Olivier Dubois returns to the «dissociation» which took place, during his detention, between the hostage and the journalist, and which he reactivated for the writing of his book, Prisoner of the Desert (1). He discusses his conditions of detention in the Sahara, his relationship with the body during captivity, and the strategy of the jihadists from the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim, affiliated with Al-Qaeda) who took him prisoner.
How are you, without cheating?
Better. Much better, in any case, than just after my release. I was released on March 20, 2023 and I think I started to fit into my sneakers, and into my new life, from the fall of 2023. It took me six months. When Michel Lafon suggested I do this book, at the beginning of 2024, I was ready to face this story and write it.
Was the writing process painful, or was it a relief?
-A bit of both. I started writing at the end of June. Before, I had some kind of impediment, I was moving around. The first chapter that I wrote, moreover, is not the kidnapping, it is chapter 4 which is ultimately closer to the work of a journalist, as if I were afraid of confronting the story
Belgium
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