Your Questions for Yasmina Khadra 2/2 — The Current Situation in Africa

This article is the second part of a question and answer session between the author and Youthink! readers (questions were submitted on Facebook between December 12, 2011 and January 2, 2012). Yasmina Khadra, the acclaimed Algerian author whose two works of fiction will be shown in movie theaters in 2012 (Ce que le jour doit à la nuit, and L'Attentat), shares with us his views on the Arab spring and the challenges facing Africa.

(This interview is available in Arabic.)

IDEOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION

Maurice Simo Djom (Cameroon): The events taking place in the Arab-Islamic world recently prompted me to reread your novel The Attack. Why did you write this novel? Does the story reflect the experiences of someone close to you?

Y. Khadra: I have never visited Israel, and the protagonists in my novel are fictional characters. Furthermore, this novel does not reflect any of my experiences and nothing that has been recounted to me has any bearing on my novel.

Generally, when I write, I try to get a clear understanding of the mindset of the people portrayed in my books. This allows me to see the world through their lens and thus be able to assume the persona of my characters.

I wrote The Attack to condemn the absurdity of this war [between the Palestinians and the State of Israel], to heighten awareness of this human tragedy and the injustices spawned by it, and to reveal the inconsistency in ideologies that crush spirits and transform the powerful into oppressors. In the final analysis, there is no doctrine or ideology that trumps human life and no higher cause that can be placed ahead of the right to life. Moreover, there is nothing on this earth that belongs to us — no country; no wealth. Our only legitimate source of wealth is our own lives.

Abd Elhak Touat (Algeria): Is the role of French in North African communities and, in particular, in Algeria, limited to the linguistic and cultural spheres? Or does it fuel an ideological and political conflict that pits society into two camps—those who have mastered the language and those who have not? Is literature dominated by a globalized culture?

Y. Khadra: Nietzsche said "if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Anything can be a pretext for conflict, and anything can be a pretext for appeasement. We are free to use language as a liberating tool; one that provides access to a range of different experiences. We are also free to use it as a tool for hatred and exclusion. This is because the problem does not lie with the language, but with mental attitudes. Some learn languages to achieve progress in the world while others reject the world, preferring withdrawal and decay.

I view French as my working tool. It is a channel for expression of what I consider to be my sensibility and artistic creativity. At no time has my expression in the French language led to a feeling of estrangement from my country [Algeria], my traditions, or my religion [Muslim]. French is a gift. It is beautiful, complete, suffused with wonderful light and music. I see no reason for me, a born poet, to shun its poetry. Furthermore, nothing is capable of shaking the foundations of a cohesive country with an educated and enlightened population. This is what forms the bedrock of an enduring society. The only people who remain in a precarious and vulnerable state are those who disregard modernity. The telltale sign of such people is the deep resonance they find in seditious language.

Someone who cannot love, dream, and be filled with wonder is a toxin; a cancer in society who can do considerable harm. However, fearlessness is enough to eradicate such a person. Being unafraid of someone like this means using the mind to confront him rather than resorting to violence, since he prefers the world of violence.

Literature is the most wonderful form of dictatorship in the world. Unlike ideology, the purpose of its domination is to penetrate our dreams. When we value the life of the mind, culture becomes a source of enrichment for us. I admire authors the world over. They have all taught me how to view my surroundings more clearly. I fail to see how Faulkner, Tolstoy, Kawabata, Garcia Marquez, Gide, and Coetzee, to name a few, would corrupt my soul.

"If I put that damned veil on, I'm neither a human being nor an animal; I'm just an affront, a disgrace, a blemish that has to be hidden." The Swallows of Kabul (2002)

Joseph Chimezie Odoemenam (Nigeria): There are so many young people with dreams and a desire to change the world. What can governments and organizations do to help channel their activities? Can democracy create the peace we need?

Y. Khadra: "There is strength in unity." To change a situation, one has to coalesce around an ideal that must be placed ahead of all other considerations. In Africa, intellectual vigilance is sporadic, fragmented, and frittered away by conflicts of interest that ascribe unsubstantiated motives to others. Our intellectuals demonstrate a strong dislike for each other. Frustrations and jealousies run so deep that no attempt is made to listen to others. And in the midst of this surreal cacophony, the regimes in place live on.

