ZIGHEN AYM - North African Author  and Blogger
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BETWEEN AFRICA AND AMERICA

Sharing what I know, what I think, and what I do.  If you like it, agree or disagree, drop me a line or two. Otherwise, have a wonderful day.

Êtes-vous francophones ?

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Summary - Skin Color Kicks and Route 66.

My journey from North Africa to achieve my dreams is that of many others who leave their native lands for solace and better life in America. The 9/11 events makes me discriminatorily a suspect of terrorist  activities. As an engineer and freelance writer/photographer, I combines a special blend of anger and humor to tell my encounter with an Illinois State trooper and a subsequent call from the FBI.
 I depict with finesse the traumatic interrogation  that followed, but naively realize that in such a situation there are questions  to answer, others to refuse to answer, and still others to ponder.

Skin color kicks on Route 66 in the post 9/11 period are woven in this laconic story about ethnic profiling, cynical politics, and lucrative hypocrisy.

Readers,
Thank you for visiting my website. You will probably learn something new and smile a lot.
You are invited to visit my blog, my articles in French and my articles in English. In addition, a wide range of my photography is available for your enjoyment. Last but not least, consider getting my latest work STILL MOMENTS. Click on the book cover to order it.

You can read the first chapter for free. Yes, there are still free lunches in this crazy and wild world. If you read French, the first chapter (Premier Chapitre) is available free of charge too. These are only a few free benefits for visiting my website and do share the links with your friends and family members. Of course, reviews of the book as well as the book quotes and bibliography are available here. Yes, FREE, again.

You will probably not find a cheaper price of a new copy of STILL MOMENTS: A Story of Faded Dreams and Forbidden Pictures anywhere in the world.

The book offers a personal look at an immigrant's life in America after the 9-11 events. It is a both a funny and a sad story. You will learn:
  • How the FBI contacts people suspected of being terrorists?
  • Who reported me to the FBI?
  • What was I doing near railroad tracks?
  • What do spiders do when they wake up in the morning?
  • Where was the FBI office located in Bloomington?
  • How did the FBI office look?
  • How did I negotiate the terms of the interrogation?
  • What happened during the interrogation?
  • Which questions did I answer and which ones did I refuse to answer?
  • Is photography a dangerous hobby for brown people?
  • Why did I leave my native land?
  • and much more ...

Course Material at US Universities

  • University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Department of History (Spring 2006 and 2007) 
  • Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Department of French (Spring 2006) 
  • University of Indiana at Bloomington,  Department of Anthropology (Spring 2006)
Who could be interested by this book?
Any North African
Any immigrant  in the USA
Any American stationed in North Africa (Civilian, military, or CIA agents)
Anyone interested to immigrate to the  United States of America
Anyone interested by ethnic profiling
Anyone curious mind
All  US State Department - Algeria Desk Officers

STILL MOMENTS
A Story about Faded Dreams and Forbidden Pictures

If you live in Peoria, I suggest you buy at the Mediterranean Mart  1223 W Glen Ave, Peoria, IL 61614. It will cost you less than Amazon.com
You can get an autographed copy if you request one. Make sure you mention it in your order.

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or from Amazon.com
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Book Blurbs

'This Berber-American author is surely right in articulating frustration with the  dominant view of American culture conceived in terms of freedom, equality and  justice. The challenge of the post 9/11 disobliging ethos that transpires from this fascinating, poignant and powerful account is here to remind the world that walls of eloquent silence can collapse to let the innocent speak. Still Moments teaches humanity that one of the virtues of innocence is unyielding truth.'
          Dr. Kamal Salhi
, Editor of International Journal of Francophone Studies

'Local author Zighen Aym writes of his experience of ethnic profiling in the aftermath of 9/11. A naturalized citizen of Algerian descent whose hobby is photography, Zighen stopped along Route 66 to photograph the railroad tracks one  day in October 2002. An Illinois State Police officer stopped and questioned him, asking for identification and what he was doing. What followed several months later was an FBI interrogation. The reader experiences Zighen’s reflections on his life in Algeria, his move to the United States, his reaction to being suspected of terrorist activities in the innocence of a photography hobby, the ethnic profiling he experienced and the traumatic FBI interrogation.'
         Bloomington Public Librarian  

'A disturbing story that could qualify as a comedy if it were not true.'
        Dr. Fazia Aitel,  Clairmont Mckenna College, California.
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Qui devrait lire ce livre?
Tout Nord-Africain
Tout immigrant aux USA.
Tout Américain en poste en Afrique du Nord (Civil, militaire, ou agents de la CIA)
Toute personne voulant émigrer aux USA
Toute personne intéressée par le délit de faciès
Toute personne curieuse

 Résumé  du Livre

Zighen Aym est l’auteur d’un livre, en américain, publié en juin 2005 aux USA. L’auteur y raconte son expérience du délit de faciès dans une Amérique après les événements du 11 septembre.

Installé depuis plus de 15 ans aux USA, Zighen, ancien correspondant aux USA du Journal Izuran (Racines) publié à Tizi-Ouzou, est photographe amateur et a écrit plusieurs articles publiés dans Amazigh Voice, la publication de l’ACAA (Amazigh Cultural Association in America), l’association  culturelle Amazigh aux USA.

Il n’a pas hésité dans ses articles publiés dans Izuran à critiquer le silence de l’administration et des medias américains lors des événements de Kabylie de 2001 et à dénoncer les relations trop étroites de l’Amérique avec Bouteflika.

En 2002, Zighen s’adonne à son activité préférée, la photographie, et prend quelques photos de silos de maïs et de chemins de fer sur la fameuse et historique Route 66. Paradoxe des paradoxes, cette route représente la liberté aux USA. Elle était le symbole de la route ouverte car elle reliait Chicago à Los Angeles. Quand un policier de l’état vient l’interroger, car prendre des photos est devenue une activité suspecte depuis le 11 Septembre 2001 (surtout pour les hommes bruns), il est détenu pendant une demi-heure puis relâché après vérification de papiers. Trois mois plus tard (bureaucratie oblige), le FBI s’intéresse à lui.

Dans son livre de 67 pages plus 13 illustrations, Zighen raconte son expérience avec la police et l’interrogatoire du FBI en présence de son avocat. Il raconte aussi ses souvenirs d’Algérie au moment où le terrorisme naissait et dénonce le délit de faciès aux USA et  l’hypocrisie qui l’entoure sans toutefois oublier de dénoncer également les relations trop chaleureuses de Bush et Bouteflika.

(source
http://kabyles.net/Still-moments-de-Zighen-Aym.html)

Television

Francophone TV5 - Monde on DishNetwork mentioned STILL MOMENTS in the Kiosque program

The Ballard Grain Elevator is now history

The grain elevator shown in the background on the book cover is called the Ballard Elevator. Although it was taken down, you can still learn about its history at  Route 66 Association of Illinois page about the Ballard Elevator

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