Literary post KS. Ep 34. “Soon the living”, by Amina Damerdji, or the ghosts of the Algerian black decade

Literary post KS. Ep 34. “Soon the living”, by Amina Damerdji, or the ghosts of the Algerian black decade
Literary post KS. Ep 34. “Soon the living”, by Amina Damerdji, or the ghosts of the Algerian black decade

One night in the year 1997. In a village perched on the heights of Algiers, the calm is suddenly broken by the arrival of a jeep. What seemed to be a military patrol turns into a nightmare for Selma’s family who are passing through the hamlet: axes and sabers emerge from the vehicle, and the moans of the victims tear apart the peaceful night. Selma, the heroine of the story, aged 21, becomes a helpless witness to this massacre: “His legs were shaking and his heart was beating so hard it seemed like it wanted to burst out of his chest. She knew the word, dhabahine, cutthroats. Dhabahine, dhabahine!»

The mystery of Selma’s presence in this modest village of Sidi Youcef, far from the wealthy neighborhoods of Hammamet where she usually resides, is only revealed at the end of the novel. In the meantime, the reader is immersed in the twists and turns of an Algeria in the grip of civil war, between omnipresent violence and daily survival.

A family with secrets

In this war context, the novel invites us to discover the intimacy of a rich Algerian family living in an old colonial villa. Selma’s father, Brahim, recently promoted to head of the pediatrics department at Baïnem hospital, shares his home with Zyneb, his wife, and his daughter. There is no shortage of tensions in this house where Zyneb has a difficult relationship with his mother-in-law Mima, who occupies the first floor of the mansion. Hicham, Brahim’s younger brother, lives in “attics redeveloped after poorly done work because poorly paid to undocumented Malian workers», a marginal place in a family which has relegated him to the periphery while the others have the upper floors.

This Hicham, a law graduate but unemployed, harbors a growing bitterness which leads him into the net of radical Islamism. Having become a disciple of Ali Benhadj, the guru co-founder of the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), who calls to arms in mosques, he embodies the drift of this disillusioned and left-behind youth. The seemingly peaceful family universe is in reality fractured, like Algeria.

Plunging into fear

These lives are gradually being swept away in the turmoil of political events that have marked the country. The novel is part of a period of shift into systemic violence, where the border between the intimate and the collective is erased under the impact of the civil war. The author makes palpable the oppressive atmosphere of a society on the verge of implosion. The rise in social tensions, catalyzed by massive strikes and demonstrations, is bringing out long-contained popular anger. The streets of Algiers and other large cities become battlefields where political and economic demands encounter brutal repression: “Firefights in public buildings, Molotov cocktail attacks on police cars, shootings and throat-slitting were increasing in the country.»

The novel does not simply depict these events as historical background. Massive strikes disrupt the lives of the characters, while violent demonstrations become breaking points where their lives are turned upside down. Police repression, with its arbitrary raids and indiscriminate violence, penetrates into homes, breaking down boundaries and exacerbating family tensions. Each character bears the marks of this period: Brahim drowns in his work to escape an oppressive reality, Hicham gives in to the sirens of radical Islamism, while Selma desperately tries to find refuge in her passion for horses.

In private, distrust becomes a mode of survival, eyes turn away, voices become silent. Residents learn to remain silent in a society where denunciations, forced disappearances and summary executions have become commonplace. This atmosphere of suffocation and paranoia permeates every page, reflecting the way in which great History invades individual lives: “The silence was broken by distant, almost ghostly gunshots. In the house, no one dared to turn on the light. Selma, curled up under a blanket, stared at the ceiling. The sound of gunfire seemed to get closer, louder, until it became a dull pounding against his temples.»

Without any indulgence, this work unvarnishedly reveals the barbarity of the two opposing camps. Hicham, forever marked by the torture suffered during his incarceration, carries an unspeakable burden that he cannot share, much less with his young teenage niece: “Admit that he was forced to drink the frothy urine of the soldiers? Mention the suppurating sore in his anus, which made him scream every time he tried to sit on the toilet bowl?

