BIBLIOGRAPHY
My name is Philippe son of Bitton. My mother was a Moroccan Immigrant brought to France to work as a house-maid for a financially stable Christian couple in the mid-fifties. In 1960 I was born second to my step-brother by 3 years; my mother being poor and working all day was unable to have us live with her. Thus, in the early age we were placed in foster homes, and later in Catholic Boarding Schools.
At the age of eleven I move in a small apartment with my mother and brother and started attending public elementary school. Already, in those years I rebelled against the authority I had to follow. I could not bear the hypocrisies of those in positions of power, saying one thing while doing the other. In school I was a clown, and passed my classes with a C average. I made my view known in a disruptive manner and was expelled from high-school at 15 and ½. Poor and stupid I enrolled early in the military.
I visited beautiful locations in the African continent, met various cultures, but instead of peaceful communication we were shooting at each other. One side was fighting for independence, while the other, the French government was trying to keep the territories under its control. In that period of time I was fighting on the side of the oppressor, but to no vain for independence was gained and in 1977 Djibouti became independent. For more information on Djibouti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djibouti
Back in civilian life and unable to find a decent job due to lack of education I decided to move to Israel . Most of my mother’s brothers and sisters lived in Israel . So I opted to volunteer in a kibbutz close to one of my relatives. A kibbutz is a collective community click on the link to get more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz . I enjoyed the life in that place and decided to request citizenship, which was granted due to my Jewish descent. In Israel enrollment in the military is an obligation for all citizens, thus, I enrolled as soon as allowed.
During my time as an Israeli soldier I was called to fight in Lebanon , click on http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_lebanon_198x_idf_course.php for more information on the Israel campaign in Lebanon from 1982 to 1985. In war one looses all human characteristics, the behavior is to kill or be killed. The enemy is inhumane, thus, one legitimates the killing. I could not bear anymore the stupidity of wars, I left for another place.
My girl friend has moved back to the U.S. and I just finished my degree in printing and publication technology. I was working for a family owned printing-shop as a journeyman at a four-color web-press. The job was good, but I wanted to see the U.S. so in the late 80’s I came here. I got married, started my own painting business and barely survived month to month. My wife at the time was a student working part-time, and I was not bringing much “bacon” home, the winters were especially hard. My marriage did not last, and six years later I was divorced.
The first few years following the divorce were chaotic. I had to move a number of times, and even left the country for a while, but I wanted to come back for my kid. I went back working in the painting business, till in 1995 I fell from a roof and broke my back. Unable to work I decided to go back to school and complete an associate degree in liberal arts. However, this degree does not open must job opportunities, thus, I decided to keep on going and enrolled in a college. My first interest was teaching languages, but since languages was not offered, I chose to teach secondary education social study as a major, and computer science as a minor. But, even this will have to change. I was told that I may not be accepted in the teacher program, and that it would be better if I choose a different field. Thus, I chose to pursuit a bachelor degree in computer information system, which I completed in June 2006.