Dessin réalisé sur caneva.com par la rédaction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils.

Une édition limitée d’anecdotes du quotidien de l’asile

« Je parlais avec une amie » : nous l’avons toutes et tous déjà entendu et nous l’avons toutes et tous déjà prononcé. Cette formule a inspiré notre rédactrice Elvana Tufa qui a décidé de partager avec vous ses petites discussions anecdotiques – mais qui en disent long – sur son quotidien de personne en procédure d’asile (english version below).

Je parlais avec une amie de choses et d’autres et soudain cette pensée m’est venue à l’esprit

Je lui ai demandé : « Ne penses-tu pas que 2021 ressemble à une loooooongue semaine qui vient tout juste de commencer et qu’on est à peine lundi ? Puis tu te rends compte qu’on va la voir passer au ralenti, avant qu’elle ne se finisse le vendredi 31 décembre ? »

Elle n’a pas répondu pendant un moment. Peut-être qu’elle était en train de regarder le calendrier ?… Le 31 décembre 2021 ça tombe vraiment un vendredi!

Cette fois, je ne parlais pas avec une amie

Cette fois, je ne parlais pas avec une amie. J’ai juste imaginé ce dialogue, parce que je suis sûre qu’elle commence à s’ennuyer de moi et de mes 5 enfants. Je suis même persuadée qu’elle fait des blagues sur eux. La prochaine fois que je la verrai je lui dirai :

« Tu sais que dans un mois, il y aura de nouveau les vacances scolaires et je me demande s’il n’y a pas des gens sympas et géniaux qui auraient inventé une imprimante 5D ? Je pourrai facilement m’imprimer 5 fois et avoir 5 clones pour m’en occuper… »

Relire les chapitres précédents de « Je parlais avec une amie » :

Je parlais avec une amie #1/3 paru dans Voix d’Exils le 21.01.2021.

Je parlais avec une amie #2/3 paru dans Voix d’Exils le 03.02.2021.

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I was talking with a friend about random things and suddenly this thought popped into my head

I asked her :« Don’t you think that 2021 seems like a loooooong week, that has just begun and we’re still at Monday ?

But you realize that we have to see it in slow motion, in order for it to end on Friday, December 31? »

She didn’t answer for a while. Maybe she was looking at the calendar… December 31 2021 is really a Friday!

This time, I wasn’t talking to my friend

This time, I wasn’t talking to my friend. I just imagined this conversation, because I am dead sure she’s starting to get pissed of me and my five children. I’m sure she’s even making jokes on them. Next time I see or I talk to her, I will say :

« Do you know, in a month there will be school vacations again and I wonder whether there are people nice and genius enough to invent a 5D printer ? I could easily print myself in 5 copies, so I could deal with them properly. »

Read the previous chapters of « I was talking to my friend » :

I was talking to my friend #1/3 published in Voix d’Exils: 21.01.2021.

I was talking to my friend #2/3 published in Voix d’Exils: 03.02.2021.

Elvana Tufa

Membre de la rédaction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils

Dessin réalisé sur caneva.com par la rédaction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils.

Une édition limitée d’anecdotes du quotidien de l’asile

« Je parlais avec une amie »: nous l’avons toutes et tous déjà entendu et nous l’avons toutes et tous déjà prononcé. Cette formule a inspiré notre rédactrice Elvana Tufa qui a décidé de partager avec vous ses petites discussions anecdotiques – mais qui en disent long – sur son quotidien d’une personne en procédure d’asile (english version below).

Je parlais à une amie qui se plaignait tout le temps

– « Oh mon dieu, je suis tellement fatiguée! J’ai cuisiné, nettoyé et fait la lessive toute la journée hier. Je ne sens plus mon dos. Et maintenant, je dois me dépêcher d’aller chercher mon fils à l’école. Quel genre de vie est-ce ? »

Je l’ai regardée et je ne savais pas quoi lui répondre. J’aurais déjà pu lui rappeler que j’ai 5 enfants ou tout simplement lui dire :

– « Ah, c’est la vie »

Pourtant, j’ai préféré lui dire :

– « Tu sais que hier, j’ai oublié d’aller récupérer le petit à l’école ? Heureusement qu’il sait où il habite ».

