While listening to the news this week, I thought of the famous “Everything swallows me”, by Réjean Ducharme. How can we not be horrified by these images of a bombed hospital housing displaced people? How can we not feel this famous “bottleneck” in which the population of Gaza is trapped? How can we not project ourselves at least a little into this hell on earth which enters our homes and sinks a little deeper every day? Above all, how can we absorb this continuous flow of news without undermining – if not part of our mental health – a little of our morale? The world is crying, said Jean Leloup. On this “day of wrath” decreed by Lebanon, these words have never sounded so true. In addition to barbaric acts, we can only hope for an excess of peace and benevolence. And hold on to the rare pearls that sparkle in this “fog of war”.
I think of this French teacher who chose not to move from his place of residence, in the north of Gaza, and to claim his right to “resist through education, non-violence and his attachment to the land”. Or again, to this independent journalist who also chose to resist and who preferred to “die in dignity with his family” rather than allow himself to be humiliated by becoming a “refugee of refugees”. I am thinking of the Jewish philosopher writer and female rabbi (yes yes!) Delphine Horvilleur who, in a cry from the heart launched on France Inter, the day after October 7, affirmed that what was attacked here was our deep humanity. And who calls for a collective awakening without a flag. “The only watchword should be not to be a friend of Israel, but an enemy of terrorism. With the geographical distance we have, we have the responsibility, in the name of our common humanity, to escape from the simplistic oppositions which constantly lock us into our identities. » I found myself, for a moment, dreaming with her of a vast “anti-terrorism movement without a flag”. Finally, as I finish this letter, I come across this ultimate gem from journalist Alain Crevier (as part of an interview with Stéphanie Jolioeur, yesterday morning on the show Penelopefrom Radio-Canada), who wonders what will remain in our world if we fail to create hope…
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