Tuzla - and a Tale of Memory

I didn't go there on purpose. It was a few hour's stop on a long bus ride in 2006. Walking around I noticed construction works all over the place, activities like in a beehive. My head and stomach still numb from a hilarious wedding I looked for a place to sit down. A newly opened fast-food restaurant with young couples holding hands was not exactly the place I was looking for, so I stopped in a simple inn.

When I had nearly finished my coffee the party at the next table invited me friendly to come over, asking where I was from. “Weimar!” exclaimed the gentleman, who seemed to be the most talkative of them. “We adore your culture. Franz List! Brentano! Der Lindenbaum!” and started humming a romantic folk-song. “We are friends here”, he went on pointing to the other men. “He is a doctor, this is the pharmacist. I am a violinist. We have always been friends. This one is Croatian. Most of us are Bosniaks. But we do not have problems.” He must have noticed my puzzled look and went on: “And the woman in the kitchen is a Serb. We speak the same language, we are all the same.”

These words reverberated in my head as I was walking to the bus station. International money had rebuild the city after the destruction. The victims did not express any anger. But I feel guilty. My nation is an offender. In the place where I live the brightest light of culture is intertwined with the utmost darkness. My Bosnian host reminded me of the light. But I cannot forget.

Joy of Dancing: Héla Fattoumi - Dancing the Veil

A radio interview caught my attention today and I had to share this with you immediately. Héla Fattoumi is a dancer from Tunis, which is the capital of the probably most westernized Arabic country. But even there the advancing arabisation and islamisation of North Africa is palpable. The traditional white cloth that women used to wear to cover themselves ("safsari" in Tunisia, "haik" in Algeria and Morocco) is being subsequently substituted by the "niqab", the black, body-covering veil that leaves only a narrow slits for the eyes, originally from the Gulf region. That is often considered a symbol of wahabism, a conservative islamic movement . (Moroccan haik) Fattoumi made an unusual experiment: She started to wear the full veil herself. In the choreography she works on her experiences and plays with emotions from easy to claustrophobic. The title "manta" refers both to the Praying Mantis and the French "manteau" (coat). "Manta" will be performed tonight, 20th august, 21st and 22nd in Berlin at the "Tanz im August" festival. From the festival program: In »Manta«, Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux dare to take on a controversial subject: the Islamic veil. They use clear images to grasp the struggle to regain physical autonomy: silent screams under the veil, an arm raised through the cloth. For Fattoumi and Lamoureux, the hijab represents a limitation of freedom that stifles women’s individuality. The body is, after all, a means of expression and communication for everybody – not just for dancers. »Manta« tests the limits that are set for artistic approaches to a religious symbol.

Choreografie: Héla Fattoumi, Éric Lamoureux › Mit: Héla Fattoumi Produktion: Centre Chorégraphique National de Caen/Basse-Normandie (CCNC/BN) › Koproduktion: Festival Montpellier Danse 2009, LiFE – Lieu international des Formes Emergentes de Saint Nazaire › Gastspiel ermöglicht durch: Französische Botschaft, Bureau du Théâtre et de la Danse, CulturesFrance Héla Fattoumi - Eric Lamoureux hivernales avignon 3 Picture credits: here and here. Note the very useful dictionary of types of veiling used in the muslim world.