Andrée Blouin

**Andrée Madeleine Blouin** (16 December 1921 – 9 April 1986) be a political activist, human rights advocate, den writer from de Central African Republic.

## Early life
De daughter of Josephine Wouassimba, a fourteen-year-old Banziri girl, den Pierre Gerbillat, a forty-year-old French colonial businessman, Andrée Blouin be born insyd Bessou, a village insyd Oubangui-Chari (later de Central African Republic).

Dem take Andrée at three years of age  from ein mommie by ein father den ein new wife Henriette Poussart, den placed insyd de Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny orphanage for girls of mixed race, insyd Brazzaville, insyd de French Congo, where she endured neglect den abuse. Dem create dis orphanage to cover up evidence of Europeans ein "libertine ways" (wey include de crime of outright rape) den to "protect partly white children from living insyd supposedly primitive African conditions."

At age 15, de nuns tried to pressure ein into an arranged marriage. She dey spend 14 years insyd de orphanage before she den two oda girls run away insyd 1938. As she dey grow older, she participate insyd many smaller forms of rebellions plus ein friends. She will persist insyd attending white-only cinemas until they tolerate ein presence. Insyd stores, she will ask for articles insyd French, but de shopkeepers will purposefully "answer insyd Lingala or Kikongo to humiliate am." Dis was due to ein having French citizenship, but having no real "right" to use de language. She sana will ask for butter, which be "unthinkable for an African to eat," but na she later state dat she "dey to begin somewhere."

## Ein life matter
After she escape from de orphanage, Andrée move plus ein mommie to Brazzaville den begin work as a seamstress. While riding on a riverboat insyd de Congo River, Andrée meet a Belgian aristocrat named Roger Serruys. Soon afterwards, she move insyd plus Serruys to Banningville, where he be appointed de new director of de Belgian Kasai Company. Frustrated by ein insistence dat demma relationship be kept a secret, Andrée dey return home to Brazzaville three months pregnant. She give birth to ein daughter Rita on ein 19th birthday, 16 December 1940.

Andrée meet a local Frenchman named Charles Greutz, den they welcome a son René on ein 21st birthday, 16 December 1942. At two years of age, René fall ill plus malaria but dey refuse de lifesaving quinine medication insyd local hospitals because "de French colonial administration insisted" dat na e be for "Europeans only." Blouin "pleaded" plus de mayor to make an exception but be refused, den before long he die from complications related to de disease. Tramautized by de experience, Andrée decide dat Rita should not grow up insyd colonial Africa, den after legally marrying Greutz, she den ein daughter relocate to France insyd 1946. Greutz stay behind insyd Bangui to work, while Andrée den Rita reside plus de Greutz family insyd de town of Gebviller insyd Alsace.

Andrée returned to Bangui insyd 1948, den learn dat ein husband Charles dey have an affair. Not long afterwards she meet French engineer André Blouin, one of ein husband ein contemporaries, who be on assignment for de French Bureau of Mines. De two fall insyd love, den after Andrée ein divorce from Greutz be finalized, she den André Blouin dey marry insyd 1952. De couple go on to have two children, a son named Patrick den a daughter named Sylviane.

## Activism
Andrée Blouin credit de untimely death of ein young son as ein primary motivation for becoming a political activist later insyd life. Ein son ein death from malaria can have been prevented plus de right medication; however, because of ein African ancestry, he be denied de proper medical treatment. More specifically, since Andreé Blouin be classified as "metisse" or "mixed" because of ein African mommie den European father, dis label be put on ein son as well, dey make it impossible for him to get de malaria treatment. Ein son was ¾ white den both she den her son be French citizens, but they be both treated unjustly because of demma blackness. Dis devastating den racist experience be a potential catalyst for ein interest insyd activism. Blouin dey launch a campaign against de Quinine Law dat prohibited individuals of African ancestry insyd French Equatorial Africa from receiving appropriate medication to treat malaria.

Insyd de 1950s, she leave ein new husband den ein daughter to travel to Guinea to support de country ein independence movement. Blouin dey join Sékou Touré, de leader of de Guinean Democratic Party, insyd de fight for independence from France. Blouin drive all over de country plus members of ein party, "organizing rallies den delivering speeches calling for independence." Insyd 1958, Guinea be de sole French territory to choose independence. Through ein work plus Touré, she meet many oda activists, such as Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana den Félix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast.

