En ce moment je lis « Absolution » de Patrick Flanery. Ça se passe en Afrique du Sud où revient le narrateur après avoir fait ses études et commencé sa carrière aux Etats-Unis.
Et ça pose plein de question sur le « comment se comporter en terre si familière mais à la fois étrangère ? » Ce dialogue en est le reflet le plus parlant. Pauvreté-étrangeté-implication… Je crois que tout y est.

– Think of all the fuckers who only give them fifty cents and can’t be bothered. Money is’nt an insult. There’s nothing wrong with charity. Not everything has to be payment for services rendered, however informally. And if you’re a tourist you owe them a little more.

– I don’t think of myself as a tourist any more. I’m back now.

– You haven’t be local for a long time, Sam, no matter what shirt you wear or the music you listen to. And who’s to say you’re going to stay in the long run ? []

– But then you’ll go somewhere else. That means you’re a tourist. You don’t have to feel bad about it. Just remember it.

– And how much do you give ?

– No see, the thing is, I give less than I expect you to give because I give every day and have been giving for years. […] When I park in the city, I don’t give the car guards as much as I’d expect you to give because I give so much already, and even that isn’t enough, you know. And I don’t give food to people who come to the house any more, except the old man, because he’s never drunk. So I’m one of the fuckers I hate. But you tourist, you’ve got to give a little more.