A Dying Colonialism

This book was originally published, I believe, as "Year Five of the Algerian Revolution." This revolution, which beganon Nov. 1, 1954 and ended in 1962, became the archetype of anti-colonial revolt purely as a result of Fanon's record of it.

Unfortunately, the Algerian, who had suffered under French domination for 130 years, was outmatched --- but not hopelessly outmatched --- by the French occupying forces. Over 1 million Algerians died in the struggle to give birth to a free Algeria, but only 15000 French soldiers. Fanon writes about the cultural transformations that occurred --- that HAD to occur --- to give fighting Algeria a fighting chance.

Westerners often criticize the Arab world for its allegedly sexist treatment of women. Critics often use the veil as a metaphor for this "oppression." French colonizers, whose goal was the complete destruction of Algerian culture, often used the veil to create a rift in Algerian society. They did so by trying to Europeanize Algerian women --- getting them to cast away the veil and wear make-up and immodest dress --- and by forcing Algerian men bring their wives with them to social functions, taboo in Algerian society.

Fanon shows how the revolution not only healed the rift between the traditional Algerian patriarch and the "modern" woman, but created a new culture with new, non-sexist, values.

For instance, the traditionalist Algerian woman, in the course of the revolution, learned to leave the home, alone, even to doff the hajib, in order to pose as a "modern" woman who could fool the French into thinking she was not a spy for the mujahidin. The "modern" woman, conversely, could come back into the fold by wearing the hajib. The French, thinking her harmless, would not realize that, under her garments, she carried supplies for the rebels.

Fanon also talks about how the Algerian's attitude toward modern medicine and modern technology, seemingly backward to the French, changed completely when these instances of modernity ceased to represent French colonialism, but became instruments of Algerian self-determination.

"A Dying Colonialism" is not as gripping as Fanon's other three books, but is nonetheless a classic.


Strident, but valuable.   December 18, 1998
 4 out of 12 found this review helpful

Though I find his anticolonialist views a bit over-vitriolic at times, there's a very interesting piece entitled "This is the Voice of Algeria." It details how the radio went, in Algeria, from being a social embarassment (for Western integrated views on sexual morality and culture, as integrated into the programming were not appreciated) to being the life-giving source of information in just a few years. It also details the French government's attempts to curtail this cultural association by banning the sale of radios and even spare batteries. Moreover, a cautionary tale; though we think we are past censorial press licensing and such, the current restrictive policies on encryption software seem a similar attempt to prevent dissemination of the tools of speech and association.