Home Page: OCIN INITIATIVE
By Areha Kazuya
E-mail: areha_kazuya@jcom.home.ne.jp
Chapter 2 Global wave – The end of colonial era and the emerging two super powers
2-2(16) La Marseillaise & The Internationale
World War II was a war that the United States, Britain and France of the capitalist state and the Soviet Union of the socialist state jointly fought against the totalitarian states, Germany and Japan. The world that experienced twice world warfare in less than half a century established the United Nations and pursued permanent peace.
The UN Charter stated in Article 1 that it aims to "maintain international peace and security". Everyone had refused war again. But the peace of the West and East camps with different ideology quickly failed. "Hot war" in which both sides directly fought each other was barely avoided. Bur the glare of "cold war" began. Cold war has prevailed globally. In return, local "hot wars" have taken place in various parts of the world in the form of proxy war between the western capitalist countries and the Soviet Union.
In the Middle East, revolutions took in the form of military coup. In Egypt it was a confrontation between Gamal Abdul Nasser with Association of Free Officers which were supported by the Soviet Union and the royalists supported by the UK. In Syria it was a fighting struggle between minority tribes supported by France and the majority tribe who received military assistance of the Soviet Union. France supported minority tribes to keep substantive power.
At that time the storm of socialism by the Soviet Union roared globally under the name of class struggle. In July 1952, a revolution took place in Egypt. In May of the same year, Mayday incident occurred in Japan in the Far East. There was a chorus of international labor song " The Internationale". Even in Syria, anti-French urban intelligentsia sang the same song. Against Syrian people, the French soldiers stationed sang loudly with the national anthem La Marseillaise every day at the Flag Hoisting ceremony of the garrison.
Both lyrics are amazingly similar each other as follows.
Lyrics of "The Internationale":
Stand up, damned of the Earth
Stand up, prisoners of starvation
Reason thunders in its volcano
This is the eruption of the end.
Of the past let us make a clean slate
Enslaved masses, stand up, stand up.
The world is about to change its foundation
We are nothing, let us be all.
This is the final struggle
Let us group together, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be the human race.?
Lyrics of "La Marseillaise":
Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts
To arms citizens Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows
No one will not be surprised that both lyrics are too similar. To tell the truth, both lyrics were written at almost same time in France. Internationale was originally written as the lyrics of "La Marseillaise" at the Paris Commune in 1871. Melody was composed a few decades later. On the other hand, "La Marseillaise" was written and composed at the French Revolution.
It could say that both lyrics were twins. The content of the lyrics is too harsh to keep up with the sense of modern people. French people used to sing "La Marseillaise" in case of events or events that require a sense of unity. It may be worth to ask how they feel themselves when sing loudly the song. The lyrics are too aggressive to be peaceful.
In Syria, French soldiers sang "La Marseillaise" inside of the garrison. And outside the garrison, local Arabs sang "Internationale". To whom the French soldiers Appealed singing “To arms citizens Form your battalions / March, march”? As for local Arabs, Enemy in the lyrics was clear. It was France.
Needless to say, that which side was inspired. The spirit of the French soldiers was wilted and retreated. It was the Soviet Union who came into Syria after France. The Soviet Union borrowed the Tartus port on the Mediterranean coast for a military purpose. Since the days of the Russian Empire, Russia has always been obsessed with the southward policy, seeking an ice-free port. In the Black Sea there was Sebastopol military port. But from there to the Mediterranean, they had to go through the Bosporus Straight in Turkey. Tartus military port was a bridgehead in the Mediterranean for the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, It is no doubt that Tartus is still an essential military port for the Russian Republic.
(To be continued ----)
