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Archive for the ‘le fille’ Category
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December 20, 2008African Football
November 24, 2008Quand il était petit, en Afrique, il aimait, comme tous ceux de son village, jouer au ballon. Devenu jeune homme, c’était sur un terrain de foot, en Allemagne, qu’il se détendait les jambes après les longues heures passées à l’université et dans les bibliothèques.
A cette époque-là, et encore plus que de nos jours, il n’était pas facile d’être un Noir. Soit ils étaient traités avec un paternalisme débile, comme s’ils ne savaient rien faire; soit, comme c’était très souvent le cas, on les méprisait, sous prétexte qu’ils étaient sales et paresseux, même si on ne les connaissait pas.
Jacques a eu à souffrir de ces mauvais traitements. Ses propres expériences s’ajoutant à celles de ses frères de couleur et dont il prenait connaissance dans les médias le blessaient au plus haut point. Il était fatigué, il n’en pouvait plus. De vivre pendant 30 ans dans un environnement hostile qui lui en voulait d’être noir alors qu’il n’avait fait de mal à personne l’avait usé.
Il n’aspirait pourtant qu’à une seule chose : vivre en paix, gagner honnêtement de quoi nourrir la famille qu’il avait créée en Europe et la famille qui l’avait vu grandir, en Afrique, au Congo.
Arrivé jeune étudiant en Allemagne, il vaquait à ses occupations, se levant tôt le matin pour aller au travail et rentrant le soir à la maison où il retrouvait sa femme allemande. Il se ressourçait en allant le weekend taper le ballon avec les autres Africains.
Mais le sort ne fut pas clément avec Jacques. Une transplantation de rein l’affaiblissait tellement que ses jambes ne pouvaient même plus le porter. Il ne quitta son fauteuil roulant que pour aller au lit, où il passait la plupart de son temps. Fini les discothèques du samedi soir. Fini les matchs de football du weekend. Il regrettait le temps d’avant la maladie.
Un jour de 1990, Jacques était assis sur son lit et se préparait mentalement à regarder un match de foot à la TV. Un pays d’Afrique devait jouer. Les équipes africaines ne gagnent pratiquement jamais dans les grandes rencontres internationales, c’est bien connu. Cette fois-ci, ce sera très certainement comme d’habitude. Cependant, c’est toujours intéressant d’assister aux marquages de buts. De plus, le jeu des joueurs est aussi à voir. Il y aura sans nul doute de belles passes qu’il serait dommage de rater.
Sa femme travaillait dans la cuisine quand tout à coup elle entendit un hurlement suivi de tas d’exclamations et des cris, des cris extatiques. Complètement affolée car après bien des années de vie commune, elle avait de son mari l’image d’un homme tout en retenue et dignité. Elle se précipita dans la chambre et trouva son mari sur le balcon ! Celui-ci se libérait d’une frustration accumulée depuis des années et criait sa joie au monde entier.
“Que se passe-t-il? Tu vas bien? Comment as-tu fait pour arriver sur le balcon?” C’est alors qu’il regarda ses jambes et constata qu’il tenait debout tout seul, sans l’aide de rien, ni de personne. “Ne t’inquiète pas. Je vais bien. Je vais très bien. Merci, mon Dieu !”
Un miracle merveilleux venait de se produire dans une ville d’Allemagne en 1990 grâce à un match de la Coupe du Monde qui se déroulait en Italie. Le Cameroun venait de battre en match d’entrée l’Argentine (1-0) qui était le tenant du titre. C’était la deuxième fois que le Cameroun participait à une Coupe du Monde, entraîné par Russe qui ne parlait pas bien l’anglais et qui ne comprenait rien en français (le Cameroun est bilingue avec comme langues administratives le français et l’anglais).
Cette incroyable victoire permit à Jacques de recouvrer l’usage de ses jambes. Jusqu’à présent, il marche et vit normalement. Il se porte bien et marche sans aucune aide. Son fauteuil roulant, il l’a mis dans un placard.
Recess
October 27, 2008
Hi guys!
Please, don’t be mad at me. Some serious private matters need to be addressed. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience.
LEIWAND
October 4, 2008Last week, a soul commented one of my blogposts with just one word: LEIWAND.
At first, I thought the author had had another beer in some place with his people and that he felt like writing some poetry. He could have meant LEINWAND (German word for movie theater screen), forgetting the first N. I scratched my head trying to find an answer all by myself. Then, Mr Google tapped slightly on my shoulder: ‘Girl, why don’t you ask me? Maybe I can help!’
