A PARADISE I HAVE KNOWN !

Porte du Camp d'IDRON

(Le 18ème RCP, à Philippeville, prêt à sauter sur Paris)

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Oran - A Paradise Lost

This bittersweet video shows the decline of the city of Oran in Algeria, the setting for Albert Camus' great novel The Plague, and home to many thousands of Frenchmen and other Europeans for over a century. Colonization was not to last and ended in unspeakable brutality, but for some the memories of what life was like in Oran give them solace.

The first image in this video is an old photo of the city, possibly from a postcard. It then moves to more current views and asks "Why?" The final image is of a cheerful well-kept street, with the words "Pourquoi pas cela?" ("Why not this?"). Then a word of thanks to someone named Edgar for showing that the old neighborhoods of Oran are dying inexorably.
A Google search on Oran turned up photos of a more thriving modern city (below), so the truth may lie somewhere between: large neglected areas side by side with modern glass skyscrapers.

Question: Does the Algerian government put up these new buildings, with tax revenues, or donations from wealthy Algerians, or does France put them up? The song is sung by Jean-Pax Méfret, a singer I've just learned about. Here are the lyrics in English, but they have much more meaning in the original French which can be found at the singer's website. Though my village is still there Where youngsters set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve, Though the cemetery is still there Where girls prayed and made the sign of the cross, I would not recognize it They have changed the names of the streets I come from a country that no longer exists, I come from a paradise lost. Though my school is still there Where I lived my wild years When I was an adolescent, Though the arcades are still there Filled with the odors of pomegranates And the cries of demonstrators, The flag that's flying overhead Does not have the same colors. I come from a country that no longer exists, I come from a paradise lost. The vast expanse of my childhood country The carts, the olive trees My memories, my existence Are constantly mixing in my mind. It's a strange fate. I come from a country that no longer exists, I come from a paradise lost. H/T: José Castano The photo of Oran is from Dounia Music.

(galliawatch.blogspot.com)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!