In 2014 I received a friend request on FB from a martial arts fan from Algeria. Every so often he would message me asking how me and my family were doing and always wishing good tidings at Christmas time. He has always been sincere, genuine and respectful with a humble spirit. I was especially touched when he sent me a drawing last christmas that he did of a family photo of me and my parents. Because of a kindred spirit I write this for him today.
Chemsou Belarbi was born on the February 14, 1987 in Algeria. Aïn Tédelès is a town and commune in Mostaganem Province, Algeria. It is the capital of Aïn Tédelès District with a population of approximately 32,000.
He grew up in very humble and meager beginnings. A family of six people, he is the oldest child so because of his cultural heritage growing up in a muslim family a lot of pressure was placed on him to help take care of the family. His father despite his old age was extremely hard working throughout his life. Trying his best to take care of the family, but the passing of time was harsh and cruel and illness plagued him. The hard plight also took a toll on his younger brother eventually affecting his health and now has a permanent disability unable to walk. Seeing the suffering of his father and brother the anguish Chemsou felt affected him as a soldier gets PTSD from being at war.
Vincent Lyn - 4 years old with my mother and father in Amsterdam, HollandOne of his passions as a young boy was going to the movies but was enamored by the huge posters and lobby cards that would hang throughout the cinema. It would transport him to another world far away from the reality that he had to witness and endure day after day. When he immediately got home he would draw from memory some of the scenes of the movies he saw. Some of the movie posters that remain in his memory to this day are Jackie Chan’s Operation Condor, Rush Hour, Batman and others. But living and growing up in abject poverty he couldn’t even afford to buy food for his family let alone pursue any dream he might’ve had. As a young boy he would do any job he could find in order to buy tickets to go to the local cinema hall. Most of the time he was never paid for what would be considered slave labor but if it meant a way to go to the movie theatre then it was worth it.
Children should never have to suffer but sadly throughout the world as I have seen all too often it exists. Chemsou decided to build a small workshop in the families home and started to draw film posters and paint movie stars. Barely affording to buy food, buying drawing tools was a fantasy. So he began to produce the colors of the leaves of trees and flowers drying them and extracting colors for painting. The drawing brush he made from old clothes found in the trash.
He started sending emails, letters to American film production companies never receiving any answers. His health deteriorated from construction work which sometimes would be heavy labor carrying stones on building sites. It too affected both his mental and physical well-being. Constantly being exploited and taken advantage of. Offered jobs only after the work was done never being paid. This constant abuse would affect even the strongest of minds. Chemsou had to keep it all bottled up inside having no one to speak about it to which also greatly affected him. Mounting worry and stress leading to depression eventually causing severe gastrointestinal ulcers having him to spend two months in hospital.
As soon as he was released from the hospital he immediately went back to what made him feel better and started drawing pictures and exhibiting them in the streets and was able to start decorating local shops
In 2014, a Dutch actor named Salar Zarza called him and asked him to create a poster for a movie he was starring in with Michael Qissi (Bloodsport, Kickboxer) and also to participate in the film. He was so thrilled as you can imagine and from this one off chance more requests started coming in from directors and producers. This led to a special ceremony held in the beautiful port city of Oran in northwest Algeria, where a delegation conducted by the former boxing champion turned comedian Jimmy Gourad of Belgium to honor Chemsou. A dream was realized and with it Chemsou painted and designed many international film posters. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7913445/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
I myself can certainly relate to what we deem sometimes as a lucky break but is it? Being in the right place at the right time, networking, always leaving your door ajar, never burning bridges and never forgetting to be humble and a little luck never hurt. This led him to realize the plight of his own childhood suffering and so he started presented drawings to children who fled from war zones to his native Algeria. We all must never forget where we came from and in Chemsou’s case he never has and I’m sure never will. We all must show compassion and give back and make the world a better place. The world must be united in peace and love and all of us come together no matter what race, color or creed.
There have been countless stories throughout the ages of strife and overcoming struggle and hardship. Chemsou’s story is one and reminds us all to never give up on your dreams. Inshallah.
Sir Vincent Lyn
In life we walk a similar journey but with different destinations, uncertainty creates desperation when we see our brothers with whom we walk are home and swiftly we forget our destination and give up with walking thus never getting to our breakthrough point.
Each journey completed is a story to tell , one that shows courage and the determination we had - the commitment and sacrifice of our own life to create a better tomorrow for our better living. His story is beyond a story, it's a life lesson to keep us going despite the storm. Thanks Sifu Vicent Lyn.