L\u2019ami Thanassis a tellement insist\u00e9 que mon mari a finalement accept\u00e9 d\u2019entreprendre une petite vir\u00e9e en Allemagne! Tellement de Grecs s\u2019y rendaient pour d\u2019abord s\u2019acclimater et examiner les opportunit\u00e9s, puis pour s\u2019installer dans les plus grandes villes du pays o\u00f9 chaque coin de rue grouillait de commerces. Ces arrivants \u00e9taient presque certains de gagner de l\u2019argent, autant comme man\u0153uvre dans les manufactures qu\u2019en tant que commer\u00e7ants en guenilles ou en restauration rapide.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Quelle est la meilleure ville \u00e0 visiter?\u00a0\u00bb, demandai-je. Thanassis r\u00e9pondit que presque toutes les villes allemandes se r\u00e9v\u00e9laient prosp\u00e8res et attirantes. Un cousin \u00e0 lui avait ouvert un comptoir de souvlakis \u00e0 Cologne en juillet 1965 et, sept ans plus tard, il en poss\u00e9dait huit et roulait sur l\u2019or.<\/p>\n
Je me suis donc rendue \u00e0 la petite biblioth\u00e8que du village pour essayer d\u2019en apprendre davantage sur la ville de Cologne. J\u2019aimais le nom et tout probablement que j\u2019aimerais sa senteur. Toc, toc, toc. Une vieille femme de presque 100\u00a0ans m\u2019ouvrit la porte.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Ti thelis, koritsi mou?\u00a0\u00bb (Que veux-tu, jeune fille?) Je lui expliquai le but de ma visite. La biblioth\u00e9caire sortit une fiche d\u2019un classeur en bois aussi vieux qu\u2019elle.
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Tout est d\u00e9labr\u00e9 dans cette vieille maison, jeune fille, mais nos fiches sont actualis\u00e9es aux cinq ans pour les pays \u00e9trangers. En 1970, la ville de Cologne comptait 1\u2009073\u2009096\u00a0habitants.\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Pourriez-vous, ch\u00e8re dame, me dire combien de kilom\u00e8tres il faut rouler en voiture pour aller de Thessalonique \u00e0 Cologne?\u00a0\u00bb
\n\u2014\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Demandez \u00e0 monsieur le maire. Il s\u2019y rend deux fois par ann\u00e9e pour visiter sa fille et ses trois petits-fils.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
J\u2019avais tellement envie de faire ce voyage avec les deux hommes, mais c\u2019\u00e9tait impensable. Trois b\u00e9b\u00e9s comptaient sur moi \u00e0 la maison! Thanassis m\u2019apprit que la distance entre Thessalonique et Cologne s\u2019\u00e9l\u00e8ve \u00e0 2157\u00a0kilom\u00e8tres, repr\u00e9sentant environ 20\u00a0heures de route, en plus de centaines de kilom\u00e8tres pour visiter la ville de fond en comble.<\/p>\n
De plus, la langue allemande est particuli\u00e8re. Elle n\u2019est pas assise sur le bout de la langue, mais cach\u00e9e au fond de la gorge. Ses tonalit\u00e9s sont rauques, gutturales, rudes et rocailleuses comme des petits cailloux qui d\u00e9boulent d\u2019une montagne. \u00ab\u00a0Thanassis parle-t-il allemand?\u00a0\u00bb, demanda le mari.<\/p>\n
Sous l\u2019\u0153il attentif de la belle-m\u00e8re, ma belle-s\u0153ur Despina et moi avons pr\u00e9par\u00e9 un panier de victuailles pour nos grands voyageurs. Des feuillet\u00e9s aux \u00e9pinards, des feuilles de vigne farcies \u00e0 la viande, des tranches d\u2019aubergines r\u00f4ties, des betteraves marin\u00e9es, du feta, du \u00ab\u00a0basturma\u00a0\u00bb (de fines tranches de b\u0153uf fortement press\u00e9 et s\u00e9ch\u00e9) dont le mari raffolait, une dizaine de brochettes de poulet \u00e0 l\u2019origan et, bien entendu, un gros kilo de tzatziki que j\u2019ai moi-m\u00eame concoct\u00e9 en y ajoutant des r\u00e2pures de chair de concombre bien frais.<\/p>\n
\u00c0 cet instant, j\u2019ai v\u00e9cu l\u2019\u00e9trange bonheur de r\u00e9aliser que mon c\u0153ur ne se d\u00e9courage jamais, il ne fait qu\u2019esp\u00e9rer. J\u2019ai profit\u00e9 de l\u2019absence du mari pour convaincre sa m\u00e8re, un peu chaque jour, de venir s\u2019installer au Canada avec Despina. La vie dans le village s\u2019av\u00e9rait tr\u00e8s difficile sans homme \u00e0 la maison. Les bras des quelques voisins et cousins ne suffisaient pas pour entretenir les deux \u00e9tages ciment\u00e9s de la vieille demeure. Chaque soir, je ber\u00e7ais mes b\u00e9b\u00e9s en priant tr\u00e8s fort pour que nous puissions partir de ce village presque d\u00e9sert\u00e9. Que la foudre m\u2019emporte, mais si je n\u2019avais pas d\u2019enfant! Et pourtant, ils \u00e9taient ma chair, mon c\u0153ur, mes pens\u00e9es et mes yeux qui, peu \u00e0 peu, s\u2019ass\u00e9chaient de larmes. Le mari parti, mes trois petits et moi couchions au milieu du lit et r\u00eavions que nous nous trouvions au paradis.<\/p>\n
