Like a Phoenix, the Kabylian people are resurrecting from their ashes

The Kabyle people have proven through their history, with remarkable determination and dignity, their willingness to preserve their freedom, their language and their culture in spite of countless attempts to destroy their identity. Few other nations that have been dominated by Islam, in the same way, have managed to organize themselves to preserve their multi-millennial heritage.

Depersonalizing the Kabyle people was already a goal for the French colonizers. In fact, after the revolt in Kabylia in 1871, the french colonial administration had set up a population register of the Kabylian people to prevent further rebellion and to exercise control over the people who refused to accept the loss of their Algeria and independence.

This National Register was created as an instrument to erase the identity of the Kabylian people. The mission, which was handed over to the “offices of the Arabs” in charge of administrative operations, was to replace the majority of the Kabyle family names, villages and other place names with names that were foreign to the Kabylians (e.g. Ait meaning “son” was changed to Arab “Ben”, “Thella” was changed to “Ain”, “Adrar” to “Djebel”, and so on).

This forced and false civil identity was reiterated by the racist Algerian state, which thereby strengthened their anti-Kabylian policies. The Algerian authorities in Kabylia behave like leaders of a colony. They continue to show the same contempt for our language and culture. They go so far as to deny an Amazigh or Kabylian first name chosen by parents who want to transfer their cultural heritage to their children.

This treatment of another age, carried out by an illegitimate power in Kabylia, must end in order to pave the way for an operational framework that respects our identity and our values. 153 years after the loss of Kabylia’s sovereignty in 1857, and 48 years after Algeria’s independence, it is now time for Kabylia to have its own administration to serve their people. It is up to us to work for a better future which will cause the nation of Kabylia to take part, again, in the history of humanity.

President Ferhat Mehenni, in his upcoming speech scheduled for June 14th on the occasion of the Kabyle National Day, will officially announce the birth of the Kabyle Parliament, whose representatives come from all political convictions, but whom all have signed the elected chart which is a clear recognition of the Kabylian people’s right to independence