Bangui the charming, now Bangui the garbage dump

On May 25, 1961, she wrote this poem which, at the time, gave Bangui its nickname, so captivated was she by the city's beauty: "In the setting of green hills You nestle like a jewel You stretch along the water Of the opalescent river. You change with the seasons And you take on new faces That your adornment of foliage Green or russet, gives to your houses. Your gardens, your public squares Filled with greenery and flowers Give you a bucolic air Full of charm and gentleness. Charming like a courtesan, You attract visitors And you promise them happiness Binding their hearts with your vines. When the jet of water from your fountains Rise in the warm night air It sings of your joys" and your sorrows And whisper your name: BANGUI. Marie-Jeanne CARON It must be said that at the time, there was a land registry, real estate companies like SICA (Central African Real Estate Company), CATIN, Boy rabe, which means in Sango, boys ti arabos (Arab servants), there were postal workers, roads, we went water skiing on the Ubangi-Shari River, etc. In short, everything worked. There were no politicians to brainwash you with talk of a 7th Republic, or who manipulated the Constitution to perpetuate their power, and on top of that, by cheating. We were happy! But that was before! More than 60 years ago, those who remember it are dead, as life expectancy barely exceeds 50 years. Who remembers the construction of the administrative building on mats? With piles driven into the ground to stabilize it? In any case, the building is no longer up to code. Beautiful Bangui has become garbage dump! As for the rest of the country, it's the bush in the truest sense of the word. It's a shame we can't bankrupt a country!

Analysis by Noella VACCARELLI | LAMINE MEDIA

For: FatimaLamineHebdo

Date: May 27, 2026

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