wretched-of-the-earth-frantz-fanon

86 THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTHGRANDEUR AND WEAKNESS OF SPONTANEITY87enemy thinks he is in pursuit but we always manage to come upbehind him, attacking him at the very moment when he leastexpects it. Now it is we who are in pursuit. Despite all his technologyand firepower the enemy gives the impression he is flounderingand losing ground. We never stop singing.the meantime, however, the leaders of the insurrectionrealize that their units need enlightening, instruction, and indoctrination;an army needs to be created, a central authorityestablished. The picture ofthe nation in arms, divided intoter groups, calls for rethinking and a new vision. The leaders whohad fled the futile atmosphere of urban politics rediscover politics,no longer as a sleep-inducing technique or a means of mystification,but as the sole means of fueling the struggle and preparingthe people for clear-sighted national leadership. The leadersof the insurrection realize that any peasant revolt, even on a grandscale, needs control and guidance. They, therefore, must transformthe movement from a peasant revolt into a revolutionarywar. They discover that in order to succeed the struggle must bebased on a clear set of objectives, a well-defined methodologyand above all, the recognition by the masses of an urgent timetable.One can hold out for three days, three months at the most,using the masses' pent-up resentment, but one does not win anational war, one does not rout the formidable machine of theenemy or transform the individual if one neglects to raise theconsciousness of the men in combat. Neither the heroic fight tothe finish nor the beauty of the battle cry is enough.expansion of the liberation war can anyway be relied onto deal a crucial blow to the leaders' convictions. The enemy nowmodifies its tactics. To its brutal policy of repression it adds ajudicious and spectacular combination of detente, divisive maneuversand psychological warfare. Here and there it successfullyendeavors to revive tribal conflicts, using agents provocateursengaged in what is known as countersubversion. Colonialismuses two types of indigenous collaborators to achieve its ends.First of all, there are the usual suspects: chiefs, kaids, and witchdoctors. As we have seen, the peasant masses, steeped in a neverchangingroutine, continue to revere their religious leaders,descendants of illustrious families. The tribe, with one voice,embarks on the path designated by the traditional chief. Colonialismsecures the services ofthese loyal servants by paying thema small fortune.Colonialism also finds ample material in the lumpenproletariatfor its machinations. In fact, any national liberation movementshould give this lumpenproletariat maximum attention. Italways respond to the call to revolt, but ifthe insurrection thinksit can afford to ignore it, then this famished underclass will pitchitself into the armed struggle and take part in the conflict, thistime on the side of the oppressor. The oppressor, who neveran opportunity to let the blacks tear at each other'sis only too willing to exploit those characteristic flaws of thelumpenproletariat, namely its lack of political consciousness andignorance. If this readily available human reserve is not immediorganizedby the insurrection, it will join the colonialist troopsas mercenaries. In Algeria it was the Harkis and the Messalists whowere drawn from the lumpenproletariat; in Angola, it suppliedthe road gangs who opened the way for the Portuguese troops;the Congo, it can be found in the regionalist demonstrationsthe provinces of Kasai and Katanga, while in Leopoldville itwas used by the enemies of the Congo to organize "spontaneous"meetings against Lumumba.The enemy who analyzes the forces of the insurrection, whodelves deeper and into the study of that global adversary,the colonized subject, identifies the ideological weakness andspiritual instability of certain segments of the population.enemy discovers, alongside a well-organized and disciplinedinsurrectionary front line, a human mass whose commitment isconstantly threatened by the addictive cycle of physiologicalpoverty, humiliation, and irresponsibility. The enemy will usethis mass even if it costs a fortune. He will create spontaneity