JAZZYGRINATIONS (THE BAND – AID)
DEDICATION: JEAN LACOMBE CADUSSEAU
He came from a « good » family in the southwestern France, Bordeaux, a « bourgeois », conservative, and wealthy city, with a history involving the slave trade, like many coastal place in Europe and the Americas.
Jean Lacombe-Cadusseau lost his father—a judge—at an early age. He was legally emancipated at sixteen to manage the family affairs, as women in France at the time faced significant legal incapacities. Shortly thereafter, he was conscripted into the colonial war in Algeria—a conflict wicht scars remain to this day.
I met him in Abidjan at HB International Airport, through an acquaintance of my mother. I was eighteen at the time. He gave me one simple piece of advice that proved invaluable later on: « Be respectful and maintain your dignity. »
Fortunately for me—and, I assume, for him—our paths crossed again. When, at 19, I was granted the Master’s Degree, I expected him to shower me with congratulations ; instead, he said: « Get in the car; we’re going to visit some employment agencies. You need to work this summer… »
I was devastated, realizing that my future wasn’t going to be a bed of roses. Indeed, it was far from easy; one hardship followed another. But as the saying goes, « What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. »
Jean Lacombe-Cadusseau— »mon vieux, » as I called him—showed me a pure, unadulterated affection. He was a Good Man, a truly Great Man.
He belonged to a vanished breed of « toubabou » —a type of European figure that no longer exists in Africa. He gave a great deal, and in turn, received much from the people whose lives he touched.