The Demographics of Empire by Ittmann Karl; Cordell Dennis D.; Maddox Gregory H. & Dennis D. Cordell & Gregory H. Maddox

Author:Ittmann, Karl; Cordell, Dennis D.; Maddox, Gregory H. & Dennis D. Cordell & Gregory H. Maddox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Published: 2010-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

All who live in Minvoul are deported [déportés]. This deportation is at the origin of our problem today. All people in the department are behind. We were displaced and this displacement created conflicts. . . . Populations who were already there were also deported from Minvoul to make way for the displaced Minkébé populations. . . . When we came from Minkébé, our force was in our [ancestor] relics. We fought mystical battles and there was loss of human life. We no longer have our origins. They were at Minkébé.39

Ango explained how the French colonial administration had irresponsibly decided to displace Minkébé. Because Minkébé was swampy and difficult to get to, the governor had made the decision to close it. But there was another, hidden reason. “At that time we didn’t know what existed at Minkébé. We were displaced wrongly. Why? So we couldn’t benefit from the riches that were at Minkébé.” Now, he concluded, this forest, rich in biodiversity, in flora and fauna, interested the entire world. Thus, in an age of global conservation and increased timber extraction, narratives of displacement provide a way to reconnect to a spiritually (and economically) vital homeland.

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