It’s already our last day in Calais, still having a million propositions around me and hardly any time to attend but a few… Actually, Le Channel is proposition in itself. A social, political and artistic initiative through which all the manifestations, no matter their form, are in the service of creating a common ground, open to everyone, regardless their origin, religion or financial status. One of mutual respect and solidarity, where no one is excluded. I wish I could say the same about the city of Calais where, as I am writing these lines, people are banned from the streets to give space to a gargantuan mechanical dragon.
Emilie will introduce me to Christiane Vollaire and she will share with me her philosopher’s point of view, on exclusion, exile and migration. She has visited Lavrio and made a research on Makronissos, as it has been a place of exile for political prisoners during the Greek civil war.
I think of the conditions the prisoners used to live in, almost 60 years ago, on this island. I think of the migrants in Calais and the conditions they are forced to live in, today. The similarity is frightening. The ‘others’ are still being tortured and chased away. The weak ones are still suffering and solidarity is considered by many, a crime. Will we able to change the course of this ship that is our world, or we will keep leading it to its demise, head-first? What will happen in the not-so-distant future? It’s one of the questions I asked Didier Ruiz, director of the performance “Incroyables Chemins”, regarding the future of Europe, during our talk.
Obviously, I do not know what tomorrow brings, but what I do know by now, in my forty-one years of age, is that there’s no knight in shining armour coming to kill the dragon. It’s up to us villagers to stand up and face the monsters that bring the darkness in our lives. And we should be ready for everything coming our way. As Tiken Jah Fakoly said “Nothing surprises me anymore…”.
Continue to page 4/4