1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:04:41,949 --> 00:04:44,034 As far back as I can go 4 00:04:45,828 --> 00:04:47,913 there has never been a night 5 00:04:48,831 --> 00:04:50,916 so deep and opaque. 6 00:04:54,336 --> 00:04:57,256 Here, it is the only possible reality. 7 00:05:03,137 --> 00:05:04,680 The beginning 8 00:05:05,389 --> 00:05:06,932 and the end. 9 00:05:10,269 --> 00:05:13,314 I journeyed so long in my mind 10 00:05:14,982 --> 00:05:19,486 but it was so dark in this foreign place 11 00:05:21,238 --> 00:05:25,075 that I lost myself in my dreams, 12 00:05:25,826 --> 00:05:29,413 becoming one with these walls. 13 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:36,420 Cut off from the land of my birth 14 00:05:39,173 --> 00:05:41,675 as if I were dead. 15 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,142 There are thousands of us in this night. 16 00:05:55,022 --> 00:05:58,150 We all bear the same scars. 17 00:06:01,695 --> 00:06:05,991 Uprooted. Ripped out. 18 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:10,162 The spoils of massive plundering. 19 00:06:13,999 --> 00:06:16,502 Today, it's me they have chosen 20 00:06:17,962 --> 00:06:22,716 like their finest and most legitimate victim! 21 00:06:24,134 --> 00:06:28,138 They have named me 26. 22 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,352 Not 24. 23 00:06:33,519 --> 00:06:35,562 Not 25. 24 00:06:35,729 --> 00:06:37,773 Not 30. 25 00:06:42,236 --> 00:06:44,738 Just 26. 26 00:12:44,807 --> 00:12:46,767 26. 27 00:12:49,770 --> 00:12:53,482 Why didn't they call me by my real name? 28 00:12:53,649 --> 00:12:55,651 Don't they know it? 29 00:12:57,319 --> 00:12:58,904 "You can leave now! 30 00:12:59,780 --> 00:13:02,908 26, go back home!" 31 00:13:06,328 --> 00:13:09,707 Return to the surface of time... 32 00:13:12,793 --> 00:13:18,299 leave behind my brothers, prone, ignored deep in the unnamable. 33 00:13:22,261 --> 00:13:24,138 Go back home? 34 00:13:24,722 --> 00:13:27,433 What awaits me elsewhere? 35 00:15:37,688 --> 00:15:40,816 Leave the kingdom of the night 36 00:15:42,234 --> 00:15:43,902 to enter another. 37 00:15:47,614 --> 00:15:52,619 My head is still assailed by the rattle of chains. 38 00:15:56,540 --> 00:16:01,545 I have in my mouth an aftertaste of the ocean. 39 00:16:04,632 --> 00:16:09,053 In several languages, these memories whisper in my ear 40 00:16:10,971 --> 00:16:17,811 the full weight of a past of which I am the trance, the trace. 41 00:16:23,067 --> 00:16:24,693 I'm torn 42 00:16:25,736 --> 00:16:28,781 between the fear of not being recognized by anyone 43 00:16:28,989 --> 00:16:32,284 and not recognizing anything. 44 00:20:30,397 --> 00:20:32,232 Ladies and gentlemen... 45 00:20:32,399 --> 00:20:34,985 Mr. President of the Republic of Benin... 46 00:20:36,654 --> 00:20:37,988 your highnesses... 47 00:20:39,865 --> 00:20:41,325 dear guests... 48 00:22:27,014 --> 00:22:29,058 Is this the end of the journey? 49 00:22:34,104 --> 00:22:36,732 Everything is so strange. 50 00:22:40,903 --> 00:22:47,368 Far removed from the country I saw in my dreams. 51 00:23:02,716 --> 00:23:05,052 My head is spinning. 52 00:23:14,436 --> 00:23:18,482 I give myself up to this tropical caress 53 00:23:21,902 --> 00:23:25,406 to the smell of childhood, a road to myself. 54 00:24:36,894 --> 00:24:41,315 I did not expect to see daylight again. 55 00:25:19,436 --> 00:25:21,438 Statue of King Ghezo. 56 00:25:23,273 --> 00:25:24,608 Designation: 57 00:25:24,817 --> 00:25:27,778 anthropo-zoomorphic royal statue. 58 00:25:29,697 --> 00:25:30,823 Medium: 59 00:25:31,824 --> 00:25:33,075 painted wood, 60 00:25:33,742 --> 00:25:34,868 metal, 61 00:25:35,035 --> 00:25:36,203 fibers. 62 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,331 Weight: 63 00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:40,916 220 kilos. 