Lede: In Algeria's liberation struggle, we can find lessons on the limitations
of humanistic ideals in the face of violence, offering insights into the ongoing
Palestinian national liberation struggle
Sixty-six years ago, in the midst of a raging war, the renowned French-Algerian
writer Albert Camus delivered his most perilous political speech. On the
surface, his speech called for a civil truce in Algeria, but beneath the
surface, it subtly rejected Arab nationalist aspirations.
In its essence, Camus expressed a humanist commitment to shared possibilities in
a land shared by colonizers and the colonized. Amidst calls for armed
resistance, Camus, a member of the Pieds-Noirs, the French-Algerian community,
positioned himself as an outsider to the colonizer/colonized dichotomy. He aimed
to be a mediator, above all, who despised indiscriminate violence and sought
dialogue, and a truce, among the French and the Arabs of Algeria.
Today, despite the growing global demand for a ceasefire in Israel's war on
Gaza, the west is still firmly guarding Tel Aviv's scorched-earth ambitions. The
latter aims to eliminate the Palestinian resistance, while the former - like
Camus - peppers the genocide with talks of "moderate" solutions with "moderate"
Palestinians.
The Algerian experience provides insights into parallels and breaking points
with the ongoing Palestinian national liberation struggle. It demonstrates that
imposing a ceasefire can inadvertently breed more violence it intends to
suppress, and a dispassionate rejection of violence can deny the oppressed their
dignity, whether in surrender or self-liberation.
-- Cont'd at https://new.thecradle.co/articles/to-palestine-lessons-from-overthrowing-the-french-in-algeria
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