Our “coup de coeur” of the week comes from Alain Licari.
“I’m Monsieur Soumah, I’m Guinean, and I’m 82 years old. Well, I think so. The civil registrar asked my father when I was born, and he said a date like that. Because, you know, in the villages, we registered births whenever we could. So yes, Monsieur Alain, I was born around 1942.
These three buildings were built with the Péchiney factory in 1958 at the time of independence, when Sékou Touré said “No!” to De Gaulle. He wasn’t expecting it, the Old Man! He even forgot his cap. With my family, I came to Fria in 1959 when I was 17. I had a good life here, you know. We had all the modern comforts: water, electricity, all the amenities. You didn’t find that in Guinea. Not even in Conakry. And then time passed. The governments, the multinationals; the stock prices, too. We stayed. Ah, what memories!
Now I must be the oldest in the neighborhood. People know me well around here. I still have a few friends, photos from back then. Let me show you, Mr. Alain.”
Fria, May 2024