64 00:25:41,250 --> 00:25:42,751 Condition: 65 00:25:44,003 --> 00:25:46,088 average condition overall. 66 00:25:46,547 --> 00:25:49,466 The pictorial layer presents gaps. 67 00:25:50,676 --> 00:25:54,138 The sculpture is stable despite cracks. 68 00:25:54,847 --> 00:25:59,518 The metal is stable, although oxidized and deformed. 69 00:26:04,106 --> 00:26:05,482 Description: 70 00:26:05,649 --> 00:26:09,153 this statue is a representation of a Bo , 71 00:26:09,778 --> 00:26:12,323 a power-figure of King Ghezo. 72 00:26:14,992 --> 00:26:18,704 The iron blades covering the body of the statue 73 00:26:18,871 --> 00:26:23,876 allude to metals, the symbol of the Vodun Gû , 74 00:26:24,752 --> 00:26:29,048 the Vodun of iron and, by extension, of war. 75 00:28:39,970 --> 00:28:41,138 Condition: 76 00:28:42,765 --> 00:28:47,102 good structural condition despite cracks and missing parts. 77 00:28:51,815 --> 00:28:53,025 Description: 78 00:28:53,484 --> 00:28:58,781 this throne was taken from Cana, less than 20 kilometers from Abomey. 79 00:28:59,990 --> 00:29:03,451 The arrangement of the sculpted characters shows 80 00:29:03,452 --> 00:29:06,038 that this work has Yoruba origins, 81 00:29:06,205 --> 00:29:07,873 and was made for the king. 82 00:29:10,751 --> 00:29:15,506 The upper part of the throne depicts the king under his sunshade, 83 00:29:15,673 --> 00:29:17,883 surrounded by his maidservants. 84 00:29:21,303 --> 00:29:23,305 On the level below, 85 00:29:23,514 --> 00:29:26,058 a line of shackled slaves 86 00:29:26,225 --> 00:29:29,520 alludes to two major characteristics of the kingdom. 87 00:29:30,104 --> 00:29:32,690 Its expansionist policies 88 00:29:32,982 --> 00:29:36,819 and the enslavement of the population in conquered regions. 89 00:30:42,384 --> 00:30:43,844 Statue of King Glele. 90 00:30:47,139 --> 00:30:48,349 Condition: 91 00:30:48,932 --> 00:30:50,893 average condition overall. 92 00:30:51,477 --> 00:30:54,938 Peeling and defects in certain areas, 93 00:30:55,105 --> 00:30:56,732 particularly on the head. 94 00:30:57,399 --> 00:30:58,984 Keep under observation. 95 00:31:13,582 --> 00:31:17,169 An asen, or sinuka, its real name in Fongbe, 96 00:31:17,962 --> 00:31:21,548 was intended to perpetuate the memory of the dead. 97 00:31:28,222 --> 00:31:31,016 Every deceased person is entitled to a sinuka . 98 00:31:33,018 --> 00:31:36,563 It symbolizes an accomplished life on earth 99 00:31:36,730 --> 00:31:39,775 and integration into the world of the ancestors. 100 00:31:49,910 --> 00:31:51,328 Not by the fin. 101 00:31:52,579 --> 00:31:53,998 Not the head. 102 00:32:00,587 --> 00:32:02,298 Don't let go. Hold it. 103 00:32:03,716 --> 00:32:04,925 Paul, hold it. 104 00:32:06,302 --> 00:32:08,387 Stay on this side to hold it. 105 00:32:15,102 --> 00:32:16,854 Statue of King Béhanzin. 106 00:32:19,273 --> 00:32:20,524 Description: 107 00:32:21,108 --> 00:32:23,652 this statue depicts Béhanzin, 108 00:32:23,819 --> 00:32:28,532 King of Dahomey from 1890 to 1894. 109 00:32:29,950 --> 00:32:33,495 Béhanzin's coat of arms featured a shark 110 00:32:33,662 --> 00:32:36,749 in memory of the words he uttered, 111 00:32:36,915 --> 00:32:41,420 announcing to his people his intention to wage war on the French... 112 00:32:46,675 --> 00:32:50,679 "The shark has been angered and the ocean has been clouded." 113 00:38:06,870 --> 00:38:08,872 We have centuries ahead of us. 114 00:38:09,999 --> 00:38:13,627 If our conservation efforts so far 115 00:38:14,461 --> 00:38:17,089 failed to reassure you in the long term, 116 00:38:17,298 --> 00:38:19,383 we will do what it takes. 117 00:38:19,550 --> 00:38:23,637 What you have seen demonstrates our commitment and determination 118 00:38:23,846 --> 00:38:28,225 to do things properly, abiding by all standards. 