Actress returns to parents’ homeland after decades
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French actress Géraldine Nakache travelled to Constantine, Algeria, with her parents, both Algerian Jews, four years ago to connect with their past.
Nakache described a lifelong curiosity about her parents’ experiences in Algeria, as they often spoke of the country only through sensory memories, specifically, smells. She said her parents struggled to articulate their memories beyond these sensations, revealing a deep emotional pain connected to leaving their home.
The actress, her brother, and their parents spent four days in Constantine, the city Nakache’s father left at age 15, revisiting places from his childhood. This trip allowed Nakache and her brother to understand the significance of their parents’ nostalgic references to scents, realizing they represented memories that had been suppressed by the trauma of displacement.
Nakache explained the journey occurred 60 years after her grandparents left Algeria, and she encouraged others to make similar trips if they have the opportunity to explore their family histories. She found the experience deeply moving, suggesting some memories are best understood through lived experience rather than words.
