52.8 kb

Celebration of the French « Bastille Day »
Remarks by
Ambassador Elisabeth Barbier
14th July 2010
Honorable Ministers,
Dear colleagues, compatriots and friends,
Mabibi na Mabwana,
First of all, let me, together with my husband and the French Embassy Team,
welcome all of you very warmly, and thank you for being here today to celebrate
with us “Bastille Day”, our national day.
Nimefurahi sana kwa kuwakaribisheni hapa, katika nyumbani ya UFaransa,
kwa siku ya Bastille.
14th July, Bastille day, celebrates the 1789 Revolution, and commemorates
(even if the historical truth of this date is often questioned) the processions that
marched through the streets of Paris on the evening of the surrender of the Bastille
prison/fortress, a symbol of arbitrary power.
We are thus celebrating this year the 221st anniversary of the French
Revolution, an occasion for all citizens to unite around the motto of the French
Republic : Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Today, on avenue des Champs-Elysées, the
theme of the traditional military Parade is the 50th anniversary of Africa’s
Independence.
Here, in Nairobi, Bastille Day gives us the opportunity to showcase, for the
benefit of our Kenyan partners and our friends, some of the delicacies of which
French people are very proud: cheese, charcuterie and patisserie, as well as wine
and Champagne. I wish to thank very warmly the French businesses or the
1
companies with strong links with France, who have, this year again, generously
sponsored this function. These are:
•
Total Kenya
•
Bamburi
•
Thales
•
SDV Transami/Bollore
•
Orange/ Telkom Kenya
•
DTDobie
•
Bank of Africa
•
Bigot Flowers
•
Nestle
•
Red Land Roses (catch a beautiful rose on your way out; there are also
beautiful Zena Roses!)
I also wish to thank Alliance Française de Nairobi, for the sound system and
the DJ. Live music is provided this year by George Mutinda and Juma Tutu :
Both were, a couple years ago, finalists of the Spotlight on Kenyan Music
programme, this Alliance Française initiative which aims to promote Kenyan music
rooted in the country’s diverse musical traditions. Their musical careers continue to
flourish. George Mutinda draws his inspiration from traditional Kamba melodies, and
Juma Tutu’s music is a beautiful mix of Afro-Arabic compositions.
In order to pay tribute to the fundamental role played, particularly here in
Kenya, by Non governmental Organisations, we have invited today Wangu Kanja
Foundation and MEGEN (Men for Gender Equality Now) whose efforts to fight gender
based violence we have supported last year, as well as the Forum for African Women
Educationalist Kenya (FAWEK) whose aim is to mobilize stakeholders in order to
provide a positive learning environment where girls and boys are treated equally.
Please feel free to visit their stands, get acquainted with their work, and
maybe figure out how to contribute to the excellent work they are doing.
2
I must also mention the presence today in our midst of a visiting French
parliamentarian, Honorable Christian Ménard, who hails from Brittany and who is a
prominent member of our National Assembly’s Defence Committee.
At the end of my speech, I will confer the French National award of Legion
d’Honneur to a special French citizen, a renown archaeologist, who is also an old
friend of Kenya, Mrs Hélène Roche.
Hélène Roche, who belongs to the French Centre for Scientific Research
(CNRS) has a very close relationship with Kenya : she has lived here and headed
NMK ‘s Archaeology Department in the early nineties, and since then she comes
every year to Kenya as head of the West Turkana Archeological project, which is a
joint project with NMK. Last year she was rewarded in France by the Prix Clio for
Archaeological research abroad, to recognise her contribution to major discoveries on
our common ancestors, our common origins. She has thus greatly contributed to the
valorisation of Kenya’s immense archaeological riches/heritage. Working in close
contact with the Turkana community, she has also mobilized friends in France, with
the support of the French Embassy here, to bring help to some primary schools in
that area.
Let me just mention now a few events of the past 12 months to illustrate the
strengthening of the relationship between France and Kenya. (in presence of Minister
Balala : and I should start by saying that was delighted , two weeks ago, to see in
the Paris subway, le Metro, beautiful
posters promoting tourism in Kenya. The
number of French visitors to Kenya is back to the pre-2008 levels (around 50 000),
and I’m sure it will keep growing !).
We have seen a number of French delegations (business people, members of
Parliament) come to Kenya : MEDEF International came here last September, and
has recently signed an MOU with KEPSA,
the French Parliament’s France/Kenya
friendship group, as well as our assistant Minister for external Trade . A number of
Kenyan Ministers have been to France (livestock, regional development, assistant
Minister for Tourism) , and last but not least, the Right Hon Prime Minister went to
3
Paris on an official visit last October. I must also mentioned that, just a few weeks
ago, the Prime Minister, the Minister of foreign affairs and the Minister of public
works were taking part, in Nice, in the Africa-France Summit.
Our strong partnership with Kenya, as far as development aid is concerned, is getting
stronger and stronger. This is particularly true in the field of renewable energy,
energy more accessible to the wananchi, competitive for the business sector, and
able to create jobs in Kenya. One of the highlights of this partnership was the
conference on « green Energy », which the French development Agency organized
end of last year, with the Ministry of Energy, the ministry of Environment, the Office
of the PM, UNEP and the private sector. To strengthen infrastructures and SMEs in
this field, AFD has allocated more than 226 M Eur to Kenya this very year. Social
sectors are not neglected, of course, and close to 80 M EUR have recently been
allocated by AFD to rural roads (in central Province) and to the Kisumu Urban plan,
which aims at a more inclusive urban development. All these initiatives have brought
Kenya, as well as the East African region, to the fore as far as French development
aid in Africa is concerned.
