2 April 2007

Greetings Family,

How are you? It has been a while since I have written
to you and I trust that you are well. I am doing fine
here in France. I arrived here on March 17 and it has
been a largely quiet stay so far as I have mostly just
tried to be a good father. My daughter, Assata
Garvey, is more than eighteen months now. She is very
active, very mischievous, bubbling with energy,
charming, very attractive, sweet and utterly adorable
(at least she is when she has a full belly and a dry
diaper!). I love my daughter and I am delighted to be
able to spend quality time with her. And I must say
that her mother is doing an excellent job! So I am a
very fortunate man.

On the scholastic front, my French language book, A
Hundred-Thousand-Year History of the African Presence
in Asia, published by Editions Monde Global, was
featured last week at the twenty-seventh annual Paris
Book Fair. This is the largest book fair in France
and probably all of Europe. My book has had steady
success here since its publication in December 2005. 
Now, what I would really like is to see is the book
with a wider circulation in Africa itself. 

And I have been keeping sctive in other areas as well.
 Last Thursday I had meetings and lunch with the
Senegalese delegation at the headquarters of UNESCO in
Paris. Saturday evening I was hosted by the dynamic
organization Africa Maat for a slide presentation on
the African presence in pre-Columbian America. This
morning I did a big radio interview on the same
subject for the radio station here with the largest
African listenership. And tomorrow night I do a slide
presentation on the African presence in Asia. 

And I've been to two major museums: the Branly Museum
(focusing on the indigenous arts of Australia and the
Pacific, Indonesia, sub-Saharan Africa, and
pre-Columbian America) and the Musee Guimet (the
national museum of the arts of Asia), which included a
special exhibit on Afghan antiquities. 

The biggest lesson that I have learned on this trip to
France revolves around the issue of language. For
example, I have met with several really serious
African scholars here and I have only been able to
glimpse at the profundity of their works because I
don't read or speak French! This is so very
frustrating! I so very much want to talk directly to
these Africans, to read their works, to hear their
lectures and gain from their knowledge. But I just
can't seem to get the language!

So that is enough for now. This weekend I head to
Morocco for my long-awaited Morocco's African Heritage
group tour. And then I take off for several days to
Senegal and the Gambia. It will be my third trip to
Morocco and my first trip to Senegal and the Gambia. 
Among the most significant parts of the Senegal trip
will be visits to Goree Island and Cheikh Anta Diop
University. In the Gambia I hope to visit Alex
Haley's ancestral village. In both countries I will
be scouting the basis of a group tour to Southern
Morocco, Senegal, and the Gambia for November/December
2007.

Before I sign off today I want to express my deep
appreciation to brother Maurice Akingeneye--a great 
translator, a strong warrior, and a real African
patriot. He is patient, gentle, perceptive, caring,
humble, selfless, brilliant and hard working. I wish
that we had a million Africans just like him!

So take care sisters and brothers. Runoko is doing
well and will write to you when he can. And it is not
to late to sign up to travel with me to Egypt. Come
on and sail on the Nile with me and visit the land of
our illustrious Ancestors.

In love of Africa,

Runoko Rashidi, in the suburbs of Paris 
http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/runoko.html