odyssée

“odyssée” is about my nostalgia for “le retour au bled”, a trip we, Europeans of Maghrebian origin/descent took part in, each summer for dozens of years now, to meet with our family in North Africa. It is a reference to Ulysses/Odysseus' story, which is also about going back home. A certain part of it made me think of the Maghrebian immigrants: the Lotus-eaters’ island. Arriving on this island, some of Ulysses’ men ate the lotus fruit, which made them forget about going back home. I saw a parallel with the immigrants who came in France to take on hard jobs such as working in the mines or construction work; hoping to gain enough money for a comfortable life in North Africa. Eventually, th...View all