2. The Color of Yovo

In this post, I will deal with the constant agression white people experience in Benin. First I’d like to offer a few indisputable facts:

Fact 1: White* people are white.

Fact 2: If you think everyone's the same, your visit to Benin will prove otherwise. 

Fact 3: Your “we’re all the same,” “same race,” “same god,” “same family” antics will be quickly destroyed in Benin resulting in one simple and honest conclusion- You are white, Beninese people are black.  This makes you different from one another. 

*=White, in this post refers to all people who are NOT Black.

Warning: This post is real. It’s not imaginary. It might warm your heart. 

Stage 1: Honeymoon.

When you get out of the airport, you'll notice right away that people will call you yovo. I remember being in the market with some friends a week after our arrival. A few children started singing,

“Yovo, yovo bon soir,”

And my two friends, joyfully responding,

“Ça va bien, merci.”

The place was full of ripe fruit, happy Africans, and happy visitors smiling. The kids are so cute, and they’re so interested in you. If they get close, they might brush their hand on your arm hair or play with your big wide curls. Gosh these people are friendly.

Two minutes later the same scenario happens again with different Children. Their mother chimes in.

Five minutes later, kids do it again. The happy song starts to turn hostile. Are those kids taunting you? Is that the only French they know?

Ten minutes later, instead of greeting you at all, a middle-aged pineapple seller greets you with absolutely no notion of manners, shouting “Yovo yovo bon soir,” and you can barely handle it.  What should you do?

Stage 2: Ignorance

Your coping mechanism is to ignore it. It will ago away. They’ll see that I don’t like the greeting, when I don’t respond.

Maybe you’ll be in the market, and a teenager will approach you.

“Yovo yovo bon soir, ça va bien, merci,”

Don’t react. Don’t react, you tell yourself.  Ignore them.  Pretend you don’t hear them or don’t understand.

“Yovo,” the teenager says, as if he had caught up with your though process and wanted to respond.  You don’t say anything. Ignore.  You know greetings are very important in Beninese culture? You’re actually being very rude.

“Yovo?”

Stage 3: Reaction and/or Violence

A few weeks in Benin have given you the courage.  You’re learning to teach, to be a community development worker. You are to transfer skills to the local community. “I’ll teach them to be polite,” you think, “to make sure they understand that I don’t like being called White.”

There are three ways that this stage can unravel. The confrontation will either be highly philosophical, verbally violent, or non-understanding.

Highly Philosophical: 

“Bonjour Yovo.”

“You know, we whites really don’t like being called yovo.”

“Why not, yovo?”

“Because in our country, it’s very rude to point out that someone is different.”

“But you’re in my country.”

“Well, yeah,”

“And you’re white,”

“Well yeah,”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“It bothers me!” (Begin repetition of argument here)

This conversation becomes cyclical, and the truth of the matter is that being called Yovo just bothers you. You don’t really have a reason why, but shouldn’t you be able to control what people call you? I’ve had this conversation with everyone from children to university professors.

Violently Verbal, more commonly for Children:

“Yovo.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yovo.”

“You know, white people don’t like being called yovo.”

“Yovo, yovo.”

“That’s really impolite.”

Children laughing, screaming, we pissed of the yovo!

“Stop it!”

Children approach, as if poking a dog to see if he’s still awake, “Yovo.”

“I’m going to beat the crap out of you.”

Depending on the force of the yovo, children will either run screaming, they will laugh at you more, or a parent will come out of nowhere and defend their rude children. 

Non-Understanding:

“Yovo.”

“Don’t say that, I don’t like it.”

“Yovo.”

“Please, I’m asking you nicely.”

“Yovo?”

In this case, the person probably not understand French. Go no further. It’s not worth it.

You quickly learn that you can’t do anything. You are but one person in a sea of Africans, many of whom rarely run into white people. In places where white people are seen often, it’s even worse because they’re so rude, paranoid, and unhappy looking.  The history of them playing a key role in the slave trade doesn’t help either. I see tourists in their short shorts and huge backpacks parading through town, and catch myself saying “Yovo” every now and then. 

Stage 4: Acceptance with bits of violence

At this stage, you will have pretty much relented and accepted your failure to sensibilize the host-country-nationals. 

You move on in your life, do your work, and make sure your friends don’t call you Yovo.

Occasionally moment of outrage at children or rude vendors obviously talking about you will cause verbal violence or philosophical dialogue, but every time this happens, you remember why you gave up.   

It’s because you’re indisputably white.

(A big, “excuse me!” to anyone who is not white that might be reading this. )