Asylum Seekers and Refugees. Caught between the Desire to Forget and the Remembrance of their Country

Asylum seekers and refugees often have a desire to forget their country of origin because of the traumatic nature of the memories associated with it. However the memories have different meanings according to the individuals and the circumstances of their departure from the country. The kind of reception they receive in France also has an influence on the ways they will later express their remembrance. If they benefit from the proximity of a community they will express a symbolic recovery from their past before exile. This paper will develop these different issues by using the results of three surveys conducted in 2003, 2008 and 2011.