Le lendemain matin, en se rendant \u00e0 la poste, Despina apprit que cinq grosses valises venaient d\u2019arriver au village pour le mari. Apr\u00e8s plus de six mois, nos p\u00e9nates montr\u00e9alais \u00e9taient enfin arriv\u00e9s en Gr\u00e8ce! J\u2019ai tout de suite eu l\u2019envie de les retourner \u00e0 l\u2019exp\u00e9diteur, mais j\u2019ai h\u00e9sit\u00e9. Allions-nous attendre la vieille camionnette du boulanger pour r\u00e9cup\u00e9rer nos valises dans lesquelles j\u2019avais cach\u00e9 quelques livres parmi mes dessous f\u00e9minins, l\u00e0 o\u00f9 l\u2019homme ne regardait jamais?<\/p>\n
J\u2019avais peur, je pleurais, j\u2019avais tellement envie d\u2019\u00e9crire quelques lignes de po\u00e9sie pour me lib\u00e9rer de mon fardeau. Comme des plaies ouvertes qui saignent et s\u00e8chent sans gu\u00e9rir, mes besoins n\u2019\u00e9taient jamais assouvis. Sept interminables jours s\u2019\u00e9taient \u00e9coul\u00e9s depuis le d\u00e9part du mari et de l\u2019ami Thanassis pour Cologne, sans aucune nouvelle. L\u2019homme aurait-il trouv\u00e9 un travail int\u00e9ressant et payant; un comptoir de souvlakis tenu par un vrai Grec; ou un poste de contrema\u00eetre dans une manufacture de manteaux de fourrure?<\/p>\n
\u00c0 Montr\u00e9al, de mon temps, la plupart des \u00e9pouses grecques travaillaient dans des manufactures de manteaux de fourrure. Elles y cousaient les doublures avec une tr\u00e8s grande habilet\u00e9. Elles n\u2019\u00e9taient pas pay\u00e9es \u00e0 l\u2019heure ni \u00e0 la semaine, mais au nombre de doublures qu\u2019elles cousaient par jour. Les plus chanceuses pouvaient compter sur la grand-m\u00e8re pour garder les enfants pendant qu\u2019elles cousaient puisque celle-ci habitait avec elles. Alors ces vaillantes immigrantes apportaient \u00e0 la maison deux ou trois doublures \u00e0 coudre apr\u00e8s le souper, soutenant ainsi leurs maris jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce qu\u2019ils r\u00e9ussissent en restauration.<\/p>\n
Et moi, qu\u2019aurais-je pu faire pour \u00e9pauler ce mari qui dansait jusqu\u2019aux petites heures et dormait jusqu\u2019\u00e0 midi? Sans parler de son expertise en s\u00e9duction! Une fois, au mariage d\u2019une cousine, je l\u2019ai vu \u00e0 l\u2019\u0153uvre sur un plancher de danse et les filles tombaient comme des mouches juste \u00e0 le voir se tr\u00e9mousser. Tandis qu\u2019il brillait par son absence, j\u2019y repensais et l\u2019envie me prenait d\u2019emmailloter mes b\u00e9b\u00e9s et de prendre le large!<\/p>\n
\u00c0 SUIVRE\u2026<\/p>\n
Cora
\n\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
L\u2019ami Thanassis a tellement insist\u00e9 que mon mari a finalement accept\u00e9 d\u2019entreprendre […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":50864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"acf":{"img_en":"","contenu_en":"My friend Thanassis insisted so much that Husband finally accepted to take a short trip to Germany to look for a good job. Many Greeks travelled there to get acclimated and explore the opportunities; they\u2019d settle in the country\u2019s largest cities, where every street corner bustled with commerce. Newcomers were almost certain to earn good money either as factory workers, clothing store owners or fast-food operators.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the best city to visit?\u201d I asked. Thanassis replied that almost all German cities were thriving and attractive in their own way. One of his cousins had opened a souvlaki bar in Cologne in July\u00a01965 and, 7\u00a0years later, owned a total of 8 and was now rich.\r\n\r\nI went to the small village library to try to learn more about the city of Cologne. I liked the name and I\u2019d almost certainly like its smell. Knock, knock. An ancient-looking woman who must\u2019ve been 100 opened the door.\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cTi thelis, koritsi mou?\u201d (or, what do you want, young girl?) I explained the reason for my visit. The librarian took a piece of paper out of a wooden file cabinet as old as herself.