Nov 08, 2018.
What is at 18 km? Nothing else if not Siloé the Catholic Church retreat where we (students of art and culture) did our local excursion.
Since my registration acceptance in the AC LAC (Art and Culture of Letter Art and Communication Department) I have been informed regarding the local excursion by the Chairwoman of the Department Catherine Martins Payne Dicko. This was on October 11.
She told it was scheduled for October 17 on 4 pm. Days later I heard that the time of the departure was moved for 6 pm. I did also heard on October 15 that it was postponed for October 18. The very day of the departure I heard that instead of 6 pm it was 2:30 pm.
Till the last moment, I did not know the place of the excursion. The precise schedule of the activities were hidden to me as well. All that were kept secret and optionally. In other words they may change them any time before they were done.
It was only the very last moment of the excursion that I heard that it would be held in Siloé a place around 18 km of Niamey. Thus we entered in the bus transporting us without me knowing even the direction of the place. I took the bus after doing my first course in the AC LAC ever. It was with Catherine Dicko.
On the way an optional place was taken, we were transported to a place close to Karey Goru, but clearly less than 18 km from Niamey. The place is called Siloé. It is a Catholic luxurious retreat, with all necessary comfort. It was less than 5 miles from UAM.
The architecture of the complex was a mixture of modern and traditional style. Totally the retreat was built with modern architecture with orange painting walls and gray doors. Nevertheless the wall of the big domain was not built in clay giving a feeling of continuity and connection between the people of Siloé-the village and the inhabitants of the domain in normal time the Catholic monks praying in their Church.
When the bus dropped us, few minutes later my classmates were playing football in the yard of the domain. This was before an option was chosen for our hosting. Already all my mates were Elizabeth II and her accomplices mercenaries, they do everything they have been asked to do. They were trained regarding even all the hosting options.
Few minutes later we were packed in a single big room with mattresspealing on each other. We were invited to take one and later two to lie on the ground as bed. After making my bed I went outside breathing air when I saw the mates, Doctorants in luxurious house. Then to have a mate suggest me to ask Professor Antoinette. Few minutes later, I was handed the key of the house 8 on the first story of Bitani complex.
It was a very luxurious two bed rooms with toilets, air condition, fan, shelves, a table and a chair. In the shelf there was a fascinating Bible. I read it many times.
Few minutes later we gathered in the Conference room of the center for the explanation regarding the trip. We were handed the timetable. On it, I read that we would be there between Thursday up to Saturday afternoon. On the program there were activities as Travail sur l'Esprit d' Equipe ( Work on Group Spirit); Techniques de Meditation ( Techniques of Meditation); Connaissance de Soi ( knowing yourself).
It was the next morning that started properly the activities of the excursion. It was really funny. It was with this journey that I discovered that you can spend hours of working without feeling. It was like a game. With those trainings- games there were a perfect understanding between lecturers and students. With this excursion a real team spirit was developed above the academic. It was together with our lecturers that we take the breakfast, the lunch and the dinner in the restaurant of the center.
The menu of the restaurant without being revolutionary comparing to what I was used to in my daily political prisoner life is deeply different. The food is done with lot of care with our Western diet touch. The main problem with the diet is the lack of diversity most often it is done with rice. Sometimes it was followed by mustard, mayonnaise, pealed eggs and some vegetables, especially the fresh pepper. Often a red sauce is used to accompany it. Spaghetti was also served during the journey. At the lunch and dinner a fruit is served. Globally there is no difference between the main meals. The breakfast is totally classic milk, bread, coffee, Lipton, and confuture. The main difference with the classical jail meals is that it is not depressing, and sickening.
Sometimes the lecturers even serve the meals with our mates. With us, they even clean dishes. Like the Chairwoman, Msr. Dicko said it ‘Here we are all equal…’
Every night after the dinner between 20h-21h30 we organized what is called a culture en partage ( Sharing in Culture). It was spectacles, we students organized and leads and the lecturers attended as spectators. Our mates presented divers cultural activities of their choice: theaters, poems, slams, story-telling, and drawings. I discovered that the center had lot of cultural talents. Like I said at my closing speech of the excursion, ‘African Cultural future is in this room ‘.
The end of the cultural activities w did not mean straight sleeping; it is only then that started the peers’ conversations. In the centers close to our dormitories we create groups of conversations. Some gathered to talk about politics. The others evoke all topics around a pot of tea. Romantic couples were around courting. For the first time in Niger my country of imprisonment I felt free, I felt happy.
