Hafsa kara mustapha biography of william

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Seventy years on from the Setif massacre, journalist Hafsa Kara-Mustapha recalls the events which ultimately led to the end of “French Algeria.”

Official history puts the 1st November 1954 as the start of Algeria’s war of independence against the French occupying power.

However, most Algerians know that the first sparks of the conflict can be traced back to a more sinister chapter in France’s 132 year rule over the North African country.

On May 8th 1945, thousands of Algerian men, women and children joined a march organised by the French authorities to mark the victory by allied forces over the Nazis.

Many of the Algerian men marching that day were returning from the front line where they had played a vital role in fighting German troops.

Despite the apparent celebratory mood of the march, tensions were high in Algeria at the time.

Many Algerian intellectuals such as Messali Hadj had been imprisoned for speaking out against the brut