Fieldston News Editors’ Note: What do freedom and independence look like in the nations of the post-colonial world? And, in the music of those nations, what does freedom sound like? Daniel Lee’s articles are the first two in a series that explore the joys, sorrows and challenges of the people of these nations over the last eighty years. And so, we begin with Madagascar.
A country renowned for its diverse ecosystems, pristine beaches, and exotic wildlife, Madagascar is commonly portrayed as a rich and marvelous island, harboring over 5,000 distinct terrestrial species and a mix of both indigenous and European cultures. Yet despite an abundance of natural resources, Madagascar is one of the poorest nations in the world. Since gaining its independence from France in 1960, Madagascar has experienced numerous periods of political instability, civil unrest, and social uncertainty. The history of the nation is characterized by a continual struggle for democracy and stability. This paper will discuss two prominent figures in contemporary Madagascar—Georges Andriamanantena, a poet, and Jean-Luc Raharimanana, a novelist—whose works provide a unique insight into the lesser-known aspects of Malagasy history.
Georges Andriamanantena, commonly known as Rado, was born on October 1st, 1923. Andriamanantena was the son of a Protestant priest in Ankadivato, a neighborhood in the capital city, Antananarivo. He descended from a long lineage of Protestant priests on his father’s side, and from the village of Amboanana on his mother’s side. He studied in various Protestant schools in Antananarivo before studying journalism in Strasbourg, France. Andriamanantena was a staunch supporter of the Malagasy language and a strong advocate for the political movement called “Fanagasiana,” the use of Malagasy instead of French in educational institutions.
Rado published ten books of poems, including Dinitra (1973), Ando (1977), Zo (1989), among several others. Many of his works were incorporated into the music of famous Malagasy artists, and became compulsory reading in high schools.
Novelist Jean-Luc Raharimanana was also born in the capital, Antananarivo, in 1967. In 1987, he was awarded the Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo poetry prize for his early poems. Just two years later, he graduated with a degree in literature from the Université d’Antananarivo in Madagascar. Raharimanana has amassed an extensive collection of written stories, novels, and plays, many of which have been translated into English, German, Italian, and Spanish.
One of Raharimanana’s books, Rêves sous le linceul (1998), and his first novel, Nour, 1947 (2001), focus on the Rwandan genocide and the bloodily surpressed Malagasy uprising of 1947. The revolt consisted of two groups of roughly 2,000 indigenous insurgents, who organized a series of attacks at a French military camp in the town of Moramanga on the east side of the island. They launched a series of explosives and stormed through the outer gates of the camp. By the following morning, they had killed 22 people and wounded 12. In the words of one witness, the town was completely “littered with bodies.”
The revolt stunned French officials who had regarded the Malagasy as weak and docile. Over the next few months, French soldiers launched their own campaign against the rebels, killing an estimated 100,000 people. By the end of 1948, the French were finally able to suppress the resistance.
The 1947 uprising took place within the context of a broader period of political tension between the French and the Malagasy, in which French colonial forces acted to suppress Malagasy movements for self-government. Following the establishment of a new French constitution on October 13, 1946, the French government declared Madagascar to be an Overseas Territory within the French Union. It was not until June 26th, 1960 that Madagascar would finally gain its autonomy.
The first president of the newly independent nation was Philibert Tsiranana. He was reelected twice; however, after a Maoist uprising in 1971, his authority was granted back to the military. In that year, a large mass of farmers in the Southern part of the country rose up in protest against the state’s capitalist system, resentful about its failure to consider the interests of the people in the South.
In 1974, Didier Ratsiraka rose to power and initiated a sixteen-year long era of socialism, which proved to be disastrous. The country faced a brutal political and economic crisis until 1993, when Ratsiraka was removed from office. He was the founder of the Malagasy socialist revolution in 1975, and issued his own charter, Charte de la Révolution Socialiste Malagasy (also known as the Little Red Book). It established the primary goal of the newly created Democratic Republic of Madagascar—to build a ‘new society’ founded on socialist principles.
