Garibaldi, a man from Nice? A little, a lot, passionately.
Nice, July 4, 1807. Nice, July 4, 2007. Many things have changed dear Josué in two centuries. Perhaps you would not recognize your city, the one that saw you born. You would be surprised to see yourself immortalized in a statue. The mild climate has not changed. The people of Nice, hardly at all. They are still as… How to say without being hurtful or falling into lexical inaccuracies? We will say that the people of Nice are always as rebellious against centralizing dependencies, irreconcilable with state submission. This trait in you, dear Josué, turned into a quality. It led you to fight for the freedom of peoples in landscapes near your native land and distant, on other oceanic shores.
On this July 4, 1807, what did your mother think when she first looked at you? She did not know what you would become. Yet, she had just given birth to a child who would enter History with a capital H for Hero, Humanity. Josué would associate these two words throughout his life in Nice, in South America, and on the other side of the Alps in a territory that would become Italy. Hundreds of works recount your adventures. They sometimes differ depending on the writing context, the political color of the author. Necessity of recovery. But that’s because you are an example for many. Who would not wish to have the same qualities as you, to have as much influence? Times have changed. Motivations too. You acted for others. Today, people act for themselves.
Questions arise about you. What would you do if you were alive today? What adventures would your desires to help the oppressed lead you to? Would you be in politics? Who would you resemble? Like Abbé Pierre, or a member of an NGO roaming the world to aid the destitute…? One can only speculate. A useless speculation made of hypotheses, infinitely random transpositions. And yet, you are so overly commemorated, my dear Josué. This Wednesday, July 4, 2007, we are going to celebrate you. Regardless of the commemoration, official or unofficial, the essential thing is to remember that 200 years ago, a Niçois Hero of the Two Worlds as Victor Hugo described you, was born. Happy Birthday Josué. Long live your ideals.
Links from the Nice-Premium archives
Nice Premium Biography
Interview with Jean-Pierre Mangiapan
