Africa�s First World War (Part 3) �Batswana In The Saudf� :: Mmegi Online

Last week, we observed that at least some of the hundreds of thousands of Africans who were recruited into the French Army during the First World War had responded to Blaise Diagne’s promises of post-war equality: “When you return you will replace the whites in the administration, you will have decorations and you will gain the same salaries as the whites who are here.”

The influence of the first black French MP was not just confined to the ranks of “La Force Noire.” In his memoires, veteran Stimela Jingoes vividly recalled the day Diagne addressed Batswana, as well as his fellow Basotho and Swazi, members of the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) Fifth Battalion in France:

“We were told one day that some of France’s great men would be coming to camp, among them members of the French Parliament. When they arrived there was a black man among them, and we assumed that he was simply there to accompany his white masters. We were staggered when these men were introduced, for the pitch black man held a high position in the Government. When we asked how he had come to occupy such a position when he was black, we were told that there was no colour bar at all in France, and that a person was elected to office because of his education and ability;...

Already have an active account? Log in here.

Or Sign up and get unlimited access to premium articles.