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Zakaria et moi

Mes parents m’ont expliqué comment la famille de Zakaria avait souffert de la guerre en Afghanistan et pour cette raison, Zakaria était notre invité et avait besoin d’une grande attention de notre part.
Iran, Western Asia

Story by Mani Nouri. Translated by Cyntia Wombe
Published on March 5, 2022.

This story is also available in GB ar cn it tr



Âgé  d’environ 8 ans, Zakaria était un enfant charmant, corpulent, au visage rond, et il portait des lunettes.  Il avait un œil épicanthus ainsi qu’un bel accent. Par exemple, pour prononcer le chiffre six en langue farsi, il disait toujours « shash » au lieu de « shesh ». Zakaria était originaire d’Afghanistan, pays voisin à l’est. Ses parents étaient arrivés en Iran dans les années 1980 en raison de la guerre civile qui sévissait en Afghanistan depuis des décennies déjà. Un million d'afghans ont trouvé refuge en Iran ainsi que dans les pays  frontaliers de l’ouest. [1]

Ses parents, très sympathiques, travaillaient en tant que concierges dans l’immeuble à coté du nôtre. Le souhait de son père était qu’il devienne scientifique comme  le scientifique Persan du moyen âge dont il porte le nom, Zakaria Razi.

Du haut de mes 6 ans, je le rencontrais souvent et on jouait ensemble. Sous la chaleur écrasante de l’été, beaucoup d’autres enfants nous rejoignaient mais ça ne se passait pas toujours bien. Des fois, les enfants du voisinage le brutalisaient. Au début je le défendais mais à la longue je me suis retrouvé seul à le faire. De plus, les autres enfants me reprochaient de défendre un « étranger ». Tout doucement, j’ai changé de camp et je me suis senti plus à l’aise en faisant comme tout le monde.

Je me souviens qu’un jour, Zakaria s’est assis sur les marches des escaliers, tenant son visage entre ses mains potelées, puis il a commencé à pleurer pendant que les autres enfants l’intimidaient. La scène m’a choqué alors j'en ai parlé à mes parents. À ma grande surprise, ils m’ont grondé car j’ai suivi ce que mes amis faisaient au lieu de défendre Zakaria.

Mes parents m’ont donc expliqué comment sa famille avait souffert de la guerre en Afghanistan et pour cette raison, Zakaria était le bienvenu chez nous et avait besoin qu’on prenne soin de lui. J’ai eu des remords et je me suis remis en question. Mais peu de temps après ils sont partis. Les années suivantes je ne l’ai plus revu et aujourd’hui je ferai tout pour voir ce qu’est devenu Zakaria.

Aujourd'hui je me demande : si  mes parents ne m’avaient pas entretenu à ce sujet aurai – je grandi ignorant ou raciste?


Notes de bas de page

[1] Ces guerres font référence à la guerre soviéto-afghane (1979-1989) pendant laquelle des millions d'afghans ont fui leur pays et aux guerres civiles avec les Talibans qui ont suivi dans les années 1990.


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Mani Nouri

Mani Nouri

I'm a 26-years old, recent graduate from Iran, with a Master's degree from political science from Concordia, Canada. A writer by the day and reader at night. Let's talk about life!

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