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Eko ROOSEVELT, Singer: « I’m fighting because I’ve seen the damage that so-called development has caused. People haven’t respected nature’s laws and protected areas that can be so pleasant for humans. You know - you’ve been to the waterfalls. They wanted to build hotels there. I thought: if we accept that, the falls will lose their charm … and they’re part of our heritage – I would even say part of human heritage. I contacted UNESCO so they would send someone to class the site officially. That’s coming along well because the Minister of Culture is supporting the initiative. The Land Ministry has declared the zone a protected area and it is forbidden to build anything at all here. Now we have to restore it: trees need to be replanted for the birds that used to nest in them and for the animals that used to jump from tree to tree – like the monkeys for example. We need to make sure the animals that were driven away by human activity can return. » Eko Roosevelt has become an ardent conservationist – almost by accident you could say. Trained as a construction engineer in France some 40 years ago, Eko is the eldest in a family of several children. As a youngster he was an avid student, eager to learn…but his real passion was music. And it was this passion that took him off the career path laid out for him. Eko’s parents saw him as a model of obedience - little suspecting that every time they took him to chapel to sing hymns they were actually playing with fire. Eko ROOSEVELT, Singer: « It began when I was at school, at the La Salle Technical College. Later I was sent to the Music Conservatory in Dakar, after I went to Art School before going to the Ecole Normale in Paris. That’s where I learned modern music … up until then it was strictly classical. » Today in Cameroon, Eko Roosevelt is a well-known star of the seventies music scene with 10 albums under his belt and a reputation that goes well beyond his native land. Eko Roosevelt’s music is a continual tribute to the beauty of his continent.
Extrait 3: plein son. Eko taught his art since 1972 – but could never really earn a living from it – or from the profession he trained for. Then fate dealt a card. The Batanga, a great warrior people, called on Eko to become their chief. Eko hesitated at first but finally accepted – after all he had a mission to accomplish: his sea front was under threat. The land belonging to his tribe is unique: the Lobé Falls are an exceptional natural phenomenon – the only place on the planet where a river joins the ocean as a series of waterfalls. With property speculators vying to build hotels there – at risk of disfiguring this corner of paradise - Eko became chief and decided to save the falls. Eko ROOSEVELT, Singer: « For example look at the oil installations over there! If we don’t keep an eye on things there will be pollution. Over there ! Over here ! Everywhere! All around! Question du journaliste : Has the area been classed as part of Human Heritage? « It’s underway – the files are ready. I have just got the documents from Paris and the Minister in Yaoundé has responded favourably … » A tourist venturing out to Kribi in search of the Lobé Falls will probably bump into a sixty-year old youngster busy cleaning the beach while his wife fetches fish from the boats back in after 2 days and 3 nights at sea. The couple’s three children are off living their lives - leaving dad to watch over the falls. But it’s not all work and Eko still finds time for ebony and ivory back in his home studio – an ode to the falls … may they live forever. Stand up final : The second he puts his keyboards away Eko Roosevelt has his ecologists’ hat back on. With approval by UNESCO a mere formality, the Batanga warrior tribe and Eko seem to have won their greatest ever victory.
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