Gabin, 17, lives near Nantes with his mother and his older brother Tino, 19, born with a severe psychomotor disability. Very quickly, he knew that he would have to take care of it and that he would not have the same carelessness as his friends.
Gabin, but also Mila, Laëtitia, Léa, Franck and Stéphane, all have in common that they grew up with a brother or sister born with a severe psychomotor disability. They all testify in the poignant documentary “Until s’oubli”, directed by Stéphane Kazadi.
It highlights the difficulty of siblings, the largely forgotten ones, to flourish in a family environment centered on disability.
Gabin was six years old when he understood that Tino, his big brother three years older, was not like the others.
“When my parents came to pick me up from school, he would sit in the back of his stroller while the other siblings ran, screamed, and laughed around us.“. And as children are not kind to each other, Gabin suffered mockery from his classmates, linked to his brother’s disability.
Gabin suffered mockery from his comrades, linked to his brother’s disability.
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© Stéphane Kazadi
Added to this, at the time, was the divorce of his parents. He then took refuge in silence with, sometimes, a feeling of anger, even hatred towards this different brother which prevents him from playing with him or going on vacation like the others.
But love is stronger than anything between these two. Gabin prefers to assume rather than flee. Driven by this desire to help others, he takes on the role of big brother to take care of Tino and thus relieve his parents.so that they can breathe a little” he slips. “Taking care of my brother, it’s become normal, it’s my daily life”.
Gabin takes on the role of big brother to take care of Tino and thus relieve his parents
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© Stéphane Kazadi
The teenager, by force of circumstances, quickly gained maturity and learned to channel his emotions, to talk about them, first to his parents, then to his friends.
Since I was little, I have had within me this need to help others
Gabin dreams of becoming a Paris firefighter. He knows that to fulfill this dream, he will have to move away from his brother in the near future.
“I’m not comfortable with this idea of moving away from Tino. But I know that one day or another he will end up in a center, because my parents will not be able to support him because of their age and I will not be able to support him because of my life. I have to prepare for it, but I will make sure he is well looked after. I’ll go see him and take him under my wing”.
Gabin dreams of becoming a Paris firefighter. He knows that in the near future he will have to move away from his brother
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© Stéphane Kazadi
The documentary “Until we forget” made it possible to free the words of our often forgotten brothers and sisters. “I find it excellent that siblings can say what they feel, because often, we think of the parents, but brothers and sisters also suffer and it did me good to talk about it.”. Underlines Gabin.
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