“By attacking corrupt Frenchmen, it is France that I am defending”
The memoir illustrates the brutal treatment of the outspoken journalist in Algeria due to his crusade against the French colonial regime. Therefore it might seem as if he is anything else other than a patriot. However, his support for Algerian independence was not an attack against his fellow Frenchmen or his nation. Rather it was a stand against oppression, colonial rule, and ill-treatment of the native Algerians perpetrated by the authorities in the regime. Thus, the assertion which is the opening statement of the memoir encompasses the spirit of the account that follows.
“I had the impression of drowning, and a terrible agony, that of death itself, took possession of me. In spite of myself, all the muscles of my body struggled uselessly to save me from suffocation. In spite of myself, the fingers of both my hands shook uncontrollably.”
Essentially, the memoir charts the torture Alleg went through in the hands of French paratroopers while in Algeria. He affirms the use of torture on the general public to retrieve information defied every human right and dignity. In the assertion, Alleg describes a torture tactic that would later be known as waterboarding that became more infamous in recent times. The method has been listed as an act that goes against human rights and thus is not allowed despite the status of the captive or prisoner. Alleg being an individual who was not necessarily charged with anything during his arrest endured unfathomable physical pain.
“Do you think that your children are safe just because they’re in France? We’ll bring them here whenever we want.”
In the memoir, he accounts the extremes of human cruelty and consequently human suffering beyond physical pain. As much as the memoir accounts Alleg’s suffering it also highlights the physical and psychological torture others went through during the regime. Therefore expresses the tactics of torture that went beyond physical harm to psychological manipulation to extract information. Thus, the gray area of the methods used was borderline evil and criminal in turn showing Alleg’s resilience and loyalty.
