The Lord of the Birds (Swiss Stories 2015, by Nevia Elezovic) - Swiss Press Award

Piazzagrande.it

Nevia Elezovic

Giuseppe is 69 years old. He is of Calabrian origin. He has lived in France since August 18, 1970, but has always retained his Italian citizenship. He lived in a beautiful apartment in the Marais, the oldest yet most modern neighborhood in Paris. He worked in a bank. He paid taxes. He had children. Nine years ago, after retiring, he began feeding the pigeons near his home. He had no idea that such a simple and harmless act would cost him his very home. Giuseppe was kicked out of his apartment because he continued to feed the neighborhood pigeons, despite threats. He began living in his car. But this was only the beginning. Giuseppe suffered several verbal and physical attacks. Whether the former left a scar on his soul is something only he knows. What is certain is that the latter caused serious health consequences. Every morning, Giuseppe wakes before dawn and begins to meet his bird friends, who punctually wait for him at various points around the city until sunset. Giuseppe donates over 70 kilos of grain to them every day—practically all of his meager pension. For the sparrows, there are brioches, which are more nutritious than regular bread. He has a €13,000 fine, which he will pay until 2025. At the end of the day, he delivers the sick pigeons he found along the way to an organization that takes care of them. Then he returns to his van, unties the bags he's been dragging for nearly twenty hours, and goes to sleep. Giuseppe demands justice: he asks for the apartment that was unjustly taken from him back, he demands that whoever threw him out onto the street be prosecuted for abuse of power, he demands that his story not be forgotten and that pigeons, like him, can live in peace in the most romantic city in the world.