In 2010 Keita left Guinea, his country of origin, and came to Europe. Today he lives in Italy and he was kind enough to share with us his views on his country, its history, traditions and the current state of Guinea.

Guinea is a county on the western coast of Africa, its capital city is Conakry. It has approximately 13 million inhabitants, the majority of whom are Muslim (around 80%) and the rest predominantly Christian. Guinea’s neighbouring countries are Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivore, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There are many spoken languages in the country, including the dialects like Susu, Malinke, Kissi, Kpelle (known in French as Guerzé), Kuranko and Peule. These languages are used in different regions of the country, with the country’s official language being French, which is spoken everywhere. Keita explains that in schools, for example, if the classes are given in French, the students prefer to speak in their dialect when speaking among themselves.

There are many traditions in Guinea and they carry a big importance, as they originate in the ancient history. One of them, especially important for Keita, is “Fête de la mare” (Feast of the pond). It signifies the beginning of the fishing season in the ponds between the different villages of Baro, Koumana and Balato. The day is especially celebrated in the village of Balato, where they organise weddings and other festivities and prepare all the special food to commemorate this event. Guinean cuisine is based on mostly rice, fonio (small grains mostly recommended to ease any stomach problems) and “tô”, which is made from cassava (also called manioc).

Guinea was once part of an empire much larger than the borders that determine its current territory. It was a part of the Manding Empire, also known as the Mali Empire. The separation of the territory into different countries was done centuries later by the Europeans during the colonisation, which is also when these countries got the names by which we know them today. Up until then the inhabitants of that territory were organised in tribes, using different dialects but living together. The Manding Empire was founded by Sundiata Keita in the 13th century and it was very well organised. Before him there were plenty of emperors who were successful but their empire was never as great as the one that flourished under Soundiata’s reign.

In 1235 Soundiata Keita battled Soumaoro Kanté (king of Sosso) and defeated him by allying himself with other ethnic groups. The result of this battle unified the entire Manding Empire that became very populous, vast, and prosperous and expanded its borders to also include the previously uninhabited lands. The Manding Empire lasted until the colonisation, when Samory Touré (1830-1900) organised a rebellion against the Europeans. When he first came to power, his first goal was to promote the development of Islam. This religion was already present in the times of Soundiata Keita but less common than worship of the idols. Samory Touré consequently took the name of Almamy Samory Touré, a Manlinke title only reserved for imams. He then worked to promote the union of the Empire, wishing to establish a common language throughout the entire territory. He often fought against the other leaders of the Empire in order to unify power and to convince them to follow him in his command to fight the white people. His ambition was to become an emperor such as Soundaita Keita, but his efforts were not successful due to too many divisions in the country.

During his reign the Europeans arrived to West Africa. In the beginning they arrived as simple visitors, explorers or tradesmen. The came to study the land and its people, but this was also, in Keita’s opinion, a way to identify their weak points.

Even though Samory Touré together with the other leaders tried to fight the colonisation, the population of West Africa ended up being betrayed by the Europeans. Once they defeated Samory (he was arrested in 1898 in Guélémou, the territory of today’s Ivory Coast), West Africa entered the period of colonisation, accompanied by separation of the land. This also marks the beginning of the triangular trade, with the main gateway being in Senegal – the African population was sorted, the “bras valides” (valid arms) were sent by the Europeans to the American colonies as slaves, to supply Europe with New World products. Guinea, along with other countries of West Africa, became a French colony at the end of the 19th century.

In 1936 Sékou Touré, who later became the first president of independent Guinea, attended a French school. He was expelled after protesting a criticism of Samoury Touré, his grandfather. With a red stamp put into his file, he was forbidden to continue his studies. He went to Conakry and became active in political affairs of the country through trade unionism. This encouraged him to start working for independence of his country from France. France, however, was not willing to let go of these French-speaking African countries they colonised. General de Gaulle went on a trip to these lands, starting with Senegal, with a goal of preserving their influence in the territory. In 1958 he proposed a referendum to the population of colonised countries, offering them to vote for or against the independence. Sékou Touré, who was very invested in the politics of his country, started a big campaign for immediate independence. After becoming a member of the West African Federation and then obtaining a certain level of administrative autonomy in 1956, Guinea became the first of the West African countries to be completely independent. They refused to join the “French community” that was proposed by De Gaulle during the vote on 28th of September 1958, unlike other African countries that chose to participate. On October 2nd 1958 Guinea declared independence and Sékou Touré became the first president of the Republic of Guinea.

General de Gaulle didn’t appreciate this vote and saw it as a wish for secession. The French government consequently did everything in their power to slow down the development of Guinea, trying to create a diplomatic vacuum around the country but also refraining from recognising it as a state. Guinea found its allies in other independent African countries like Ghana but also in Eastern countries. Keita also spoke of another important moment in his country’s history: the attack on the capital in 1970. Portuguese troops, joined by a group of Guinean dissidents, made an effort to overthrow the Guinean regime. Conakry was attacked but with the help of other cities, especially Kindia, who came to help, the Guinean flag was brought back up again that same evening and the power remained in place.

The vote for independence of the country and its decolonisation from France didn’t happen without problems. Keita tells that after the defeat, France, in order to get its revenge, emptied Guinean banks in order to destroy the country’s economy. They also destroyed a lot of property: when he lived in Guinea, Keita claims that there were still cars and other objects that had been thrown into the river Milo in Kankan by the French. Following their departure the Guineans joined forces with other countries, including China, Russia and the United States.

Keita says that today in Guinea, president Alpha Condé is working on developing the tourism industry. However, according to him, this process doesn’t only lead to opening of the country but, at the same time, to the loss of certain traditions and knowledge that have been there so far. If Guinea opens up to tourism and therefore to relations with other countries, there will always remain a certain resentment of the French government due to their shared history.

Keita is sceptical about the current political situation in his country, in particular concerning the progress since 2010. In his opinion the government tries to divide the population to exercise its power and despite having an electoral system, the president is already elected before the citizens go and vote.

In 2015, Alpha Condé was re-elected in the first round. The result of the election was contested by the opposition who claimed that fraud was committed. In Keita’s opinion Alpha Condé won the 2010 election because the majority of people voted for him. According to him, this was due to the fact that different ethnic groups united to elect a leader who is not Peul (Alpha Condé is Malinké). The goal of this alliance wasn’t to prefer one particular ethnic group but rather to ensure that all ethnic groups are taken into account. Keita believes that the politics of the previous government had neglected the interests of different ethnic groups in favour of Peul, which is what the people were trying to change with their votes. However, regarding the last election in 2015, Keita explains his doubts and questions about the lack of clarity surrounding the re-election of the candidate. According to him Alpha Condé would have won the second round of the election, but the fact that there was only one is strange. The next election in Guinea is in 2020 and Keita doesn’t like the idea of electing the current president for the third term and hopes that a new leader will come into his place. He’s also not in favour of the current biggest opponent of Alpha Condé, Cellou Dalein Diallo, who has been, according to Keita, wanting the position of power since 2010 but doesn’t have plans for further development of the country. There are concerns that the investors would flee the country because of the general strikes he’d organise. Keita says that Cellou Dalein Diallo’s record hasn’t been positive so far, as he was already a part of the government of one of the previous presidents and they weren’t beneficial for the country.