surtout des assassins jamais retrouvés

Je voudrais porter un casque
Celui qui donne de l’eau potable à nos cités
Qui protège nos enfants des diarrhées,
De malnutrition, de fièvre et des céphalées,
Des élevés assis à même le sol froid
Dans des salles en Seko et ignorant leur droit.

Je voudrais porter un casque
Qui protège des tirs sur les gosses à Doba,
A Sarh, à Moundou ou à Ndjamena,
Des coups de matraque assenés impunément
Sur des corps d’enfants innocents

Je voudrais porter un casque,
Celui qui protège des mensonges,
Des réalités qu’on éponge
Des autopsies falsifiées
Et du serment d’Hippocrate violé

Je voudrais porter un vrai casque,
Pas juste une sorte de masque.

Je voudrais porter un casque,
Celui qui châtie le détournement du denier public,
Des ventrus qui volent notre fric
Et qui ne sont jamais inquiètes
Parce que jamais emprisonnés,
Celui qui pleure sur le trésor vidé,
Qui demande des comptes aux voleurs en liberté

Je voudrais porter un casque
Celui du dialogue entre le pouvoir et la population
Qui met face à face nos problèmes et leurs solutions,
Qui répond au cri de la jeunesse
Par de vraies promesses
Et non par des tirs de lacrymogènes,
Des assassinats, des arrestations sans gène.

Je voudrais porter un casque
Celui qui lutte contre le chômage
Qui châtie le marchandage
Dans les couloirs de la fonction publique
Ou dans les bureaux des flics.

Je voudrais porter un casque
Celui qui assure la liberté d’expression
Qui nous laisse parler de douleur, de déception
Qui n’étouffe pas nos convictions,
Qui fait entendre la voix de la population.

Je voudrais porter un vrai casque,
Pas juste une sorte de masque.

Musical futures of young people in Chad – Les futures musicales de la jeunesse au Tchad

On the ‘Salon International des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (SITIC) sur le thème central ”Les TICs, moteur de développement durable”’ (International Forum on ICT, main theme: ICT, motor of durable development); 9-11 September N’Djamena, Chad:

Screenshot of Croquemort’s Facebook post.

‘Le SITIC au Tchad, c’est comme vendre une cabine de bronzage à un noir, c’est comme vendre un peigne à un chauve, c’est comme donner un os à un chien, c’est comme.. (à completez…)’ (‘The SITIC Forum in Chad, it’s like selling a tanning booth to a black person, it’s like selling a comb to a bald person, it’s like giving a bone to a dog, it’s like (please complete…) Facebook post of Slam-artist Croquemort, Wednesday 17-09-14)

ICT hub
Africa’s societies are young, hence the youth are Africa’s future. Nicely said, but who are the youth, what are their doubts and can they be the future? What does ‘being the future’ mean in a country where the ‘hub of ICT’ is announced as the future, despite the fact that on the ground access to internet is the most expensive of the world, for political leaders do not allow the public any broadband access. This imaginary hub presented at an exclusive forum in one of N’Djamena’s high class buildings is only accessible for the big car-owners, the educated avant-garde. The organization is a collaboration between the State, business, the mobile phone companies, ICT-NGOs, etc. Through media exposure the forum is highly visible for the international world, but hidden behind high fences for the ordinary Chadian public. In there, you may find the young of Africa participating, however: a minority, whose lives are full of this bubble in which they might even sincerely believe, even though the practice back in their homes and neighbourhoods is one of very expensive internet, no electricity, and phone connectivity that often derails. How long can regimes conjure such empty future promises to their people without any consequence? I wonder…

The people behind the gate at the Forum.

Accessing new ideas through Facebook
The people outside the fence are not completely disconnected. Their access to internet is limited to the adopted version of Facebook in their cheap Tecno phones. Nevertheless, it allows them accessing new ideas that are somehow digested and re-digested into new knowledge; leading to their own interpretations of what is happening behind the fences where the ICT hub of Africa is presented. How long can regimes and internationals keep to such bubbles, without facing the rage of the young? Life has changed for the youth by accessing Facebook, but it is far from the SITIC promise, because political decision prevents further access to such developments. Do politicians fear the youth? This reminds me of the remark of one of my Chadian colleagues who said: ‘La peur a changé du camp’, which means that actually the regime is now fearing the population who, by accessing more information, are becoming increasingly conscious of their situation of inequality, and seem to throw off their yoke of ‘la peur’. It leads them into different directions of their own development, their self-realisation.
Croquemort, the slammeur of Chad, with whom I was travelling through N’Djamena and the South, was invited into the hub but decided not to participate. He rather would not be part of this illusion.

