The 40-year-old Mayor Simon Worou was elected to a French village for the first time in 2014 and then again in 2020. Here's why it wasn't an easy journey towards acceptance.
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00:00Hello Bruit, my name is Ouro Simon. Welcome to Saint-Etienne-du-Lait-des-Souviors,
00:07where I have been the mayor since 2014.
00:09I had friends, I had neighbours.
00:12When I was a councillor, it was fine, but the mayors couldn't stand it.
00:16Even today, they can't stand a black man being mayor.
00:30I went to look for people with priorities.
00:36I'm not ashamed to say that some people told me that.
00:41We wouldn't have imagined in the first place that you were an imbecile like you were.
00:50We felt that La Véran was already a bit used to other populations other than the one here.
01:08But it remained like an army.
01:11Some of them approved, others hated.
01:16Especially when there were two or three of us, there was an effect of fear.
01:21We were afraid.
01:30When you arrive, the first thing they say is,
01:34Atieng, we can't see you because there's no light.
01:38Or when there's a photo to take, smile because we can't see you.
01:44Atieng, you're dressed in black, as if you were black.
01:47You can't dress in black.
01:49For us, it's Atieng, that we have this desire to integrate.
01:52We say yes, we say no, we say yes.
01:56We don't give up.
01:59It's a suffering, actually.
02:05The story, you don't know it.
02:07My first training meeting, I went with a football shirt.
02:10The others didn't care about me.
02:14People came to see me at the end of the match.
02:17They congratulated me or told me, you could have done it.
02:20It brings the audience to you.
02:25A sympathy, a recognized value.
02:30People come to see you.
02:32People know you.
02:33People tolerate you.
02:34People accept you.
02:36People evolve.
02:37Because you're in a collective game.
02:40And you play for a territory.
02:42I could have not played rugby.
02:45If I had stayed at home, I wouldn't have conquered these people.
02:52You see what I mean?
02:53Someone who comes to a village and stays at home,
02:59who doesn't go in front of others,
03:03wouldn't have had the chance I had today.
03:06I received a nice letter from one of my aunts.
03:25She summed it up by saying,
03:28we wouldn't have thought that you would one day
03:32do to our daughter what she has become.
03:35We were afraid of you.
03:37Today, you are a civil servant and a mother.
03:41You are the pride of the family.
03:43This letter made me very happy.
03:47At first, it was a choice of their daughter.
03:54But there was still a sense of belonging to the family.
03:59You see what I mean?
04:01I remember stories like that.
04:05People who weren't even part of the family
04:07came to me and said,
04:09trust them.
04:11They have several wives.
04:13Maybe he has wives and children.
04:16This is the message I wanted to send.
04:18These people are coming back today.