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Walberberg 2008:
Rooted Realities and Maps of Migration |
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My cousin comes from Kinross in Scotland where my father’s brother ended up, thousands of miles away from his own country, running a garage. He married a Scottish girl and settled down. Marion Rose spent part of her life in Mozambique. Why, I asked, did you go back to Scotland? And this was her answer. ‘I didn’t want to be a foreigner forever.’ So she went back to the country where she was born, to her hills and lochs, to the people who spoke with her accent. She went home.
I do not have that choice. I have become l’étrangère, die Fremde, an incomer, a person who is not from this place, whatever the place, a foreigner forever. And here are some of the things I have learned. Try to live lightly in a country that is not your own. Listen more than you speak and never imagine that your roots are permanent. Be unobtrusive. Be quiet. Leave no messages, no trace. Keep the car running, fuelled, packed, and be ready to move. Wait for the dark.
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