Looking for friends from the Amporaha camp in Nosy Be

I’m looking for anyone who knew the old Amporaha holiday camp (north of Nosy-Be)

Nosy-Be folks, I’d like to send my best wishes to everyone on the forum for the year ahead... "Let yourself be led by the nose and set off to discover the exquisite scents of ylang-ylang" from the Amporaha camp... and long live the forum... Francis LenosybeenA Madagascar old-timer.

Hello Francis, I hope you had an excellent stay on this island at the end of the world, and maybe you can confirm that things have improved a bit for the *gazy*. Last time I was there, there were quite a few changes in Hell-Ville (construction well underway and a new power plant... almost operational, and GSM coverage at 100% on the island..) Anyway, you’ll have to tell us all about it!!! So, since we’re on the topic, I’d like to wish all the forum members a happy holiday season and hope that 2009 brings us a little breeze from the Indian Ocean...... Happy New Year to everyone

Philippe

To all the internet users of the site, my 2009 wishes and words of hope. For this new year, I suddenly feel like talking about our planet and telling you that our collective happiness will exist the day we all become aware that our beautiful blue universe is suffering from the lack of respect we show it. So for 2009, for everyone’s happiness, my wish is that we think of our garden, which I call Earth. Your oceans, which seem so vast, yet we lack the heart to perceive their cries, and every day we bring them misfortune. They, in their kindness, bathe all those paradise islands that make us dream. They bathe all the waters of the north and south, offering us their corals as a gift. So for this new year, I offer you my wishes in the form of a thought. The more sensitive we are to this call, the happier we will be in our lives and in our little unique paradise in the world. Hope to see you soon. Happy New Year 2009, Patrick Romé

Hi Christian,

I’m Thierry DENIS. I was at Ivato from May ’67 to July ’69. I remember you as a javelin thrower but especially as a basketball player I tried to score a few baskets with. I reconnected with Patrick and Francis thanks to the site and looked for photos and documents from that time. I found two photos with your dad—maybe you don’t know them! I’ll try to scan them and, above all, check with Patrick and Francis for photos that might interest everyone. Hope to hear from you soon. See you later

Welcome to the club, Thierry!! I remember your parents perfectly! I’ll contact you privately, Francis--

Hello everyone and best wishes to all, Many of you sent me private messages to wish me a happy New Year, so to make sure I don’t forget anyone on this first day of 2009, I’d like to extend my most sincere best wishes to all of you. Let’s make sure this incredible friendship that’s bound us for over 40 years—even 50 for some—stands the test of time... Wishing you all a very happy New Year, good health, and who knows? Maybe we’ll see each other again on a trip to... Madagascar... The world is so small!! Happy and healthy New Year to all, *Véloma* Francis the Nosy-Be local

Good evening Best wishes for happiness, prosperity, and health to everyone Cheers Franck

Hello everyone I wish you all a very happy 2009. And above all, that we can reunite with many of us. Until our next meet-up, big kisses to all.

marie-jo

Good evening everyone...😉

May this new year bring you success in everything you undertake, May all the difficulties of this new year spare you, May happiness be waiting for you in your hearts, in those of your loved ones, and in the hearts of all the alumni of Mada, ready and determined for our next meet-up...

In a word, I wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!Hugs...from Marie-Lou!

Hello, I came across this message a bit late. I was the Secretary to Commander DELHOUME and then Commander SIZUN from September '67 to September '68. Our office was located in the small helicopter hangar. My name is Claude PELLERIN.

Anyway, I’m available for more info if needed.

Best regards,

Hello, I’m one of the sons, the youngest Bertrand, of Commander DELHOM. I have a few memories of Tana (standing guard at the rainwater drainage entrance under the runway near the Broussard that served as a wreck for firefighter drills and warning the whole gang in the pipe if the *Mp* came... among other things). I also remember collecting Bombel paste in Nosy Be so fishermen could caulk their canoes with it—my reward was a coconut chosen by the right person. Not to mention the "Tropical Man" who walked through the tents in his "Darth Vader" outfit with his sprayer, making an unholy racket that reduced me to tears...

