First Person

Unheard Minds: Neglecting the Mad

Helene had the conviction that what causes the most suffering for these patients is not the voices and hallucinations that make them feel detached from common reality, but rather their sense of isolation.

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HIGHLIGHTS

1

Working with a handicap: can we cross out “-cap”?

Restaurants that employ people with disabilities are opening in cities like Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lisbon, and New York.

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2
First Person 9 min.

All the languages I speak belong to me

Diadié is often asked if, in the near future, he plans to write entire novels in Soninke or Bambara. A question that puzzles him. And what if French was not just a language of writing after all?

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3
Non fiction 8 min.

I didn’t know what “Allah Akbar” meant, either

Why is learning Arabic important today in France? Take me as an example: learning Arabic has not only made me aware of the French bias that I grew up with, but it has made me more empathetic.

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4
Fiction 6 min.

She’s meant for me

Like many nowadays, I found my partner on the internet. I had been alone forever, couldn’t take it anymore. I had a few girlfriends here and there, but it was always complicated. They were never satisfied, I was never good enough for them, they would leave me, I would suffer. I had given up. And then, I wanted to love again, I was tired of being alone. I hung out on websites, and I found Helena.

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5
Non fiction 14 min.

Jetlagged love

Pamela travels to Ecuador to be reunited with the man she loves. But after long days alone, her image becomes increasingly blurred.

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Frictions is an online journal that tells the story of our times through the intimate lens of podcasts, reportages, essays and fiction by authors from around the globe.

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