To enter our world of dreams, we must begin by learning once more how to be happy for others, for their successes, for their brilliance and ensure that voices are heard and, in so doing, give everyone the same opportunity. We act shamelessly when we tear down those who pull us up. We have a long way to go, in our part of the world, to achieve the maturity we need to act differently. A country cannot move forward without legends and young people cannot become strong without idols. As long as those who are supposed to enlighten the people continue to play stupid and vicious games and belittle the success of their colleagues, then the young people will continue to be rudderless, to lack focus, and thus to be left to their own devices.

Democracy is the wail of a siren that can be transformed into a hymn only by nations that wish to be free. Democracy is not the product of improvisation. Like a work of art, it is created, drop by drop, bit by bit and with constant care since, if its foundations are compromised, the entire structure ends up crumbling. Democracy is an ideal, not a demagogic maneuver. The rejection of a fellow human being is at odds with this ideal.

"No race is superior to another. Since prehistoric times, it has been the balance of power that decides who is the master and who is the subject – The African Equation (2011)

THE ARAB SPRING

Yosra Chebbi (Tunisia): How do you see the progress made with views on human dignity in the Arab world and around the globe since the Arab revolutions?

Y. Khadra: First, we cannot use the term revolution. We had uprisings or insurrections. A revolution is headed by extraordinary and charismatic individuals who are driven by an ideal. Such persons have a roadmap, a distinct message, and a political leaning. In the Arab countries, the people, that is, the anonymous masses, understood that they are the ones with true power and that no other power, dictatorship, or tyranny can quell a people's anger.

I am delighted to see this belated and unexpected awakening. It is great that it has started. The Arab people did not deserve to be beaten down and treated as objects. What has happened represents a major victory over fear and the mirage of submission.

The issue is now one of building nations based on justice, equality, and healthy and enlightened ambition. From a purely popular standpoint, the people are the ones in charge of their destiny.

I would like the choice made to be in everyone's interest, without excluding or stigmatizing anyone.

The question before us is the following: have we assessed the scope of our discontent and are we able to spare future generations from the wrongs it has generated? Time will tell.

The views held in the Arab world are part and parcel of universal views. These views are infused with history, intellectual heritage, and modern ideas and could find a wider audience if, in some places, the forces behind the networks of imperialism and the good conscience charade refrained from manipulating our intellectuals by making them believe that the only way to gain credibility is to oppose our countries, our values, our religion, and our identity.

"We are not born brutish, we acquire this quality; we are not born wise, we learn wisdom. Me, I was born destitute and destitution taught me to share – The Sirens of Baghdad (2006)

Rime Jedidi (Morocco): What is your assessment of electoral events in the Arab world and what are the effects on Algeria?

Y. Khadra: In Algeria, elections have lost credibility. The polls only yield disappointment. Trickery has gained the upper hand over our commitments. There is no more pushing and shoving at the doors of polling stations and the few people who vote do so for other reasons. The most recent elections in Arab countries in the wake of the uprisings conjure up memories of the period following the October 1988 Algerian elections and the introduction of a multi-party system. People tend to forget that the first uprising took place in Algeria and that the other Arab countries waited 23 years to follow our example. It is my fervent hope that the extraordinary momentum of the Arab people will not be lost, as happened in Algeria, a situation that led to a massive population exodus.

In my thriller novel entitled the Autumn of Phantoms, which was published in 1997, I accurately predicted the attitude currently demonstrated by Algerians. Our people have given so much that they are spent; they have shed so many tears and blood that they are dehydrated. Disappointed in the post-independence leaders and traumatized by 15 years of terrorism and tens of thousands of brutal murders, they no longer know where to turn. They no longer believe in anything. And it is dangerous when a people give up. However, all nations endure and all sadness ends. It only takes a handful of people who truly love their country to rekindle hope among future generations.

Atika Ouhajjou (Morocco): Has the Arab spring morphed into the Islamist autumn?

Y. Khadra: The passage from one season to another reflects the very movement of time. We transition from summer to autumn, to winter, to spring. This movement is different in nations. We can abruptly go from sadness to happiness, from decline to progress, or can we descend into darkness. In this case, we make the decisions. The fate of humankind is based on choices. We create our own salvation and we dig our own graves. It is up to those who have staged the revolt to demonstrate that they are better than the tyrants they have overthrown.

Continuation of Your Questions for Yasmina Khadra 1/2 — Writing.

The authors of the questions posed in this article have received an autographed copy of Yasmina Khadra's most recent novel, with the kind permission of Éditions Juillard. If you are one of these authors and have not received your copy, kindly contact us at the following address: youthink-fr@worldbank.org.

Comments compiled by Liviane Urquiza.