Véronique Tadjo, writer
By Aurora M. Alcojor
Writer, illustrator and poet, Véronique Tadjo (1955), originally from Ivory Coast, has a long career as the author of novels, poetry and children’s literature. In Spain it has been published In the company of men (Ed. Mala companies), in which it addresses the ebola crisis that affected Western Africa. We interviewed her on the phone during her stay in Bilbao to present the novel.
Reading his book, the memory of how the media treated the information about Ebola during those months, comes to mind. How did he live it?
At that time he lived in South Africa, so I lived it attached to the news because it is my region. I am from Western Africa and it was terrible. It was a tragic portrait and full of devastation. I think anything like that has never been covered again, as if it were in complete collapse, an apocalyptic place. And this was terrible, because being from there, I knew that many more things were happening than was told in the news.
In the book he says: “Before, death was part of day to day (…), but with the ebola crisis everything changed, even compassion became a death sentence.” What did it mean for families not to be able to say goodbye to their loved ones, not being able to carry out their traditions and rituals?
It was one of the greatest impacts, because the rituals are very important when you have to say goodbye to someone. It is the way to mourning, and mourning is necessary to be able to recover. When these rituals broke, society found disoriented. That is precisely what the medical profession did not understand at the beginning. He did not understand that if you prevent the population from carrying out their rituals, you will not get their collaboration. So the epidemic was getting worse and worse, until this cultural dimension was finally understood and a certain commitment to the population was reached: farewell ceremonies could be done, but in a safe way. This was key to moving towards the end of the pandemic.
Another important actor in the book is nature, specifically a Baobab. Why this prominence?
The first thing you are if you investigate the context of the Ebola epidemic and how it developed is the issue of deforestation. When the forest is destroyed, animals that live in it have to move and begin to live closer to humans. When we break the balance of nature we begin to put ourselves in danger, because some of these animals can bring certain diseases, as with bats. They transport the Ebola virus without being affected, but when the human being or other animals have contact with them, the virus can be transmitted. And it is estimated that this is precisely what happened.
In this, but also in most of his works, it is relevant how he collects orality, expressions and reality of African culture.
For me this aspect was especially important because, as we said at the beginning, the media covered the Ebola epidemic forgetting the humanity of people, as if it were only bodies, as if there was nothing behind them. There was no culture or love or lives. They were just people dying of a terrible disease. So I wanted to claim the richness of people in terms of their culture, their beliefs … and to tell that story I had to collect African orality. Although it is actually universal, because we are all used to that orality when telling stories. I thought that using this formula would be easier to tell the story and that people read it and get something out of it.
In addition to telling people’s stories, in his books he has also collected the stories that have marked the continent, as in The shadow of imana, About the genocide of Rwanda, or in Nelson Mandela, non à l’Avheid! Why do you think it is important to give space to these issues?
I think it is important because we tend to live our lives separately, we think of our problems and forget the rest of the world. Sometimes we are forced to see what is happening – with the news, the radio … – but it is done in such a quick and intense way that it only makes us more angry. We don’t really understand what is happening and we feel hopeless. However, when you use literature, you can be deeper and from there, I think, you can help people better understand the complexity of what happens, to see the connections, even when perhaps they did not want to see them. After the coronavirus, the population realized that there is a connection, because when there is a catastrophe like that, when we face death, danger, suffering and the sadness of losing loved ones, people behave in the same way.
You have lived in several countries of the African continent and sometimes you have declared that you are considered Pan -Africanist. What would be the essence or meaning of this Pan -Africanism today?
I think one of the problems in Africa is nationalism. I think that with more trade or more cultural contacts we would see a better development of the continent, we would see the continent as a whole. Pan -Africanism was attempted at the beginning but, unfortunately, it did not reach its potential. So we have to rethink the ways of connecting our countries again, so that we can become a global force.
If for something it is strong Africa it is because of its youth – that of half of the population is under 18 years old. You have written a lot of youth novel. How are those young people? What do you like to read? In what formats? What is literature for them?
Young literature is still quite new in the continent. We are at the beginning, but has taken off. What is important, I think, is to create a reading culture in people, and you have to do that from childhood, as young as possible, so that they enjoy reading books and are not completely absorbed online and the digital world.
One of his books tells the story of a young ivory who, after a few years out, suffers a strong shock When he returns. You were born in France and then went to live in Africa. How is this experience of living in different cultures? How to get the best of both?
In the book, the protagonist, Nina, returns to Ivory to bury her father and is confronted with a lot of cultural traditions that she first has to understand, then transit and, finally, negotiate with the people around and with himself. It is a way of showing the clash between modernity and tradition. I think that still happens in Africa in general. Some traditions are good and others should disappear, but it is a matter of negotiation and finding the way to stay over time. We must understand that certain behavior has been like this for a long time and that the only way to change it is that people are convinced to do things differently.
Speaking of Ivory Coast, this year there are elections. In the last occasions, the elections have become a focus of instability. What impression does it have for the future?
I love my country, but not so much to politicians. We suffered a lot with post -election violence in the years 2010 and 2011. There were many deaths, confrontations and conflicts and, in my opinion, it was totally unnecessary, we could have avoided it. I have some bitterness, in addition, because what happened was done in the name of “democracy.” Now we have a president who probably appears to his fourth term, when two should have remained, as the Constitution says. (…) It is not that it is not optimistic, but I am extremely disappointed by the fact that so many things can be done in the name of democracy when, in fact, it is not about democracy, but of power.
On the other hand, Ivory Costa stands out for being an important engine within the continent.
Yes, it is a very rich place culturally, and when we look at the economy, it is also doing well. So what is the problem? I think the problem is inequality. There is a lot of poverty and I think that in that sense we could do it much better.
What is the most interesting thing that is happening in the literary scene in Ivory Coast? What recommends us to read, listen, know …?
We have an important tradition. We have great predecessors in literature, such as Ahmou Kourouma or Bernard Dadié. And then we have emerging or already consolidated writers, such as Armand Gauss or Tanella Boni, and a lot of young authors. Poetry is being particularly good in the country. We love poetry, we have a fairly vibrant scene. I would say that I am optimistic about literature in ivory coast and in Africa in general.
