Do you wonder who would be so daring as to oppose an army tens of times he size of their own? Well if so, you might want to know that in 1957 a young schoolgirl, a reformed street criminal and a thirteen-year-old boy did so.
Hassiba ben Bouali, Ali la Pointe and Petit Omar were three Algerian revolutionaries of the 50s who sacrificed their lives to fight against French Colonialism. The oldest of them was la Pointe, who was 27 years of age, and the youngest was Petit Omar at a mere 13. After battling for days on end with the French, most obviously not fair and square fight, their hideout in the Casbah was bombed and they were killed on October 8-9 1957.
HASSIBA
Born in January 1938, Hassiba was a brave schoolgirl and a talented girl scout. However, she would not stay one for long, joining the General Union of Algerian Muslim Students, a liberal organisation and harbinger of death; this was the organisation that convinced her to sacrifice her being for liberty. She fought through hardships during her entire life, ultimately showing during her moments of passing at the Casbah in October 1957 during the Battle of Algiers. She lived and died with the dream of liberating Algiers.
PETIT OMAR
Born in 1944, Petit Omar was the youngest of this tough bunch of liberating angels. At the time of his death, he was just thirteen years old and still had a childlike countenance. He was the nephew of Yacef, one of the head fighters in the Battle of Algiers for liberation. As an avid player of marbles and cards, Omar was tremendous at twirling most people around his little fingers and so he tried to do this to the French; he failed, and this resulted in his premature death. However, his death was not in vain and it should always be admired that he was a child, younger than most who will lay their eyes upon this.
ALI LA POINTE
Born in May 1930, Ali la Pointe lived a life of petty crime and was framed for several murders -but never convicted. Around the middle of the aforementioned year of 1957, La Pointe would convince other revolutionaries to carry out arson and bombings. In one incident, these bombs managed to kill seventeen people. Yacef, the above-mentioned uncle of Petit Omar, had ordered that La Pointe instantly join the fighters in the Battle of Algiers. He complied and signed away his life at the young age of 27.
THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS-CASBAH
On the night of the 8th of October, the ground of Casbah trembled with that fearful intonation of explosions. The ruins were omnipresent and death was in the air; it was only a matter of time before destruction ensued.
In the midst of that rubble, scattered in every corner and hole, four fighters concealed themselves: Hassiba, Petit Omar, la Pointe and a fourth, a veiled name. Except for La Pointe who was a young man, they were all children, even Hassiba, who had just become an adult in mere numbers. The warplanes could be heard, and the fire crackled about. They had been fighting for long and now it was time to reach the commencement of a new life. That’s when the bomb struck; 20 Algerians were killed in this blast, including the four fighters. The commencement of their new life began, only not as earthly beings.
These young people, angels of the Algerian liberation, bear more of an importance than one might realise. This is an unfortunate circumstance, but it’s a cautionary tale. Governments fail to care that they hurt the youths of a country in war, and when such consequences occur, everything becomes clear. A drastic example is this, but maybe speak up next time you don’t agree with something. Nobody’s saying go to war, but think about it. Who knows? Maybe someone will listen.
For more information: JSTOR ( if you know French) or ask me. I wish I could add a book and some quotes, but unfortunately, there is very little information available about them.
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