April 17 is an unforgettable day for Syrians. It is the feast of the Evacuation, of independence, of the departure from France. The French army occupied Syria from 1922 to 1946. It was not a colonization but a mandate. During our childhood, on this holiday, we were forced to listen and repeat the words of Hafez al-Assad, the faithful, the resistant, the comrade, the guide. “Independence is a big word that inspires us to continue the resistance against enemies,” he said. We had several “imperialist enemies”, but number 1 among them was France because of its history with Syria: a colonialist country to be wary of. Studying French was not recommended, it was the language of the dominant, eager to take over our nation. In a huge rally in Damascus, we carried the Syrian flag next to the picture of Hafez al-Assad. Those who did not come out of their homes to express their (compulsory) “joy” at being independent were suspected of being traitors to the fatherland.
We knew that our enemy was the Al-Assad regime, and that the economic crises, the absence of freedom of expression and of democracy were not due to France, but to our leader. On the other hand, what we did not know was that the urban plan of Damascus had been designed by the French. Just like the parliament, the foreigners’ hospital and the town hall.
Not far from this gathering, second-hand books littered the sidewalks, many of them translated from Russian. The Assad regime collaborated with the Soviet Union both militarily and culturally. The invasion of Soviet, anti-Western ideology continued even after the fall of the USSR. This ideology has cost us dearly: it has maintained a nationalist, dictatorial regime, controlling the country with an iron fist.
“Down with France”
Much like Syria’s Independence Day, Niger’s August 3 was surreal as thousands of Nigeriens gathered to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of their independence. “Down with France” and “France must go” were the most repeated slogans. It is completely legitimate to defend oneself against any colonization and occupation, in order to gain one’s sovereignty. And we can understand their anger and pain: Nigeriens live in a poor country, despite a growth rate that jumped after the pandemic. A state that gained its independence in 1960 and where France was replaced by military regimes. Four coups, chaos, corruption and jihadist groups hitting this territory. According to the Global Terrorism Index, the coastal region is the area most affected by terrorism: in 2022, 43% of attacks perpetrated in the world took place in this area, killing 198 people in Niger. Nigeriens are 27 million today, they were 25 million in 2021. The annual GDP does not exceed 15 billion dollars.
But to see the Russian flag dancing in the arms of Nigeriens during this holiday, which was also the case on July 26, during the coup d’etat, while demonstrators attacked the French embassy, raises several questions about the reality of this independence. Demonstrators rejoice in the liberation of “French economic neocolonization” while celebrating the installation of a Russian mafia named Wagner.
A conspiratorial joy
As in Syria, accusing France of being responsible for everything is a pretext invoked by the leaders to escape their responsibilities. Nothing has prevented the Niger state from fighting terrorism or setting up a modern economic system, installing a nuclear reactor, an education system and establishing the rule of law. But, for the conspirators, accomplices – conscious or not – of the current military leaders, France is a scarecrow that is waved to explain all the problems of Niger. They celebrate the fall of Mohamed Bazoum, yet the first president of Niger elected as part of a peaceful democratic transition, but presented as an agent of France. There are hundreds of videos, in French and Arabic, accusing the French of stealing the country’s uranium, and of being present not to fight against jihadist groups, but to maintain their hold on natural resources. In their eyes, the coup d’etat is a nightmare for the French nuclear industry. Titles like “Paris will be plunged into darkness” abound on social networks. Everywhere is posted the hatred of France and the wish that our country collapses after this putsch.
Of course, these are fantasies. France has taken care to diversify its supplies, and Nigerien uranium now represents only around 15% of its imports in this area. But the most important question is how can this hatred of France turn so much to Russia’s advantage? About 15,000 Wagner mercenaries are present in Africa to protect authoritarian regimes, not the freedoms of Africans. When the soldier Ibrahim Traoré, who became president of Burkina Faso after a putsch and who supported the Nigerien coup, declares that “Western slavery in Africa is over”, it is only to celebrate a new submission to the Russians. Ibrahim Traoré was then returning from the Russia-Africa Economic Summit in Saint Petersburg, where Putin announced his desire to increase partnerships in the fields of security, trade and food.
The Syrian lesson
This collaboration will be costly not only to Africa, but also to Europe. Unless we react quickly. Recent history, still in Syria, can serve as a lesson to us. In August 2013, following Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons, France was ready for military intervention, but the United States and the United Kingdom opposed any action. Two years later, Russia officially intervened to save Al-Assad, who had already lost more than 70% of Syrian territory. The price was very high, with hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing to Europe. The Russians have leased the port of Tartous for forty-nine years from 2019. The Hmeimim airbase has been expanded. Part of Syria was thus sold to Putin.
Let’s be realistic. It’s time to choose between Western democracy and a Russian-backed military regime. It’s not plague and cholera. French intervention is by no means a panacea, but if France is an evil, Russia represents a catastrophe in this new cold war which is shaking up spheres of influence on a global scale.
* Writer and poet born in Damascus, Omar Youssef Souleiman took part in the demonstrations against the regime of Bashar el-Assad, but, tracked down by the secret services, had to flee Syria in 2012. A refugee in France, he published with Flammarion The Little Terrorist, The Last Syrian And A room in exile. He publishes in the fall Being French.