Yesterday at Radio France, I recorded the commentary voices of the four one-hour radio documentaries I wrote for "LSD, La Série Documentaire" of France Culture. Through rare, unpublished and powerful testimonies, recorded as part of the series "En guerre(s) pour l'Algérie" (At war for Algeria) that I directed for ARTE, Algerians tell the story of the Algerian War from their point of view and as they lived it. Women and men, they are about twenty in all. They come from Kabylia, the Aurès, or one of the big cities of Algeria. Former militants of the FLN (National Liberation Front) or the MNA (Algerian National Movement), harkis, fighters of the ALN (National Liberation Army), members of the Special Organization of the FLN or simple civilians. For more than 7 years, the Algerian war accompanied them in their passage to adulthood. Some in Algeria, others in Metropolitan France, others still abroad. Whether they speak in French or Arabic, it is with their own words, their own way of saying things, that they testify. They tell us about their experiences and memories, often far removed from the major media or historical events that have marked the chronology of the conflict. And it is this little-known daily life of the Algerian War that they allow us to discover with an exceptional and moving acuity.
The four radio documentaries are created by Rafik Zenine. They will be broadcast from February 28 to March 3, and will be available as podcasts on the Radio France website.
