“Disappearing” in Algeria

William Vazquez

Professor Craig

World Politics 001H

Date of Submission: 12 December 2011

On November 15^th, 2011, in the Kay Spiritual Life Center Lounge, the Human Rights Defenders series presented Nassera Dutour. According to the flyer, she is the spokesperson for the Collective of the Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (CFDA), an organization she founded in 1998 after her son, Amine, was “disappeared” by government security forces during the Algerian Civil War. Nassera works to shatter the silence surrounding the fate of her son and thousands of others who vanished during the war. For her ongoing dedication to the group, she was nominated by the Fund for Global Human Rights to receive the Oscar Romero Award. The Fund for Global Human Rights finds and funds local human rights heroes who often work at great personal risk to strengthen and bring global attention to their struggles. The Oscar Romero Award is given to individuals or organizations in recognition of their unsung, heroic efforts in the area of human rights. On November 13^th, Madame Dutour received this prestigious award in the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. Two days later, she came to tell us her story. She was aided by two interpreters for those in the room who did not speak French.

On January 30^th, 1997, Amine Dutour was arrested in Algiers at the age of 21. Amush, as his mother affectionately called him, was just another student like any one of us – he wanted to live, learn, and work hard, never asking for anything in return. The authorities in Algeria thought otherwise, and as a result he was “disappeared.” For six months, Madame Dutour searched all over Algeria, going to various police stations, courts, and government agencies in order to try and find him. With every disappointment, she lost more and more hope, but also discovered even more of what was going on in Algeria. She discovered many people being held in secret military compounds, and on the road, she met many other mothers searching for their children too.

One mother she remembered specifically came with her to Washington, D.C., to speak about the issue. Her daughter had been kidnapped while getting into a car by armed security forces. This mother had gone to cemeteries in order to take pictures of the graves of those who were captured and tortured. She then filed a report that she was going to send to the United Kingdom to receive international aid in this issue. She was then taken to a secret government place of torture. Madame Dutour did not want to go into too much detail, but she did say that this woman was detained, tortured, and sexually assaulted by five different people. In the ‘90s, Dutour and this woman came to D.C. to tell their story. Sadly her friend was not able to make the whole journey. She had been suffering from cancer and refused to receive treatment, and so she passed away in 1999.

Madame Dutour stated that it is because of these women that she is able to do her work, to be strong, and to tell the authorities that they cannot continue what they are doing. She then jumped back to explain the back story in Algeria a little more. In 1998 there had been an uprising in Algeria were young students demonstrated in support of democracy. The military (which is still in power today) opened fire on the demonstrating people, and within two days of the firing, about five hundred people had been killed. In response to the demonstration, the government decided to make some changes to appease the protestors (that had survived the murderous onslaught). Yet few positive changes were made, and there remained very little room for political parties to form or for the media or NGOs to get involved. Then the Islamic party became public. During the election of 1999 it won a plurality of votes. The military did not like this turn of events though, so they soon after arrested the two leaders of the party, dissolved the party, voided the election, and deposed the president. For three years, the state was then run by generals. Meanwhile the Islamists were stuck in a rut, for while some wanted peace, others wanted to use violence to get what they wanted. They too had people “disappeared,” but not nearly as much as the central government. In the civil war that ensued, over 200,000 people were killed and 8,000 people were “disappeared.”

In discovering the complexity and the horror of the entire situation, Madame Dutour found that she could not fight “those monsters” herself. She knew her rights and was confident enough to talk to people outside of the situation, but many did not. Many mothers in Algeria were treated badly because of their illiteracy, and their cries for justice were often ignored. Madame Dutour realized that she had to do something to bring about a change, so she chose to go on and as a result ended up creating the CFDA.

The question and answer segment of her talk helped to clear up a lot of facts as well as explain more on how her organization came to be. As of now, Madame Dutour has yet to hear any news about her son. But to continue where she left off, when she first started to try and make a difference, she realized that due to so many Algerian mothers being scared of the authorities and speaking out, she could not accomplish her goals while in Algeria. On top of that, her activity was a thorn in the Algerian government’s side, and if she was not careful, something could happen to her too. She did attempt to organize the Algerian mothers, but she ultimately ended up going to France where she would be safe. There she met with Amnesty International, who told her about many groups in the UN that could help. Dutour filled out many sheets to get the process going and also organized demonstrations to speak out against the crimes being committed. With Amnesty International and several other mothers, she toured Europe, at first speaking while covered in scarves to hide their identities but ultimately building the courage to speak with no scarves on.

The Algerian government eventually invited a UN delegation to come to the country and then denied all the accusations of terrible actions. The positive result of this was that Algerian mothers finally began to demonstrate thanks to the UN arrival. This began in August of 1998 and has continued until now. Last year the Algerian government declared these demonstrations to be illegal, but people continued to do so in private. Madame Dutour also said that after a while, she did not want any protection – in fact, she wanted to get arrested so that she could search for her son and get more publicity for the issue. Instead she spent much of her time meeting other families who had dealt with the same problem. After raising enough support, some progress was finally made.

The Algerian government finally admitted to being involved in about 4,885 deaths. The state was held responsible by not culpable. Eventually a law was passed giving amnesty to the Islamic groups of the nation. This was not yet enough though. Something had to be done about the lost children. Along with several other mothers’ Madame Dutour eventually gained access to meet with the Algerian president, and together they demanded the return of their children. The president merely retorted by saying that their sons and daughters were dead and that they had to deal with that. Even so, the mothers demanded the bodies.

To this day, the Algerian state still has so much power. Some wonder why it was not a part of the Arab Spring. As Madame Dutour put it, the significant changes began in 1999, but the state’s violent response that left the streets running red with blood did a lot to deter any real change. There are still plenty of victims of the civil war dealing with the residual effects and problems. The people are still poor despite the state’s monetary power. A new movement has begun though, one where people are asking the state for housing aid, for more freedom, and for reparations in return for the many lost over the years of conflict.

Currently in Algeria there is barely any freedom of speech. At the moment the Internet is fairly free and available to everyone, although the company providing the Internet is controlled by the state. Despite the movements for more freedom though, a new proposed law is now being discussed in Algeria. This law would allow for the state to act against any situation, group, or individual that could be or did threaten the state. Madame Dutour pointed out once more that at the moment, the president of Algeria does not do anything to provide aid, and the generals who had led before are still in power. To everyone present, she asked us to please share her story. She pointed out that the U.S. has a massive international influence, and that if it were to put pressure on the Algerian government or to aid the people in need, the situation could change for the better.

This talk was incredibly saddening yet full of hope. While Madame Dutour was forced to deal with the reality of her son’s “disappearance,” her overall effort to change her situation rather than just accept it was incredibly inspiring. Through nonviolent grassroots movements, she tried to bring about significant change, and while her efforts have not been as fruitful in changing how the Algerian state conducts itself, the world can now know about what is going on and say something against crimes committed.