Maintenant, quand on se croise dans la rue, elle fait comme si elle ne me voit pas.

Je parlais avec une amie au téléphone

Elle me posait des questions sur le vaccin du Covid-19 et me disait à quel point elle était ravie de pouvoir enfin le prendre.

– « T’es aussi ravie, n’est-ce pas ? »

M’a-t-elle demandé.

– « Bien sûr. »

Lui ai-je répondu.

– « Mais j’attendrais plutôt la mise à jour « Covid 2.0 », compte tenu du nouveau virus qui nous arrive depuis la Grande-Bretagne.»

Je savais qu’elle ne comprendrait pas, elle ne connaît presque rien à l’informatique. Elle n’a même pas d’e-mail. J’étais triste que mon ironie ait été perdue en vain…

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I was talking to a friend and she complained all the time

– “Oh my God, I am so tired, I cooked, cleaned and did the laundry all day long yesterday. I can’t even feel my back. Now I have to go and pick up my son from school. What kind of life is this, serving all the time ?”

I gave her a look as if wanting to say something, then I changed my mind. I could have reminded her that I had (and have already) 5 children, or could have simply said:

– “That’s life”.

So, I just went on and said to her:

– “Do you know that yesterday, I forgot to pick up my youngest from school ? Thank God he knows the way home.”

Now, when we cross each other in the street, she pretends she doesn’t notice me.

I was talking to a friend on the phone

She was asking me a couple of questions about the vaccine and was telling me how happy she was that finally she could do it.

– “You are happy too, aren’t you ?”

She asked me.

– “Of course”

I said to her.

“But I would rather wait for the update of  “Covid 2.0”, considering the new virus running against us from Great Britain”.

I knew she couldn’t understand, actually she knows almost nothing about IT. She doesn’t even have an e-mail address. I was sad my irony was lost in vain…

Elvana Tufa

Membre de la rédaction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils

Dessin réalisé sur caneva.com par la rédaction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils.

Une édition limitée d’anecdotes du quotidien de l’asile

« Je parlais avec une amie » : nous l’avons toutes et tous déjà entendu et nous l’avons toutes et tous déjà prononcé. Cette formule a inspiré notre rédactrice Elvana Tufa qui a décidé de partager avec nous ses petites discussions anecdotiques – mais qui en disent long – sur son quotidien de personne en procédure d’asile (english version below).

Je parlais avec une amie qui a obtenu le permis B et qui pourtant se plaint tout le temps

– « Je n’ai pas de travail ; je n’ai pas d’appartement…»

– « Est-ce que tu peux travailler ? » lui ai-je demandé.

– « Oui, mais… »

Elle ne m’a répondu que ça.

Alors, je me suis souvenue de mes diplômes suspendus au mur comme des photos d’enfance en attendant le permis B…

Je parlais avec une amie hier et elle m’a raconté ses vacances

Elle a passé le week-end dernier dans une station de ski et s’en est vantée. Et puis elle m’a demandé :

– « Et toi, où as-tu passé ton week-end ? »

– « Moi ? Je suis allée au supermarché 4 fois pendant le week-end, seule, sans enfants. C’était une sacrée pause et je me suis sentie si bien! »

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I was talking to a friend who has already B permit but complaining all the time

– “ I don’t have a job; I don’t have an apartment…”

– “ Are you permitted to work ? ” I asked her.

– “ Yes, but…”

she answered but this.

And then, suddenly, I recalled all my diplomas hanging on the wall just like photos of childhood, while I’m waiting to obtain the B Permit like my friend.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was telling me about her holidays

She passed last weekend in a ski resort and was bragging about. And then she asked me :

– “ How was your weekend ? Where did you guys go ? ”

– “ Me ? ” I went to the supermarket like 4 times during the weekend, alone, without children. It was indeed “ a holy day ”, and it felt so good!

Elvana Tufa

Membre de la rédaction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils

Father Frans in Syria

In memoriam father Frans Van Der Lugt      

The 7^th of April 2017 coincides with the 3^rd anniversary of the assassination of father Frans Van Der Lugt, the 75 years old Dutch Jesuit priest who dedicated more than 50 years of his life to the people of Syria. Born in Netherland in 1938 into a bankers’ family, he studied theology, philosophy, psychotherapy and Arabic language, then moved to Syria in 1966 to live there the rest of his life. He was brutally murdered by a masked gunman on 7 April 2014 at the Jesuits Residence in Bustan al-Diwan , in Homs, Syria.

