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UPDATE: Saturday, June 12, 2010      The Japan Times Weekly    2006年6月24日号 (バックナンバー)
 
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LOST IN FRANCE

France -- unfinished stew

By MARIKO KAWAGUCHI

The other day I received a postcard from Fahd.

Fahd is a young Moroccan friend I met during a short trip to Marrakech three years ago. I had an urgent need to get out of French territory to renew my tourist visa. Although I rather randomly picked a one-week tour to Morocco at the nearest travel agency, my first trip to North Africa turned out to be full of exciting experiences -- such as the famous Djemaa el Fna Square thronged with thousands of venders selling mysterious things, the maze of souk streets, lush oasis suddenly appearing out of sand, reddish land or traversing the desert at sunrise on the back of a camel dromedary -- that I will never forget.

I went to see the famous Erg Chebbi Dunes on the outskirts of Merzouga -- a little village located at the beginning of the Sahara Desert -- with Eddie, a ethnically Haitian black Parisian. Fahd worked for us then as local guide and driver on the winding route crossing the spectacular High Atlas mountains into the sub-Sahara.

A shy 21-year old with a gentle heart, Fahd had a strong longing for France. He had how to be a guide at a school and was driving mostly French tourists to various destinations in Morocco at their request. And for communication, he spoke and wrote French like many Moroccan locals.

Fahd told us that his dream was to settle down in France one day. But in reality, without a family or a guarantor, France remained far away, even though the two countries are geographically, as well as historically, close to each other. And with ever toughening French immigration policy -- the National Assembly in May adopted a new immigration bill, drafted by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, aiming to favor highly qualified newcomers from outside the European Union and to cut back on family reunification -- his love for France seems nearly hopeless today.

Most immigrants living in France have come from the country's former African colonies, including Morocco. The second and third generations are called beurs -- inoffensive slang term for French people from Maghreb (northwestern Africa), and they have been enriching the French culture with their original beur culture including rai music, cinema and literature.

At the same time, beurs are facing latent racism in French society, for instance when they look for a job or an apartment. Abusive police control or being barred from certain nightclubs increases their frustration.

Meanwhile, their traditional dishes seem to have been "integrated" without much difficulty. Anywhere in France, it's easy to locate Maghreb-style restaurants where you can enjoy their spicy food, which has become a familiar taste in this country.

Tajine is popular Moroccan food prepared in a special clay pot with dome-shaped cover. The dish often uses exotic combinations of ingredients, such as tajine aux pruneaux (prunes) and tajine de poulet au confit de citron (chicken and lemon), and is richly perfumed with spices like cinnamon, saffron, ginger, cardamon and more.

And couscous -- the word derived from Maghreb Arabic kuskus, a coarsely ground semolina pasta -- is another Moroccan specialty. Steamed couscous is traditionally served under a meat or vegetable stew and is also used in salads.

Black, Blanc, Beur (Black, White, Beur) is a comic yet acute expression born in the '90s that explains today's multiethnic French society (it's a parody of Bleu, Blanc, Rouge of the Tricolor). In this last column from France, I strongly recommend that you try Moroccan and other local tastes when you come to France, not only the traditional "French" food -- and come to realize that you are not precisely in a country of baguette and vin rouge anymore.

To me, this country rather resembles a stew made of miscellaneous ingredients and spices, just like tajine. The stew, though, is not finished cooking yet, and I sincerely hope that it won't be screwed up by some poor cooks.

Inshallah.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 24, 2006
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