The Different

By Walid Badran

Egyptian British Creative Writer

Mostaganem (first stop)

It was here, in Mostaganem, where he recalled the earliest memories of his life-mountains, sea shores, forests, greenery, and the faces of many children who never grew up.

That quiet Algerian city witnessed the first word, the first step, the first game, the embrace of his parents, and the silver Simca family car.

He attended Abdul Hamid bin Badis Elementary with his friends Ihab, Osama, Ashraf, Abdul Rahman, Ibrahim, Dominic and others of different nationalities, races, and religions. But he was unaware of these differences, as they were all his friends.

With these comrades, he knew and adored football and he used to play it in the beautiful gardens in front of the compounds inhabited by his family and friends' families, which were formerly inhabited by French settlers known as The Pieds-Noirs (the Black Feet) .

The first school name he held was Hamdani Wahid, and he still wondered why they were presenting the family name and twisting it like this?

Here he spoke French and the Algerian dialect fluently at school and on the streets, while speaking the Egyptian dialect at home.

When his Algerian friend Abdel Rahman died as a child in a car accident, he never understood this situation. For a long time, he returned to his friend's home and knocked on the door, asking for him, and Abdel Rahman's mother received him with arms and tears.

In vain, his mother tried to make him understand that he "had been taken to our Lord", and the shocking answer silenced her: "Why did he not take me with him, I'm his friend?"

As a child, he felt that he was Algerian to the core. In light of the Western Sahara crisis with Morocco, demonstrations took place in the cities of Algeria in support of the Polisario. His friends came out and joined them to chant things they did not understand. The most important thing is that he is with his friends and he is one of them.

Wahid was surprised by his Egyptian friend Ashraf, who is older than him, asking him why he participated in the Algerian demonstrations? He answered, "Why not?" Ashraf replied: "Because you are Egyptian, my father says this is not our issue."

Hence the seed of the sense of difference that used to flourish from time to time. As much as his Algerian friends loved him, the childish differences reminded him of the difference and the first insults that he heard: "O Egyptian, bean eaters," he replied: "O Algerian, al-Babush (snails) eaters."

But can you remember Mostaganem without remembering that cute, delicate Syrian child, Rehab, his best friend? They used to spend most of their days eating and drinking together, watching TV together? Whenever his family went on a picnic, he would take her with them.

One day, they told him that she had returned to Syria. Her absence from Mustaganem and from his life made them both dark.

The Different

By Walid Badran

Egyptian British Creative Writer

Tami Al-Amdid (Second Stop)

The first summer vacation he can recall was when his family took him to Egypt, specifically his roots village of Tami Al-Amdid Dakahlia near Mansoura, which later became a town.

As Wahid was impressed with the rural atmosphere, he rode the donkey, chased chickens, ducks, and geese, rowed the cows, and climbed trees. His rural relatives were surprised by his constant questions about the names of animals and birds and his fascination with them.

The children's enjoyment of swimming in a canal caught his attention. Therefore, he sneaked up and threw himself in the middle of them. However, he was surprised when his mother pulled him out to get a hot leech for his action. He did not understand the reason until later.

Waheed enjoyed the rustic food of unleavened pies, cream, honey and old cheese. A black pie caught his eye near the house. He grabbed it and found it solid. He carried it to his mother, saying he wanted to eat it.

His mother and relatives laughed and explained to him that this is not a pie but a " jellah", it is animal dung, made in this round shape and left in the sun, and used as fertilizer.

Thus, the young Khawaja (foreigner) who spoke French found himself once again a joke. He was the talk of the village, and his small adventures were a source of scarcity.