119 00:38:29,059 --> 00:38:30,686 We shall work 120 00:38:31,228 --> 00:38:35,482 for the best conservation of what stayed here, 121 00:38:35,649 --> 00:38:38,235 what has returned and what will return. 122 00:38:44,783 --> 00:38:47,828 There's an asen here that is intriguing. 123 00:38:48,954 --> 00:38:55,169 For researchers and traditionalists alike, it continues to be a subject of debate. 124 00:38:55,336 --> 00:39:00,924 How was it possible for Dodds to carry off the asen of King Béhanzin? 125 00:39:02,134 --> 00:39:04,720 King Béhanzin was still alive 126 00:39:05,679 --> 00:39:07,890 when Dodds entered the royal palaces. 127 00:39:08,057 --> 00:39:11,018 A King must not see his asen . 128 00:39:11,185 --> 00:39:13,479 A living being may not see their asen . 129 00:39:14,355 --> 00:39:17,566 Our researchers may be on the right track 130 00:39:17,775 --> 00:39:20,361 when they say that the court soothsayer, 131 00:39:20,527 --> 00:39:22,237 the soothsayer Guédégué, 132 00:39:23,072 --> 00:39:25,157 had questioned the oracles 133 00:39:25,366 --> 00:39:29,161 and informed the King that he would lose the war. 134 00:39:31,622 --> 00:39:34,667 The response was always the same. 135 00:39:34,833 --> 00:39:38,921 "Your Majesty, fight like a worthy son of Dahomey, 136 00:39:39,088 --> 00:39:41,298 but you will lose this war." 137 00:39:55,813 --> 00:39:58,440 Did you know thousands of Beninese artifacts 138 00:39:58,607 --> 00:40:00,109 were held overseas? 139 00:40:00,275 --> 00:40:03,696 If so, at what point in your life, did you find out? 140 00:40:03,946 --> 00:40:06,240 To answer your question, I'd say, 141 00:40:06,407 --> 00:40:09,159 during my childhood, I grew up with Disney, 142 00:40:09,284 --> 00:40:11,286 I grew up watching Avatar , 143 00:40:11,453 --> 00:40:14,248 I grew up watching Tom & Jerry , 144 00:40:14,415 --> 00:40:19,169 but I didn't grow up watching an animated movie 145 00:40:19,336 --> 00:40:21,422 that focused on Béhanzin, 146 00:40:21,588 --> 00:40:24,717 that focused on our cultural heritage. 147 00:40:24,883 --> 00:40:28,637 During my childhood therefore, I was never made aware 148 00:40:28,804 --> 00:40:31,098 that artifacts belonging to us 149 00:40:31,265 --> 00:40:33,309 had been deported and... 150 00:40:34,101 --> 00:40:36,395 would return who knows when. 151 00:40:36,562 --> 00:40:40,274 So I grew up completely ignorant that my heritage, 152 00:40:40,441 --> 00:40:42,026 my culture, my education, 153 00:40:42,192 --> 00:40:46,488 my life and soul had been kept overseas for centuries. 154 00:40:46,905 --> 00:40:47,906 You understand? 155 00:40:48,073 --> 00:40:51,118 I'd been told in high school but partially, 156 00:40:51,285 --> 00:40:57,374 because our teachers used to say in social science classes, 157 00:40:57,583 --> 00:41:00,252 "A lot of things were stolen from us." 158 00:41:00,419 --> 00:41:05,507 By "a lot of things," I got it into my head these were "things." 159 00:41:06,425 --> 00:41:08,636 I didn't know they were treasures, 160 00:41:08,802 --> 00:41:10,471 only that they were things. 161 00:41:10,679 --> 00:41:13,015 To answer the first question, I didn't know. 162 00:41:13,641 --> 00:41:17,269 In primary school, it was the history of victors and vanquished. 163 00:41:17,478 --> 00:41:19,104 That's what we got. 164 00:41:20,272 --> 00:41:25,736 But when I heard about the return of this stuff... 165 00:41:26,070 --> 00:41:29,531 I call them "stuff" because so far it... 166 00:41:30,324 --> 00:41:32,576 I feel nothing with regard to... 167 00:41:34,078 --> 00:41:34,995 these statuettes. 168 00:41:35,162 --> 00:41:37,831 I call them that since I feel nothing. 169 00:41:37,998 --> 00:41:41,085 90% of Beninese heritage... 170 00:41:42,252 --> 00:41:44,546 Careful with your statistics. 171 00:41:44,713 --> 00:41:46,382 I reiterate, 90%! 172 00:41:46,548 --> 00:41:47,967 I weigh my words. 90%. 173 00:41:48,133 --> 00:41:50,177 - All our heritage, meaning? - Our heritage. 