During this period, Rado composed two books of poems, Dinitra and Ando, which were published in 1973 and 1977 respectively. Dinitra contains some of the first poems that Rado wrote during his career, while Ando contains a collection of nursery rhymes for children, which he wrote to foster values of family and patriotism. Both shed light on the social and cultural aspects of daily life in Madagascar during Ratsiraka’s rule. One of the poems from Dinitra, entitled “Hafatra,” is included below:
HAFATRA
Ho any ianao, kanefa…
Aza ataonao fantany izao fahoriako izao
Fa aoka hiafina aminy
Ny ketoky ny jaly
Nanempaka ny aiko,tanatin’ny longoa
Izay namandrihany ahy…
Ny dinitry ny foko manorika ahy mangina,
Fa sempo-tsasak’alina
Misaina ity anjarako,
Aza ataonao fantany!
…Raha manontany izy,
Iangaviako ianao handainga indray mandeha !
Lazao fa nanadino ny momba azy rehetra
Ny saiko manontolo.
“Rako-boninkazo hoe ireo lavenon-dasa
natoraky ny Adaoro”
Ireto diary ireto lazao fa efa may
Sy tapitra efa kila…
….Fa ny volofotsiko,
Ny ketrokentron’handriko
Afeno dia afeno !
Azonao izany ?
Etsy kely koa
Hafarako ianao !Jereo raha sambatra izy !
Mba hamantaranao dia ireto no fambara :
“Ao an’ efitranony :misy voninkazo
Tsy maintsy mavokely…
Eo an-doha-fandrianany :
Ny sarin’olotiany…na iza n’iza izay “
Raha izay no hitanao dia efa sambatra izy
Ka aza asiana resaka momba ahy akory,
F’izany rahateo no niriko ho azy…
Izay no hafatrafatro
Ka tazony tsara …Ary dia veloma !
Saingy etsy ange !
‘Ty tànanao ity, aza akasi-javatra
Mandra-pifandray ny tànanao sy ny azy…
Eny e ! Ampy izay.Tongava soa aman-tsara !
Dia akatony mora
Io varavarako io
Fa hitomany aho…
Translated into English, the poem reads:
You are going to see her, but…
Do not tell her about my suffering,
Let her ignore the bite of pain,
that is tearing up my being,
in the web she trapped me in,
My sweating heart that chokes me silently
at midnight
when I ponder my fate,
Do not let her know !
… If she were to ask
I beg of you to lie for once !
Tell her my thoughts have forgotten all about her
Flowers have grown on the past ashes blown by the Adaoro
These journals have been incinerated and all but cremated
…As for my white hair,
and the lines of my forehead
please hide, hide them!
Do you understand?
One last thing
One demand ! See if she is happy.
These are the signs for you to know :
“In her bedroom: there are flowers that will be pink
At her bedside : the picture of her lover… whoever he may be”
If you see those, then she is happy
so do not even talk about me
as happy is what I wish her to be.
This is my message. Please do not forget.
And Adieu !
But before you go,
this hand of yours, do not touch anything with it,
until it links to hers…
Yes, that is it. Have a good journey.
And please do close that door
On my tears.
The poem speaks to the suffering of the Malagasy people during Ratsiraka’s dictatorship, which suppressed their freedom and personal liberties. In 1982, Ratsiraka was reelected for an additional term, prolonging his reign for another 7 years.
Key sectors of the economy became nationalized, including banks and insurance companies, export-import companies, and oil companies. Principal firms in energy, mines, construction, and other industries all became state agencies. By 1985, only 10% of total investments were private. Factories operated at merely 30% to 40% of their maximum capacity, and many factories established by the state investment programs were vacated. By 1989, the average annual income dropped below $210. During the same year, Jean-Luc Raharimanana prepared his first play, Le Prophète et le Président.
