At a time when Italy is experiencing a series of violent episodes of racism, the voice of French-Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun echoes loudly. In the video-chat room on the Avoicomunicare.it, website opened by Telecom to address global exchanges of ideas, the author of Racism explained to my daughter warned that “there is no such thing as light racism”. “Hatred for others” – he said – “arises from small matters, such as saying that Jews have long noses, or addressing someone as a ‘filthy Arab.’” As with anti-Semitism, racism is not only the result of small daily gestures, but also from the economy.
While under the Nazis, and not only them, Jews were “accused” of being too rich, of governing banks and business, today too those who are “different”, “foreigners”, are accused of impoverishing autochthon populations – although this “unfair competition” is the result of their poverty and not wealth. Hence one must pay attention, especially now that the western economy is suffering. “I fear that this economic and financial crisis will result in consequences within European society” – confessed the author – “It will result in greater unemployment, and therefore people will look for a scapegoat, and it is possible that they will find it in foreigners”.
Foreigners
“We are all foreigners, and not only when we travel beyond national borders. Even a Sicilian in Milan is a foreigner. There is no such thing as an absolute foreigner” said Ben Jelloun, who has lived in Paris since 1971 and also writes for Le Monde and La Repubblica. “The concept of ‘being a foreigner’ moves with us”. In a recent interview, the author of Partir praised diversity (“There are over six billion of us in the world, and no two people are identical. This diversity is humankind’s wealth, it would be dreadful if we were all the same”), but with great intellectual honesty he also emphasised how hard it is not to be racists. “One cannot love everyone, but one can respect everyone without considering wealth or physical features”, he said, acknowledging how hard we all try at times not to generalise, “not to surrender to our lowest instincts”, and “not be racists”.
He admitted in fact that “morals and culture are not enough to avoid being racists; willpower is necessary too”. Cooperation from immigrants is however needed to avoid racism. “What would I say to my compatriots from Morocco who come to live in France? Respect the law, always remain within legality. When one is invited to someone’s home, one does not start by breaking all the plates. Pedagogic work is also needed to achieve integration. One must talk to immigrants and not just insult them.” On this subject, Ben Jelloun criticised the Berlusconi government’s immigration policies, and addressed words that were not at all evident but rather awkward ones on human rights issues.
Referring to “countries such as Libya, the Sudan and Byelorussia”, he mentioned that “only people themselves can battle and get rid of their own dictators, and Bush’s doctrine regards to exporting democracy using weapons does not work”. Then however, on the subject of China, he asked himself “Would it be useful to condition business deals with Beijing on the country’s respecting human rights? At that point, China would simply decide to do business with other countries and nothing would change. Once again, all hope must be placed in the Chinese people themselves.” There is however one thing the world could do to fight dictatorships. “From now on” he suggested, “the UN should not recognise regimes that are the result of a coup d’état or created using force”.
The role played by religion
Speaking of his country of origin, Morocco, Ben Jelloun praised its pro-western traditions (“They are part of our history, ours was the first country to recognise the USA”), and he expressed the hope that the King and the Government would continue to prevent the country from falling into the hands of Muslim extremists. To do this, it is necessary to free the people from poverty (“Providing people with wellbeing helps to keep extremists away”), and avoid too much mixing of religion and politics. As he previously told Resetdoc, Ben Jelloun believes in laicity, which, he believes “is not atheism, it is not the end of all religions. It makes no difference if one prays at home and not in the mosque. Religion should remain within the private sphere, because if one becomes involved in politics it can become a reason for discrimination.”
“The Internet has made me feel younger”
Is the internet a resource or a danger for contemporary society? “This is just like what happened when television first appeared” answered the author, “It all depends on how this medium is used. It can spread paedophilia, but it can also spread communication and knowledge. The Internet has made me feel younger, I go online everyday in search of a quotation or the title of a book I may have forgotten”, confessed Ben Jelloun, who today would like to ask Gandhi, the inspirer of the Telecom advertising campaign, “would he feel confident in entrusting his message to the internet?”.
Translation by Francesca Simmons