\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cEverything is decrepit in this old place, young miss, but our fact sheets are updated every five years for foreign countries. In 1970, the city of Cologne had 1,073,096\u00a0inhabitants.\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cCould you tell me, ma\u2019am, how many kilometers do we have to drive to get from Thessaloniki to Cologne?\u201d\r\n\u2014\u00a0\u201cAsk the mayor. He goes twice a year to visit his daughter and 3\u00a0grandsons.\r\n\r\nI would have loved to accompany the two men on the trip, but it was out of the question. Three babies depended entirely on me at home! Thanassis informed me that the distance between Thessaloniki and Cologne was 2,157\u00a0kilometers \u2013 about a 20-hour drive \u2013 plus hundreds more kilometres more to visit the city properly.\r\n\r\nMoreover, the German language is unusual. It doesn\u2019t come from the tip of the tongue, but rather from the throat. Its tonalities are hoarse, guttural, rough and rocky, like pebbles tumbling down a mountain. \u201cDoes Thanassis speak German?\u201d Husband asked.\r\n\r\nUnder my mother-in-law\u2019s watchful eye, my sister-in-in-law Despina and I prepared a basket filled with food for our explorers. Spinach puff pastries, wine leaves stuffed with meat, roasted eggplant slices, pickled beets, feta, the basturma (thinly sliced air-cured beef) Husband loved so much, a dozen chicken oregano skewers and, of course, a large kilo of tzatziki I\u2019d made myself with freshly grated cucumber.\r\n\r\nIn that very moment, I experienced the strange happiness of realizing that my heart never gets discouraged, it\u2019s only capable of hoping. I made the most of Husband\u2019s absence to convince his mother little by little to come live in Canada with Despina. Life in the village was becoming very difficult without a man at home. The arms of neighbours and cousins were no longer enough to help maintain the old 2-story cement house. Each night, when I rocked my babies to sleep, I prayed fervently we\u2019d leave this almost deserted village. If it weren\u2019t for my kids, lightning could strike me and I wouldn\u2019t care! But they were my flesh, my heart, my thoughts and my tearful eyes which, slowly, were becoming clear. With Husband gone, the three little ones and I slept in the middle of the bed and dreamt that we were in paradise.\r\n\r\nThe following morning when Despina went to the post office, she learned that five large suitcases had arrived in town for Husband. After more than six months, our possessions from Montreal had finally arrived in Greece! I was immediately tempted to send them back home, but I hesitated. Would we wait for the baker\u2019s old truck to collect our suitcases in which I\u2019d hidden a few books in my undergarments, where Husband never looked?\r\n\r\nI was worried, I was crying and I was dying to write a few lines of poetry to unload my burden. Like open wounds that bleed and dry without healing, my needs were never satisfied. Seven interminable days had gone by since Husband and Thanassis had left for Cologne and I still hadn\u2019t heard from them. Had Husband found an interesting, well-paying job? Perhaps at a souvlaki bar run by a Greek? Or a position as foreman in a fur coat factory?\r\n\r\nIn Montreal, in those days, most of the Greek wives worked in fur coat factories. They\u2019d skillfully sew the lining. They weren\u2019t paid by the hour or the week, but by the number of coats they could line a day. The luckiest ones could count on the grandmother who lived with them to take care of the kids while they sewed away. And so these brave immigrant women would bring 2 or 3 coats home to sow after dinner, supporting their husbands until the restaurant took off.\r\n\r\nWhat could I have done to support this husband of mine who danced until the wee hours of the morning and slept until noon? Not to mention his penchant for seduction! Once, at my cousin\u2019s wedding, I saw him in action on the dancefloor with the girls who practically had to fan themselves to keep from fainting from just watching him wiggle around. His absence was like an open door. Remembering that moment on the dancefloor, I was tempted to dress my babies and run!\r\n\r\nTO BE CONTINUED\u2026\r\n\r\nCora\r\n\r\n\u2764\ufe0f"},"yoast_head":"\n