Children of war

In the rugged mountains of Kabylie, under the relentless Algerian sun, my father, at the tender age of seven, stumbled upon a relic of war—a dormant rocket, its purpose and danger unbeknownst to him. This was during the tumultuous times of the Algerian War of Independence, a period marked by fierce battles between the French colonists and Algerian nationalists.

As he cradled the metallic behemoth, unaware of its latent peril, his uncle intervened with a calm urgency. "Gently," he whispered, aware that any abrupt movement could trigger an explosion. This rocket wasn’t merely a piece of metal; it was a silent testament to the war that had seeped into every crevice of their lives, even the innocent hands of a child.

The village of Ait Idir Ouali, a serene community woven into the fabric of the mountains, bore witness to the cruelty of conflict. My father's uncle, a man unaligned with the Mujahideen or the FLN (National Liberation Front), met a grim fate at the hands of parachutists. His death was a stark reminder of the indiscriminate violence that plagued their lands. He was not a combatant but was gunned down, his life extinguished as if it were nothing.

In an act of collective punishment, men from the village, including those who sought solace and prayer within the mosque, were dragged to the river's edge. Among them was the uncle, the same who had safeguarded my father from the potential wrath of an unexploded rocket. On that fateful day, Bel Khacem Sid Mohand was slain, leaving a void in the heart of the community.

Traditionally, it is the men who tend to burial rites, but in the aftermath of this tragedy, it fell upon the women of the village to lay him to rest. This reversal of roles underscored the upheaval that war inflicts on the very fabric of societal norms.

The brutality did not end with gunfire. Those captured were subjected to unimaginable tortures; beaten, mutilated, and humiliated, their screams echoing off the mountain walls. Salt was mercilessly poured into their wounds, a cruel twist to their agony.