Hassiba Ben-bouali
Hassiba Ben Bouali "photo" 1938
Image of Hassiba BenBouali by Wikimedia CommonsThis is a recopilation of some information about her life. To see more information, you can go to the Wikipedia article about her life.
1938
Hassiba Ben Bouali was born on January 18 of the year 1938, in El Asnam, now Chlef, to a doctor father and a militant mother in the soul
1947
The young Hassiba began her primary studies in her hometown and, in 1947, when her parents moved to Algiers, she continued her education there at the Ain Zerga school.
1950
in 1950, she enrolled at the heigt school Pasteur and spent two years there, taking music lessons at the same time.
As a teenager, Hassiba is curious and very alert. Hence her desire to join scouting. And it was precisely with the scouts, while leading hikes across the country, that she discovered the deplorable living conditions of Algerians, especially peasants plunged into poverty.
Revolted, she joined the General Union of Algerian Muslim Students. She is barely 16 years old and she will become more and more involved in the nationalist struggle. This is how she joined the team of Dr. Chaulet who has just set up a secret clinic at Clos-Salambier to provide care for the wounded. Sometimes a nurse, sometimes a social worker, she is supported by her mother, who is also a FLN activist.
1956
At the end of 1956, Hassiba joined one of the networks of "fidayines" in Algiers. His group is responsible for the manufacture of bombs and their deposit on the scene. A volunteer at Mustapha Hospital, she takes first aid courses there. This allows him easy access to the products used in the manufacture of bombs.
Blonde with light eyes, Hassiba has the physique that is suitable to go unnoticed. Both for removing supplies from the hospital and for moving or planting a bomb. The group she joins, Yacef Saadi's "bomb network", is mainly made up of students, including Abderrahmane Taleb and Dr Daniel Timsit. And the clandestine workshop is in Birkhadem.
1956-1957
Tracked down, the network was discovered in September 1956 and several arrests took place. Hassiba is reported to the colonial police who are actively looking for her. She manages to escape their nets several times but is forced to leave her family and go into hiding. And it is in the heart of the checkered Kasbah that she takes refuge. Continuing her action, she participated in the eight-day strike and the bombings in cafes in central Algiers.
1957
On Sunday October 8, 1957, she was at 5, rue des Abdérrames with Ali la Pointe, Petit Omar and Hamid Bouhamidi. At nightfall, the French paratroopers surround the house and summon the group to surrender. Faced with their refusal, the attackers blow up the premises. Hassiba Ben Bouali, aged 19 and a half, died with his companions under the rubble as well as 17 Algerians whose houses were blown up by the explosion. She will become the icon of the women's resistance of the liberation war and is buried in the cemetery of Sidi M’hamed, in Algiers.
In a letter, the last, which she sent to her parents on September 15, 1957, Hassiba wrote:
"It’s terrible how missing family when you are away from them. You know that I am in great demand here in Algiers, so I cannot do anything. So, I decided, finally, that it is my duty to go to the bush where I know that I could serve as a nurse or even if necessary, and I hope with all my heart, fight the guns. the hand". At the end of her letter, the worthy and courageous girl writes: “If I die, you must not cry for me! I would have died happy, I assure you ”.
and the name of this fabulous woman. strong and indepandente. will forever remain one of the greatest signs of Algerian indepandence and the strength of women; Algerian or not, just like Djamila bouhird and others. are proof that women can. that Algerian womens can be whatever they want. what Hassiba Ben bouali wanted ....... is indepandence