When civil war broke out in the country in march 2011, the old city of Homs including the Christian quarter of Bustan al-Diwan, where the Jesuits Residence was situated, fell into the hands of the Islamist rebels, and was soon besieged by the Syrian army. Ft. Frans chose to stay in the besieged enclave, under nearly daily bombardment and sniper fire and to share the suffering and ordeal of both Christians and Muslims. “The Syrian people have given me so much…I want to share their pain and their suffering” He said.                      

During the 3 year-long terrible siege until May 2014, all supply had been prevented, nor had people been allowed in or out. Ft. Frans was desperately trying to make ends meet. Traversing the streets and alleys of the phantom enclave by bicycle or on foot, he would visit the traumatized, sick and starving inhabitants offering psychological counselling, support and some bread, water or bulgur if could be afforded. He sheltered the displaced shell-rocked families Muslim or Christian in the Jesuit Residence and made a number of videos demanding the international community to urgently address the human tragedy in the besieged enclave. “The Residence had become a center for reconciliation thanks to him” says father Hilal. Shafiaa al-Rifaei, a displaced Muslim mother who found refuge in the Jesuit Residence, told AFPTV: “He would provide us with foodstuff, children-milk and would always comfort us saying this would soon come to an end. He started small parties for children and gave them sweets and presents …” Another man told The Daily Star reporter “He took my sick father on his bicycle to the (makeshift rebel) hospital despite the bombing”. Frans made no distinction between religions: «I don’t see Muslims or Christians, I see above all human beings.”

A psychotherapist and a serious Yoga and Zen practitioner

Years before the beginning of this appalling war, hundreds of people from Homs and elsewhere in Syria, would come to the Jesuits Residence in Bustan Al-Diwan seeking help and counselling. «As a psychotherapist and a serious Yoga and Zen practitioner, Abouna Frans (as he was fondly called, abouna meaning father) has helped hundreds. He has never turned down a person.” says Abdel-Messieh a psychiatrist of Syrian origin living in Lausanne (Switzerland). “For years I have taken part in his various youth activities. I was amazed how he could always find time to listen patiently to everyone in spite of his very busy schedule. He must have slept only two or three hours a day. He was an exceptional man and priest!”

[Al-Maseer] The Hike

Ft. Frans was a great lover of Syria. In 1981 he initiated the first [Al-Maseer] The Hike: a “pilgrimage” through the Syrian desert and mountainous areas, held in summer or winter, eight days a year. The objective was to discover the beauty of Syrian landscape and to live an experience of sharing and solidarity: “At the end of every hike… We notice that there is no one not loved.” said he. For thirty successive years, he led the groups of hikers through the arduous and ragged paths and tracks reiterating his well-known slogan “Move forward”. Thousands of youth of all faiths and from all parts of the country took part in this celebrated event. At his advanced age he looked more energetic and dynamic than the youth. The hikers drove strength and stamina from him. “Abouna Frans was a spiritual mentor and father to all. A profound source of hope and compassion.” says Marwa, a resident of Bustan al-Diwan until 2011, now living in Vienna, Austria.

 [Al-Ard] The Earth Center

In 1991, he confounded [al-Ard] The Earth Center, on an area of 23 hectares of land, not far from the city of Homs. An unprecedented project of rural and social development, aiming at rehabilitating people with mental disabilities, combating rural depopulation and migration as well as providing a lieu for spiritual retreat and interfaith dialogue. The name itself [al-Ard] (see video above in Arabic) is significant, it empathizes man’s connection to land and environment as a unifying bond.

The hope giver

In a society sharply divided ethnically and religiously, Ft. Frans helped to build bridges and to find common grounds based on human values. “He was a different kind of clergy, modest, intellectual and non-dogmatic who loved the company of ordinary people. He had the courage to open the windows wide to let in fresh air, that is why he was very much loved by the youth”. “Says Muntaha a longtime participant of Frans’ youth activities, currently living in Lausanne.

