For over sixty years, Algeria has lived by the rhythm of an imposed memory: that of the 'chouhadas', the supposed martyrs of the independence war. Their official number—one and a half million—is wielded as a symbol of identity, a moral rampart, and above all, a political weapon. But behind this devotion lies a foundational lie, elevated to national myth.
Historians, including Algerians, struggle to confirm this figure. Actual estimates range around 250,000 to 300,000 deaths, including military and civilian casualties. The official number, heralded since 1962, has never been verified or documented. It did not emerge from a demographic study, but from a political necessity: to provide the new power with a legitimacy forged in blood.
The post-independence Algerian state, dominated by the FLN, has made the chouhadas the foundation of its narrative. This mythology serves to maintain internal cohesion in a country divided by military clans and economic failures. In each crisis, the power resurrects the heroes of the war, erects new mausoleums, and reminds Algerians of their 'eternal debt.'
However, behind this glorification lies a profound hypocrisy. Many true moudjahidines have been marginalized, imprisoned, or silenced since independence. The elite from the maquis was swept away by the border army, returning from Tunisia and Morocco, which confiscated the victory. The military power then took possession of memory as it had taken possession of the country.
This myth is not only a historical falsification; it is an ideological weapon. It justifies the regime's authoritarianism, imposes a fear of the colonial past, and diverts attention from present failures. The cult of the chouhadas becomes a shield against any criticism, a state religion where doubt equals treason.
Today, part of the Algerian youth dares to question this fixed narrative. Social media, open archives in France, and the work of independent historians are gradually cracking the facade. What was once a dogma is becoming a debate: how long can a country live enclosed in an instrumentalized memory?
Algeria deserves to know its real history, free from the weight of slogans. Because as long as it remains a prisoner of the myth of the chouhadas, it will continue to be governed not by truth, but by fear.
