Sonegaly (Senegalese)
Tarika, Son Egal, 1997
(Rasoanaivo)
When we were children, the phrase "the Senegalese will come and eat you" was used to scare us, to make us obey our parents and grandparents. The Senegalese were described as very black, tough and usually male. We were scared to death. My grandfather and father used to talk a lot about them, but at that time we were so scared we did not want to listen to the story till the end.
When I finally became an adult, I realised that we Malagasy were very sensitive about who we were and what our origin was. When my adult friends talk, I still feel this dislike of black people in them, and they still call them all Senegalese.
The time has come to know the truth about this, since it is engraved in the Malagasy people's heart. The generations to come should know better.
To my amazement, very little is written about the story behind this. I had to dig out a lot of documents, interviewees and old photographs, only to reveal a very small part.
My research uncovered the fact that the people we called Senegalese, otherwise known as Tirailleur Sénegalais, were apparently troops of many different nationalities of black people trained by the French in Senegal for use in their wars, not necessarily Senegalese at all. Senegalese had been present in Madagascar since the end of the last century, not just as soldiers but in other work, and had intermarried with the Malagasy. Malagasy soldiers had been trained for use in other countries too - Tirailleur Malgache.
What seems to have been the root cause of all this was the 1947 massacres. I interviewed old people who were directly involved in that fight and also civilians, old women who had been terrorised. They told me horrific stories of torture and pain, showed me horrible scars and told of mental depression. Some could not even speak but were just in tears, still remembering the incidents vividly. Hardly any of the tortured people could remember whether there were white people around or if the French were the ones who gave the orders. They only remembered the 'Senegalese'.
A few knew what some of the blacks were: Comorians, Congolese, Malians, Zulus, people from Réunion, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire... and some remembered that many of the Senegalese died too. Some had Senegalese help them out of their miseries when they were in prison, feeding them in secret when they were not supposed to do so. A few also realised that they were only following orders that had been given by the French, so it was not really their fault.
Although almost all were angry and poured their hearts out, many were able to forgive and wanted to see a new kind of life, blessing me to go ahead with my reconciliation project.
Madagascar, a country which embraces a very strong belief in ancestors and races really learned a bad lesson from all that. Nowadays, politicians often try to trigger some sort of inter-tribal fight when they want their seats in the government - the old 'divide and rule' technique used by colonisers is once again practiced. Over the years and many times, the Malagasy tribes were tempted to fight against each other but always realised how unproductive that was. Fortunately, Malagasy people are spiritually very strong and know this game very well. That is why, so far, the Bosnian style of ethnic cleansing has not yet happened.
Tirailleur Malgache and Senegalais
Oh yes, my topic today is the dark black Senegalese
I was goose pimpled/My entire body was shaking/When I heard the story of torture by the Senegalese/In newspapers, even on the Internet!/The Senegalese beat us, whipped us painfully/Raped our women, looted our property/Oh yes, when shall we start to distinguish/Between good and bad, right and wrong?
Yes, the foreigners' best tactic is to manipulate the black/To fight between themselves! Because the Senegalese were also beaten/Fought back till their death/Fighting for their independence/Obedience in bloodshed/The injured ones were left on their own/We pretended not to see them/Oh yes, did you know that millions of dead corpses/Are lying over there in that little forest?
Oh yes, do you think we blacks should fight against each other too?
But the famous Senegalese orders/We endured them all/Do you want to still keep fighting?/Or bear a grudge forever?/It's been fifty years/Let's change the way we work/All those tricks in politics/Don't let there be more bloodshed/Because the ancestor's blood is sacred/Our land is becoming a desert/We will only have each other to look at.
Oh yes, there are too many who sparkle in appearance/But have no brain or soul!
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