At the border again: Saint Georges-Oiapoque

Driving 200 kilometers southwards on the RN2 road from Cayenne will lead you to Saint Georges a border village with Brazil set on the Oyapock river. Note that the asphalted portion of the RN2 road between Regina and Saint Georges was completed in 2004.

Saint Georges is a quiet typical Guyenese small village where the connection with Oiapoque (Brazil) is made with pirogues commuting on both sides of the Oyapock river. In 2011 a huge cable-stayed bridge connecting the two cities was built. The road on the Brazilian side is not yet completed therefore the bridge is not open yet to traffic. This is planned in 2013 (?). Therefore, a kind of cathedral in the desert at the moment...

Before having a glance on Saint Georges, the short history of the border line between French Guiana and Brazil is worth to remind. This argued border was initially set by the Utrecht Treaty in 1713.
In the Contesté franco-brésilien, the following sentence of the 1713 treaty was the causing the issue:
"Que la navigation de l'Amazone, ainsi que les deux rives du fleuve, appartiendront au Portugal, et que la rivière de Japoc ou Vincent Pinson servira de limite aux deux colonies."
It took roughly 200 years to understand what the diplomats at the time meant with spelling of the word  "Japoc". For Brazilians (who became independent in 1822)  this word was clearly designating the Oiapoque river but for the French the Araguary river (part of the Japoc region?). A Swiss arbitration in 1900 gave right to Brazil on their interpretation of the treaty adding a surface corresponding to half the surface of France to the Northern part of their territory!
En passant, the history of the western border (between French Guiana and Suriname) is not more glorious for France. There is even still an area situated on the high Maroni river which is under argument...For further reading on the topic click here...
But let's come back to Saint Georges. The most active part of the city is organised around a large square sitting, on one edge, along the Oyapock river. On the opposite side of the river, a refreshed town hall can be observed, the rest of the perimeter being filled with small restaurants, a grocery and some usual houses. In the middle of this square, a memorial sadly reminds the names of the local citizens who lost there life in the first world war (1914-1918).

A closer view on it unveils the long list of people who were sent to remote european battle fields in 1914 somewhere between other borders: those of France Belgium and Germany. They likely had no clue where it was before leaving French Guyana and what were the reasons of this conflict. Considering the small size of the village and the amount of human losses, it easy to understand the importance of the 1914-1918 tragedy.
Today, it should be reminded all the time that the period of ca 70 years of peace and growth that benefited  Europe since 1945 was due to the development of the European Union process between the the old fighting nations. Contemplating this monument, it is easy to understand why this process should be pursued and consolidated today to face the challenges of the new surfacing world.

The town hall can be easily be identified by its blue and yellow colours on the facade. The city blazon with the bow in the left corner can be noticed. A slogan beneath the city blazon "M'arc boute  POC à POC" reflects an onomatopoeia, related to the noise of a bow when it is arched. The presence of a  Jaguar fighting with an indigenous man on the same blazon is peculiar enough to be mentioned as well.

On the right hand side of the square (when looking at the town hall) stands a small restaurant with the lovely name of "Chez Modestine". The restaurant terrace faces the square. From there, you can observe  taxis commuting on the river.

For literature lovers, Modestine refers to Robert Louis Stevenson, a famous Scottish (travel) writer. If everybody knows the Treasure Island, few people only knows Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. Modestine was the name of this unpredictable but lovely donkey who brought to Stevenson's trip some unexpected surprises... At the restaurant, no donkey, just a nice scarlett macaw on the signboard.

Before starting the river crossing to Brazil, don't miss the only "monument" of the village: the church. It is at this very place, that "donkey's ears" ago, deported prisoners discovered in the soil some Dutch coins representing Saint Georges while they were building the church. This may be the explanation of the village's name.

