Abdellahi AHMED MAHMOUD
Writer, Visual artist
I love travelling, discovering new
people, new places and new cultures. This passion has grown up with me till today.
I cannot miss any chance to start a new trip and a new adventure. Before
arriving in France at the end of 2014, I had this crazy plan that I discovered
later, would be impossible. I had a plan to traverse Europe with my backpack,
my maps, my diaries and my camera, to help nurture for my artistic and literary
projects. It is clear that now it is the wrong time and all the circumstances
are not helping at all. It is the wrong time because the terrorists succeed in
taking Europe into this hysterical fear circle of all what seems to
be Muslim or related to Arabs or Islam. On the other hand, the rising of the
extreme right has taken Europe into another fear circle of all what seems
to be African or looks like immigrants All of this comes while the continent is
still suffering from the economic crisis. This is Europe today, a union that
the challenges prove its weakness, which is in danger of dissolution, extreme
right winning the elections, the policies that made from the social problems
security challenge, foreign policies following blindly the American one and the
terrorists who are taking the war into Europe through their terrific horrible
actions using the anger of some marginalized and excluded young people who have
never been given the chance to feel their belonging to these
countries and these societies. It doesn’t mean that, there are no other reasons
and circumstances whether they are religious or social that create this
terrorist and radicalized groups and individuals in Europe, but we shouldn’t
minimize the social issues and keep playing the role of the recruiters for the
terrorists who are targeting our stability, liberty and values.
I was surprised when that young man who has
never seen his parents’ original country but he is telling you :I am from that
country. It is dangerous and the situation is terrible in France. The majority
of the Africans and Muslims in Europe today are not immigrants anymore, they
are the sons and the daughters of this continent, but the real danger is when
we fail in implanting that feelings since the very first years in school.
England for me is a perfect example in creating this social harmony the many of
European countries are missing. It is
the responsibility of the state, the different communities in the state and the
intellectuals. I hope Europe will
prepare itself better and will win the
war at the end against this trinity of terrorism, extreme right and economic
crisis. The exceptional situations are the real exam for the system and
the European one is in need to prove
itself.
To sum up all of this, Europe is lost and
“has” lost, in front of the
challenges of economy and security . This failure in facing the real problems
from social integrity, equality and managing the international and geopolitical
politics ends up in hysteria that's putting in danger all the values that this
continent stands for such as liberty and human rights. This was not Europe that I planned to discover
from its north to its west. To walk its small streets, to experience its
slums, its trains and to explore its history . It is not Europe
that I wanted to visit to feel Descartes, Kant, Picasso... All these
great people who changed the course of history and humanity by their incredible
inventions and thoughts. It was a privilege when I arrive at that building next
to Sorbonne University and saw : Descartes lived here from to ... it
was such a great feeling, I heard that name when I was a student in secondary
school and it has been engraved in my mind. It is hard perhaps to understand
that, arriving at that place was on the top of my list to do in Paris. I left
Paris to the "Rhone Alpes" area. The beautiful city was drawn in
terrible feelings of fear.
I started my project of traveling,
just me, my camera, my diaries, the friends that I made all over the world
during years of travelling and hosting travelers, who are waiting for me for a
coffee; a small party to remember the old days before letting me go on my way
discovering with my way and an amount that's barely enough to cover all the
cost with always a percentage of risk. Many small accidents happened with me,
but the most serious were:
In Italy, it was a raining
Sunday morning. I was so glad that I will get the chance to attend the ritual
of mass in the Christian center of the world (Vatican) , what a
pleasure! I got off at Saint Pietro station after a whole night traveling in
the train. All was ready to take great pictures and feeling the spirituality of
the place. I took some friends to mosques and some friends took me to churches.
It has been always for me been about diversity, discovering and cultural
exchange. I didn't know that being there will be a suspicious. Some people are
preparing to pray, others just witnessing and taking pictures. It seems we are
there for the same reasons. I had a small chat with a Spanish tourist and was
talking with her about my short visit to Barcelona, before preparing
myself to leave. On my way back to the station, a policeman called to
me : documents... I gave him my passport. He took his time, and
mine, after checking the passport from the first page till the last
one, he asked me my phone and started checking my pictures one by one. I
wondered for a moment is it his right to check all of that. Where is my space
of liberty and privacy? Some may say you should have defended it. In that case
the easiest is to find yourself detained in that scenario. In a very stupid
way, he picked a picture in my phone from the Vatican's main building (St.