Anyway, I was very young, but my brother Marc has more memories. Now, my parents are in Brest, my family and I are in Plabennec, and my brother is in Upper Normandy. Well, it’s safe to say the climate isn’t the same—oh well, we make do! ;;;; Best regards, Bertrand D.

Hello, thank you for getting in touch. Indeed, I knew your father in Ivato. I worked in his office with a Sergeant Major (can’t recall the name?) and also with a Warrant Officer (FLETCHER, if the spelling is correct). He had Captain Fernandez as his second-in-command (I remember his Roussillon accent with that rolling "R"), who flew the Alouette II helicopters. Please give my regards to your father and let him know I knew my late brother-in-law André MAUVIGNER (at the time, a pilot for the Charles de Gaulle in Villacoublay).

Looking forward to reconnecting on this site. Veloma, Claude PELLERIN

Bertrand, hello. I remember you, but even more so Marc? I’m Thierry DENIS. I have a few photos where your parents appear and one where I recognized your brother (not sure if you’re in it?). I’d really love to catch up with you all. See you soon, and say hello to your parents!

Hello there! Like Thierry Denis, my friend from Madagascar, I knew your brother Marc well. I remember your father, the Pilot, who used to give us those "smooth landings" as he called them. Say hi to Marc from Patrick Romé. Welcome to the club!

Best regards, Patrick

Hello to all the old-timers from Nosy Bé, and especially to you, Patrick—with whom I often clashed if you remember well. 😇 I was the little troublemaker who lived a bit higher up than your parents on Labigorgne Blvd in Tana. It’s with so much nostalgia that I recall all those memories you brought up so well. I’ll leave you for now to read the rest of the messages, but I promise I’ll be back soon.

Best to everyone,

Josiane Guerrier

Hello Francis and all the old friends from the Amporaha camp. First of all, and most importantly before it’s too late... HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 TO EVERYONE! I recently (very precisely on January 8th at 8:45 PM) received a call from Philippe Guillotin while I was still in Romania for the last time. I hope to meet him this coming Friday in Reims at the start of the historic Monte-Carlo rally. It’s a first contact with an old friend from Tana, and I hope there’ll be many more this year. Warm regards to all of you, and hope to read from you soon.

Hello my dear little rascal,

Remember, those who love well, scold well!!!!!!! but I do remember you well, Josiane. After finding Thierry Denis, one of my best friends from Madagascar in early 2009, here you are—welcome to the alumni club! The group is growing month by month. But it’s nothing but happiness; our reunions make us relive our memories as if it were yesterday. That little residence where we often bickered, but never seriously. I remember your cocker spaniel who dug up all the flowers in the garden because I really annoyed him... conclusion: Patrick was grounded for a week.

Anyway, before we share our childhood stories, can you reach me at my little business email: objectif.reportages@orange.fr. I’m eagerly waiting for your news—I’m in Bordeaux for a little while longer. I’m also using this message to call out to those who knew, near or far, the families: Vivier, Anjelier, Labat, Pontier, Gac, Brastel, Perrin, who were in Madagascar from 1967 to 1970.

Josiane, write to me at my address, and we’ll get in touch soon—I’ll tell you who I’ve found. It’s awesome!!! See you soon.

To make you smile, I’ll sign off as "The Little Devil of Bahuho" Kisses from Patrick

I was surprised to come across your forum because I’m looking for news about Gérard Cordoliani. Actually, we both went to Madagascar in February 1972—he as a medical officer candidate and me as a dental officer candidate on BA181 at first, then at Fiadanana, Bigeard’s barracks at the time. I knew the Amporaha camp in Nosy Be, where I unfortunately only spent 2 days in a Nord Atlas in July 1972, and I remember the beautiful bougainvillea-lined paths. In one of your messages, someone mentions Gérard’s beautiful voice—it’s true, he was great at imitating Yves Montand, among others, and all that in the rowdy bars of Ivato. I feel nostalgic for that era, and I also have photos. I returned to Madagascar in 2007—to Tana, Diego, and Nosy Be—but unfortunately not to Amporaha.

