Taha Siddiqui is a man who wears many hats and has lived many lives. After a career as an investigative journalist in Pakistan, Siddiqui survived a kidnapping and an assassination attempt. In 2018, he decided to move to Paris with his wife to rebuild far away from home. Cut off from his regular sources and the ability to do fieldwork, he found himself looking for a new career.
In 2020, Siddiqui launched the Dissident Club, a modern-day “café littéraire” reminiscent of the gathering spots where bright minds would exchange ideas in the 1800s. “In Paris, there are many bars with cultural, social, and political activities,” Siddiqui tells VICE. “As a political refugee, a journalist in exile and a dissident, I wanted to bring together people like me under one roof.”
Today, Siddiqui is both the café’s manager and its bartender. He organises events to highlight the work of journalists, activists and artists who had to leave their home country under threats of persecution, just like him. Discussions, debates, conferences, and exhibitions help him create a safe space for dissidents from all over the world, as well as enlightening and educating customers at the bar.
In 2022 alone, 50 different countries were represented at the Dissident Club. Some of their home countries are mapped onto a dartboard, where journalists and activists have pinned photos of their often undemocratic leaders. (I’ll refrain from disclosing the identity of the figure on the 20 point slot.)
“I have a project on transnational repression where we talk about the fact that, even in exile, you can still be targeted, intimidated and harassed,” Siddiqui says. “What I want to convey to people with this project is that when you go into exile, you don’t simply start a new life and everything is different. You continue living your previous life – in greater safety, yes, but never in total safety. I want to raise awareness about this.”
Siddiqui has rebuilt his life in France to the best of his ability, and continues to write for international publications including the Guardian and the New York Times. In March, he published the graphic novel Dissident Club: Chronicles of a Pakistani Journalist in Exile, where he talks about freedom of expression and of the press – topics he also raises in regular talks at schools.
But because of the target on his back, Siddiqui still has to be careful about who he associates with in daily life. Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, ranking 150 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index. His friends and relatives from Pakistan also have to avoid being seen in public with him, as associates of reporters are often targeted.
That’s also why the Dissident Club matters so much to Siddiqui. Being in exile can be isolating, so he made it his personal mission to forge connections between political refugees and locals.
Daniel Noel, a Frenchman and retired teacher, is one of Siddiqui’s regular collaborators. Since June 2018, Noel and his wife have been running an artist residency programme called La maison des artistes en exil (The House of Exiled Artists) in the small northwestern town of Saint-Briac sur Mer.
Every year, the couple supports new artists’ exhibitions and invites them over to stay while working on their projects. Over 50 artists so far have joined the programme from countries all over the world, including Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iran and Ukraine.
Source: https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3ben/inside-the-parisian-cafe-for-subversives-and-whistleblowers