Last November, we’ve celebrated the 60th anniversary of Alliance française
Nairobi. You know how much France is keen to promote the French language, a
language shared by 200 Millions people all over the world. So we are also working
here, in Kenya, to open up new horizons and, more important even, to open job
opportunities to Kenyan youth willing to learn French.
The promotion of cultural diversity is also one of our obsessions, and I’m
delighted to see the constant growth of our cooperation with Kenya in the field of
culture and heritage. The last illustration was the Seminar we’ve recently organized
in Mombasa, together with the NMK, CHDA and UNESCO, on “heritage, memory and
politics”. It sounds even better in Ki-Swahili : “Utamaduni, Kumbukumbu, Siasa”.
You probably know that the French Embassy in Nairobi also has Somalia in its
area of responsibility. The humanitarian and security situation there is still extremely
4
worrying and a cause of deep concern for the international community and the
neighbouring countries, Kenya in particular, and even Uganda as we’ve just sadly
seen. France, together with the EU and its international partners, is bringing aid to
the population and support the political process in Somalia initiated by the Djibuti
agreement and driven by the TFG. Many French people take part in this effort. They
work for NGOs or for international organizations. Some of them are here today, and I
wish to convey to them the gratitude of the French government.
Sitaki
kuongea
sana,
lakini
nataka
kuwambia
marafiki
yangu
ya
kikenya maneno machache kwa kiswahili (je ne veux pas parler longtemps mais je
veux dire quelques mots en swahili à mes amis kenyans).
Kwa sababu ya urafiki baina ya Kenya na Ufaransa, wafaransa hawatasahau
yaliyotokea baada ya uchaguzi
december 2007. Wafaransa, kama wakenya,
wasingependa mambo hayo yatokee tena.
As a friend of Kenya, who happened to witness the post electoral violence two
years ago, I cannot avoid mentioning the absolute necessity of fundamental reforms,
and the 4th August referendum. Actually, the best way I have found to express
my/our thoughts, our wishes, is to quote a text you all know by heart:
Natukae na udugu, amani na uhuru (may we dwell in unity, peace and liberty)
Natujenge taifa letu
Ee, ndio wajibu wetu
Kenya istahili heshima
Tuungane mikono
Pamoja kazini
Kila siku tuwe na shukrani
5
(Let all with one accord, in common bond united, build this our nation
together and the glory of Kenya, the fruit of our labour fill every heart with
thanksgiving).
You’ve recognized your beautiful national Anthem. It says it all !
Mr Minister, dear friends,
Please allow me now to say a few words, in French, to my compatriots.
Chers amis, bienvenue ici, à la Résidence de France, où, vous le savez, vous
êtes un peu chez vous !
Vous êtes au Kenya les hôtes d’un peuple que vous aimez, d’un pays au
développement duquel, d’une façon ou d’une autre, vous contribuez.
Je vous en rends d’autant plus hommage que vous êtes, chacun de vous, à
votre façon, des ambassadeurs de la France au Kenya. Merci, donc, à vous tous !
Un mot enfin pour les joueurs de l’équipe « France au Kenya », beaucoup
nous quittent cet été. Ce sont :
•
Du consulat : Ingrid Pantall et Anne Gallo-Bobo
•
Du SCAC : Antoine Yvernault et Patrick Parrot
•
De la Chancellerie : Patricia Sauvayre, André Bayonnove, Emilie Bailly,
Benjamin Ballestrière, Pascal Danezan, Renaud Ferrand, Arnaud
Lenglin, Xavier Charbonnel
•
L’attaché de défense, le colonel Robert Esposti,
•
De l’AFD : Jean-Pierre Marcelli, Mathilde Bord-Laurens
•
De la Mission Economique : Rafael Santos ; Slimane/Mehdi Kerchouni
Sans oublier le prof Denis Depommier, du CIRAD, le Dr Bernard Calas, de l’IFRA,
Franck Chabasseur de l’Alliance Française de Mombasa et la Directrice du Primaire au
LDD, Evelyne Palaisy.
6
Chacun d’entre eux, quelles qu’aient été ses fonctions, a apporté sa contribution à
notre jeu collectif, au sein de l’Equipe « France au Kenya », une équipe beaucoup
plus performante, je dois le dire, que ne l’ont été les « Bleus » lors de la coupe du
monde en Afrique du Sud ! Les Bleus have dismally failed their supporters,
particularly here in Kenya !! Je tiens à profiter de cette fête pour remercier
publiquement tous les partants et leur souhaiter, ainsi qu’à leur famille, beaucoup de
bonheur dans la prochaine étape de leur vie.
Kwa Mwisho, MaBibi na MaBwana, dear friends, Honourable Minister,
With this few remarks, please join me now in raising our glasses in a toast to
Pdt Mwai Kibaki, to the people of Kenya, political leaders, civil society and wananchi
together, and to the friendship between our two countries.
Asanteni sana !
Décorations
Hélène Roche, au nom du Président de la République, et en vertu des pouvoirs
qui nous sont conférés, nous vous faisons CHEVALIER de la Légion d’honneur.
7