Customer Reviews

Journal, 1955-1962: Reflections on the French-Algerian War

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are a few important works on the Algerian Civil War available for the English reader. Franz Fannon, Alistair Horne's history, the film "Battle of Algiers, and recently Feraoun's diary are the ones that readily come to mind. Feraoun was a western educated Algerian and well accquainted with the French. His desire for an independent Algeria was strong, but tempered by a strong sense of historical reality. He reveals the day to day impact of the violence. It is in this respect that the work is most moving, and reveals the senselessness and degradation that occurs to all people involved, Feraoun eventually a victim himself. An essential view of the psychological costs of guerrilla and anti-colonial war.

The Kabylians are lions and they freed Algeria from the French. The Arabes where hiding and never fought. in 62 they STOLE the power and destroyed Algeria with their STUPID culture that denies the Kabylians the right to speak the Kabyle Language. We should Help the GPK that protect the Kabylian people from the Arabs.

First, I will comment on the book itself from an American point of view. The book is not easy to read because it is not a book: it is the author's journal he kept during the French Algerian War. Knowing that still, his journal entries, which at the beginning were frequent and detailed, were focused on keeping track of who was killed, tortured or who was doing the killings. It was as if the author, Mr. F.(his notation of using people's initials to hide their identity from I suppose the French secret police), was keeping a testimony of the murders occurring all around him as evidence. This makes for dull reading; however, given the events of 9-11, I made a valiant effort to immerse myself into the author's mind and try to understand this incredibly brutal civil war.

(...)

I gave this book five stars--I should point out that even in English it is difficult--perhaps the translators intention. For example often it is difficult to find the antecedent to a particular pronoun.

I read this book first because it is one of the few I could find in English written by an Algerian (Feraoun was Kabyle and spoke no Arabic ironically) second because it is nuanced and though pro-FLN is not propaganda. I should state that after what my father told me he had witnessed at Setif in 1945 I am perfectly content with the most extreme condemnation of the French whose conduct makes any sanctimonious condemnation of "the brutality of Islam" a farce. (I should add the US follows the French --even to the point of having former French torturers train US army soldiers--this is verifiable ((see latest editition of The Question--by Alleg for verification)). Nevertheless I felt that the views of a "moderate"--and at the time one of Algeria's greatest writers should be respected--and indeed they complicate the whole problematic of the war--though not for me. I do not like propaganda and am not oblivious to the savagery of the war on both sides. But now more knowledable say about FLN's "brutality" my support for them has not wavered only grown. Anti-Colonial fighting is not a sentimental business and the FLN did things it should not have in my opinion. Having said that however it is well to remember that NONE of this would have happened had the French not decided to invade Algeria in 1830--had they not locked up whole communities in caves during the 19th century --and let them starve to death. Even Pontecorvo's great film does not present the real savagery of the French who are in the end responsible for ALL of the deaths of the Algerians between 1954-62 (1/9 of the whole muslim population) WHETHER OR NOT "indigenes" were killed by the liberation forces. It is the same in Iraq Afghanistan and Palestine.

Feraoun--friend of Camus, lover of French culture--a man who deplored the few French "improvements" destroyed by the Liberation forces--a man who loved France and Algeria was murdered by the OAS three days before the war ceased.