Promulgated in February 2022, the law of recognition and reparation towards the Harkis, auxiliaries of the French army in Algeria, allowed the establishment of an independent National Commission for Compensation of the Harkis (CNIH), equipped with a budget of 300 million euros. Report in Lodève, in the south of France, during a meeting between members of the commission and representatives of harkis.
From our special correspondent in Lodève,
From the first words, the tone is set. “ This compensation scheme which is proposed cannot satisfy us, launches Abdel Kader Mokhtari, of the National Justice for the Harkis collective and the Harkis Rally. When we offer compensation that starts at 2 000€ for a maximum of 15 000€ with all the suffering that we have experienced, I consider that it is a charity that we give to the harkis. »
“ To say that it’s nothing, that it’s a charity, people don’t understand, because we are still in the process of reparation of principles, responds Jean-Marie Bockel, president of the National Harkis Compensation Commission. There, the amount is not insignificant, but it is considered low, insufficient, etc. What I hear, I say it myself, is irreparable. This demand that you clearly express will be in our annual report. »
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“ We are insulted »
Apart from financial compensation deemed insufficient, the harkis also denounce a stigmatization of their community, as Djiemila Aïwaz of the Angry Women collective asserts: “ There are some who still tell us and our children “go home, you have nothing to do here”. We are insulted, and the State does nothing about it. We asked for sanctions against this and that, this is not normal. I don’t understand why the state does nothing. Normally, these people should be convicted, because many filed complaints, but they were not convicted. »
According to Youcef Meckchiche, son of Harki, compensation for the damage suffered by his community should not be a final balance: “ Okay, yes to compensation, but there are also problems and this has been going on for years and years, for 60 years. And when we see, now, some people who lived in the camps, unfortunately some live on the streets, alcohol, drugs… It’s 2023, nothing is being done. This is a real problem. »
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A request for recognition through education
For Fatiha Mammèche, from the association Les Harkis, these forgotten French people, the State only cares about them during electoral periods, thus causing an increase in verbal attacks against the harkis: “ Every election, they pull us out of their hat. Afterwards, we are either the prey of other communities, especially from the Algerian community, which begins to insult us on French territory. They start calling us children of traitors, etc. While these are soldiers who fought for France, we must not forget that. »
The Harki community is demanding real recognition which, according to them, must come through education with the inclusion in history books of their experiences, as was the case for that of the Shoah.
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