BLACK OR WHITE BLOOD / HUMAN HEART

BLACK OR WHITE BLOOD / HUMAN HEART

Black blood has spilled, again! I know that everywhere in the world such things happened. But this week has seen a French citizen humiliated by Police due to the fact that he was not wearing a mask¹. This is the version of the Police. They bump into his home, trying to force him to get out and hit him as if he has committed a crime. The reactions among French personalities where unanim. The president Emmanuel Macron declared : “they shame us”. Football player Antoine Griezmann twitted “I have pain in my France”.

This is not the first time that such things happened in France. We saw it years ago with Theo, this young black man who has faced police brutality, with one policeman who pushed a bludgeon in his anus². The police in this case, pretended that Theo did not want to obey to the Police. That is why they had to use force to make him cooperate. Then, after this episode, some people in the press started relating the fact that – OK Police did not well act, but the guy was also a “little criminal” with his band. Yesterday, three policemen in this affair were sent back to the assizes (French departmental jurisdiction who has the power to judge crimes).

So, at the moment I am writing this text, I am thinking: even if I am a potential criminal or a dealer or whatever, did I deserve this kind of treatment? The answer is obvious when you are innocent or without precedent but try to figure out in this case. Is it because of my race that such violent thing can happen to me? Or is it simply due to the fact that some members of this police are not highly educated and poorly trained?

These questions can be also replaced in other context such as Cameroon, while the country and the army is trying to fight against some violent secessionnists. In fact, everywhere in the world, citizens deserve respect and protection from the police. It is neither the citizens against the Police nor the Police above the People. It is about the police with the citizens. That is how the Nation works.

THANK YOU

Jean Philippe Ntonga

1 – https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/27/three-french-police-officers-suspended-over-violent-arrest-of- black-music-producer-in-pari
2 – https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20201127-french-police-officers-face-trial-over-violence-against-black-youth- theo