The civil war has shattered all Frans’ projects but never his faith nor his devotion for the people of Syria. He had made his peace with God and stayed true to his calling to help the poor the sick and build bridges of reconciliation and peace. Maybe the seeds he planted will take time to grow in a country torn by 6 years of apocalyptic war, violence and hatred. Nevertheless, many has already grown in blossom in Europe, in Homs and in other parts of the world, as is the case with Muntaha, Abdel-Messieh, Shafiaa and with Marwa from Vienna who concludes her testimony overwhelmed by emotions: “Abouna Frans has been the source of my inspiration and integration here . He made me what I am today”.

Hayrenik DONO

Membre de la réduction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils

Click to here the song

Fr Frans Van der Lugt SJ: Man of Peace and Bridgebuilder

Ft.Frans’ picture

The dead body of Aylan Kurdi. Freedom House Domaine public

Still asks the same burning questions half a century later

As an teenager in the seventies, living thousands miles away from the US, and belonging to a totally different culture, I was, like millions of American youths , fascinated by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez’ songs. I was particularly impressed by Dylan’s song  “Blowin’ in the Wind“, which was written in 1962 and soon afterwards transcended into a legend and became the anthem of civil rights movement and protests marches against the war, injustice and racism, in a period the US was deeply involved  in Vietnam war. The song’s popularity grew so much that it was marked in 2004, number 14 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 greatest Songs of All Time“.

There has been a great deal of controversy recently over naming Bob Dylan winner of 2016 Nobel Prize for literature, but this is another matter. Personally, I have been pondering, what kind of message did the Swedish academy want to send to the world by making this choice, in these turbulent times where mankind faces a crossroad ? Did the academy want to say that the world today confronts threats of apocalyptic dimensions: wars, terrorism, mass immigration , environmental disaster etcetera ? That we are, more than any other time in history, in utmost need of promoting public awareness, peace, and humanity, as well as exposing injustice and hypocrisy , just as Dylan did in his song “Blowin’ in the Wind“ ? As a matter of fact, I don’t know. But what I do know for sure is that “Blowin’ in the Wind“ is still asking the same hard and burning question 55 years later:

How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they’re forever banned?

Five and half decades have passed since those days. Has the world become a safer and better place? Has the proxy wars, regime change policies, atrocities, committed under false slogans of human values and democracy, disappeared or diminished ? Has the hypocrisy and the lies of the politicians changed? The answer is as easy to find, as the words of the song which has never lost neither its poignancy nor its urgency.

Yes, and how many years can some people exist

Before they’re allowed to be free?

Yes, and how many times a man can turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn’t see ?

Why do the world leaders always turn a blind eye and deaf ear to all these atrocities: in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen for example? Over six years, (1) “Syria’s civil war has created the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Half the country’s pre-war population – more than 11 million people – have been killed or forced to flee their homes.” How long should a man suffer and endure? How often these injustices will happen?

Ironically, president Obama, who started with Nobel Peace Prize, is now ending his presidency by leaving behind a record of eight years of uninterrupted wars ,(2) having dropped 26.171 bombs on 7 nations around the world in 2016 alone ! Why ? Is there really no answer to the world peace? Yes. There is, and it is always there as Dylan says “Blowin’ in the wind“ and within the reach of everyone who wants to see and grab it, but the real problem is that no one is willing to ?

Yes, and how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?

Yes and how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’till he knows That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer , is blowin’ in the wind

There is timeless wisdom in the simple words and lyrics of this song. It is as pertinent today as it was in the sixties. Dylan presents us with the vices of our world, as Shakespeare did 500 years before in his wonderful sonnet No. 66 “Tired with all these, for restful death I cry“, but Shakespeare leaves a space for hope.

What about us ? We the innocent victims of these premediated wars ? Is there any space for hope ? Yes, there must be one. There is no other choice !

 Hayrenik DONO

13 January, 2017

Membre de la réduction vaudoise de Voix d’Exils

Infos:

Listen to Blowin’ in the Wind here

Footnotes:

1. “Quick facts: What you need to know about the Syria crisis “ (Mercycorps Oct.13,2016 )
2. Micah Zenko , ” How Many Bombs Did the United States Drop ” in 2016 ,(Council on Foreign relations , Jan.05,2017)