TESTIMONIALS. “I was in life, not in survival”… Four years later, meeting with these “nostalgic” people for confinement

We all remember this moment: first, the closure of nurseries, schools and universities, then places considered “non-essential”… And finally, confinement. It was then the evening of March 16, 2020. For the majority of people, the confinement which had been decreed for March 17, 2020 brings back bad memories. But, for others, it represents a golden period, timeless and conducive to reflection and decision-making. Franceinfo met three “nostalgic” people from this period.

Thierry, 55 years old, released from work

“A wonder”. This is how Thierry describes the confinement he experienced four years ago. This 55-year-old florist remembers with a smile and sparkling eyes those weeks when he had to stay cloistered at home. “I am lucky to have a house with a garden in Brussels and, what’s more, the weather was nice during this period. I was able to take care of my garden, take care of myself, not think about work, refocushe says with emotion. I’m self-employed and I was happy not to have to be accountable, it was becoming light”confides Thierry.

“It was a suspended time that took us away from reality.”

Thierry, florist, 55 years old

at franceinfo

Thierry admits, however, that “it was a kind of false lightness”, because the financial problems did exist. “In Belgium, we didn’t have any help, but I wasn’t unhappy at all. On the contrary, it made me realize that we could live with much less”, he remembers. This florist who travels a lot for his work felt, four years ago, that he was getting closer to the way of life his parents had known.

“I come from the countryside and we lived more simply. It set the record straight,” confesses Thierry. During this period “I was in lifebelieves Thierry. I was not in the survival of the system that oppresses us”. The florist feels, on the contrary, that he has left a form of prison for a while. “Being an independent craftsman, we are constantly having to pay for our freedom”he regrets.

Khadija, 43, freed from her ex

Khadija bursts into open laughter when asked about her memory of confinement. “For me, it’s a good memory because I separated from my ex”, she laughs. It was confinement that allowed her to make this decision, assures this 43-year-old service agent. “It was stressful to be with him all the time, all the time. As we changed our schedules during confinement, when I arrived he was there, when I left he was there because he wasn’t working. That pushed me to make a decision”, she says. Khajida had been thinking about this decision for a while, but it was this hazard of life that made her take the plunge.

“I didn’t have the courage, but with the confinement, I said to myself ‘I can actually do it’”

Khadija, 43 years old

at franceinfo

His companion finally left the home “right away”, at the end of confinement, she remembers. And Khadija would not say no to new confinement. “Because at least there I will be all alone, without anyone to stress me out, just me and my children”she says, bravado.

Théodore, 23 years old, returned to his childhood

While several studies show that the health crisis has strongly affected the morale of young people, Théodore, 23, is also a counter-example. This theater student was 19 years old at the start of the Covid epidemic, and the announcement of confinement was a real relief. “I was in theater school, at the Florent course, I had a deadline for a test that I had to do and I had one minute ready out of 15”remembers Theodore.

“We will say that destiny smiled on me”

Theodore, 23 years old

at franceinfo

Beyond this anecdote, Théodore considers that confinement has been largely beneficial to him. At this time, he was unsure of the path he wanted to take in his studies. “It allowed me to take some time, in reality I was happy” confinement, says Théodore. “I think that it also appeals to people who don’t have much of a social life, who don’t have a lot of friends, who don’t have an evening routine. That was my case, I’m a bit of a mole”confesses the student.

“There was also the benefit of being able to refocus, do nothing, I was rather peaceful in reality”remembers Théodore who also took pleasure in freeing himself from responsibilities. “It was my father who fed me”, he remembers. For Théodore, this period of confinement ultimately took the form of a welcome regression: “Being able to play the console all day at home! A child’s delirium…”