Eventually it's time to embark to Oiapoque (Portugese spelling) i.e. the Brazilian border city on the other side of the river. At Saint Georges pier, a "taxi"driver is almost waiting for you round the clock. The transfer will last 15 minutes and cost 5 euro for a single ticket per person. Click here to get the journey impressions.
On the other side, this is the Oiapoque "harbor" as you will discover it:

It is not sure that the vast majority of Rio de Janiero or other Brazilian citizens from large cities would recognise Brazil at this very place or even precisely locate this nice city on the map. Anyway, welcome to Brazil!
A warning notice plate written in Portuguese and something between French and Creole languages tells you about risks across the border. For sure this represents a promising discovery as important as the Rosetta Stone for  archaeologists of the next millennium :-)

In case you get homesick, you still have a chance to see the French Guyana bank from the Brazilian side. Then you will realise two things:

First, that the landscape on the Oyapock river and the Saint-Georges - Oiapoque bridge on the background is absolutely gorgeous. 

Secondly, that the river is not a real border but on the contrary a link between the peoples.

Behind the walls

The penal colony has been active in French Guyana over one century (1852-1953). One of the most important vestige of this punishment system can still be seen in Saint Laurent du Maroni, a city set along the Maroni river.  Convicted (but also innocent) people where transported from France up to the "camp de transportation" in this penitentiary township before being distributed in the different forced labour camps all over French Guyana. Working conditions were devastating and mortality extremely high.
This enterprise, despite the promising words* of Louis Napoleon on 22/11/1850 (two years and a half after the Abolitionism was voted by the interim government of the 2nd Republic**) proved to be a total disaster!
Later, thanks to the efforts of Albert Londres, and other less known people, the barbarity of such a system became openly known. Eventually, after the 2nd world war, France was condemned by the United Nation and dropped the penal colony.


*"Six thousand condemned men in our prisons weigh heavily on our budget, becoming increasingly depraved and constantly menacing our society. I think it is possible to make the sentence of forced labour more effective, more moralising, less expensive and more humane by using it to further the progress of French colonisation."
** Decree dated 27th April 1848

Make sure you get the right dictionary

Is there a place in the world where so many languages can be spoken in a so limited area as it is the case here in French Guiana (and Suriname)?
The variety and number of languages will certainly strike the attention of anyone interested in languages.  This peculiar situation is likely the results or the combination of several elements:

• the survival of few original ethnic groups (e.g. Amerindians), despite the deforestation/urbanisation,
• the contribution or influence of the colonisation into the local languages (e.g. Creole),
• the various immigration flows (e.g. Chinese, Hmong communities),
• the vicinity with large linguistic groups (Portuguese and Spanish),

The map below provides a snapshot of this diversity:

Credits: SIL international

Here below are tentatively  listed 19 living languages that are spoken in French Guiana:

• 5 European languages: French, Portugese, Dutch, Spanish, English
• 3 Asian languages: Hmong Njua, Hakka Chinese, Vietnamese
• 2 Creole languages: French Guiana Creole, Haitian Creole
• 6 Amerindian languages: Arawak, Palikúr, Kali'na, Wayana, Wayampi, Emerillon
• 3 Maroon dialects: Saramaccan, Aluku, Ndyuka

This list is certainly not exhaustive not taking into account dialects or languages imported by numerous immigrated people. For instance, the taki taki (known as sranan tongo = Suriname tongue) spoken by the Surinamese community of French Guiana (this language belongs to the creole group above) or even North levantine spoken by Arabic people originated from France...The permanent installation of Soyuz in CSG (ELS) will also bring more and more native Russians in French Guiana.
What makes also difficult to know exactly what we are talking about, is that a single language may show alternate names: For instance, Wayana language may be quoted as Ajana, Uaiana, Alucuyana, Guaque, Ojana, Orcocoyana, Pirixi, Urukuena, Waiano etc...
Even if some languages are spoken by a very limited number of persons (< 1000 for the Wayampi) and some other may even not be written, this diversity does reflect the culture of very ancient ethnic groups and the richness of the  local patrimony. For this reason, they need to be protected in order not to disappear due to the side effects of the globalisation.
Other information can be collected on the web page of the Ethnologue, languages of the world.
So, before packing your stuff to French Guiana don't mix up the dictionaries to bring with you :-)