[symple_box] 
Otman Achiba is a teacher of philosophy and a contributor in Moroccan paper Al Akhbar. [/symple_box]
At the railway station, I stood gazing at passengers boarding the train. I had a strange
feeling, as if I had missed the beauty of a faraway place. In order to avoid being lost and to
save my imagination from the disagreements among the passengers over the seats, I was
ignoring my thoughts. Fie on those who think that sitting while travelling is much easier
than standing. Although I was exhausted from standing, sitting has always been against my
principles. At that moment, I could not rid my mind of one single idea: “The train is similar
to our society.” Some are sleeping and others are watching the clash between the imaginary
and the real and a small minority awake by the freezing cold. Few are arguing with the
conductor over the ticket. Maybe there is a disagreement about the destination since the
train’s final station had already been decided unlike our society which has neither a destiny
nor a destination! The question is not when to arrive, or how, but who we are? Where are we going?
When you look outside the window of the train, it seems that everything is running, the
trees, thoughts, a longing for a long mysterious past which covers your feelings. The heart is
running, but the truth is that no one is running except the train on its railway. You might be
accused of lying if you tell a stranger that its reddish colour is caused by the antiquity. But
the difference is obvious. The outside is unlike the inside. Not only the driver knows
this, but also those who suspect the history and say: I do not remember being happy once
except when saved from death. When the train had arrived at the last station, my country
woke up from its deep sleep which had lasted for many centuries. The country is which I do
not live but I always carry. It was woken up by a warm gentle breeze pleading for reform for
the journey to start once more.
This article appeared first on Moroccan paper Al Akhbar. It was translated by Badr Bouztkane from the Arabic.
