Most countries in Africa fought hard for their independence just like Algeria did. Many countries from the West came and took control of almost all African soil. A large percentage of Africa lost sovereignty and total control of their natural resources due to imperialism. The colonizers benefited from taking control of natural resources, and they believed that it was a necessity to colonize and civilize Africans. Many African nations rebelled against colonial rule since they were on the losing end.
Algeria is the largest country in Africa, and it was colonized by France. The movie ‘Battle of Algeria’ is a depiction of the challenges that Algerian went through during its struggle for independence. The film highlights that struggle for independence by focusing on the National Liberation Front (FLN). FLN was a rebel army formed to fight for independence.
The Battle of Algiers started in 1957 when men and women came together to fight for their independence. The rebels launched a series of attacks on their colonizers and even went ahead to hide weapons to avoid inspection. One of the rebels said, “Terrorism is useful as a start, but then the peoples must act” (Islam).
Many African countries became independent using almost the same process. First, there was the need for people to be independent. The colonists became tired of oppression; they started craving for their freedom, self-rule and identity as a nation. The next step was forming social movements that were usually rebellious against colonial rule. They made themselves heard mostly through violence, and that is the same case in the Battle of Algiers. Their leader Ali spearheaded most of the attacks through bombings and rioting (Islam). Most countries in Africa shared circumstances similar to that of Algeria. Because of these attacks, the colonists mostly tried to negotiate with the rebels; usually, there are those who decided to work with the colonists due to their selfish reasons, but a majority of them continued to fight. Since the colonists had scheming tendencies, they made promises that they could not fulfill. The rebels continued to fight until they made the colonizers leave their country. In Africa, most of the countries had this process of forming an independent nation despite a few variations.
Nationalism is simply a form of owning one’s identity towards their country. It is basically what identifies one as a member of a country. In Algeria, nationalism was first seen towards the end of World War II when Charles de Gaulle was appointed the prime minister. This identified citizens of this country under one leadership. He believed that the future of the Algerians should be determined by its people. At the end of the battle of Algeria, the French and FLN signed a peace treaty and the Europeans now had an option of either remaining as foreigners in Algeria, gaining citizenship in Algeria or returning to their native country since after all Algeria had now gained independence (Islam). They now had their identity as a nation hence they had constructed their nationalism.
In essence, countries that had settler colonies like Algeria, Zimbabwe, and South Arica experienced incomplete decolonization. This is because, in settler colonies, the Europeans gained more political power in these countries. The colonizers had lost touch with their roots after living in Africa for many years hence during decolonization there was nowhere they could go. Also, they involved a good percentage of the populations and at the same time, they were the wealthy class in the society. In this case, whether the citizens liked it or not, it was pretty obvious that whatever decisions they made, the settlers had a say in it. This is why it took quite a long period for settler colonies to get decolonized. This is also why the settlers in Algeria were given a choice of either returning to their land or getting citizenship in Algeria (Islam). In non-settler colonies like India, it was quite fair to decolonize since most such colonies used negotiated independence that eventually led to their freedom. It was similar because the colonizers did not have a particular touch with their country and also experienced factors (like malaria) that would not allow their stay.
The question of whether violence is justifiable or not is an entirely controversial matter in the society during the times of colonization and even now. I have a lot of respect for the hard-core pacifists with the courage to say no to violence because it takes a lot of courage. However, in my opinion, violence is justifiable if it is used to fight a greater evil. This is true because violence was used to decolonize Algeria and it was a successful method. A member of FLN told La Pointe, ‘terrorism is useful as a start; but then people must act’ (Islam).
In particular, violence is justified to achieve independence from imperial powers. If the law cannot be used since the law itself is unjust according to human morality, in this case, violence can be condoned because it is the last resort of desperate people. It is taken as the only response people have hence it is only natural to fight back. In addition, an unjust law is not a law at all. However, violence cannot be excused for imperial powers to hold on to colonies since it is oppression to people. It is inhumane and unfair. Violence in such a context was wrong in all aspects and, therefore, could not be excused.
Works Cited
Islam, Misbahul. "The Battle Of Algiers HD." YouTube. N.p., 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
