GUINEA DONATED €2 MILLION TO FRANCE WHILST ITS PEOPLE ARE STARVING.

In Africa, many leaders have been sending their condolences to Notre Dame, but the Guinean leader and an Ivorian Chief did more than that.

President Alpha Conde of Guinea Republic, a former French colony, is reported to have donated two million euros and a Chief from a traditional area in Ivory Coast, Amon N’Douffou V of Sanwi in southeastern, on Tuesday, pledged financial support towards rebuilding the iconic structure in Paris.

Alpha Condé born on 4 March 1938 is the President of Guinea since December 2010.
Image: Bloomberg.

According to Borgen Project Guinea is a West African country known for its rich reserves of iron ore, gold, bauxite and other minerals. Despite the wealth these resources generate, Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world.
Guinea has the highest per capita income on the continent of Africa, yet more than half of the population lives below the poverty line, with around 20 percent in extreme.
The poverty statistics in Guinea are staggering, especially in rural areas. 55 percent of people live below the poverty line, and unemployment rates are very high. Hunger also poses a serious threat, with 17.5 percent of the population experiencing food insecurity, 230,000 children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition and 25.9 percent of the population experiencing chronic malnutrition.

meaning " Our Lady of Paris "), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame , is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris.The cathedral is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.
Image: Getty.

On 15 April 2019 the structure fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. By the time it was extinguished the building's spire and most of its roof had been destroyed and its upper walls severely damaged.

“I am in full consultation with my elders – we are going to make a donation for the rebuilding of this monument,”
the traditional ruler said of the structure which he claimed played a huge part in his kingdom’s history in the 17th century.
"I couldn’t get to sleep because I was so disturbed by the pictures of the fire", 
he told reporters.
"This cathedral represents a strong bond between my kingdom and France.”

Amon N’Douffou V of Sanwi in southeastern Ivory Coast.

In just 24 hours, a fund to restore the medieval Notre-Dame cathedral that was devastated by fire has hit over $1 billion, with donations still pouring in from around the world. The Paris landmark was heavily damaged after a fire broke out during a Roman Catholic Mass and quickly spread to the roof and iconic church spire.

Firefighters managed to save the 850-year-old Gothic building’s main stone structure, including its two towers, but the spire and roof collapsed. There are also fears that an unknown number of artifacts and paintings have been lost.

News of the blaze sent shockwaves across the country. Donations and messages of support have since been flooding into France from across the world. Personalities, billionaires, companies, and institutions from around the globe have stepped in to help France rebuild its symbol of history and culture.

Ivory Coast was a French protectorate in 1843, then a colony from 1893 to 1960. But King Amon’s “strong bond claim” has to do with events that occurred at the end of the 17th century, at the time of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Aniaba, a prince of the kingdom was, in 1687, taken to France and then baptized in the cathedral. At the time, French traders had fully established themselves in the kingdom.

Aniaba, who was then 15, and a son of the chief of the Eotilé ethnic group and Princess Ba, was taken to Paris by the Chevalier d’Amon as a pledge of loyalty to Louis XIV. In Paris, he experienced a “mystical revelation” at the sight of the Notre Dame cathedral.

“The beginning of his stay is quite obscure. He lives in Paris, but we have no idea what is going on in the head of this teenager arriving in a country where everything is foreign to him: beliefs and social relations, as well as plants and animals. In fact, the story begins when Aniaba, walking in Paris, enters Notre-Dame, experiences what can be described as a mystical revelation and asks a certain Sieur Hyon, a pearl merchant of his condition, to present to the King. Still, in 1690, Aniaba is presented to Louis XIV, to whom he explains that he wants to be initiated into the Catholic religion ‘the only, good and true’,” writes the website of the Delegation of the Kingdom Sanwi in Europe.

Louis XIV became Aniaba’s godfather and protector. He was, after three years in France, baptized, adding the name of Louis to his own. Now Louis Aniaba, he joined the king’s cavalry regiment, becoming the first Black officer of the French army. He learned to read and write, as well as, fencing and horse riding.

Aniaba received a huge pension and lived “like a gentleman of the time: with servants, horses, debts, women, and children. At the same time, no one seems to be as moved as a Black man as a gentleman,” according to the website of the Delegation of the Kingdom Sanwi in Europe, adding that “The prejudice of color does not exist.”

In 1701, Aniaba returned to Ivory Coast following the death of his father to “take his succession.” It is unclear what happened after his return. Some accounts say that he was ignored by the new king and went to live in modern-day Togo where he became an advisor to the local monarch. Others state that he went back to France or became blind.

SOURCE: Africanglo.