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Gislène Arnold The joys of living by the water
Gislène Arnold’s smile and cheerfulness are contagious – and we speak from experience! We met her at her place in Saint Pierre. Now aged 78, she has always lived in the family yard where she was born. She has an almost organic bond with the area. “I’ve lived here since I was born. In the beginning, we lived in a straw hut. After a cyclone, we rebuilt it with corrugated iron sheets. And after another cyclone, we built a concrete home,” she says.
Meha Desai, Anne Sarah Nicolin and Laurent
de Froberville met her while walking the streets of Petit Verger in July 2022. Gislène was doing her weekly wash by a river. At the time, the three photographers were preparing the Mokassiens exhibition as part of the Rezidan project. They wanted to capture unique and unusual moments in the lives of the diverse people of Moka.
“I asked them the time and that’s how they ended up taking pictures of me. They were very nice. Afterwards, they walked with me home and carried my laundry,” says the septuagenarian, who clearly retains happy memories of the encounter. The stream where she washes her clothes is a ten- minute walk from her house. She goes there once or twice a week. “Long ago, we used to do our washing in rivers. We were still young when our mother took us along with her to show us how to wash our laundry.”
The idea of buying a washing machine never crossed her mind. “To be frank, I am very picky
with my clothes. A washing machine is not quite the same as hand washing. It wouldn’t know where the clothes are really dirty and where to scrub. And it’s not at my age that I’m going to buy a washing machine,” says the woman who worked as a cleaner for 43 years at Loreto College in Saint Pierre.
The objects that are now seen as essential, such
as smartphones, are just gadgets in her eyes. “I have a landline phone and that’s good enough
for me.” What about television? Not for her. She doesn’t even own one. There is nothing she enjoys more than listening to a CD, preferably by Frédéric François or Nancy Dérougère. “It only takes a good song to get me dancing on my own.” She actually goes regularly to dances in the area.
Gislène has a great sense of humour and there
is never a dull moment with her. She has a
real passion for gardening and flowers – her anthuriums and lilies welcome visitors to her veranda. “Doing household chores and looking after my flowers keep me busy every day.” Living by the water’s edge, she still sometimes cooks certain dishes on her charcoal stove which, according to her, gives them a different flavour.
At the age of 78, she has witnessed the transformation of the area, where she has always lived. “Here, we live together like one single family, without making any difference.”
70 MOKAZINE / NO 5 / 2023
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