174 00:41:50,344 --> 00:41:52,054 - Only 10% is here? - Exactly. 175 00:41:52,930 --> 00:41:57,518 When you say that 90% of our cultural heritage 176 00:41:57,685 --> 00:42:00,604 is overseas, I don't think you're right. 177 00:42:01,981 --> 00:42:05,275 Cultural heritage is composed of material 178 00:42:05,442 --> 00:42:07,569 and immaterial heritage. 179 00:42:08,195 --> 00:42:11,407 Now, part of our material heritage 180 00:42:11,615 --> 00:42:13,701 is in other countries. 181 00:42:13,909 --> 00:42:15,995 But our immaterial heritage, 182 00:42:16,161 --> 00:42:21,208 our dances, traditions and know-how are still in our country! 183 00:42:30,009 --> 00:42:33,429 To go see these 26 works 184 00:42:33,637 --> 00:42:35,723 is a patriotic act. Why? 185 00:42:35,889 --> 00:42:38,434 For me, it's about more than pride. 186 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,811 I remember last Sunday, 187 00:42:41,020 --> 00:42:44,315 when I went to the Palais to see the 26 works, 188 00:42:44,523 --> 00:42:46,942 I cried for fifteen minutes. 189 00:42:47,151 --> 00:42:48,694 I was like, wow! 190 00:42:57,828 --> 00:43:00,331 I cried so much that... 191 00:43:00,497 --> 00:43:01,665 I was taught... 192 00:43:02,583 --> 00:43:07,796 - In school, the king's throne... - We all have our own sensibility. 193 00:43:09,465 --> 00:43:11,884 I cried because I said to myself, 194 00:43:12,051 --> 00:43:15,179 Wow, look how our ancestors... 195 00:43:15,387 --> 00:43:19,642 The ingenuity of our ancestors, especially for the throne of King Ghezo. 196 00:43:20,392 --> 00:43:25,230 If you go see the paintings and sculptures of Benin, 197 00:43:25,397 --> 00:43:27,608 it's not for amusement. 198 00:43:27,816 --> 00:43:32,696 But I also agree with the fellow who said it's an insult. 199 00:43:32,863 --> 00:43:35,532 Out of 7,000 works, they bring back 26. 200 00:43:35,699 --> 00:43:38,077 And what hurts me the most 201 00:43:38,285 --> 00:43:41,747 is the god Gû , god of iron, whom we asked for 202 00:43:41,914 --> 00:43:44,208 but we were told to wait. 203 00:43:47,753 --> 00:43:49,213 A historic day. 204 00:43:49,380 --> 00:43:53,342 Experiencing this moment is very moving. 205 00:43:53,467 --> 00:43:54,677 Special. 206 00:43:59,264 --> 00:44:01,433 It's a moment of great emotion 207 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:02,643 and joy. 208 00:44:02,810 --> 00:44:04,561 And it's a response... 209 00:44:06,105 --> 00:44:09,942 sent out to those who were skeptical 210 00:44:11,527 --> 00:44:14,780 when the issue of restitution 211 00:44:15,447 --> 00:44:16,740 was first raised. 212 00:44:17,533 --> 00:44:21,578 Some people, including some Beninese, 213 00:44:21,745 --> 00:44:23,455 claimed that 214 00:44:24,248 --> 00:44:29,545 Benin did not possess the means, either financially, 215 00:44:30,504 --> 00:44:34,383 materially or in human resources, to look after these works. 216 00:44:35,926 --> 00:44:37,928 The works are here now, 217 00:44:38,095 --> 00:44:41,473 so what role can you still play 218 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:43,475 in the whole process? 219 00:44:45,519 --> 00:44:48,480 Well, the role I have to play 220 00:44:48,647 --> 00:44:50,691 is to pass the torch 221 00:44:51,317 --> 00:44:54,862 because I am already advanced in age 222 00:44:55,029 --> 00:44:58,365 and there has to be a younger generation 223 00:44:58,574 --> 00:45:01,118 in whom we place our trust. 224 00:45:01,660 --> 00:45:04,997 That generation is already there to take up the torch. 225 00:45:05,164 --> 00:45:08,250 That would be my ultimate satisfaction. 226 00:45:10,878 --> 00:45:13,672 I don't think it's in any way historic. 227 00:45:13,839 --> 00:45:16,425 It's a purely political event. 228 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:20,804 We all know that an ancestor of our president, Patrice Talon, 229 00:45:20,971 --> 00:45:25,392 was one of the interpreters who facilitated the plunder. 