Agaciro, The Rwandan Spirit: An exclusive interview with Melissa Tenkhi
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:03 In February 2019, Algerians took to the streets in protest demanding a complete makeover on the country's political system,
00:11 in peaceful protest named Hirak, also known as the Revolution of Smiles.
00:17 This peaceful movement, staged by the people, the biggest of the country's independence,
00:23 is what led to Bouteflika's resignation as the head of state after two decades' rule.
00:29 Fascinated and moved by the uprising that was taking place in her own native country of Algeria,
00:36 Melissa Tenki, then a marketing director at a prestigious event management company in Dubai,
00:43 resigned and moved to Algeria to capture the movement's essence,
00:47 the eyes and the voices of individuals fueling the movement on the ground.
00:53 [Music]
00:57 The project was two episodes of a web series published on YouTube in December 2019,
01:02 which captured the involvement of the youth in the staging of the Hirak movement.
01:07 It documented their vision for future Algeria.
01:10 This young generation of talented individuals show the world how to believe and act peacefully
01:16 for a brighter future despite the challenging circumstances.
01:20 This has set the tone of BESMA's philosophy revolving around empowerment, expression and positive reinforcement.
01:27 Up to date, BESMA is the only piece of content that truly honors the aspiration of an entire nation.
01:34 BESMA web series aims to empower young Africans by producing content
01:40 that enables them to control the narrative and express themselves through culture and art.
01:46 From Algeria, Melissa is filmed in Cote d'Ivoire and now Rwanda in an episode called "Agachiro, the Rwandan Spirit".
01:55 [Music]
02:01 My journey started very classic.
02:04 I'm an Algerian born and raised in France in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
02:09 I never understood why I was born there.
02:11 I remember being eight or nine and telling my father why we didn't stop in Marseille.
02:15 I guess we would have had the sun.
02:17 Why this town? Now I know why the town.
02:19 Because a big factory was there and this is where Algerian labor were welcome and stuff.
02:23 But it was such in the middle of nowhere. I was like, I don't belong. This is not my city.
02:27 So I think very young I knew that I was an immigrant and I had to leave.
02:30 And it was in my personality.
02:31 So when I was 19, I got my degree because I knew that education would be a way out.
02:37 And my mom would always remind us that you are Algerian.
02:39 If you want to succeed, you need a big degree and stuff.
02:42 So I went to business school, got my degree, got an internship.
02:45 And then I'm like, I'm moving to Dubai. I'm going to make it to Dubai.
02:48 And in 2011, November 2011, I was still a student in a gap year.
02:53 And I moved to Dubai.
02:54 And ever since I was like, this is home.
02:56 And I never, I just made my, I obviously I've traveled ever since.
03:00 But since November 2011, I'm like Dubai is my home.
03:03 So I did like wait, like tiny, small jobs, whatever.
03:06 And struggled a bit for a year and then got a job.
03:10 And I joined an English company.
03:12 And I joined as a marketing junior.
03:14 And I grew in that company and I ended up head of marketing after five years.
03:19 It was a lot of challenges, but I've learned so much.
03:21 And working with English is, to me was a blessing because I love English mentality in business.
03:27 It's all about what you put on the table and what you become.
03:30 And yeah, and then after five years, merger has happened.
03:34 Big corporation got in and I was like, and it was actually a French group.
03:37 I was like, holy shit, this guy is following me.
03:39 And then I just got bored of like five years of like, you know, I'm out.
03:44 And then I quit.
03:45 So it was October 2019 and I went to Algiers.
03:49 So basically at that time in Algeria, we were protesting against the current rulership.
03:53 So we had a president that was a strong icon for decades in the country.
03:58 But then the team that he was working with announced his fifth mandate.
04:05 And then I got introduced to the best filmmaker ever, who's Algerian also.
04:08 And he did this masterpiece that like literally blows everyone away.
04:12 And on 10th of December, the first episode was out, which was two day prior the election.
04:17 And it gives so much hope.
04:19 So the first episode was a huge success.
04:21 And I was so happy.
04:22 I was like, yeah, let's not lose hope.
04:24 It's going to take time, you know, because at that time, basically we were having elections.
04:28 Because Bouteflika, who was the running president for 20 years and was in a very weak condition,
04:34 had quit one month after the protest.
04:37 And then so the establishment had put together an election that we all knew the outcome beforehand.
04:42 And, you know, election in Africa, most of African countries.
04:46 So we just knew who's going to be designated.
04:50 So this video and this first episode was really like, yes, we need more strength.
04:55 And we're going to carry and still be living, you know.
04:58 And I would say to everyone, you don't get rid of a rulership of 30 years of corruption,
05:05 of weak governance, no vision and stuff.
05:07 An election doesn't change the game.
05:09 It's a long term goal.
05:11 So it's a marathon.
05:12 It's a marathon.
05:13 And we have to keep on believing.
05:15 So they screened that documentary on national TV in France.
05:18 And it was very insulting.
05:20 And basically at that night, everyone on Twitter was using Besma, hashtag Besma.
05:26 Like, if you want to get to know Algerian youth, no, you have to watch Besma.
05:30 And boom, my episode got 10,000 views more and stuff.
