Inside the Battle of Algiers by Drif Zohra; Brahimi Lakhdar; Farrand Andrew G

Author:Drif, Zohra; Brahimi, Lakhdar; Farrand, Andrew G.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Just World Books
Published: 2017-06-16T04:00:00+00:00

Couriers for the Cause

All throughout the last week of October 1956, the colonial press gloated that, after the five officials’ abduction, the FLN was done for. We wanted to show that the opposite was true. The more bent the colonial regime was on transforming the Casbah and other “native” sectors into open-air concentration camps, the more our organization was compelled to carry the war into enemy territory. France’s aim was to reduce us to nothing more than a band of notorious outlaws that threatened public order within its territory, from Dunkirk to Tamanrasset. We spent the month of November working to demonstrate that the FLN remained intact and stronger than ever. Not a day passed that Algerians—whether our activists or otherwise—were not arrested or executed. Just like not a day passed where our side didn’t carry out an operation.

We were charged with transporting the bombs manufactured at 5 Impasse de la Granada out of the Casbah and into the European city. The exercise proved increasingly difficult, since the Casbah was surrounded and closely surveilled. We adapted to the new realities. Gone were the casual, improvised methods used to transport the first bombs. The enemy was searching ever more aggressively, even rummaging through bags carried by young Western-looking women reentering the European city. The Casbah’s few remaining exits bristled with barricades and barbed wire, but we headed for them fearlessly—though always followed by one or two armed brothers ready to fire, in case we were searched. (In this case, we had been instructed to throw ourselves to the ground and crawl away from the shooting.) We prepared our special transport runs thoroughly, studying all the Casbah’s exits and developing a particular modus operandi for each one. We left nothing to chance and scrutinized everything, from the number and times of the patrol shift changes to how they were conducted. I confess that the baraka, or good fortune, that we felt blessed by had never abandoned us. I must also confess that this baraka was aided by Djamila’s exceptional knowledge of the Casbah and all its entry and exit points, including—and especially—those that very few people knew.

In addition to the bombs, we had to carry various packages and letters out of the old medina to addresses around greater Algiers. The rest of the city held no secrets that our sister didn’t already know. That was why Djamila was also charged with escorting the wanted activists in town to the Casbah, where they could take refuge while awaiting their transfer to the maquis.

In November 1956, our sister left alone on a mission and returned in late afternoon accompanied by a teenage girl of clearly European complexion. Her features were still marked with the imprint of childhood: her smile, her eyes, her complexion, and very fine hair, gathered in a long, thick braid behind the ears. It was Djamila Amrane, whose real name is Danielle Mine, daughter of Jacqueline Guerroudj, the great activist I would later come to know in prison. As the colonial press reported it, Danielle Mine’s network had been dismantled.

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