230 00:45:25,643 --> 00:45:28,896 And now he's back to bring them home to us 231 00:45:29,063 --> 00:45:31,482 but just a tiny fraction. 232 00:45:31,649 --> 00:45:33,859 That shows the complexity of things 233 00:45:34,068 --> 00:45:38,280 and that they just want to increase their popularity 234 00:45:38,447 --> 00:45:40,658 with us, the general population. 235 00:45:41,158 --> 00:45:43,285 Because if we need to... 236 00:45:44,995 --> 00:45:46,872 If we need to act more 237 00:45:47,039 --> 00:45:51,502 in terms of teaching our culture, meaning our history, 238 00:45:51,710 --> 00:45:54,755 I don't think this is where we should begin. 239 00:45:54,964 --> 00:45:58,175 The aim is not to make people in Benin happy. 240 00:45:58,342 --> 00:46:01,261 The aim is, in fact, to gratify France 241 00:46:01,428 --> 00:46:03,931 by showing a positive image of France, 242 00:46:04,098 --> 00:46:06,100 which is losing ground. 243 00:46:06,308 --> 00:46:09,770 France is losing its power in Africa. 244 00:46:10,229 --> 00:46:13,190 Macron didn't do this because we asked. 245 00:46:13,357 --> 00:46:15,150 He did it to boost his brand. 246 00:46:15,442 --> 00:46:19,029 Political or not, it's a historic event that will allow... 247 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:23,742 historians and artists to reappropriate the history, 248 00:46:23,909 --> 00:46:26,662 to be able to work on it 249 00:46:26,829 --> 00:46:29,164 and to be able to produce works 250 00:46:29,373 --> 00:46:31,875 and produce documentation 251 00:46:32,042 --> 00:46:33,627 based on restituted works. 252 00:46:33,794 --> 00:46:36,964 I agree with the idea that it's a historic act. 253 00:46:37,131 --> 00:46:39,550 Posters everywhere, all about this, 254 00:46:39,758 --> 00:46:42,970 like there are no more empty bellies in this country, 255 00:46:43,137 --> 00:46:46,724 It's all about this, and that's fine. It's fine. 256 00:46:46,890 --> 00:46:48,350 But don't... 257 00:46:48,851 --> 00:46:52,938 Let's be aware that this is a savage insult. 258 00:46:54,106 --> 00:46:55,607 Restituting 26 works 259 00:46:55,816 --> 00:46:57,735 out of 7,000 is an insult. 260 00:46:59,611 --> 00:47:00,696 Go ahead. 261 00:47:00,863 --> 00:47:02,072 Hello, everybody. 262 00:47:02,239 --> 00:47:04,783 My name's Diane. I'm a filmmaker. 263 00:47:04,950 --> 00:47:09,121 I listened with great interest to what everybody had to say, 264 00:47:09,288 --> 00:47:12,374 and this talk of insults disgusts me, in fact. 265 00:47:12,541 --> 00:47:17,755 Because you're denigrating the work of President Talon. 266 00:47:17,921 --> 00:47:23,177 First you say that he's courageous, and he's done a lot of hard work. 267 00:47:23,344 --> 00:47:25,262 Then you talk about insults. 268 00:47:26,138 --> 00:47:30,142 You have artifacts coming back home after so many years. 269 00:47:30,309 --> 00:47:32,436 I'll say this in Fon... 270 00:47:35,522 --> 00:47:40,569 In fact, it's because these 26 works are back here already 271 00:47:40,736 --> 00:47:45,741 that you can run your mouths off, saying it's an insult. 272 00:47:46,533 --> 00:47:48,661 If they hadn't given anything... 273 00:47:51,747 --> 00:47:54,500 Start by accepting the little you have, 274 00:47:54,667 --> 00:47:58,087 then develop a technique to get the others back! 275 00:48:00,255 --> 00:48:02,341 Look at how we think... 276 00:48:02,549 --> 00:48:05,970 They take from us more than 7,000 pieces 277 00:48:06,845 --> 00:48:08,514 and they restitute 26. 278 00:48:08,681 --> 00:48:12,059 - We consider it's a start. - And we're happy. 279 00:48:12,226 --> 00:48:14,269 So in 100 years, I guess... 280 00:48:14,436 --> 00:48:16,438 It's been over 100 years, right? 281 00:48:16,647 --> 00:48:20,109 - In 100 years, they'll restitute two... - Another two. 282 00:48:21,110 --> 00:48:22,945 We won't be here then! 283 00:48:23,654 --> 00:48:24,738 Right? 