The story of Douchan Story · installations and exhibitions: LSYTSDA Sala Alterarte
Position · 0:00 / 7:00 SubtitlesOff ES EN GL Transcript 0:00 My name is Douchan Fofana. I 0:04 was born in Mali, I'm 0:09 18 and I live in Progreso. 0:14 I've been here for seven years. 0:16 I left Mali when I was 0:19 still young. I have memories… 0:22 with everyone, with my friends. I 0:27 found it easier to connect with 0:32 people there. Wherever I went, people 0:37 knew me through my brother. Almost everyone 0:42 knew me. I felt good there. 0:47 Coming here was my brother's idea… 0:52 I didn’t want to come because I was young. My mother wouldn’t let me, but in the end… 0:58 there was a disagreement because I was very 1:02 young and she didn't want me coming alone. When… 1:06 I came here, I came with 1:09 my cousin and my stepbrother. 1:11 They told me about 1:15 it roughly a week beforehand. 1:20 My brother told me we 1:24 were coming here. That wasn't… 1:29 up to me. He said, "You're coming after 1:32 all," because he spoke to my mother and… 1:36 she agreed, as long as they 1:39 looked after me until we got here. 1:45 It was important to 1:48 me to change my life, 1:52 to improve my life. 1:56 When we left, 2:01 we travelled through… 2:06 several African countries. We spent 2:10 a few days in Mauritania. 2:14 I didn't know anything there. My 2:18 cousin and stepbrother had already spent… 2:22 a long time there. 2:25 They knew almost everything… 2:29 and knew people. We stayed a few days, then 2:32 took a boat and came. I had no idea… 2:36 where I was. When I was in 2:39 Mauritania, they told me, "We're in Mauritania." 2:42 Then I knew where I was. 2:47 The Canary Islands. 2:50 First they took us in, 2:53 and I was taken to… 2:57 a centre for minors. Then I stayed 3:01 with a foster family. I think they… 3:06 were taken to a centre for adults, something like that. I'm not sure. 3:09 Yes, from… 3:11 the moment we arrived, they were taken to one place and I was taken to another. 3:16 Learning to socialise with 3:21 people and learning the 3:25 language. Although I understood… 3:29 a little French. If 3:34 I had questions… 3:39 I said it in French, because there 3:42 was a teacher who translated for me. 3:45 It wasn't that it 3:49 was difficult, but… 3:53 sometimes I stayed home playing on the PlayStation 3:56 because I didn't want to go out… 4:00 at that time. 4:01 I remember they were 4:06 carrying our country's flag. 4:10 That's what I remember. 4:14 When we got here 4:17 they had to… 4:20 because it was during the coronavirus 4:23 period, they were made to… 4:26 throw it away because we couldn't bring it 4:30 in here, even though it was the… 4:34 flag. I saw it happen. I 4:37 didn't mind at the time, but they… 4:40 I saw that they 4:43 were a little sad. 4:46 When I think of it, it's over there. 4:49 For me, that was 4:52 my home from childhood. 4:55 Although I have people here too, I know people here now… 5:00 I get along better… 5:04 I often dream in Spanish. 5:08 … the 5:12 language, the French… 5:17 and the language of Mali. But I'm not worried when I get there because everyone… 5:22 speaks to me and I understand, although speaking with them… 5:26 is difficult. Sometimes, when I speak with my mother, she says… 5:30 that I find it hard to speak, that I've been here many years… 5:34 I understand it perfectly, but I 5:39 can't forget my language. It's important… 5:44 to me, so I can talk to them. 5:46 There are people I love here, and 5:51 people I love very much there too. 5:57 I have people I love here, but almost everyone is there. 6:02 The truth is that when… 6:03 I arrived here I had problems 6:06 with classmates. Some spoke badly to me. 6:10 They called me all sorts of things. But 6:13 I didn't do it out of fear… 6:16 I did it for my own good. 6:18 No, I don't feel like a stranger. 6:20 I'll go there for 6:23 a few months and come 6:27 back here to continue… 6:31 Socialise, talk to people, ask for 6:37 help. Support others and let 6:42 them support you. Don't shut 6:47 yourself away at home playing games. 