Véronique Tessier
[FRENCH]
"ATO, en langue Fon, ça veut dire 'singe' et en Nagot ça veut dire babouin. On reste sur les primates. C'est un centre qui recueille les animaux détenu illégalement chez les gens. Il y a quand même un loi qui interdit d'avoir des animaux sauvages comme animal de compagnie. Le loi n'est pas toujours respecté je dirais. On récupère ces animaux soit par des saisies par des autorités soit par les gens qui comprends un peu notre discours et nous les remettre gracieusement parce qu'il est hors de question d'acheter un animal. On favorise encore le trafic des bébés. Donc on a y récupère, on essaye de les mettre en congénère de même espèce pour pouvoir refaire des groupes, envers le traumatisme qu'ils ont peuvent avoir quand ils étaient bébé suite avoir la mère tué, la captivité qui n'était pas de tout en bon conditions. Voilà nous essayons de faire disparaitre cet traumatisme, des habituer en vivre en groupe, de former des groupes, pour continuer par la suite espérer faire des relâcher. De voir les petits singes, de voir certains qui étaient proches de la mort et les voies maintenant dans les groupes, ça ce qui fait un grand bonheur."
[ENGLISH]
"ATO means "monkey" in Fon and "baboon" in Nagot. We focus on primates. It's a center that gathers animals that have been illegally possessed at people's homes. There is a law that prohibits having wild animals as pets. This law is not always respected I'd say. We retrieve these animals either through confiscations by authorities or through those who understand our mission and give them to us free of charge because it is out of the question to buy them. We would be supporting the traffic of baby primates. We retrieve them, try to place them with others of the same species to help recreate primate groups and reverse the trauma that they could have had when they were young as a result of the mother being killed and undergoing poor living conditions. So we try to rid them of this trauma, help them get used to living in a group and form these groups to continue with the process of hopefully releasing them. To see these little monkeys, to see those that were close to death and to now see them in these groups, it's an immense joy."
“Il faut rester optimiste dans pessimisme. C’est compliqué mais il faut essayer de tout façon s’ouvre les yeux des autres.”
I got really lucky to have the one and only monkey conservation site of Benin just a 15-minute bike ride from my home, partly because of the monkeys but mostly because of the opportunity to meet hardworking individuals like Véronique. The founder and president of this organization called ATO, she served in the French military for about 27 years before eventually taking a personal eco-centered mission to Benin in 2010, eventually quitting her job at her post-military office job in France, and setting up ATO in 2013. Traces of her military background can immediately be found in her no-nonsense manner and general uniform of army pants and a black tank.
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She has always been drawn to wild animals in Africa since she had the opportunity, at 15 years old, to take a trip to Kenya with her parents and a French TV crew. Now she has dedicated much of her life to preserving monkeys in Benin who are constantly being hunted and/or losing places to live given deforestation. In order for anyone to obtain a baby monkey, it’s likely that the hunter had to kill the mother and entire family before getting hold of the baby because monkey groups focus on protecting the infant. The monkeys often come to ATO in terrible conditions – rope marks cut into their bodies, protruding bones due to malnutrition, illnesses, etc. ATO therefore works to recuperate these monkeys and their eventual goal is to release them into a protected forested region. It takes a lot of work that occupies their team from early morning to late night. Given that it is a fairly new organization, they have yet to release monkeys, but are continuously working to secure the land necessary to realize their goals.
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The center holds four different species of monkeys in Benin: baboons, patas, monos, and tantalus monkeys. They are held in cages constructed by local welders, are fed regularly, get time to play with one another and, just like any human group, build relationship amongst themselves. Grouping is the goal so that they can eventually be released into the forest with cohesive units that will support and protect one another.
“You have to stay optimistic within the pessimism. It’s complicated but, in any case, one has to try to open the eyes of others.”
Outside of grouping amongst and within these species, the monkeys have truly built relationships with their human caretakers. There are Beninese employees and then francophone volunteers who typically come from Europe for a period of time, ranging from one week to three months maximum. Those who complete three months have the opportunity to apply to return to Benin and serve as a six-month manager. During my service thus far, I’ve gotten to see three managers cycle in and out. It’s sad in terms of saying bye to new friends but also cool to hear new life stories and share what brought us to this point and this place in Benin. Outside of taking care of the monkeys, they are working to recommence teachings to children at schools in the village about primates and environmental issues. This whole operation is organized by Véronique along with a small team of other founders in France.
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Long before and after this interview, Véronique and I have talked about numerous topics, from the problem of deforestation in this region to the importance of animals to environmental protection to challenges of project development to language acquisition. She is an extremely hard worker and I admire her grit. I also recognize elements of jadedness and fatigue of the sociopolitical climate in which they must operate. It’s those moments when I am rather thankful for the Peace Corps approach to grassroots work that really works to engage with and know the local community. When I can, I share both my positive and negative experiences with Véronique and the European volunteers and try to encourage further outreach outside of the ATO perimeters. They equally share their passions for animal protection and environmental protection. Seeing Véronique at work has truly given me a greater appreciation for nature, project development and patience. It’s not easy at all but in this life of grassroots work and progress, when the improvements eventually become visible, it truly is an immense joy.