The testimonies of those who are the protagonists -often forgotten or mute- of what today constitutes the roots of a national debate: North African immigration. Not only the immigrants themselves, the fathers who arrived first, the mothers who came to join them and their children born in France, the famous "second generation". But also those who encouraged or organized their arrival in France, for reasons, and under conditions, which are today obscured, or simply forgotten. 7 d'or du Meilleur documentaire 1997 Executive Producer: Philippe Dupuis Mendel - Editing: Lionel Bernard, Nadia Ben Rachid - Photography: Virginie Saint Martin, Bakir Belaïdi - Sound: Serge Richard - Production: Canal + and Bandits Yamina Benguigui: about Mémoires d'immigrés "I wanted to restore dignity to these North African immigrants whose past and the conditions in which they were welcomed in France have been forgotten. I was born here, from Algerian parents. My parents, and all those of the children of the suburbs, the "beurs" as they say, have always remained in the shadows. They were never allowed to express themselves about their past. In my family, there was something shameful to talk about this immigration. Because of this, we were silent. And we, children of immigrants, know nothing of the reality. Ignorance is dangerous. We must rediscover our history to better understand our double culture, and to make it known to the native French as well." In the words of Abdellah Samale, one of the fathers of Mémoires d'immigrés, "Our children, they are here today. They need to know why we are here, why we came, and how we came, under what conditions we worked, how our life passed. Even if there are criticisms, such as that they were born here, etc., it's not my fault, it's the economy's fault. I would even say misery."