Memoirs of a Mujahed: Algeria's Struggle for Freedom, 1945-1962 by Hamou Amirouche
Hamou Amirouche's book is a
must read for anyone who has a question about Algeria, its war of
independence from France, and its struggle against religious
fundamentalism in the 1990s. Although I bought the French version of
book a few years back, I never found time to read it. Maybe it was
written that I would read the English version instead. So I am currently
reading the English version, which I bought from Amazon.com (where else?) and
have decided to pour my findings here. First I must compliment the author
for taking time and effort to record his souvenirs, his analyses, and his
family's history. This book, despite a very few shortcomings that I will
mention later, offers a window on one family's dilemma about joining the
struggle for Algeria’s independence. We witnessed the author’s father being
tortured in front of his family. I, like
Hamou, was born in Kabylia, but I have no recollection of the war for
independence because I was only three years old when the revolution
started. However, I found his
description of the peasant society near the Atlas Mountains very accurate and
I, like Hamou too, had my share of collecting olives and catching birds for proteins.
I also witnessed my mother's juggling of household chores such as fetching
water from the fountain and gathering wood from the near-by forest. One thing I
did not know was that NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was giving
hand to France's occupation of Algeria. Maybe it is because I have not
that many things about Algeria's war for Independence or that's something
NATO is not proud of and does not brag about. The author
continued to stress that the goal of the war was the independence of
Algeria because of France's stubborn and continued of repression of the
legitimate demands for equal rights and dignity by the Algerians. It was
not the creation of a religious state, which a few people claim
today. (More to come as I am continuing to read it…).