Empty music versus political music
Some of those youth have the talent to make music. The music scene is rising in Chad, not in the least because of the use of new technology. Hip hop clips are created to accompany the music. It is again basically for those who have money or who are able to ‘create’ money. Theirs is a hope for a future with more luxurious elements, with money and bling-bling. They tend to develop ‘empty’ music. Political music, so they say, or music with a message, does not pay, at least not by those who go with the flow of the regime. So they make empty music to please, and with it they will get the consent of the regime, and more than this: they become the ally of this regime and receive goods and money, to be able to become part of the inside, to get within the fence.
But what about those musicians who try differently and develop a ‘voice’ in their music? Can they escape the longing for the luxury the others do gain, but whose bling-bling has been realized in compromises? Not making compromises can mean one’s (musical) end; being famous helps to be protected against the whims of regimes; so politics and music is only for the brave and the outstanding.

Slam artist Croquemort in Preston’s studio.

Preston’s studio
Preston, in his early 30s and a producer of music in his self-built studio, embraces both the political kind and the empty kind of music. The latter, after all, pays and is also what – part of – the youth wish for. And indeed, what is against it after all? A creative thinker and a visionary, Preston helps me to understand the music scene and the thinking of the young men and women who are into political music. For him, music is a way to develop the youth, but it is also a way for the youth to contribute to positive social change. Music informs and helps to develop society. Those who make political music form a band of resistance that shares mockeries about the regime and criticizes inequality. Preston has an incredible trust in the capabilities of the Chadian youth, hence his urge to develop the Chadian music scene. For now, this scene is dependent on Cameroonian technicians and musicians, a dependency that is difficult to manage for autonomous Preston.
Preston’s studio is one of the most tangible technology hubs of Chad. With dearly earned money, Preston has built a studio that almost reaches international standards. He has bought four digital cameras to be able to film a concert professionally. He works with the best artists and has employed a Cameroonian who is technician for the production of CDs and clips. They make interesting clips, sophisticated, with style.
Preston has clear motivations to create this studio: he wants to give a space to the youth to express themselves and to contribute to the development of this country in their own way. Artists will always send out a message, and by doing so they help to change. But let’s not forget that for many of these young artists, it is bling-bling , success and money that attracts most.

Croquemort surrounded by the youth of Torrock village.

The village youth’s hopes
The youth that we meet in the market place in the village Torrock (400 kilometers south of N’Djamena), are really fond of the slammeur (slam artist) Croquemort and they all want to share some words with him. In their eyes I see hope; hope that they can reach out to a future as a musician as well. For now, they are far from the ICT hub, their village is slowly awakening, some youth access (Tecno) Facebook relations – such a contrast with the village market, where the main ICT is bili bili (millet beer) and agriculture the driving motor of the household economy that will also be the plight of most of the youth that now attend school. There will be no jobs for them. The music festival that was held in the village in June this year opened their eyes for music and hence a new dream was born. This dream will turn into an illusion when they return to village life after their schooling, where there will be no e-hub for them.

Living the dream
The artist, is he really living the dream others aspire to? Can he escape from the world of misery by expressing himself? Or is he increasingly conscious of the misery in this world that he gets to know better through the creation of his music and texts, and through the knowledge he gathers on his travels, the people he acquaints with, Facebook and email, etc. More knowledge might in the end not make him live the dream. Instead, it might make his mind endlessly reflecting, not able to stop thinking. But nevertheless, he keeps to his political music, leaving the empty music with bling-bling to others, creating his own illusion of change and possibilities, commenting on and criticizing the e-hub illusions, hence taking risks and hiding his ‘peur’ and hoping for a better future.