In 1943-1944, when the front line of WWII moved to Sicily, I started making notes about some facts, which were relevant to my family. As there were no notebooks available, I wrote my notes on any piece of paper I could put my hands on, such as the inside of open cigarette packs from the soldiers. Later, I continued writing my recollections and my impressions on sheets of paper, which I kept in a bag. Those papers are now in a folder in one of my drawers.
I wrote this book to preserve the memories of my time, my family, my town and its people for my children, my grandchildren and the coming generations, as well as for the descendants of the people of my town and for all my readers.
When I started writing this book I first had to dive into a world distant in time and yet so close to me that it had even become part of my being. These two worlds awakened in me an avalanche of friendly and pleasant feelings.
I felt that I was infused with the same powerful stream that filled my entre being when I was eight years old.
I wanted to hold on to this feeling. I avoided any thoughts or actions which could have cut short this lovely, invisible, and beautiful current.
I thought about the people whom the old houses had sheltered for generations in the neighborhood where I was born. This thought come to me like a well-known perfume. Many faces of family members and of other people of my town appeared to me one after the other as to say, “We know you.”
I couldn’t remember any names, but they seemed very close to me, as if we were one big family. This way I understood that the bond with the land and its inhabitants plays a great role in our life. While remembering them, I felt a pleasant and strong vibration which passed through my entire body like a friendly current.
I can clearly say that I love the land and its inhabitants as they are. I am confident that the people of Beja will always be in my heart like wheat seeds, which for centuries have made that land famous and rich.
Copyright 1943-44 Emile Tubiana
