Authenticity

"A mes yeux, le Luxembourg s'est toujours voilé derrière un masque, derrière un vernis difficile a percer. Le Luxembourgeois est si distant: les rares personnes ouvertes au dialogue ne se donnent pas facilement. Or celles qui se donnent à voir ne m'intéressent pas et celles que j'aimerais percer à jour ne se donnent pas. C'est un constat que j'ai pu vérifier en m'installant à Lyon. Alors, au contact des Lyonnais avec lesquels le rapport est aisé, sans détour et franc, je me suis rendue à l'évidence que ma perception des choses n'était pas erronnée."

- The way I see it, Luxemburg has always been hiding behind a mask, behind a varnish that's hard to break through. The Luxemburger is so distant: the rare person who is open to dialogue doesn't show himself easily. Those who do, do not interest me and those I would like to break through to don't show temselves. This is a fact I was able to verify when I installed myself in Lyon. There, in contact with the people of Lyon, so easy-going, straight forward and free, I realized that my perception of things was not wrong.

- Corina Ciocârlie, Rumanian writer living in Luxemburg *

Right she is. This is what I've come to. I see the mask and the varnish as a lack of identity, nationality and authenticity. And poor Luxemburg, how can she possibly find this when nearly half her population are foreigners and an additional 100 000 or so cross her borders every day to work. Through diversity? Perhaps, but the diversity of a rich mans world becomes uniform.

When I move on, to Lyon or elsewhere, I will search for authenticity. In man. In land.

*The appendix in the paper today, from where the above quote is taken, is strikingly called "Identity and Nationality".