Teens in Abidjan

>> Marguerite Abouet draws a happier picture of ’70s Africa in her graphic memoir Aya

by JULIET WATERS

Aya, the heroine of Marguerite Abouet’s first graphic novel, is exactly the kind of girl you’ll probably find in Oprah Winfrey’s recently unveiled élite school for girls in Africa. Though born into a small, working-class town on the Ivory Coast, she believes she can become a doctor if she keeps her mind focused on staying in the “science stream” of her local public high school.

Her friends Bintou and Ajoua, on the other hand, are the kind of girls you’ll be more likely to find on Dr. Phil, should he ever decide to go in and start solving Africa’s problems: sexy, teenage small-town girls vying for the attention of guys who aren’t worth the energy. The only difference between them and their North American counterparts are the insults: “Shut up. That mouth of yours is bigger than a cow’s behind!” and my personal favourite, “Who’s talking? You flat skulled lizard!”

It may seem incongruous in this day and age, when Africa is facing devastating political, health and economic crises, when the continent is so desperate for attention and help with the chaos of the here and now, to review a graphic novel set in a relatively happy time and place in Africa’s history, 1978 Abidjan. And yet there’s something deliciously ironic about the release of this book (originally written in French) in a North America where so many people believe that African women have never known wealth, glamour and education until Oprah Winfrey took it upon herself to teach them about it.

The book’s preface, however, does a great job of reminding readers that Africa has never been entirely bereft of good times. They just weren’t times that had a chance of lasting. One example is the 30-year administration of charismatic president Félix Houphouët-Boigny, once referred to as the “Ivorian miracle.” An economy based on small-scale agriculture, instead of large industrial projects, meant that, for a time, the Ivory Coast was able to boast the highest GNP in Africa. Abidjan, its sophisticated wealthy capital city, was often referred to as the “Paris of West Africa.” Sadly, as the famous African saying goes, things fall apart. This is especially true of laissez-faire economic policy, the mirage upon which the “Ivorian miracle” was based. Today the region is now more often used as an example of the consequences of economic growth without sustained development.

Even if that time is gone, Abouet’s quirky and charming memoir is a gem. It tells the story of a small gang of teenagers negotiating life amidst the ice-cream-coloured squalor of a working-class town. Every night, propelled by the discovery of disco and the country’s first national beer campaign, the village youth escape from the vanilla, pink and green concrete houses where their families live. The village square is loud, fun and sexy. But healthy poverty is still, unfortunately, poverty. Lurking on the outskirts of the dances where gorgeous teenage girls shake their “tassaba” are the wealthy sons of Abidjan’s upper class looking for any chance to exploit a naïve dream of social mobility.

Spoilt heirs are hardly the only villains lurking in the shadows. Randy fathers relentlessly rub up against the daughter’s best friends. Aya, not much of a partier herself, spends too many of her days outrunning lecherous alley stalkers. And the village healer charges 10,000 francs for an abortion, which she’s more likely to perform with knitting needles than mysterious herbs. But whatever the challenges these kids face, these times are a far cry from genocide, AIDS and lost boys.

Clèment Oubrerie’s rich and entertaining illustrations do much to re-create the feeling of tenuous creativity and fun that keeps these kids from grinding cynicism. In an age when all we ever see of Africa is graphic violence and despair, somehow it feels oddly right to take a moment to appreciate this small but impressive work of graphic hope.

Aya by Marguerite Abouet, illustrated
By Clement Oubrerie, Drawn &
Quarterly hc, 102pp, $21.95