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Colonial Resistance
Mohamed Belkheir
Colonial resistance
Poets & ArtistsLate 19th centuryOran / West
He was deported by the French to New Caledonia for years before being allowed to return.
Historical significance
He gave the Bouamama and Ouled Sidi Cheikh revolts their most enduring poetic memory.
Their story
Poet of the western Algerian high plains, Mohamed Belkheir put the pain and pride of his people into verse. He rode with the resistance, then continued the fight in language, leaving behind powerful melhoun poems about exile, defeat and dignity.
Did you know?
He was deported by the French to New Caledonia for years before being allowed to return.