I left Madagascar at the end of 1972, after the events (the town hall fire, etc.).

My name is Michel Dalifard, and I’d be happy to join your group. I live in Normandy.

Veluma, MD

Hi,

I remember you very well—you were much more reserved than Gé Cordoliani, my fellow countryman, who really let loose sometimes, even a bit too much. A lovely guy with a big heart. I have memories of Nosy Be where Gé sang Corsican songs in the showers, and I insist that at the time, we were singing the song that later became a hit for *Les Bronzés* with slightly bawdy, local lyrics that I still remember bits of.

As for me, if you check out *Copains d’Avant*, you can see photos of me and my friends from back then in Madagascar (11/71 to 9/72) and one from now. I worked in the secretary’s office at *Le Colon* in Madagascar and as a warehouse assistant in Nosy Be.

I’ve had some health issues in recent years, which is why I’m no longer working and now live in Corsica after spending 55 years in Nice. For a few years now, I’ve been searching for Gé Cordoliani but haven’t been able to find any trace of him. Still, knowing the name of his village in Corsica (Rutali), which isn’t far from mine, I’ll keep looking.

Best regards,

Pierre INNOCENZI

Phone: 04 95 36 84 19 ADSL phone: 09 61 24 72 78 Mobile: 06 15 15 95 91

My village, Talasani (there’s a website)

pierre.inno@orange.fr

Yeah!!!! Finally my PC is working again!! Thanks Christian, it's all good! Hello everyone and welcome to the newcomers. I couldn't reply to some of you, sorry. But don’t forget you can always reach me by phone at 01 30 32 74 32 for any info: names, addresses, phone numbers, or anything else... for people we’ve found because not everyone has or wants internet. Claude Pellerin, Bertrand Delhom, Josiane Guerrier, Michel Dalifard, Pierre Innocenzi, I don’t know all of you, but welcome to the club! (And what a club!!!). Don’t hesitate to contact me and send me your emails so I can send you the standard little newsletter with some photos and the famous song "Nosy-Bé" (for those who know it). Josiane, luckily you didn’t go to Amporaha because the reality is hard to accept, and you would’ve been too disappointed. On that note, you’ll soon hear from an old-timer: Allain Yvon, who was there in ’59–’61 and ’66–’68 (wow! Two stays, lucky guy!). He just got back these days. We might also get news from Bruno about his trip to the south—another lucky guy! Though I think they didn’t pick the best season! But you can’t always do what you want.

See you soon, the Nosy-Béan Francis

Hey Francis and everyone else!

I’m back from Fort Dauphin, where we had amazing weather. We took advantage of the fact that this great town of Tolagnaro is a bit of a backwater to explore the surrounding areas (Sainte Luce, Berenty, Lokaro...). Everything was perfect. I caught up with one of my oldest friends, a Malagasy guy with a poetic name (Mamy), who’s currently working for Rio Tinto, the Australian-South African consortium exploiting the ilmenite deposit. They’ve set up pockets of prosperity in this relatively poor region of Antanosy and Androy, which is starting to cause serious tolerance issues among the local population. Employees live in private housing estates with security guards, schools for the kids, a clinic reserved for staff, beautifully paved roads, and so on... There were already protests and roadblocks while we were there, targeting Rio Tinto vehicles. The contrast between this lavish setup and the surrounding poverty is hard to stomach. We also left before the situation became completely unbearable with Rajoelina’s "coup." Beyond the usual considerations about such events, it’s clear that even Malagasy people are deeply divided over how to interpret them. RA8 is living up to his predecessors—his companies’ revenues keep rising—but his young opponent seems to be dragging the population into a very dangerous game, and you have to wonder if he’s really in control. As always, it’s the people who pay with their lives. A painful situation to watch... Wishing you all the best and see you soon.

BRUNO