11. THE GARDEN OF THE FRENCH

The French have always been a populace of idealists. Even today, they work to redress the injustices of society. And the French love women …
They therefore decided to revolutionize the society of others, to give African women economic independence and to free them from slavery to men.

A truly revolutionary project, which belongs to the great secular republican tradition that has made France a beacon of civilization for the whole world.

The problem with the French, however, is that they do not think very much before acting. They are impulsive. Whenever they act it is already too late for thinking, and if by chance there is a beautiful woman around, then they stop thinking altogether, they just think about acting.

Probably God loves the French and wants them to reproduce, and I must say that the world loves the French just as they are, even if they are like “that”.

In Timbuktu I was able to see the result of their civilizing action that illustrates their way of conceiving a social revolution for the Third World. From the conception in the design offices in Paris to its execution in the Malian desert.

The women of the village have formed an association, as everyone does in Timbuktu, because it is the only way to get help from the NGOs. They borrowed land adjacent to the village from the municipality to grow vegetables. The French decided to make 3 wells in the field. They like to go big.
They are 3 large diameter wells capable of producing 11 cubic meters of water per hour. It is a huge amount of water that would be enough to make an oasis with streams flowing continuously.
Truly a single well would have been enough, but when one is enough, why not make three? The French logic is flawless.

They also hired Ibrahim Traore, my well builder, as a consultant agricultural engineer to monitor the project so the women have all the help they need to achieve success.

In order to protect the progress of the agricultural project, the French sponsors forbade the people of the village to come to the wells to get supplies of water for their homes, and they even paid a guardian to keep the garden under control.
Since they haven’t built a well in the village, the women have to continue walking far to bring water home.

Gardening is a time-consuming job that is also hard physical work. Feel free to ask any farmer or even a Sunday gardener. In the desert, cultivation implies a daily and constant commitment to watering.
Plants cannot be without water for more than a few hours or else they will die. How could the women do it? They have to look after their children, prepare food for the family, wash clothes (by hand with water brought from long distances).
Should they also dig, plant and even go to the market to sell their vegetables?

But the problem is even more serious; the French did not think about pumps! They mounted pulleys and buckets on the wells. On 11 cubic meter wells now!
So should And the women pull the water with their arms all day? In short, they have to do the work of mothers, spouses, gardeners, sellers, donkeys and camels. Is that the French vision of women’s emancipation?

This is what happens in Timbuktu when beautiful French idealism becomes reality. A tragedy. Just like the French revolution.

Ibrahim is explaining the situation
see the children pulling the water

The result is very sad because it is clear that they can only draw a very small amount of water in these cornucopias. I have never seen such miserable gardens. The women work with sick children on their backs, they have not earned any money, but  they toil like donkeys.

They are left with the satisfaction of having been freed by the French and of having acquired economic independence from male society.

The garden of the French

The result is somewhat unflattering in comparison with the lush green garden of the Americans, just a few kilometres away.

The American garden

The outcome of the battle of ideals is clear. The American Baptists, animated by religious faith, have done a titanic job, while the secularism of the Republic has only given birth to a handicapped child.

Gentlemen of the French NGO, my fellow citizens, am I to assume that all that matters to you is to spend the money they have given you and justify it with a nice project on paper, then to take your salary? 

These women are human beings, you would never have accepted what you imposed on them for your own wives and daughters.

Why don’t you install a wind pump on one of these wells, they would give 600 litres of water per hour with a breeze of 4 metres per second, which is the average in Timbuktu.

The cost would be only a quarter of that of a single well, 4000 more euros, just one month of your salary.

That would really complete the project and help these women.

Then again, there is so much water, why not allow people to bring it in their homes?

I know that when it comes to women, the French lose their heads, but you have always been good-hearted people, please correct the situation of discomfort that you have created for the inhabitants of this village.

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