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When he first arrived to the Netherlands, he was only a four-year-old child «ready to learn and adapt». Abdelkader Benali left Morocco alongside his mother to join his father who immigrated to Europe by the end of the 1960s.
His family settled down in Rotterdam, a city where he learned the local language, made friends and discovered his love for books and reading. Leaving his small town in Morocco behind, Abdelkader started a «learning journey» in his second country, the Netherlands.
«When you are a four-year-old kid, you are ready to conquer the world, ready to learn, engage and discover. It was a total feeling of discovery», Benali told Yabiladi.
And so it was for the Beni Chikar-native who managed to find a balance between school, the streets of Rotterdam and his home, where everything reminded him of Morocco and looked traditional. «I went to a Dutch school, I had Dutch friends, and I was open (…) but life at home was different from the outside world. We had strong ties with Morocco and family», he explained.
Books, reading and writing as a balance
Indeed, growing up, Abdelkader spent every single summer in his parents’ small village near Melilla. Morocco’s hot summers, family and especially his grandmother, an excellent «storyteller», shaped his personality and his aspirations.
After every summer vacation, Abdelkader used to go back to Rotterdam feeling that «all the family life he had in his village would stop». «There was this feeling that social life in the Netherlands was very poor», he recalled. The only thing that helped him overcome these feelings was «books, literature and reading».
After high school, Abdelkader opted for history, but he quickly dropped-out after he was offered a life-changing opportunity. «When I was at the university, I was already publishing articles and stories and a publishing house in Amsterdam proposed to me to write a novel because they liked my writings», he recalled.
Abdelkader embraced this opportunity, and although it was hard to convince his parents of his decision, he left school to start a writing career after publishing his debut novel «Wedding by the Sea».
«The novel is about going to Morocco and attending this wedding by the sea. The book came out in 1996, 23 years ago, and it was a success», Abdelkader said. His book got nominated for a literary prize and was translated into many languages, marking the beginning of a long journey.
Telling the stories of his own Scheherazade
Benali became a writer like no other in the Netherlands, translating what second-generation immigrants felt about their parents’ homeland and their new motherland. «All my other books are about identity, multiculturalism and diversity», he added.
But Benali’s long self-discovery journey was not limited to the twenty books he wrote in the last 23 years. A few years ago, the Dutch-Moroccan novelist realized that he could add «acting» to his numerous skills.
After writing a cookbook with his wife and hosting a TV show on Moroccan cuisine, Benali moved to theater. «Two years ago, I wrote a theater play for an actress and she asked me to tour with her. I then, discovered my hidden talent and people liked the way I acted», he proudly told Yabiladi.
Now, Abdelkader Benali is touring the country with his own entirely produced project : a play that he wrote and a monologue that he performs in. «It is about my grandmother, my Scheherazade», he explained.
In his monologue, the actor/writer tells the stories of Scheherazade, stories that he lived and experienced in real life, to honor his grandmother’s storytelling talents that had such a huge impact on his life. «My grandmother taught me that words can also mean power», he said.
Benali is currently touring the Netherlands until December with his play. He is also publishing a new book.