Peter) and asked me : “this photo because?” He meant to ask: why did you take that photo? I told him with a very misplaced
smile - because I was frustrated - : all people are
here to take such pictures. This policeman in contrary to the others didn't
write down my information because his two friends were not interested and one
of them told him at the very beginning : this is a photographer
traveler let him in his way. He replied without any word, he just showed him
the name and told in a lower voice a sentence where I found two words:
Muslim , Arab. That's when I said : Europe is lost, the
terrorists have made it.
For the terrorist it
is a success to kill innocent people and destroy some places, but
the real success is to create this amount of fear and this feeling of insecurity. I am afraid they could
do create this environment of fear.
Just, in the second day I was heading
with my brother who has an official passport and in official training by IAE. I
was just trying to be stupid to understand what is going on, I told
myself : yeah, with your dark skin in comparison, your hat,
the jacket and the sunglasses of your brother you really look like unauthorized
immigrant. I was just trying so hard to understand the reaction of that
policeman who jumped out from his car demanding’ us to give the documents. On
his face, he was like saying : I caught them it is a big hunt. I told
myself also the beard although the way of dressing is far away from being
similar to those who they are looking for. Anyway it was a desperate attempt to
understand. I have never been told that visiting the Vatican or some popular places in Italy is not permitted for
people like us. Don't ask me please how do people like us
look like? Perhaps asking those policemen might be more fruitful. He
took the passports and for more than 30 minutes we were there looking
through the window and he was making calls. At the end he asked our address and
wrote it down. Is that his right? Some may say yes including me, but that is
the problem nor the question here.
You can imagine the feeling when you
are coming with your camera, your friend, your bags, you paid your
money , you paid with physical exhaustion and at the end you are
suspicious because of your look , your name and any other very
superficial criteria. It seems just someone wants to tell
you : it is not your right to travel, nor to take pictures, you don't
deserve it. You are either a terrorist or an African immigrant without papers.
You just think about getting out of a place like that whether it is a country
or a continent that might be better than being pushed by this way of
treatment to a real terror career. It is giving the terrorists two
victories: when they did their horrible action and when we help them to recruit
more, what's has already happened and happening with many. If someone wants to
persuade you that you are terrorist, looking at you as or a terrorist or a
terrorist project one day you will be. The days I spent I was waiting
every single moment for a policeman who will pick my face from
the crowd as a terrorist or immigrant, to catch my long Arabic Muslim
name and that seem to be enough for him to check my bags, my photos, my
personal diaries and to call the intelligences and after all he will write down
my information. The only answer you can get is you are suspicious because of
your features and your name because you look like African or Arab with a Muslim
name simply because there is no other possible answer.
I headed back to France, the police
came and were checking everyone's document and that is fine focusing of course
on those who are not Europeans (I mean their grand grand grand
fathers are Europeans). They took my passport, but as they did with others
they didn't do with me. Yes I have the stamps, the residency and I am a student
it is clear, but still, he needs to write down the information: the name and
the address. Can anyone tell me what the suspicion here? Just the name. Should
my mother for example had given me a name like : Jack or
Mike ? My dad should have had been a white man with a pure European
features ? Should I put on a big Cross to tell everybody that I am
not a Muslim? It is just simply and in two words stupid and crazy. These things
seem to be hard to change, so should I just shave my beard? But many non-Arabs
non-African non-Muslims have very long beards. Someone tell me what should I
do? What can I do because, I think I am getting to the
conclusion : the only solution is to stop traveling and waiting for
the day to get out this lost Europe.
I have no problem about writing down
names and addresses even checking the very personal bags and photos even
underwear if you like at every single moment. Although, we know all that
the world is condemning the surveillance, this is not surveillance it is like
you are accused and there is no way to prove your innocence. The serious
question to pose and the real problem is that, you can be the next victim for a
presidential candidate who wants to show his heroic achievement in fighting
terrorism or to create it. They may pick some names they have and put
them in jail, announcing in the media that a terrorist operation are expected
from the intelligence sources, and just before the election : the
great victory against terrorism and the capturing of the terrorists will be
announced. It is our world today, it happened and it is happening. A
Mauritanian has been in Guantanamo for more than a decade for no other
reason than he has been labeled by the Mauritanian security as terrorist
in a political deal with the United States. Yes, I mean it is
all about creating stories for the media and picking up names randomly. It is
not just about this, at some point it becomes racism and all the European
extremist right ideas. So it is not that surprising FN has invaded the departmental
election in France.
Having Europe in this hysteria and
insecure position is already a victory for the terrorists.
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