Friends without benefits: Mustapha Benfodil's new generation of harkis in Algeria

In 2005, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika amended his controversial comparison of harkis to collabos dating from 2000, stating that the children of harkis are not responsible for their parents' crimes. In his short story "Paris-Alger, classe enter" the Algerian writer, journalist, and most recently artist Mustapha Benfodil recounts the return of Sabrina, the daughter of a harki, to Algeria and her quest to bury her father's remains in his native village. The text raises a number of issues related to Bouteflika's statement concerning the harki community and Algeria's uncomfortable relationship with the events of the War of Independence and its former colonizer. Set within a Kabyle community, this short story mixes French with Arabic and Tamazight, references Kateb Yacine and his son Amazigh Kateb, and recalls the violent events of the Printemps Noir.