The Effects of a Nuclear Test: Algeria and French Colonialism
On Monday, March 2nd, 2015, Johnny Magdaleno of Al Jazeera wrote an article entitled Algerians Still Suffer From French Atomic Legacy. In the article, they discuss the historical nuclear testing carried out by the French government in Algeria in the 1960s. The French government went to the desert to test a nuclear bomb. However, this had profound effects on nomadic communities in Algeria. As Magdaleno points out,
“these Algerians were not properly warned of their danger after France’s misgoverned nuclear bomb-testing campaign of the early 1960s, which vitrified vast tracts of desert with heat and plutonium and left a legacy of uncontained radiation that is still crippling inhabitants. Estimates of the number of Algerians affected by testing range from 27,000 — cited by the French Ministry of Defense — to 60,000, the figure given by Abdul Kadhim al-Aboudi, an Algerian professor of nuclear physics.”
But despite the effects that this had on thousands, Magdaleno goes on to explain that “Yet there has been little accountability for France’s disregard. A compensation scheme for victims of France’s nuclear tests exists, but it has made payouts to only 17 people. The majority of those were residents of French Polynesia, where France relocated its nuclear testing campaign after leaving Algeria and experimented with more than 190 nuclear bombs from 1966 to 1996.”
While this seems to be a point that the two states will continue to talk about, the article brings to light another issue that nuclear weapons have on societies. Colonial actors such as France in the early and mid 1900s carried out horrendous human rights abuses (as did some anti-colonial organizations such as the National Liberation Front (FLN)). It is quite disturbing to hear that people were not made aware of the effects of the nuclear testing.
It is imperative that France not only fully recognize the gravity of the situation, but to do so by offering the necessary support, as well as some form of monetary (or other) compensation for victims. However, the French government should have to provide sufficient compensation, and not merely smaller amounts of financial support through plans they introduce (which many are not happy with) (Magdaleno, 2015). In addition, the hearings must happen immediately, something that is not currently occurring (Magdaleno, 2015).
I highly recommend reading the article, as it sheds great insight with regards to French colonialism in Algeria, as well as the effects of nuclear tests.