After being expelled from Guinea by French President Charles de Gaulle for ein political activism, she return to Central Africa to support de struggle for independence from France. She dey organize den mobilized women for de Parti Solidaire Africain, (PSA) an organization from Belgian Congo whose goal be freeing Africa from colonial rule. Blouin described how after one month insyd May 1960, she enroll 45,000 members insyd de PSA. Some of de preoccupations dat de platform reflected were the following:

* To make all women, no matter what age, literate.
* To promote an understanding of health den hygiene.
* To combat alcoholism.
* To work for women ein rights.
* To work for de protection of de abandoned woman and child.
* To work for the social progress of the African.

The movement sana dey outline chapters throughout de provinces den empower local women to take up leadership roles in de movement. Later at year she become chief of protocol insyd Patrice Lumumba ein government, form during de aftermath of Congolese independence from Belgium. Ein position include being a "speechwriter den serving as a diplomatic liaison to European governments during de transition to independence" insyd de Congo. Before dat, she had already shown ein "mettle during de grueling weeks on de campaign trail" plus de PSA. She sana work regularly plus Lumumba, Gizenga, den Mulele insyd Leopoldville.

Blouin dey work so closely plus Lumumba insyd ein "inner circle," dat de press nicknamed them "team Lumum-Blouin." However, Blouin was sana "assumed to be entangled insyd sexual relations" plus different powerful men, solely because she be a woman plus "clout" whose actions were "subverting conventional feminine roles." De media call ein "an adventurer insyd de service of communism," den she sana be said to be teaching women to "revolt against demma husbands den homes." Many articles rarely mentioned dat she be "an accomplished orator," de most "eloquent spokesperson for de PSA," den introduced many successful ideas. Furthermore, she knew how to listen to people, how to "sum up" what was needed insyd specific instances, den how to "calibrate ein interventions accordingly." Because of ein personal experience insyd de colonial system, she be able to "discern de machinations of de Belgians den demma Congolese supporters" den "plumb de far-reaching impact of de colonial educational system, particularly on women." Moreover, ein efforts to feed de crew dat accompanied ein on speaking tours were "fueled by ein understanding of how important morale be to de success of de campaign."

When de Congolese "opposition took up arms against de country ein military dictator," Joseph Mobutu, Blouin be demma "spokeswoman, first from Algiers den then from Brazzaville, where President Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria sent her on a humanitarian mission to help children orphaned by de rebellions." To de Western diplomats den reporters, Blouin ein presence meant dat Congo be becoming communist. When Lumumba be assassinated, Blouin became a target. Ein daughter Eve recounts how ein mommie was sentenced to death den be forced to flee de Congo.

Insyd 1973, ein husband divorced ein and she then decide to settle insyd Paris. Insyd Europe, she continue ein work as an advocate for gender den social equality, as well as for economic justice insyd various African countries.

During ein life, ein activism dey raise concerns insyd de Western world: de Eisenhower administration den de Belgian authorities worry about ein supposed Communist links den de *New York Times* call ein an "advocate of extreme African nationalism." However, she describe einself as a socialist who be committed to African nationalism. Blouin ein daughter recount how she become a "den mother" to African "opposition figures den revolutionaries" who needed a place to stay.

## End of life
She be diagnosed plus lymphoma den "dey grow despondent over de oppression dat continue even after de end of colonialism." She die on 9 April 1986.

## Literary works
Blouin ein autobiography, *My Country, Africa: Autobiography of a Black Pasionaria*, be published insyd English insyd 1983. Jean MacKellar collaborate with Blouin and completed interviews and the editing of the book. However, Blouin rejected de book den attempted to sue MacKellar to block de publication because she be not satisfied de story being presented insyd "social-psychological terms" instead of as a "political testament."

## Insyd popular culture
She features prominently insyd de 2024 film Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat which depict de Congolese independence process den Lumumba ein death.

## Further reading

* *My Country, Africa. Autobiography of* *de Black Pasionaria*, autobiography plus Jean MacKellar, Introduction by Adom Getachew den Thomas Meaney, Verso Books, 2025.
* Bouwer Karen, "Andrée Blouin: A Sister among Brothers insyd Struggle", insyd *Gender* *den Decolonization insyd de Congo: De Legacy of Patrice Lumumba*, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp. 71–99..

## Sanso See

* African nationalism
* Pan-Africanism

## References