284 00:48:24,905 --> 00:48:27,658 In 200 years, maybe four more. 285 00:48:28,784 --> 00:48:31,745 We won't be here. Where's this going? 286 00:48:31,870 --> 00:48:35,124 The simple fact of having to ask is the problem. 287 00:48:35,290 --> 00:48:37,543 They came and tore that from us! 288 00:48:39,253 --> 00:48:44,258 And they conditioned us never to think we can tear it back 289 00:48:44,925 --> 00:48:46,885 by any means but diplomacy, 290 00:48:47,052 --> 00:48:48,679 behind-the-scenes deals. 291 00:48:48,846 --> 00:48:51,932 And you have no idea what's been signed away. 292 00:48:52,141 --> 00:48:53,642 So to me... 293 00:48:53,767 --> 00:48:58,981 we are still stuck in the pattern mapped out by the colonizers, 294 00:48:59,148 --> 00:49:01,775 claiming that things have evolved... 295 00:49:01,984 --> 00:49:04,069 No! We need a revolution! 296 00:49:04,236 --> 00:49:06,155 We need mobilization in Africa, 297 00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:10,451 widespread mobilization so everything is given back to us. 298 00:49:10,951 --> 00:49:13,537 And for us to be able to protect it, 299 00:49:13,704 --> 00:49:16,498 so we can tell our history to our children! 300 00:49:16,665 --> 00:49:17,875 Thank you. 301 00:49:22,296 --> 00:49:24,214 The return of these works, 302 00:49:25,257 --> 00:49:29,803 of these treasures, is not perceptibly 303 00:49:30,054 --> 00:49:31,639 the doing of Patrice Talon. 304 00:49:31,805 --> 00:49:33,599 Be aware, it's the... 305 00:49:34,725 --> 00:49:37,061 potentially silent wish... 306 00:49:38,687 --> 00:49:41,523 It's the materialization... 307 00:49:43,275 --> 00:49:45,402 of bygone revolts. 308 00:49:45,569 --> 00:49:48,906 It's the accomplishment of Bio Guéra, 309 00:49:49,031 --> 00:49:50,741 Béhanzin and the Amazons. 310 00:49:50,991 --> 00:49:53,577 It's all of those energies 311 00:49:53,744 --> 00:49:56,914 coming together today in the accomplishment 312 00:49:57,164 --> 00:49:59,375 of a step in the march 313 00:49:59,541 --> 00:50:02,127 of our people toward its own identity. 314 00:50:02,378 --> 00:50:04,046 If I have to state 315 00:50:04,213 --> 00:50:06,131 the intention around all that, 316 00:50:06,298 --> 00:50:08,509 I'd say, at first sight, 317 00:50:08,717 --> 00:50:11,512 it's the intention for self-determination. 318 00:50:11,679 --> 00:50:15,015 The intention for self-determination of a whole people. 319 00:50:15,182 --> 00:50:20,521 I'd rather not heap that on Patrice Talon. It's too much to ask of him. 320 00:50:20,688 --> 00:50:23,065 Where I am is where I must be? 321 00:50:26,318 --> 00:50:27,903 I wonder... 322 00:50:30,864 --> 00:50:33,867 in the conviction that it will change nothing 323 00:50:34,034 --> 00:50:40,416 in the present-under-construction that is history. 324 00:50:48,215 --> 00:50:53,178 I feel attracted by something from ancient times, 325 00:50:57,266 --> 00:50:58,851 a sort of invitation. 326 00:51:02,688 --> 00:51:06,483 Perhaps a new beginning. 327 00:53:19,408 --> 00:53:20,701 Hello, everybody. 328 00:53:21,327 --> 00:53:22,661 I'm Ouemeho, Rose. 329 00:53:22,828 --> 00:53:26,832 I've listened carefully to all that's been said from the start. 330 00:53:26,999 --> 00:53:31,670 First of all, I'd like to emphasize the fact that 331 00:53:31,837 --> 00:53:33,672 all you Beninese... 332 00:53:33,839 --> 00:53:35,341 All of us, Beninese? 333 00:53:35,507 --> 00:53:40,095 Okay, all of us, Beninese, who are here today, 334 00:53:42,306 --> 00:53:44,308 we don't realize that... 335 00:53:45,184 --> 00:53:48,562 the colonizers made us slaves of ourselves. 