“Boualem Sansal is always ready to question his own beliefs”

En 2017 and 2020, the writer Boualem Sansal and the neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik entered into a dialogue for two works, one of which concerned the geopolitics of the Mediterranean (The Impossible Peace in the Mediterraneaneditions of L'Aube), for the other focused on Franco-Algerian relations (France-Algeria, resilience and reconciliation in the MediterraneanOdile Jacob editions). Admirable example of an in-depth exchange between two minds.

In this latest work, Boualem Sansal engaged in a remarkable analysis of the teaching of History in Algeria. “We must remember that the official history of the country, written by a commission of FLN apparatchiks, is still on the school curriculum; it begins with the Arab conquest (647-709) and reserves most of its pages for French colonization (1830-1962) and the War of Liberation (1954-1962). »

ALSO READ Boualem Sansal arrested in Algeria, portrait of a free writerSansal, who denounced the myth of the 1.5 million war martyrs set up by Ben Bella in 1963, appealed to a long and complex history. He underlined the multiplicity of colonizations and the permanence of the tribal structure of Algeria, which persisted with its economic division between families. Boris Cyrulnik was kind enough to mention his friend Boualem Sansal, imprisoned in Algeria.

The Point: Under what circumstances did you meet Boualem Sansal for these two works of dialogue?

Boris Cyrulnik: Algerian friends knew him. The Montaigne Institute brought us together for a first public debate, we got on well. I immediately liked the guy, the remarkable scientist who spoke impeccable French, we got along so well that I had the feeling that we had other things to say to each other. I also felt the unpleasant feeling of the radicalization of the whole world, this radicalization which prevents us from thinking, and that the two of us, me a French Jew, he an Algerian scientist and writer, we could exchange correspondence, try to think together.

Today, you have to choose your side. However, choosing a side means entering a world of war. We are under terrible pressure. We can no longer feel empathy for someone who is not of the same opinion, we only feel good with people on the same side, we start to hate anyone who is on the other side …

ALSO READ Tahar Ben Jelloun: “Free Boualem Sansal” What did you think of the risks he was taking?

He was courageous, he took uncalculated risks. Several times, I told myself that he was going to be arrested, because he was facing people who had long since chosen their side. It didn't give the impression of a fight, but embodied the journey of a scientist who decided to question himself and the world around him. He is obviously the polar opposite of these saviors who gradually take power by pretending to tell the truth, when they are only crooks who offer tranquilizers, slogans that stop thought. I felt close to him, because like him, I am a scientist, he is always ready to question his own beliefs. However, our world is dying of these beliefs, of these wars which are only wars of belief, Putin, Hamas, Hezbollah, Netanyahu.

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Kangaroo of the day

Answer

When was the last time you saw him?

We were together at the beginning of the month at the Valencia Book Fair dedicated to essays. We chatted, in private, about this world where we are told “choose your clan”. I mentioned my recent visits to Algeria, I am well received there, they know who they invite. Often, I met people in the street who told me: “We no longer go to the mosque because the imam only gives speeches hostile to Jews. » With Boualem, we shared our concern for the world. And, to myself, I said to myself: “By returning to Algeria, he is taking enormous risks. » All those who start to think take risks, like Kamel Daoud, who became the spokesperson for women with their throats cut.