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There
are more 'Figuigois' in Paris than in Figuig!
Figuig:
Population 20,000
10,000
Abroad
10,000
in Figuig |
There is
a saying in Figuig: "there are more Figuigois abroad than there
are at home. And almost all of them are in Paris". In the summer,
when all these migrant workers come home for a taste of their old life,
and a quick look at the paradise garden they have left behind, this
tiny sleepy town awakens with all the heat and traffic of the old days.
Shops, cafes, swimming pools reopen- reminding the elder of a time when
Figuig was a great trade post on the way to Algeria.
Rachel and I were here during the calm season, when women walk empty
streets in sheet like veils (some of them hide even their faces, with
one small hole for the left eye), men gather in the town plaza to play
"shhit" (no kidding! An odd stone game with pieces called
"girl", "donkey" "horse" ), and people
take the occasional trip to the warm springs, for bath or laundry. Follow
us through these silent streets....
Men
playing Shhit
On
the way to the Mosque
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Carrying
lettuce down the streets
Cycling down the roads
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