The play was a satire about two prominent Malagasy politicians and their obsession with power. One was depicted as a deposed president who still believed he was the head of his country. The other was a prophet who was convinced that he was the ‘conscience’ of his people. In the final segment of the play, both figures contest their power to rule their country. Le Prophète et le Président won the Tchicaya U’Tamsi Prize at the Inter-African Theater Competition. However, even though Raharimanana never explicitly referenced any political figures, the performance was eventually banned by Madagascar’s state authorities.
This was just one example that demonstrates the limited freedom of expression in Madagascar during this time period. Any content that was in opposition to the government was strictly prohibited. From 1972 onwards, the government began imposing censorship and suspending rival political parties. Ratsiraka’s regime in the early 1990s was thus characterized by violence—for instance, he once used the military to suppress a pro democracy movement. On August 10th, 1991, the president ordered troops to quash a crowd of protestors at the presidential palace. Fourteen people were killed and hundreds were wounded, leading the International Monetary Fund to cease its economic support to Madagascar. Historically, the press and its coverage on these events has been limited.
After the Cold War ended in late 1991, a wave of change swept across Africa. The Malagasy government instituted the High Authority for State Transition, establishing a new constitution with the goal of creating a multiparty parliamentary democracy. It was presided over by Albert Zafy, who won the presidential election in 1993. However, this did not guarantee political stability. In less than five years, the country would face six changes in government, three changes in prime ministers, and two motions of censure. During this period, Rado would publish two more books of poems: Sedra (1993) and Ny teny Malagasy (1994).
In 1996, after a long battle with Parliament, President Zafy was impeached by the National Assembly, leading to the return of Ratsiraka (who was nicknamed the “Red Admiral”). Ratsiraka became a reformed Marxist and promoted policies oriented around decentralization and economic liberalism. He oversaw the establishment of 6 autonomous provinces, run by provincial councils elected by universal suffrage. However, he also proposed significant increases in presidential authority, including the power to nominate the prime minister and the power to dissolve Parliament. The goal of these provisions was to end the era of political instability that resulted from the 1992 constitution; however, they significantly undermined the democratic system established by Zafy.
In the same year (1996), Jean-Luc Raharimanana published his book, Lucarne, a tense relationship between content and style. In the 1980s, a new generation of writers adopted a novel writing style, which primarily consisted of French. This coincided with a political decision which reintroduced French and francophonie (the broader French community) as vehicles for social and economic development. However, readership for these short-stories was limited, leading many writers like Raharimanana to move to France in 1989, where he wrote passionately about Madagascar’s urban misery.
Throughout the twelve-story collection, one of the underlying themes is unconscionable suffering and disturbing violence. Many of the stories in Lucarne are situated in murderous alleys and public squares, with various depictions of “quat-mi” (homeless children), the corrupt, prostitutes, psychopaths, the forgotten, and even dead corpses. In the end, the characters inevitably face death or humiliation. In the title story, a prostitute is lynched by a group of wealthy children, and a man is knifed and mercilessly thrown out the window. In “L’ enfant riche,” a child is beaten to death and is forced to spit out a coin he swallowed in desperation, causing him to feel unbearable pain. In the piece, “Affaire classée,” a couple smuggles drugs in the dead bodies of infants.
As illustrated in Lucarne, most of Raharimanana’s writing focuses on the body. He critiques the “déchirements” (divisions) within Malagasy society, writing brutally, violently, and graphicly. In an interview conducted in 1992, Raharimanana explained that, for him, writing is “a process of self-brutalization that engenders violence.”
Social and political turmoil continued into the next decade (2000-2010s)—one of the most turbulent periods in Malagasy history. With increasing political skepticism, 60 to 70% of registered voters boycotted the December 2000 regional elections. Ultimately, President Ratsiraka’s AREMA (L’Avant-Garde du Renou-veau de Madagascar) and affiliated “independents” won a majority of the 336 regional assembly seats, with senate elections producing similar results. Ratsiraka seemed well positioned to secure his rule; however, his decentralist policies pitted provinces against the capital. The political crisis that followed curtailed Madagascar’s economic development: industrial output fell between 70 to 90%, tourism revenues fell 95%, commercial properties lost 50 to 60% of their tenants, and economic growth was at a negative 12%. The World Bank estimates that the country lost roughly $12 million to $14 million a day.
