A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - Ideas and Struggles: The Border Army (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

War is violent! ---- Maurice Nadeau Publishing presents a book on a 
little-known case from the Algerian War. In his recent novel, The Border 
Army, Paul de Brancion features Ïssa Walther, whose mother was Algerian 
and whose father was a Nazi officer. He was recruited in 1958 by a 
German network supporting the FLN to organize and structure the 
desertion of more than 4,000 legionnaires, hence the Foreign Legion. An 
undercover agent, he divided his time between teaching the Quran to the 
children of Béchar and exfiltration operations on the Moroccan border. 
---- You may recall that the Foreign Legion was quite welcoming to these 
men with their guttural accents and curious numbers on their arms... 
They kept to themselves, did not appreciate promiscuity, and even less 
so participating in so-called police operations. You will read their 
arguments. Indeed, although the text is a novel, the events are true. 
Officially, the FRG supports France; the year is 1958, but in reality, 
it protects its citizens and organizes their return home. Thus, young 
Ïssa Walther can be perceived as a double agent. He is a soldier with a 
religious background.

"Choosing your level of commitment"

Throughout the pages, the reader senses the tensions within the FLN; the 
rivalries are fierce. The complexity of the relationships between the 
characters is reinforced by their status. We are in Colomb-Béchar, the 
name of the colonization era, at the edge of the desert, against the 
backdrop of the Algerian War and its horrors. FLN members rub shoulders 
with soldiers, sometimes in the same cafes. These legionnaires must be 
brought across the border. Beware, they are considered deserters and 
Ïssa a traitor. Ïssa reflects: "You must face up to it or run away." 
It's about choosing one's level of commitment" and referring to Frantz 
Fanon. The place of religion in this fight is fundamental. With such 
support, the FLN could only win, and the French didn't realize it. 
Ïssa's cover, that of a Quranic teacher, allows for connections between 
lived experience and the suras. Certain passages in the book are imbued 
with great poetry. It's the richness of books to contain several volumes 
within them.

The anguish is palpable. I quote Ïssa Walther: "There is less death in 
the air than in Algiers, but one cannot escape it. Nevertheless, I feel 
a certain anguish that paralyzes me at times; I lose my composure."

The war is violent, what a surprise! The OAS begins to rage, as does the 
dirty war: torture, massacres, napalm bombings, nuclear tests guarded by 
soldiers without protection against radioactivity. We'll see the 
generals' putsch. The spiral!! The historical facts that underpin the 
book are summarized in the afterword. A very interesting investigation.

* Paul de Brancion
The Army of the Borders
Ed. Maurice Nadeau, 2025

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=8531
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en