Sail Mohamed Ameriane ben Amerzaine (October 14, 1894 – April 1953) was an Algerian and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

who fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. The French writer

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist movemen ...

dedicated a poem to him.

Life

Early life

In 1894, Sail Mohamed was born in the Berber region of

Kabylie Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the ...

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. He received little education during his youth and became a driver-mechanic, until he served in the

French Colonial Forces The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...

. He was arrested for insubordination and desertion during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. He then moved to France, where he was an activist in the recently rebuilt

Union Anarchiste Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

(UA) and the

Confédération Générale du Travail-Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire The Confédération Générale du Travail-Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire (General Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions) was a trade union federation in France founded in 1926 by Pierre Besnard with the help of the Spanish CNT. It was affil ...

(CGT-SR) and with his friend

Sliman Kiouane Slimane or Sliman is an alternative of Suleiman (in Arabic name ) being the Arabic version of the name Solomon. The name means "man of peace". It is also a common given name and surname. It may refer to Given name ;Sliman *Sliman Mansour (born 194 ...

was founder (in 1923) of the

Committee for the Defence of Indigenous Algerians A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them mor ...

, one of the first

national liberation movements National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. ...

. Through these organizations, he denounced "the poverty of the colonialized people and colonial exploitation" and the ongoing instability in North Africa. In 1929, Sail Mohamed became the secretary of the Defence Committee of Algerians against the Centenary Provocation, an anarchist movement formed in protest to the upcoming French centenary of the conquest of Algeria (5 July 1830).

Social Awakening

In 1932, Sail became director of ''L'Eveil Social'' (Social Awakening) where he published anti-militarist articles and was subsequently prosecuted by the French authorities for "provocation of the military to disobedience". Sail Mohamed was also a passionate

anti-Stalinist The anti-Stalinist left is an umbrella term for various kinds of left-wing political movements that opposed Joseph Stalin, Stalinism and the actual system of governance Stalin implemented as leader of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953. T ...

, and, following his arrest in 1932, he rejected support from Red Aid, a

front organisation A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocac ...

of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

. In 1934, the "Sail Mohamed Affair" occurred. Sail Mohamed was arrested and jailed for 4 months following an incident where he was found collecting and hiding arms for workers' movements that had risen up as a result of a fascist and anti-Semitic demonstration that occurred on 6 February 1934 in France. Sail's organization, Social Awakening, merged with the anarchist Terre Libre group soon after his release.

Later life and death

In 1936, he served in the

Sébastien Faure Century The Durruti Column (Spanish: ''Columna Durruti''), with about 6,000 people, was the largest anarchist column (or military unit) formed during the Spanish Civil War. During the first months of the war, it became the most recognized and popular mil ...

, the French-speaking section of the

Durruti Column The Durruti Column (Spanish: ''Columna Durruti''), with about 6,000 people, was the largest anarchist column (or military unit) formed during the Spanish Civil War. During the first months of the war, it became the most recognized and popular mil ...

, an

anti-Francoist militia in Spain. In October 1936, he became the general delegate for foreign groups, replacing Bethomieu who died in

Perdiguera Perdiguera is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2009 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Naci ...

. He was wounded in November and returned to France in December, after sending many letters describing the anarchist movement in Spain. As soon as he recovered, he took part in the conferences organised by the

on the Spanish revolution. Additionally, he soon after participated in protests against the banning of the Etoile Nord Africaine edited by Messali Hadj in Tunisia. Sail Mohamed was arrested and jailed for "provocation of the military". At the beginning of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Sail Mohamed was interned at a concentration camp in

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the ...

. Sail would later escape by forging false papers and would spend the war underground, attempting to revive anarchist movements in occupied France. Sail Mohamed revived the

Aulnay-sous-bois Aulnay-sous-Bois () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aulnaysiens'' ...

group and attempted to reform the Committee of Algerian Anarchists. Sail died in April 1953, with

George Fontenis George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

delivering address in Sail's honor.

References

External links