Loyalty, loyalty, pride and dignity.
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Such are the springs which animated and which animate the harkis and all the old auxiliaries. These are the values that unite us each year for the September 25 meeting. This national day, inscribed in the memorial calendar since 2003, allows to renew the homage of the Nation to those who bore the arms of France and fought under its flag between 1954 and 1962.
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The President of the Republic announced a major step in the process of recognizing and repairing the tragedies experienced by the harkis and their families. France looks its history in the face and embraces the demand for truth. This truth, deep down, we all know it. It is cruel, but we must constantly remind ourselves of it.
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The history of the harkis is that of an adhesion to France and of a long military tradition, in the tragedies as in the victories. During the painful Algerian War, in the diversity of motivations and forms of engagement, they chose France. In the Jebel, the Atlas, the Aures, in Kabylia, in town and in the countryside, everywhere in Algeria, the harkis have rendered eminent services. As men and women of honor, proud and worthy, they risked everything: their property, their life, that of their family.
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When almost sixty years ago, the guns fell silent on the other side of the Mediterranean, a time of heartbreak and tragedy began for the harkis and their loved ones. For many, it was a time of violence and retaliation. France abandoned her own sons who had loyally served her.
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For the harkis and their families who managed to avoid the abuses, it was heartbreak and exile. They left a beloved land, that of their ancestors, the one where they had built their lives and forged hopes. A land that sheltered their homes, their goods and their traditions. In France, many suffered from uprooting, precariousness and unacceptable marginalization in transit camps, forest hamlets or urban cities. For many, it was a temporary that lasted, a temporary that dragged on. The promise of the Republic was not respected just as the very essence of our motto was not there.
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France has failed in its word, in its duty of protection and in the dignified reception of its own fighters. Aware of the suffering and its consequences, our country has walked alongside the harkis on the path of justice and reparation. For this, the State has put in place specific measures, continues to update them and resolutely pursues the work of memory. This mandate has thus enabled many advances in the transmission, enhancement of places of memory and solidarity mechanisms.
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Last Monday, the President of the Republic renewed the recognition of the failings of France and wished to go further by inscribing it in stone in our laws. Thus, by law, the Republic will recognize, as of this year, the unworthy conditions for the reception of harkis and their families. The work of recognition and repair has taken an essential step, it will allow some of our compatriots to regain the pride of having chosen France.
The harkis are the architects of an exemplary French destiny. With this national day of tribute, we reiterate our gratitude to them for the past struggles and our deep attachment.
France, grateful, does not forget.
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