A total vagueness reigns around the disappearance of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, from whom his relatives have not heard from for a week. According to some media, he was arrested upon his arrival at Algiers airport on Saturday, November 16, under unclear circumstances. Would he have problems with the Algerian government?
Read also: Four questions about the arrest of writer Boualem Sansal in Algeria
The 75-year-old writer, who has held French nationality since this year, is hardly in the odor of sanctity in his native country and he irritates Islamists of all kinds. Is he worried about comments he made at the beginning of October on the borders between Algeria and Morocco, a highly flammable subject? Is he in trouble because of his writings, in which he criticizes religious fundamentalism?
The refusal of exile
Since his entry into literature with The Barbarian Oathin 1999, Boualem constantly criticized the rise of religious fundamentalism, the Islamization of the planet, and the corruption of the Algerian government. In 2016, he was the guest of Ouest-France to talk about his book 2084. The end of the world set in a fictional country undermined by religious totalitarianism and won the Académie française novel prize. In the editorial office, he was seduced by his gentleness and his smile, which contrasted with his uncompromising words.
However, Boualem Sansal always refused to go into exile. Sailing between France and Algeria, he resides in Boumerdès, near Algiers. “Serenity in Algeria, I no longer know what it is, but I cannot leave my country in this situation”he told us.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he “very concerned” of his fate, in a moment of intense tension between France and Algeria around the question of Western Sahara. From its publisher, Gallimard, persona non grata in Algeria because of the novel Houris by Kamel Daoud, Goncourt prize, concern also reigns.
