Analysis of the Algerian War of Independence or Les Événements: A lost opportunity for peace.

Abstract

This year is the 50th anniversary of a lasting and merciless campaign for the independence of Algeria. From the French side it was called les événements (the events), an euphemistical way to avoid the term war. However, it was a total war that lasted eight long years, and ended with the liberty for the Algerian people. Unfortunately, all became losers. The amount of rage between the parties was so high at the late stages of the war, that some of the French citizens—the so called pied-­‐ noirs— lashed out and burned, hospitals, libraries, reserve fuel tanks, and all kinds of infrastructure just to leave, what had been also their land, like a desert as it was back in 1830 when the French army defeated the Ottomans and took control of this great African territory. The grimmest atrocities took place during the whole conflict but especially at the end of the war, forcing a French-­‐European-­‐rooted diaspora of barely one million people to fled. The echoes of this incredible wound still vibrate both sides of the Mediterranean. In the last decade, some reconciliation efforts have been made on an individual level. Some pied-­‐noirs, have visited their former homes, villages, schools, cemeteries, etc., in an effort to sooth this lasting melancholy. Yet, what would have been Algeria if a reconciliation movement had taken place? Would have this been possible in 1962 or before should a strong third party had been in place? Could Algeria become one of the most advanced countries from a sociological and economic level? Unfortunately, it was not the case. In spite of this, I will try to develop and explain a process that would avoided a vast amount of sufferance that even nowadays is deeply felt by millions of people that used to live all together in a peaceful but unfair society.