Bertin, the force of a choice in life

«I have been out of my country for more than 30 years. Every time I would return there was always the chance to meet with one of my brothers or sisters who had gotten married, or witness the birth of a nephew or niece. In my life, our family relationships and above all, the faith of our mother, a simple and brave woman like many African women, have always been the force that has sustained me in all my decisions and choices in life. Ever since I was a child, I had always been impressed by one of my uncles, a Franciscan friar who, at every visit, took care of all the children in the neighbourhood and not only his nieces and nephews, leaving a mark in my heart, and the desire to follow his footsteps in the future.

When I just an adolescent – Mandela was already in prison – the massacre of the youth of Soweto happened and upset me so much that I vented out my anger against Fr. Paul, a Belgian Jesuit. I had said him, «If it only depended on me, all the white people would have to return to their own homes.» He answered calmly: «You know, we can fight discrimination with other weapons.» A few months later, he invited me to meet the Word of Life group in my town.

Five years later, I found myself in Fontem, Cameroon, in the first testimonial-town of the Focolare in Africa, side by side with young people from Italy, France, Ireland, Belgium and other various African nations like Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, and Cameroon; and together with them I discovered that we are all brothers, despite our differences. This was how in my heart I felt the great desire to shout it out to the whole world, and testify to this fraternity, especially in daily life.

In 1986 I was sent to Man in the Ivory Coast, where I remained for eight years. Together with all those who wanted to live the same ideal of fraternity, we nurtured mutual love among us, which drove us to promote concrete initiatives to help the needy in many ways, also through music, to tell the world that the united world is not a utopia.

When I was 40 I transferred to Sao Paolo, Brazil, and had to learn a new language. I met a new people, which I fondly call a “population composed of peoples”: indios, native Brazilians and also the descendants of Germans, Italians, Ukraines, Japanese, Chinese, Afro-Brazilians and many other roots, but all Brazilians! It was creative, generous, and full of a contagious joy, which we, Africans are very familiar with. In a short time, I felt like I was one of them, that is, Brazilian.

For 15 I worked in the Mariapolis Ginetta as a graphic designer and in the production of books and magazines for the New City publishers, building relationships among the staff, suppliers, printing press workers and security guards who had the task of inspecting all the boots of cars. With others, I also coordinated the activities of the young people of the Focolare Movement: the Gen3 and Youth for Unity. This experience was one of the most important of this period because they taught me to become an “adolescent,” even if I was an adult. Through love for one another kept alive among us, I discovered that I also had the capacity to make big sacrifices, since they had overflowing energy and enthusiasm. I also understood why the hair of many parents start turning white when there is an adolescent in the family.
So now I am back again in the Ivory Coast: I have returned to continue building this pathway that started years ago with the youth. I had always been struck by the focolarini in the Focolare town of Victoria during the war, and who could have left the country then, but had decided to stay. Like Chiara Lubich and her first companions, they had sealed a pact of readiness to give up their lives for one another. This testimonial is something I treasure deep inside, and I wish with God’s grace, to live up to this measure with all our people. I do not know if we will achieve extraordinary things, but I would like to live each moment as if it were the last of my life.»

Source: African Nouvelle Cité, July 2015