The Adventure of a Young Girl
22,000 Kilometers by Motorcycle: Saigon to Liège
The press has reported the remarkable journey of a young girl, Justine Tibesar, who traveled 22,000 kilometers by motorcycle! Departing from Saigon, she reached Calcutta on May 5; Srinagar in India on June 15; Varanasi in the Indies on July 10; Istanbul on September 20; and Liège on October 20.
This heroine of this adventure is barely 20 years old. And what a story it is! There are few subjects that evoke as many thoughts as the teachers and lecturers might wish to share.
Justine Tibesar is a native of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, just a few kilometers from the Belgian and French borders.
What inspired this young girl, whom nothing set apart from her peers, to have such a bold vision? With her eyes fixed on the horizon and her good spirit intact, did she ever hesitate or waver? At times, on the road to Luxembourg, she would stop briefly at a checkpoint. How quickly she must have traveled through the city’s industrial areas or near her parents’ home in Arlon, where the Sisters of Notre-Dame lived a regular life as devoted religious women. She was a scandal to some, a dreamer in a fragile body who shouldn’t have dared to undertake such a journey. One day, while staying with her parents in Dunkerque, this shy young woman, this unknown voyager, became an adventurer in a new world before her sisters’ eyes. If she didn’t have enough money to give to her brother in France, she gave him everything she had: 150 francs and her viola, an instrument she loved to play when she visited Dunkerque. But her small “fortune” soon ran out, and she sold oranges on the docks to survive.
When she had earned enough through this trade, she joined a theatrical troupe passing through the town. The troupe, originally from America, was very disciplined and dreamed of traveling to the Indies. Together, with a fine spirit, they organized a successful event, earning her three dollars for each photo sold. She traveled the countryside, earning a lot of money along the way.
One day, she bought a motorcycle and, driven by a wave of nostalgia for Europe, set off as a simple woman on her journey, taking the boat when necessary but otherwise riding her motorcycle!
From Liège, after completing her 22,000-kilometer journey, she rode her motorcycle to Arlon, where she visited her parents, who currently live near Longwy.
Credits for the Newspaper Article:
Title: "Le roman d’une jeune fille" (translated as "The Adventure of a Young Girl")
Subtitle: "22.000 kilomètres à motocyclette: Saigon-Liège" (translated as "22,000 Kilometers by Motorcycle: Saigon to Liège")
Subject: Justine Tibesar
Publication: L’Est Républicain
Page: 3
Publication Date: November 15, 1931
Author: Not specified, likely a staff journalist or correspondent for L’Est Républicain
Language: French
L’Est Républicain is a French regional daily newspaper, founded in 1889, primarily covering news in the Lorraine region and beyond, often featuring human interest stories and notable achievements like adventurous journeys.