Madagascar would not regain stability until 2003, when the African Union finally recognized the Ravalomanana government. The nation was able to achieve relatively consistent economic growth above 5% for several years from 2003 to 2009, marking a symbolic break from its socialist past. However, it was not long before the country was ravaged by another natural disaster. Tropical cyclones hit the island in 2004, causing major damage to local infrastructure and leaving thousands homeless. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund wrote off nearly half of the country’s debt—just over $2 billion. The same year, Jean-Luc Raharimanana published his last book, L’Arbre anthropophage, where he painted an unembellished portrait of the island’s history.
Just two years prior, Raharimanana’s father (Venance Raharimanana), a history professor at the University of Antananarivo, was arrested and tortured after a radio show aired about pre-colonial conflicts on the island. As a campaigner for the rights of those living in the impoverished coastal and southern regions, Venance was seen as a threat to the newly proclaimed “democratic” government. Following his father’s arrest, Jean-Luc became entirely devoted to defending him and creating public pressure—even submitting petitions to French President Chirac.
In L’Arbre anthropophage, Raharimanana denounces dictatorships, corruption, and the many forms of oppression that have existed in Madagascar. His exile in France enabled him to interpret Malagasy culture with a certain level of objectivity, detaching himself from traditionally ingrained Malagasy beliefs. Through his sarcasm, he critiques those who superstitiously follow arbitrary rules: “Dans ce pays-mien, tout est fady, interdit,” meaning “In this land of mine, everything is fady [taboo], forbidden.” In traditional Malagasy culture, those who don’t follow the fady will be the receiver of evil. However, Raharimanana’s frustration with the fady arises from the fact that they reinforce prejudices, leading to divisions within society. He illustrates how even these traditions and other local folklore can be distorted and manipulated by the dominant discourse.
In the words of literary critic Edward Said, Raharimanana became the conscience of his generation, raising questions that many would rather not face. He gives voice to victims of oppression and the suffering masses, ultimately becoming a symbol of cultural and political resistance.
As the decade came to an end, President Ravalomanana introduced another series of controversial reforms. In 2007, he proposed a legislature that would replace Madagascar’s six autonomous regions with twenty-two smaller ones. Next, to encourage greater foreign investment, he passed a reform to make English a national language. Finally, he proposed to increase presidential powers so that the president himself would have the authority to make laws under a ‘state of emergency.’ Ultimately, Ravalomanana’s downfall began in 2009, when the government shut down TV and radio stations run by opposing forces. This led to a series of violent protests, killing dozens of Malagasy people.
Following this, Andry Rajoelina, the mayor of Antananarivo, declared himself the new president. Rajoelina had a relatively weak grip on power, and many remained doubtful of his legitimacy. Meanwhile, several political groups continued to fight for their position in government, including some led by Madagascar’s three former presidents: Ratsiraka, Zafy, and Ravalomanana. It was not long before the special electoral court invalidated the candidacies of the primary contestants. In the runoff election, Hery Rajaonarimampianina took the lead with 53% of the votes.
Today, Madagascar continues to face a number of economic problems. The island is overrun with malnutrition, poor living conditions, contaminated water, and high unemployment rates. Since gaining its independence in 1960, Madagascar has failed to achieve political stability and a functioning democracy. From a series of corrupt politicians to restrictive legislative policies, the nation’s capacity for self-autonomy has long been at question. The works of Georges Andriamanantena and Jean-Luc Raharimanana are a powerful illustration of this historical complexity. It is clear that future politicians will have much work to do in rebuilding the nation’s physical infrastructure, human capital, and regaining the trust of their people.
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