05:33 And I was like, oh, wow, I'm sitting on something.
05:36 And then I'm like, let me go again to Algeria.
05:38 There's so many stories I can say.
05:40 And then COVID, I cannot go again.
05:42 So this is when I'm like, my life is about to change because I cannot go back to Dubai either.
05:47 Because there's no events.
05:48 My background was in events, marketing events.
05:51 And I'm like, I'm having this concept.
05:52 I'm a businesswoman.
05:53 I'm a marketeer.
05:54 Let me develop that concept.
05:55 And then I'm like, well, a youth, thriving youth with so much potential and a rulership
06:00 at the top that doesn't do much, it's not only Algeria.
06:04 It's the entire continent, you know?
06:06 So then this is when I decided to have Besma as a platform for the African youth.
06:10 And Besma means a smile because I wanted to show the optimism and positivity.
06:15 What happened then was initially it was supposed to be an Algerian product because this is the way it was born.
06:21 But then COVID has blocked the border.
06:23 So I couldn't go again to Algeria.
06:25 And then over the summer, my life has changed.
06:27 I was supposed to be a consultant in events marketing.
06:29 COVID has stopped events.
06:30 I'm like, what am I supposed to do with my life?
06:32 And then what happened is end of May, National TV in France, they screened a documentary
06:37 about Algerian youth and their movement.
06:39 And they narrated, they said that this youth has gone out because they wanted to have freedom of sex and drink alcohol.
06:48 The natural dismiss of French journalism against a North African issue.
06:52 You know, the hijab, anyway.
06:55 Then I did the second episode, which was about, because I was like, I was on another, like, I didn't go to West Africa.
07:02 I was like, I'm going to show Algeria to the world.
07:04 I'm going to tell you what Algeria is all about.
07:06 So the second episode was about art.
07:20 And I really worked on the episode because I really wanted to send the message that it's not because we don't have freedom of spread or traditional platform that Europe has to express their opinion, that we do not express ourselves.
07:33 We do express ourselves in stadium, in songs, in painting, in art.
07:38 And if you do not look at us, it's your issue.
07:41 But we do express ourselves.
07:42 And that was really the message that I was sending.
07:44 Like, no, there's a lot of content that you can look at that would reflect what Algerian society is all about.
07:49 But that episode got out right before the pandemic crisis.
07:52 So I don't think people were in the mood to reflect before a global epidemic.
07:57 And what I was very surprised is that in Abidjan, where both French speaking countries, as in old French colonies, nobody knew what was going on in Algeria.
08:06 I'm like, well, we're wearing the same shit.
08:09 Like, it's pretty similar.
08:10 They didn't know because we're just so obsessed with one part of the world.
08:13 So then I realized that building that platform for the African youth will also allow the African youth to look at North, East, West, you know.
08:20 And so then I'm like, Algeria and Cote d'Ivoire are fairly different culturally.
08:26 But it was the same French colonies, the election, blah, blah, blah, same nonsense.
08:31 So then I'm like, let me go to a country that actually works.
08:34 Let me go to Rwanda.
08:35 And then I, wow.
08:37 And like, culturally, Abidjan, Kigali is like very different.
08:40 Like, the craziness of Abidjan is not here.
08:42 The people is like, here the people are very reserved, disciplined.
08:47 I think Rwandese are disciplined, which I don't think the rest of continent has.
08:50 Because as much as we can, I appreciate the leadership of Rwanda and I'm a big fan of Kagame for years.
08:56 At the end of the day, it's a reflection of the people.
08:58 And the level of discipline Rwanda has, I don't think a lot of us in the continent, we have.
09:03 And then this is why very quickly I'm like, because with my local director, I'm like, you guys have a strong self-esteem here.
09:10 I'm like, yeah, you do.
09:12 Because here I'm not a white girl.
09:13 And so this is why one of the first thing I've noticed when I was in Rwanda was the self-esteem.
09:19 Because here I'm not a white girl.
09:21 I'm a foreigner, which I am.
09:23 And nobody is trying to screw you.
09:26 There's not the concept of the white rich foreigner.
09:29 Like, you know, I pay the price and stuff.
09:31 So strong sense of dignity and stuff.
09:33 And I was talking about somewhere, I'm like, you guys have a strong self-esteem.
09:36 Where is this from?
09:37 And he's like, yeah, we have this thing called agachiro and stuff.
09:39 I was like, oh yeah, tell me, what is agachiro?
09:41 And then I'm like, yeah, this is it.
09:43 Agachiro is what we've lost in the rest of the continent.
09:46 And I want to promote that to the continent.
09:49 This is what we need.
09:50 We need self-worth.
09:51 We need to value and appreciate who we are.
09:53 Otherwise, we're not going to get anywhere.
09:55 And we're going to keep on embracing those concepts from above that hasn't worked for the past centuries.
10:00 I've loved Paul Kagame for years.
10:03 I love his aura, his charisma, and his self-esteem.
10:07 Agachiro, next level.
10:08 Like, that's me.
10:09 No matter what you say.
10:10 He really looks like Obama.
10:11 He has a lot of Obama thing in him.