Effectively, he could. LEIWAND comes from the Vienna (Austria) slang. It is said that it was used originally by the bad boys, who, after having robbed successfully a bank or two, said: ‘Leiwand’, meaning : “Full success, guys. All’s well that ends well. We could carry out our plan. Just as scripted. We are rich now. Let’s go to the French Riviera and be tycoons”.
LEIWAND means : ‘Great, wonderful.’ In other words, the commentator enjoys reading my stories. He himself is a newbie to blogging. He is still looking for the right button to press on. But if you feel comfortable with German, follow the sign > Campare50.
Ausländerfeindlichkeit
October 4, 2008Sixteen years back, there were many heavy foreigner issues in Germany (Germany to the Germans !). A wind of hate and contemptuousness was blowing so strongly among some German minority groups toward foreigners of any colors —even those with blue eyes and blond hair coming from East Europe— and any origins that the majority of Germany had to stand up and make it clear that ‘Foreigners are deep-heartedly welcome to Germany‘.
Personally I did not feel the hate, surely because I was protected by thick cigarettes fumes and thousands of Bayrish bier bottles. My people were always thirsty. I don’t want to imagine their sufferings had they lived in the middle of the hot sandy desert…
A German citizen from Munich had a dream. Liliane, his life companion, stood by him during the project preparation. But he died before his dream could be fulfilled : A Lichterkette (Light Chain) all around the world. He wanted to illuminate the darkness of our brains. He wanted to lead us to the end of obscurantism. He strived on a world where mankind could live in peace and freedom, working together hand in hand for a better tomorrow.
I did not know that the giant bear (he was 2m tall and stout) had such a big heart. I knew that he was very gentle. But I did not know that he was dreaming something big for us. He belonged to a circle of friends, all smokers and beer drinkers. Although I love them all, I could not spend long hours staying with them otherwise it’d have been the end of me.
They were very tolerant. They let me drink my glass of mineral water without mocking me. But the carcinogenic scents of their cigarettes were too much for me. My head usually turned red, my eyes always burned. Suffocating to death I had to go into retreat.
Friedel, from Austria, who had lived in Munich for over 20 years, was working at SOFT-RESEARCH, one of the best and beautiful companies ever.
There were no walls separating the CEO’s workplace from his co-workers’. They could stare at each other during working hours… and hereafter ! An entire equipment to throw a big party any time on the firm location was available : a big counter, glasses, glasses and glasses, dish washer, big fridges, a cooling chamber, a jukebox, a hifi tower, loudspeakers, shower room. After 5 pm, Feierabend and party time. I recall a mini one where we were only 5 people. But we danced and sang till 5 am. We had much fun making as much noise as 100 hundred people, playing hide-and-seek and dancing the night away.
From top to bottom of the ladder business cards were the same for all company employees. Only the employee’s names personalized the business cards. Very disconcerting state of facts for new co-workers.
During Christmas and New Year seasons, some employees dragged their mattresses into the firm for extra working hours : Their customers had to receive updates in due time.
I could attend many happenings which took place during the period of activity of the unusual CEO. Until he left the company in 2000 he had always had good ideas to add fun to his employees’ lives.
One day, during the extremely unpleasant and hard time of ‘Ausländerfeindlichkeit’ (= hostility to foreigners), there was an important vernissage at SOFT-RESEARCH, in Munich. About 600 people invited. If you add to this number the company employees, their families and friends, you obtain the total of all party members.
Friedel, an Austrian Scherzkeks and I, a foreigner from the moon, we were smalltalking. Friedel, blue eyes and blond hair : ‘…These foreigners..bla bla bla … Too many of them here.’ Hearing him talking that way, I bursted out laughing. Although Germany and Austria do share the same language and the same borderline, an Austrian is still considered a foreigner in Germany. ‘But Friedel, you are a foreigner too. Should I send you back home?’ He laughed. ‘Sure, we are foreigners. But we work as hard as the German.’
Eight long years have passed by. I miss Friedel and Ulla, his German wife. They were good guys. They are surely retired now and probably living their third Frühling somewhere in beautiful Austria, dancing Strauss Waltzes or yodeling in the mountains of Tyrol.
‘Ausländerfeindlichkeit’ is such a nightmarish word that it should be deleted for good from the earth!
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Un poquito de vino rojo? 