It was late the night around midnight that I climbed the first story of Bitani building to go in my luxurious dormitory. Never, in Niger in 35 years of incarceration I sleep in an apartment that was the ten thousandsm shadow of my house (Buckingham Palace). Only thinking about that rises in mind incredible joy.
For the first nights in 35 years my nights were peaceful and shorts. Thinking about sleeping did not sound to me as daily torture, with fevers, headaches, etc. There, sleeps means relaxations.
The second day of our visit, we were given a funny and relaxing activity linked with the immediate environment. We were asked to ride centre the circle of around 500 yards diameters between Siloé’s gate and the Niger River. The assignment consists of walking it by narrating each other one story that we should exploit as artistic items and that we would present less than an hour later to our mates in the conference room.
But there my group mates were chosen in very unfriendly fashion with mates chose like the mercenaries jailing me in Niger. Worst they were asked to be disrespectful toward me. At the end of the small riding upon entering in the gate of Siloé a group mate name Iro all of sudden without any reason qualify me of «talkative". We were sharing the roles of the theatre we went to present from our 5 stories and the 5 objects that we took. Then all of sudden he moves to behave disrespectfully toward me during all our minutes of group work. For matter of not ruining the group activity I did not react bitterly to his inappropriate behavior. Still that misunderstanding had big impacts on the play we presented to the mates. The all activity has been even transformed in a bullying party. With the other groups manipulated by Elizabeth II’s mercenaries to perform activities relevant to my imprisonment. Its scenes of humiliations and tortures were replayed under my eyes. It could not be more hurtful. Deep in my flesh I felt it. And in ultimate scene of humiliation a fasle tickets picking up for the group presentations was set. It was done such way that our group would be the last to present after all the groups passed to bully me. It was my worst day, the worst activity of the excursion.
Thankfully, I concentrated myself and our performance was passable. Before the stage, the group mates were even asked to change the script of the theater without even informing me. I was very unhappy to see them presenting another play than the one we prepared.
(L-R) Prince Charles, Abdoulay and Virginie
The first day was the funniest. Our first activity was to present ourselves to our mate that would introduce us to the extended group of the excursion. I had a female mate, Virginia a bright funny and cool Togolese. The few minutes with her was a blessing. I introduced myself somehow to her. And she told me that her name is Virginia Adigbli, after doing aeronautics, she registered in AC-LAC. She plans to be a cartoon movie director.
The afternoon of the second day was dedicated to sport and meditation follows by musics as classical, techno and Hip Hop music. It was really funny that afternoon it rains. It was in the cool air of the rain that we ended the activity. The following night was of tiredness and unhappiness with the mates’ disrespectful scenes.
The last morning started with sport. It was ended with a writing activity titled evidently 'silence'. What it tells us? How do we conceive it?
The Saturday afternoon on 15 pm, we were sitting in the conference room listening our lecturers Mrs. Catherine and Antoinette summarizing the excursion. I spoke at this event and congratulated the lecturers and the Department for the life changing journey in that paradisiacal site. The retreat is closed with the signing of the Charter of the faculty. In the first time, it was presented to us in its main articulations. The main point of the Charter talks about the grant gives to the students of the Department by the Swiss Consulate. But it was written clearly that the student to have it, should be registered to the scolarity of the FLSH. As you all know the money for doing the registration is everything that misses to me, jailed without humanitarian job I am, and the administration of the Department by itself asked us not work.
For me, the problem is not still solved. The amount of the grant is not communicated. But normally cooperation grants are far higher than the Nigerien government one. As illustration the Belgian Consulate undergraduate grant is around CFA 1 million (1 million Pound) without the tuition fees for the university. Then the Swiss grant normally is in the same order. Every calculation being made, for PHD students it is normally around 2 millions. Having asked clarification regarding the grant to Professor Antoinette I could not her another question about the exact sum, it would look odd.
We were in the conference when the driver of the bus that transported us in the centre called Mrs. Dicko regarding the departure time. Thirty minutes later, he was waiting us in Siloé’s yard. It was in hurry and pain that I do my bag. Hard to leave the dormitory I called home for three days. So sweet it was, it was wine to my tongue. On the door I let the key.
Few minutes I read a handed out brochure. I continue that afternoon to Aeroport, where I have hugely bombed with a chemical weapon that gave me a strong fever. I did not sleep of the night.
My regret is: it quickly passed; every day is not like Siloé.
Prince Charles