wretched-of-the-earth-frantz-fanon

220 THE WRETCHED OF' THE EARTHCOLONIAL WAR AND MENTAL DISORDERS221g;,~.i~.(,.people is thus reduced to a collection of individuals who owetheir very existence to the presence of the colonizer.The combat waged by a people for their liberation leads them,. depending on the circumstances, either to reject or to explodethe so-called truths sown in their consciousness by the colonialregime, military occupation, and economic exploitation. Andonly the armed struggle can effectively exorcize these lies aboutman that subordinate and literally mutilate the more consciousmindedamong us.How many times in Paris or Aix, in Algiers or Basse-Terrc havewe seen the colonized vehemently protest the so-called indolenceof the black, the Algerian, and the Vietnamese. And yet in acolonial regime if a fellah were a zealous worker or a black wereto refuse a break from work, they would be quite simply consideredpathological cases. The colonized's indolence is a consciollsway of sabotaging the colonial machine; on the biological levelit is a remarkable system of self-preservation and, if nothing else,a positive curb on the occupier's stranglehold over the entirecountry.The resistance of the forests and swamps to foreign penetrationis the natural ally of the colonized. Put yourself in his shoesand stop reasoning and claiming that the "nigger" is a hard workerand the "towelhead" great at clearing land. In a colonial regimethe reality of the "towelhead," the reality of the "nigger," is notto lift a finger, not to help the oppressor sink his elaws into hisprey. The duty of the colonized subject, who has not yet arrivedat a political consciousness or a decision to reject the oppressor,is to have the slightest effort literally dragged out of him. This iswhere non-cooperation or at least minimal cooperation clearlymaterializes.These observations regarding the colonized's disposition towork could also be applied to the colonized's attitude toward thecolonizer's laws, his taxes, and the colonial system. Under a colonialregime, gratitude, sincerity, and honor are hollow words.Over recent years I have had the opportunity to verify the fundamentalfact that honor, dignity and integrity are only truly evidentin the context of national and international unity. As soonas you and your fellow men are cut down like dogs there is noother solution but to use every means available to reestablish yourweight as a human being. You must therefore weigh as heavilyas possible on your torturer's body so that his wits, which havewandered off somewhere, can at last be restored to their humandimension. During the course of recent years I have had theopportunity to witness the extraordinary examples of honor, seIfsacrifice,love ofIife, and disregard for death in an Algeria at war.No, I am not going to sing the praises of the freedom fighters. Acommon observation the most hard-lined colonialists have notfailed to note is that the Algerian fighter has an unusual way offighting and dying, and no reference to Islam or Paradise canexplain this spirit of self-sacrifice when it comes to protectinghis people or shielding his comrades. Then there is this deathlysilence - the body of course cries out- the silence that suffocatesthe torturer. Here we find the old law stating that anything alivecannot afford to remain still while the nation is set in motion,while man both demands and claims his infinite humanity.One of the characteristics of the Algerian people establishedby colonialism is their appalling criminality. Prior to 1954 magistrates,police, lawyers, journalists, and medical examiners wereunanimous that the Algerian's criminality posed a problem. TheAlgerian, it was claimed, was a born criminal. A theory was elaboratedand scientific proof was furnished. This theory was taughtat universities for more than twenty years. Algerian medical studentsreceived this education, and slowly and imperceptibly theelite, after having consented to colonialism, consented tonatural defects ofthe Algerian people: born idlers, born liars, bornthieves, and born criminals.We propose here to expound this official theory, to recal] itsbasis and scientific reasoning. In a second stage we shall reviewthe facts and endeavor to reinterpret them.