The memory of Ibrahim Ali still alive in Marseille
Every year, on February 21, Marseille is covered with a veil of sadness in memory of Ibrahim Ali, a Marseille native who fell under the bullets of a National Front poster paster in 1995. Some 27 years later, the traces of this racist crime is still palpable, even if a long way has been covered since then.
This Monday, at 4 chemins des Aygalades, where Ibrahim Ali was shot, the emotion was there. Residents, family and friends of the deceased, or local elected officials, paid him a new tribute. “ Through the smiles and laughter of my mom and your cousins, I can tell you how much they miss you today. I can tell you that it was very hard for them, this 21 February 1995. From one day to the next, you disappeared from their lives, in a brutal and violent way. Like in a movie where the good guy dies at the end “, testifies Liam, little cousin of the deceased, followed by another poignant testimony of Chaïma, also little cousin. A wreath is laid in front of the commemorative plaque, after a minute of silence. The tribute was intended to be intimate, Benoît Payan (PS), mayor of Marseille, also lays a wreath to him alongside young Liam.
All take the direction of the Maison pour Tous-Centre Social Vallon des Tuves-Savine where an exhibition, proposed by the collective B-Vice, of which Ibrahim Ali was a part, must be represented. This is where Soly M’Bae, one of the founders of B.Vice and close to the deceased, speaks: “ My heart closes, my eyes get wet, 27 years it lasts. Always this lump in my stomach when I think of her, this cursed February night 1995 “. He holds back his tears and weighs his words. ” It took 26 years for the avenue des Aygalades to bear his name, 26 years to free us “, he recalls.
Because since last year on the same date, the avenue where the murder was committed has been renamed avenue Ibrahim Ali, on the initiative of the new municipal team, after too many years of ignorance by that of Jean -Claude Gaudin (LR).
Soly’s speech is followed by a strong speech by Benoît Payan: ” We are still here, twenty-seven years later. Marseille will yield nothing to those who stir up hatred. We will always be there, looking to the future, with the ambition of those who want to transform the world. Marseille is a city of universality, open and united, beautiful and fraternal. Ibrahim Ali was one of us. One “Minot of Marseilles”committed and smiling, who knew how to put himself at the service of others and his ideas “.
The fight continues but in another way
But even 27 years later, even after having obtained an avenue in his name, the fight of the family, friends of Ibrahim Ali and elected progressives continues. ” The fachos are still there, in ambush, we have to tell our little brothers and our little sisters to be careful and go vote, because we only have this weapon », Comments Soly. In short, the struggle continues, but in another way: This anti-racism education week is for that. This exhibition is another way to remember, to educate people in tolerance and living together “.
The exhibition retraces the 26 years of struggle of the Ibrahim Ali collective, as if we were going back in time, with several panels where we find numerous press articles, including a certain number of The Marseillaise. ” Here we are in 98, during the trial at the Assize Court “, explains Soly to the mayor of Marseille, “ here we come to the laying of the plaque, last year “. The specificity of the exhibition, a real popular education tool, is to bring the memory of Ibrahim Ali back to life for the whole week. “ There are images that have been in the boxes for years Soly points out. The highlight of this week of commemoration will take place this Saturday, with a festive day at the social center.
“Ibrahim Ali was one of us. A committed and smiling “minot de Marseille”