Beyond Borders: Exploring Memory And Algerian Exile Narratives In Houari Kassa, Leila Sebbar, And Waciny Laredj

Résumé: Stories are vital in trying times as they are testimonies of lived experiences. Among these tales, the Algerian exilic practices, with all their complexities during and after the French colonisation, offer an intriguing setting to explore the historical ties between different cultures. To illustrate, we first look into Kassa Houari's Confessions d'un Immigré, which delves into the emotional depth of Algerian immigrant workers’ experiences in France while recounting their challenges of assimilation. In the second narrative of mobility, Leïla Sebbar's La Seine Était Rouge, we analyse the quest for belonging among Algerians in France during a period of historical pain and political turmoil. Les Balcons de la Mer du Nord, by Wassiny Laredj, is the third story that accentuates the emotional upheaval in a foreign distant land. These three exilic discourses showcase different facets of memory displacement, converging on the emotional difficulties faced by Algerian immigrants during distinct times, especially during the Algerian War of Independence. This paper reveals three complex perspectives on memory and exile within the Algerian diaspora under the shade of the Algerian War of Independence.

Publié dans la revue: IMAGO Interculturalité et Didactique