The Quieter Side of Cardinal Sarah

Political change tends to come about in moments of contradictory impulses. The ebullience of freedom nearly always contends with fear and paranoia. Slates wiped clean often become the place where primite animosities are rekindled and the optimism of revolution provides a pretext for the reenactment of ancient tragedies. The liberation of Guinea was no exception. In 1958, the Fourth French Republic was in shambles. Facing multiple colonial independence movements in Algeria, Indochina, and Africa, Charles de Gaulle offered the colonies a referendum: more autonomy within a new "French Community" or immediate independence, severing the colony from the French yoke (and benefits). Guinea and its brash new leader Ahmed Sékou Touré opted for independence. "We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery" became the rallying cry.