336 00:53:48,771 --> 00:53:49,855 To begin with... 337 00:53:50,689 --> 00:53:53,108 Even our languages. We can't... 338 00:53:53,275 --> 00:53:56,320 I can't talk in my own language, for example, 339 00:53:56,487 --> 00:53:58,364 and say all I can say. 340 00:53:58,530 --> 00:54:01,241 All I want to say. I can't say it. 341 00:54:01,367 --> 00:54:05,204 Because they made us slaves of our own language, 342 00:54:05,412 --> 00:54:07,498 to begin with. The colonizers! 343 00:54:08,248 --> 00:54:12,252 Normally, Fon, Nago and the other languages 344 00:54:12,419 --> 00:54:15,965 should be part of our education system. 345 00:54:16,882 --> 00:54:21,178 Even our own culture is not learned in our own language. 346 00:54:21,387 --> 00:54:23,681 We learned it in French. 347 00:54:24,431 --> 00:54:28,978 I'm speaking French but I'm not French. I'm from Abomey. 348 00:54:39,905 --> 00:54:43,450 The education system did not fail to mention 349 00:54:44,743 --> 00:54:49,331 the treasures but it did not mention them by name. 350 00:54:49,999 --> 00:54:52,918 We were told our parents were stolen from us, 351 00:54:53,085 --> 00:54:54,878 our able-bodied men went away... 352 00:54:55,045 --> 00:54:57,589 And they sidetracked us 353 00:54:58,424 --> 00:55:01,343 by putting in the system of education 354 00:55:01,927 --> 00:55:05,806 facts that don't engage us in any way! 355 00:55:06,265 --> 00:55:10,853 And curiously, that sucked out our capacity for excellence. 356 00:55:11,103 --> 00:55:12,354 In other words... 357 00:55:15,107 --> 00:55:16,483 In other words... 358 00:55:17,067 --> 00:55:20,571 when you are able to quote Aristotle, 359 00:55:20,738 --> 00:55:23,615 to quote Plato, to quote whatever... 360 00:55:24,116 --> 00:55:25,617 you're a genius. 361 00:55:25,826 --> 00:55:28,954 I always had issues with my teachers, 362 00:55:29,121 --> 00:55:32,833 for whom an inability to quote those people 363 00:55:33,000 --> 00:55:35,210 invalidated my essays' arguments, 364 00:55:35,377 --> 00:55:37,046 and that's unacceptable! 365 00:55:38,672 --> 00:55:40,507 It's totally biased! 366 00:55:41,175 --> 00:55:43,427 Nelson Mandela said education 367 00:55:43,594 --> 00:55:47,389 is the most powerful weapon to save the world. Taking it from there... 368 00:55:48,015 --> 00:55:50,434 We have these 26 artifacts now. 369 00:55:50,643 --> 00:55:54,938 The Palais de la Marina is open for people to view them. 370 00:55:55,105 --> 00:55:59,401 But for children in schools and high schools today, 371 00:55:59,568 --> 00:56:05,532 what funding has been put in place to allow them to visit? 372 00:56:05,699 --> 00:56:07,868 Children who happen to be 373 00:56:08,035 --> 00:56:10,996 in a remote village, for example, 374 00:56:11,163 --> 00:56:12,790 how will they come visit? 375 00:56:12,956 --> 00:56:16,377 What system is there for them to come and visit? 376 00:56:16,543 --> 00:56:18,879 So that they're given the facts, 377 00:56:19,004 --> 00:56:21,674 and by themselves, with their imagination, 378 00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:25,552 they can create their history, reconnect with their culture. 379 00:56:25,719 --> 00:56:29,181 For so long, we were told we descended from slaves. 380 00:56:29,348 --> 00:56:32,101 But I descend from Amazons and I'm proud! 381 00:56:32,267 --> 00:56:35,562 Do policies with regard to education, 382 00:56:36,605 --> 00:56:40,484 with regard to promoting the development 383 00:56:40,693 --> 00:56:44,028 of a culture of visiting "museums"... 384 00:56:44,029 --> 00:56:46,281 Do we have that in Benin? No. 385 00:56:46,448 --> 00:56:50,703 We must not dissociate the social aspect 386 00:56:50,869 --> 00:56:52,705 from the economic aspect. 