The New Ones… In the jargon, they are called the newcomers. They are recognisable by their enthusiasm and by their unrestrained optimism. They want to see and try everything because it’s new. They have an obsession to compare everything with their previous life. They fantasise about what the city could become (a new Barcelona, New York or Algiers) before realising that it is in no way similar to other places; in its virtues as in its excesses. Their candour and, sometimes, their naivety will last little more than two years but it is beneficial because it infuses new energies into rusty engines and open the path of possibilities. If they survive the course and do not choose exile, they will be permanently contaminated by the gentle poison of the Mediterranean tenderness. In turn they will be awakened by other visitors from the open sea to whom the city belongs as the writer said (Blaise Cendrars). I was one of them. This is not forgotten. (E.F)
The New Ones… In the jargon, they are called the newcomers. They are recognisable by their enthusiasm and by their unrestrained optimism. They want to see and try everything because it’s new. They have an obsession to compare everything with their previous life. They fantasise about what the city could become (a new Barcelona, New York or Algiers) before realising that it is in no way similar to other places; in its virtues as in its excesses. Their candour and, sometimes, their naivety will last little more than two years but it is beneficial because it infuses new energies into rusty engines and open the path of possibilities. If they survive the course and do not choose exile, they will be permanently contaminated by the gentle poison of the Mediterranean tenderness. In turn they will be awakened by other visitors from the open sea to whom the city belongs as the writer said (Blaise Cendrars). I was one of them. This is not forgotten. (E.F)