10:13 Obama is half Kenyan.
10:15 Obama is not a slave descendant.
10:17 Obama is half Kenyan.
10:18 Kenyan Rwanda, you know.
10:20 The way they stand, you know, the charisma.
10:22 Yeah, it's very like, you know, I was like, oh, this is Obama-ish.
10:25 Eastern part of Africa.
10:27 But, so yeah, so I've always been the way he stands and stuff.
10:31 The vision, the leadership.
10:32 And obviously, his journey, he has a legacy.
10:36 And one interview that I watched of him, he said, "Listen, I fought for my rights during the genocide against the Tutsi
10:43 at the time that nobody in the world could ever give them to me.
10:47 This is it."
10:48 So then this man, who was fighting for the liberation of his country and all of that,
10:53 who are you to tell me what human rights is or what democracy or what equality is?
10:57 I was by myself with my team and my people liberating my land that technically you've corrupted and all that, created that mess.
11:04 So that's why I was like, this is a man.
11:07 This is what we need.
11:08 And so the first thing I did when I first came to Rwanda was like, let me educate myself.
11:11 Because I didn't know much about the genocide.
11:13 So then I learned that it was called the genocide against the Tutsi and stuff.
11:16 And then I was like, how did you manage to unite the country?
11:19 Because, you know, divide to rule, they play that in the entire continent.
11:23 And, you know, in my language, in my country, we have this, but we have different language.
11:27 And then I'm told that, no, Rwanda, same people, same language.
11:30 So then I'm like, how have you been screwed?
11:33 And then so I went to the memorial and I read it like for two hours.
11:37 I'm like, let me educate myself.
11:39 Let me understand.
11:40 And when I find out that the Hutu-Tutsi thing was based on 10 cows plus and below,
11:46 I'm like, holy shit, they were evilly clever.
11:50 And but then you guys have been even more clever after that, because I think,
11:55 I think that's why I think Rwanda is the heart of Africa, because you've experienced at the worst
11:59 what this colonial ideology could be.
12:02 So that now you have this responsibility to it will never happen again.
12:06 This is my dream to interview Kagame.
12:09 The first question I'll ask Kagame.
12:12 Oh, God, this is a big question.
12:14 I think I'll ask him, how is it to be the leader and nobody besides you?
12:22 Rwanda, the heart of Africa, also known as the country of Thousand Hills,
12:26 the Thousand Hills who witnessed one of the most tragic events of the 21st century.
12:30 Twenty years of recovery and rebuilding from the horrific genocide against the Tutsi.
12:35 Rwanda is celebrated as the fastest growing economy in Africa,
12:38 one of the cleanest country in the world, infrastructure development,
12:41 and therefore the ultimate destination in the continent.
12:44 The remarkable success of this nation is a living example of an entire generation
12:48 that believes in what was deemed to be the impossible.
12:51 Through the eyes of local creatives and entrepreneurs,
12:53 we discuss the Rwandan spirit between memory and modernity.
12:57 Aga cheira, the Rwandan spirit.
12:59 So I always pick a bunch of creatives and entrepreneurs,
13:03 mostly like this new generation of Africa, and I make them discuss who they are, their journey.
13:09 And here the question were about aga cheira, but also what are your ambitions in the continent
13:14 and what difficulties do you face?
13:16 Because again, these are the problems.
13:18 You are an established CEO of a very prosperous company here in Rwanda,
13:22 why can't you expand that process in Kenya or in Cameroon or in Congo or anywhere?
13:29 So these are real difficulties that the youth are concerned about.
13:34 I think Rwanda and Algeria, there's not a big Algerian community here,
13:40 but the thing that we have in common between Algerian and Rwandese is the proud.
13:45 We don't take shit. We know who we are.
13:47 But Algerian is on an emotional level. We react and we attack.
13:52 Rwandese is on a mind level. They produce and they create.
13:55 So basically with Bessma and the journey that I'm going through with it,
14:01 I want this to become a platform.
14:03 And my plan is to travel in many African countries I can and do the same hustling.
14:08 Instagram, I went to Abidjan, #Abidjan, what's going on in here?
14:11 Who's the talented, you know?
14:13 And so my next country, so I did Algeria, Ivory Coast, Rwanda.
14:17 Next I want to go Cameroon. Then I want to go Congo.
14:20 And in Congo I want to do a piece of music in Congo.
14:24 Because I'm like, all those new singers, super famous, French.
14:29 I'm like, dude, they all come from Congo.
14:32 And the music piece in Congo is massive.
14:34 And then I'd like to go to the southern part and then Nigeria.
14:38 But Nigeria I think will be the country where I have a big budget.
14:41 Like, okay, fine, you guys are on the moon.
14:43 So I need to really, because yeah, Nigerians.
14:46 So yeah, for the first season I want to go to like seven, eight African countries.
14:50 Establish a momentum.
14:52 What I'm trying to do is a momentum that you don't need anyone to tell your story.
14:56 You don't need the BBC reporter coming and putting those lines of misery and dismiss.
15:00 And tell them, "No, no, no, we are fine."
15:03 The day you will deal with what we deal on a daily basis, we have a lot to teach you.
15:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]