{"id":26484,"date":"2023-06-04T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/?p=26484"},"modified":"2023-06-04T10:20:39","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T08:20:39","slug":"garden-of-africa-interview-with-rachid-koraichi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/garden-of-africa-interview-with-rachid-koraichi\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden of Africa: Interview with Rachid Kora\u00efchi"},"content":{"rendered":"
One of Algeria’s most eminent international artists has created another beautiful garden, this time to honor the anonymous migrants or harragas<\/em> who have fallen at sea.<\/h5>\n

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Rose Issa<\/h4>\n

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Visual artist Rachid Kora\u00efchi was born in the Aur\u00e8s region of Algeria. He has set up studios in various countries around the world, depending on what projects he is working on. His search for the best artisan \u201cmagicians\u201d follows his creative path. From the outset he has built a deep, friendly complicity with the great poets and writers of the past century. He is also inspired by ancient texts. This versatile artist, linked to the Kora\u00efchi family of the Prophet Muhammad, is deeply spiritual. His most recent project is Jardin d\u2019Afrique (Garden of Africa), a cemetery for irregular migrants in the coastal town of Zarzis, southern Tunisia.<\/p>\n

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Les descendants d’Adam sont membres d’un seul corps, car ils furent cr\u00e9es d’une seule et m\u00eame essence. Que le destin un jour fasse souffrir un membre, les autres membres aussi en seront afflig\u00e9s. Su tu ne souffres pas de la souffrance des autres, tu ne m\u00e9rites pas d’\u00eatre appel\u00e9 humain. (The descendants of Adam are members of one body, for they were created of one essence. If fate one day causes one member to suffer, the other members will also suffer. If you do not suffer from the suffering of others, you do not deserve to be called human.)
\n\u2014Rachid Kora\u00efchi<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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ROSE ISSA: Rachid, how did this project originate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

RACHID KORA\u00cfCHI:<\/strong> My daughter A\u00efcha, vice-chair of Action Against Hunger<\/a> in London, alerted me to the existence of a public landfill site where the bodies of migrants washed up by the sea were deposited at Zarzis. For me, that seemed so unlikely that I wanted to go there with her. I contacted Mongi Slim of the Tunisian Red Crescent (humanitarian organization affiliated with the Red Cross), who took us to the site. I was so shocked by what I saw, I decided to purchase some land to create a decent burial site.<\/p>\n

As my daughter is a Tunisian citizen, we were able to acquire a plot for the future Garden of Africa. The next day, in the presence of Mongi Slim and his contractor, I sketched out the entire project down to the last detail, ignoring all the administrative, legal and judicial red tape required for a burial ground. This is the world\u2019s first private cemetery. It is only for the bodies of migrants or foreigners. In total there are eight hundred tombs, most of which are occupied.<\/p>\n