From trauma to social redemption

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Amina Damerdji pays particular attention to the portraits of the two sidekicks, Maya and Selma, whose destinies intersect in a fragile balance between rebellion and sensitivity. Maya, the eldest, asserts herself as an intrepid photographer for a newspaper, embodying the rebellious spirit in the face of a changing world. She will encounter fear. Selma, more gentle and introspective, devotes her efforts to taming Sheïtane, a rebellious mare traumatized by the mistreatment of her former master. Sent to the slaughterhouse because of its unpredictable behavior, the animal finds in Selma a patient and determined ally, who tenderly tries to break the shell forged by the brutality of the grooms, themselves quick to nickname the mare “Satan” : “Suddenly she let go of the reins. Sheïtane hesitated then understood. He rushed forward. His black hairs fluttered. The sun cast mahogany reflections on her neckline. Selma stood up in her stirrups. The wind undid her braid and, as the strands whipped her cheeks, she narrowed her eyelids. She let Sheïtane accelerate until the sound of her hooves was nothing more than a staccato on the sand and the sea a graying blue streak.»

Selma’s love for horses and the freedom she feels when riding in nature become acts of silent resistance. This powerful bond between the teenager and the animal embodies a light in the darkness, a reminder that, even in the midst of ruins, it is possible to heal the wounds and rebuild: “She let Sheïtane gallop, the wind rushing through her disheveled hair. In that moment, she felt free, light, as if the world around her was just a memory erased by speed.»

At the heart of historical turbulence, Selma embodies a form of resilience. Algeria is a wounded animal: “Shave the outline of the wounds, wash them with soapy water, apply disinfectant compresses then oint and massage until the healing cream is completely absorbed.» This emerging vocation reflects his determination to offer a second chance to this animal that everything condemned. The care she gives him comes when everything seems broken.

The (false) schema of success: Uncle Charef, an erotic bubble

In this family enlarged by the Black Decade, there is Maya’s father, Charef Hakkar, the embodiment of brilliant success, both social and financial. He houses his family in a sumptuous Ottoman palace in the heart of Algiers, elegantly restored and equipped with the most modern amenities. Through an ostentatious display of wealth, he showers his loved ones with sumptuous gifts, attempting to consolidate a fragile happiness.

However, behind this dazzling facade, a latent anguish inhabits him: the visceral fear of losing Souad, his young wife of bewitching beauty. The mask of opulence which fuels the jealousy of those around him hides a man prey to inner torment, constantly shaken by doubts about his own value: “He still couldn’t believe it. Him, Charef the ugly, Charef with a face so unsightly that children made fun of him in the street. Charef the Fat, the obese woman who was called patapouf or bibendum behind his back at the swimming pool, had married one of the most courted women in the city.»

History and the intimate, a play of echoes

In 288 pages, this novel stands out for its ability to interweave individual destinies and historical upheavals. The trajectories of Selma, Zyneb, Hicham, Maya, Charef and the other members of this broken family become the mirrors of an Algeria gone mad. Each character carries within them the scars of the civil war, whether through the weight of moral choices, physical trauma or the erosion of family ties. More than a simple historical testimony, the novel questions the capacity of individuals to rebuild themselves, to find fragments of light in the darkness, and to continue to believe in life, despite everything.

Amina Damerdji published, in 2021, her first novel “Let me join you” (ed. Gallimard), the story of Haydée Santamaria, a Cuban who fought alongside Fidel Castro and who killed herself in 1980. To discover… “Soon the Living” is his second novel, acclaimed by critics. He won the Arab Literature Prize for high school students, as well as the Defector Prize in 2024.

“Soon the living”, by Amina Damerdji, 288 pages. Éditions Gallimard, 2024. Public price: 280 DH.

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