Tazmamort

Another testimony about Tazmamart by the son of Hassan II's courtier and bouffon…

This is the true story of Aziz BineBine who, unwittingly entangled in a failed coup against King Hassan II, found himself locked in a small, underground cell in a prison thought to be a mere horror story: Tazmamart. For 18 years, no one knew where the prison’s inmates were. No one knew if they were even alive. In many ways, they hardly were: confined for 24 hours a day, with the barest rations, no hygiene or medical help, and accompanied by cockroaches, scorpions, and tarantulas. One of the few to survive, Aziz writes not only to tell his own remarkable story but to remember and honour the men that lived – and died – alongside him. Against the backdrop of this unimaginable suffering, Aziz shows the strength of the human spirit to keep going against all the odds, to smile in the face of misery, and to forgive rather than condemn. Set to become a cult classic of survival literature, Tazmamart is a hellish journey through the abyss of despair – and out the other side.

"Je rêvais de devenir journaliste ou cinéaste, je devins militaire. J’étais petit-fils et fils de courtisan, je devins révolutionnaire malgré moi. J’étais play-boy, je devins bagnard. Mais, comme dit l’adage, « l’homme propose et Dieu dispose »…" (Extrait)

Officier de l’armée royale marocaine impliqué dans le coup d’Etat de 1971, l’auteur relate les conditions inhumaines de son enfermement et de celui de ses camarades au tristement célèbre bagne de Tazmamart. Il survit après 18 longues années, soutenu par sa foi, s’improvisant tout à tour, conteur et marchand de rêves pour ses compagnons d’infortune."

Né en 1946 à Marrakech, Aziz Binebine est conteur et écrivain. Il fait partie des 28 survivants du terrible bagne de Tazmamart. Ce récit de vie est un livre-mémoire en souvenir de ses compagnons disparus.