the long fight of the harkis of the Somme for the recognition of French citizenship

Many harkis and descendants of harkis from the Somme have been demanding full recognition of French citizenship for several decades. The few victories have not yet fully met their expectations and demands.

“Here, we are at the citadel of Doullens, this is where we first set foot”says Abdélali Sadaoui. This representative of the harkis of the Somme recalls that 520 families had been locked up in this camp from 1962, a former prison disused since 1958.

He and many harkis of the Somme demand access to full citizenship which has not yet been granted to them. Indeed, even though they were French nationals, the harkis and their descendants suffered from social and symbolic exclusion (considered in particular as second-class citizens).

Upon arriving in France, Abdélali Sadaoui and many descendants of Harkis had the impression of not having their place, in addition to cultivating a feeling of loss of identity. “We had lost our land, we are children of war”and even after independence, “there were massacres of harkis who were considered traitors even though they had embraced the French cause at that time and we were not wanted in the metropolis”.

It was also thanks to the disobedience and compassion of colonels that many of them managed to come to France. “We left Algeria to save our lives because my father was assassinated after the Evian Accords in 1962. My mother was alone, took her children under her arm and took refuge in a military barracks in the south of Algiers which was called the Zeralda camp”. He, his mother and siblings then crossed the Mediterranean in the hull of a boat and landed in Marseille before being locked up in Rivesaltes for almost a year.

They then reached the north of France on their “unknown” in 1962 since they did not “nothing chosen” and have “followed the convoy”. “We arrived at Amiens station and the Prefect had no other choice since our arrival was not scheduled, we were not wanted in the metropolis, to be polite”. This is why the Prefect had no other solution than to requisition a place to house them temporarily. A period that will last several years.

The first thing Abdélali Sadaoui remembers is the cold. “We were steeped in cold, the winter of 1962-1963 was very harsh, we came from a hot country and we were deprived in terms of clothing, food, etc.”. Fortunately, they were able to count on the help of the Lions Club association, which still exists today. Thanks to them, they received blankets, camp beds and even milk for children.

I have memories of precariousness, isolation and above all incomprehension because they did not explain to us why we were there and why they locked us behind a large door.

Abdélali Sadaoui, representative of the Harkis of the Somme

They would have to wait until 1965 before finding themselves in the Sonacotra city, where 44 families were housed. “There was an administrator who monitored us and we lived 40 minutes from the city center and the primary school”. Abdélali Sadaoui and the other residents were confined in a place “completely” isolated. “We were deliberately isolated so as not to mix with the local population, there were no houses, we were in the middle of the forest, there were no shops”nor bus or taxi.

At that time, the first feeling that crossed him was anxiety. “The anxiety lost since that period since we have the impression of being in debt, of having to affirm our French citizenship. We have the impression that successive governments look away as soon as we talk about this subject- there”. He specifies that his approach is made “in kindness” since he, like other harkis of the Somme, wishes “simply live like others and benefit from the same rights as all French citizens”.

If the descendants of harkis have reobtained French nationality, it is at the legal level that their situation is complicated. “When we appeal to a jurisdiction, whether it is a court or an administration, and we are children of harkis, there is no legal basis and it is this precise point that we would like to correct”explains Abdélali Sadaoui, adding: “the time has come to recognize our French citizenship”.

But if since 2022, a law recognizes the harkis and repairs the damage suffered, many groups are calling for a stronger text, in particular on the recognition of this French citizenship. The goal is to no longer bring them back to their past as natives, auxiliaries or to reduce them to French Muslims.

Zahia Hamdane, LFI-NFP MP for the 2nd constituency of the Somme, recalls that upon arriving in France, the harkis were stripped of their nationality and had to reapply for it, “for 5 francs”. At the time, Algeria was still French, “so it was nonsense for these people to have to go to the administrative court to ask for it again because they thought they were just as stupid”.

The law of 2022, “the Macron law came to advance several things and certain points around the question of forgiveness and compensation, possibly, underlines Zahia Hamdane. But the symbolic compensation is much more important, it is a big step which will help heal the wounds.” of the Algerian war and a migratory journey strewn with pitfalls.

With Enora Quellec / FTV