387 00:56:52,871 --> 00:56:54,623 How many people in Benin 388 00:56:54,790 --> 00:56:59,128 are assured of three meals a day? 389 00:56:59,378 --> 00:57:02,881 If we want people in Benin, from now on, 390 00:57:03,048 --> 00:57:07,386 to develop the habit of visiting museums, 391 00:57:07,553 --> 00:57:11,015 it's good for the economy, sure, but we have to boost 392 00:57:11,140 --> 00:57:13,100 workers' purchasing power, 393 00:57:13,267 --> 00:57:16,812 so that the working and middle classes can afford it, 394 00:57:16,979 --> 00:57:19,273 so that the lady selling talé-talé outside 395 00:57:19,440 --> 00:57:22,609 can educate herself first 396 00:57:22,776 --> 00:57:26,822 to pass it on to the little boy she's raising at home, 397 00:57:26,989 --> 00:57:30,367 so he gets into the habit of visiting museums. 398 00:57:32,995 --> 00:57:36,582 The fact that you focus the issue on the word "museum" 399 00:57:36,749 --> 00:57:38,125 is a mistake. 400 00:57:39,668 --> 00:57:42,338 Museums are a Western institution. 401 00:57:42,838 --> 00:57:43,881 I'm Beninese. 402 00:57:44,381 --> 00:57:49,637 These works were initially intended for rituals of worship. 403 00:57:50,220 --> 00:57:53,432 We had our way of keeping things 404 00:57:53,682 --> 00:57:56,226 and conceiving things that we have forgotten. 405 00:57:56,393 --> 00:57:57,519 Mr. Gael, please, 406 00:57:57,686 --> 00:58:00,522 President Talon was right to exhibit them here. 407 00:58:00,689 --> 00:58:02,941 If we took them back to Abomey, 408 00:58:03,150 --> 00:58:06,070 the sacred aspect would automatically be highlighted. 409 00:58:06,278 --> 00:58:07,655 Drastically! 410 00:58:09,615 --> 00:58:14,745 Personally, I wouldn't go near them. automatically I'd be scared! 411 00:58:14,912 --> 00:58:18,248 It's to desacralize them. They're works of art! 412 00:58:19,083 --> 00:58:21,335 It's art. Nothing but art! 413 00:58:23,295 --> 00:58:27,508 We live in a country where we're all 100% hypocrites. 414 00:58:27,675 --> 00:58:28,634 Here's why. 415 00:58:28,801 --> 00:58:31,887 The young lady says that if she sees the sacred aspect, 416 00:58:32,054 --> 00:58:33,180 it will scare her. 417 00:58:33,389 --> 00:58:38,310 But we all know that after church, 95% of people practice Vodun. 418 00:58:39,269 --> 00:58:41,230 Let's stop deluding ourselves. 419 00:58:42,815 --> 00:58:43,983 Let's not delude ourselves. 420 00:58:44,149 --> 00:58:46,652 Why are we so scared of Vodun now? 421 00:58:47,695 --> 00:58:49,029 Where's this fear from? 422 00:58:49,196 --> 00:58:52,032 What was looted more than a century ago 423 00:58:52,199 --> 00:58:53,409 is our soul. 424 00:58:55,202 --> 00:58:56,787 The people's soul. 425 00:58:57,496 --> 00:59:00,749 It's our ability to be proud, 426 00:59:00,916 --> 00:59:06,213 to identify with our own essence that was looted. 427 00:59:06,380 --> 00:59:09,258 The life was taken out of these works. 428 00:59:09,425 --> 00:59:11,677 Let's give back the life that was taken. 429 01:01:40,451 --> 01:01:42,453 Night again. 430 01:02:10,397 --> 01:02:11,982 Atlantic, 431 01:02:12,149 --> 01:02:15,944 shores of the wound. 432 01:02:23,285 --> 01:02:25,454 May the light engulf you. 433 01:02:48,185 --> 01:02:49,603 I walk. 434 01:02:59,321 --> 01:03:03,158 I will no longer stop at each junction, 435 01:03:03,325 --> 01:03:06,203 where my humanity will be challenged. 436 01:03:15,087 --> 01:03:20,592 I'll no longer mull over my incarceration 437 01:03:21,385 --> 01:03:24,305 in the caverns of the civilized world. 438 01:03:29,893 --> 01:03:31,645 I won't ever stop. 439 01:03:38,694 --> 01:03:40,904 I never left. 440 01:03:46,285 --> 01:03:47,661 I am here. 441 01:04:09,058 --> 01:04:10,392 I don't forget. 442 01:04:19,735 --> 01:04:22,946 There is nothing to repair. 443 01:04:26,533 --> 01:04:29,662 There are the dreams of the continent, 444 01:04:30,746 --> 01:04:36,460 the path calling us to the very end. 445 01:04:56,563 --> 01:05:00,234 I am the face of the metamorphosis. 446 01:05:10,202 --> 01:05:14,415 I see myself so clearly through you. 447 01:05:24,425 --> 01:05:27,344 26 does not exist. 448 01:05:34,143 --> 01:05:36,353 Within me resonates infinity. 449 01:05:46,030 --> 01:05:47,406 I walk. 450 01:06:06,967 --> 01:06:09,094 I won't ever stop.