Czechosovak Internationalism in Africa on the Example of the Aid to the Construction of Military and Security Infrastructure in Guinea, 1958-1965
Abstract
This paper concerns with the Czechoslovak-Guinean relations in the context of the Cold War and African decolonization. It analyzes the nature of the Czechoslovak military aid and the objectives it was meant to achieve.
Special attention is paid to the construction of the Air Guinée airlines, the goals of this project and its perspectives, but also obstacles caused by negligence of both parties involved or by communication difficulties. It presents the image of Czechoslovakia the country tried to maintain: image of a modern country, unspoiled by the heritage of colonialism.
Finally, the paper also examines the social dimension of the contacts on the community of Czechoslovak experts and their life conditions in Guinea, their relations with the local population and their encounters with a different cultural environment. Life conditions in the small community were marked by isolation, dificultes of the climatic conditions and insufficient organization.