Survie (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

for "survival") is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

(NGO) founded in 1984 to fight hunger and corruption in the

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

. It has since become a federation of departmental associations, composed of 1,600 paying members, about a 100 activists and six employees. In September 2005, Odile Tobner became president of Survie, a post previously held by

François-Xavier Verschave François-Xavier Verschave (28 October 1945 – 29 June 2005) was primarily known as one of the founders of the French NGO '' Survie'' ("Survival"), over which he presided since 1995, and as coiner of the term '' Françafrique'', an expression ...

, famous for his criticisms of French

neocolonialism Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to ...

in African former colonies and his neologism ''

Françafrique In international relations, () is France's sphere of influence (or in French, meaning 'backyard') over former French and (also French-speaking) Belgian colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. The term was derived from the expression , which was use ...

''.

Brief history

Origin

Survie was founded in 1984 as a consequence of the 1981 ''Manifesto Appeal of the Nobel Prizewinners'' against hunger, written by

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (born 26 November 1931) is an Argentine activist, community organizer, painter, writer and sculptor. He was the recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1 ...

, French engineer Jean Fabre and the founder of the

Italian Radical Party The Italian Radical Party (), also known as the Historical Radical Party (''Partito Radicale storico''), was a political party in Italy. Heir of the Historical Far Left and representative of Italy's political left in its beginning, with the ...

Marco Pannella Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella; 2 May 1930 – 19 May 2016) was an Italian politician, journalist and activist. He was well known in his country for his nonviolence and civil rights' campaigns, like the 1974 Italian divorce referendum, ...

. The ''Manifesto Appeal'' was signed originally by 55 Nobel laureates (123 Nobel laureates had signed it by 1996). To promote the ''Manifesto Appeal'', an international NGO was founded in Bruxelles, Food and Disarmament International, while ''Survie'' was launched in Belgium and Italy, drawing tens of thousands of people.

Survival acts

In 1983, after the involvement of several Belgian mayors and a hunger strike spontaneously initiated by a blind man, the

Belgian Parliament The Federal Parliament (; ; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). It sits in the Palace of the Nation in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. ...

unanimously voted for a "Survival Act", which accorded 10 billion Belgian francs (1.6 billion French francs) to

development aid Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. It is distinguishe ...

in East Africa. In 1984, more than 8,000 French mayors were members of Survie, while the next year the Italian Parliament passed a Survival Act according 9 billion French francs to an 18-month program in countries severely affected by hunger and decertification. Previously the French Parliament had failed to pass legislation similar to the Belgian and Italian Acts, however, Survie focused on lobbying deputies (MPs) instead of mayors. In the March 1993 Parliament, 319 MPs, along with the Prime minister, the Minister of Economics, the Foreign Affairs minister and the Cooperation minister, signed the proposal for a Survival Act. The Bill was conceived in 1989 by 5 MPs from all five groups of the French Parliament (

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

French Socialist Party The Socialist Party ( , PS) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in France, political party in France. It holds Social democracy, social democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European v ...

, and the conservative

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy ( ; UDF) was a centre-right political party in France. The UDF was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over ...

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

, and UDC). It provided .001 percent of the French national budget (6 billion French francs per year) to aid development, to be delivered according to a new institutional model, giving a key role to civil society. During this campaign, Survie recognized the extent of the corruption affecting public aid development, which it dubbed "secret aid to counter-development", arguing that this aid was a main instrument of the

neocolonialist Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to t ...

'' as it fostered support for various dictators in former French colonies."La campagne Survie : d’où vient-elle ? que veut-elle?" Online posting
Survie
1996.

Rwandan genocide

The

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

was a shock for many people, as it pointed to the dark side of France's links with former colonies (the bright side of which is formed by the official ''

Francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

'' organization).

, at the time the president of Survie, wrote several books criticizing the French state's involvement in Rwanda and alleging that some French elements took part, in a way or another, in that genocide. All French forces left in December 1993 at the insistence of the RPF. They only returned during Operation Amaryllis which evacuated expatriates during the first days of the genocide, and in the UN Operation Turquoise which successfully saved civilians including Tutsis from harm. A '' Mission d'information parlementaire sur le Rwanda'' (Parliamentary Information Mission on Rwanda) was created following several newsarticles by ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''. Survie preferred the creation of a Parliamentary Investigation Commission. Survie has not adapted its position to match the evidence brought out in the ICTR trials.

Comoros

Survie opposes the French presence in

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

, a French overseas territory

Collectivité d'outre-mer The French overseas collectivities ( abbreviated as COM) are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies and other French o ...

, and supports its integration into the

Union of the Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moro ...

. The NGO claims that the referendum through which the Mayotte population chose to remain under French sovereignty was illegal. If the reintegration of Mayotte with the

Comoros Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte be ...

cannot be achieved, the NGO advocates an exceptional migrant status for the inhabitants of Mayotte—the Mahorais—which would remove the requirement for visas between the Comores and Mayotte.

Relationship with other organizations

Survie founded several NGOs, including ATTAC, Biens Publics à l'Echelle Mondiale and the Observatoire de la Coopération Française. It is also a member of the Center for research and information about development, the Citizen Commission of Investigation on the Implication of France in Rwanda, and the Coalition des ONG pour la Cour Pénale Internationale (NGO coalition for the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Anti-globalization activists Non-profit organizations based in France Neocolonialism French colonial empire Politics of France Politics of Rwanda Poverty-related organizations Hunger relief organizations