Quote by Tahar Ben Jelloun: “The wound of injustice never truly heals; it only closes over time.”

Ben Jelloun suggests that deep injustices leave lasting scars that time can mask but never erase. While the outward signs may fade, the underlying pain and memory of wrongdoing persist, shaping individuals and societies, and requiring acknowledgment.

This reflects themes in The Last Friend (2003), a novel exploring betrayal and the long-term impacts of injustice and political upheaval in a friendship. Ben Jelloun often examines collective and personal trauma in his work.

Moroccan novelist and poet writing in French who won the Prix Goncourt in 1987 for The Sacred Night. His work addresses themes of immigration, identity, racism, and the experience of North Africans in Europe, and he is one of the most internationally celebrated Arab writers of his generation.