The smoking room
The first day of Ramadan in high school went well. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was electrified on the second day. It was characterized by large black clouds that herald a storm of which no one knows the extent. The reason was an innocent administrative procedure and a far from innocent reaction to this procedure, which in turn leads to a violent reaction. The friction intensified, and the explosion almost took place.
Perhaps the circumstances of the formation of Abdul Rahman Sardi and Hakim Boualem, who make them diametrically opposed despite their many similarities. Their age is close, the two are both violent and obstinate, but one of them is calm, silent and work behind the curtain and the other is nervous. Sardi was formed in the Algerian school, Boualem graduated from the French school. Both are taken by an extremist group, the first by a fanatic religious group and the other by a racist group. The first sees that the abandonment of religion by people is the cause of decay and the second believes that adherence to religion is the cause of backwardness.
Sardi believes that half of society should be sacrificed for reform if necessary and is ready to help rid society of this corrupt half. He said, "Most of the teachers in the new high school should be included in the liquidation lists when push comes to shove and the process of sanitation in the community begins. They are communists, baathists, westernized people or perverse artists". Boalem believes that the people are still underdeveloped and should be led by enlightened elite. He and his fellows form this elite. The teachers of the school, according to him, are mostly Arabists and Islamists, obscurantists live in the Middle Ages. They must be prohibited from throwing the country into the abyss.
Each of them was ready to attack when the opportunity arose and there was Ramadan. The principal, each year as usual, assigned a separate room in the administrative wing to foreign teachers to smoke and quench their thirst while preserving their dignity. I saw the assistant principal the first day talking to Sardi and Makadri and I smelled the odour of their suspicious meeting.
I arrived late the second day. The students were standing in the schoolyard and I saw a group of Algerian teachers, including Makadri and Sardi, heading towards the principal, who stands as usual, watching the entrance to the classes. I saw them from afar, as I went up to the class waving their hands and the expression on their faces and the movements of their bodies as if they were angry and protesting against something. I also saw the principal nod, then take the protesters out and talk to them. They left him, threatening with their hands. I learned later that they asked him to close the smoking room. They claimed that there were no foreigners in the school. Concerning Jacques and Martha, they both carry Algerian nationality. The principal tried to convince them that fasting is a cult for Muslims and those non-Muslims cannot be forced to do so. He couldn’t convinced them and they threatened to go on a general strike in high school. I also knew that he was looking for Laroussi to calm things down and that he couldn't find him.
During recess, the meeting renewed in the teachers' room. Everyone spoke and expressed their protest. I saw from a distance what was going on, when I saw Sardi whispered something in Makadri's ear and a bright light of anger suddenly flashed in his eyes. I anticipated the explosion of thunder because a lightning normally presages thunder.
I was right, Makadri suddenly exploded in a vague and intermittent voice, then calmed down and his voice became clear, "No, no, and again no. We never accept the violation of the holiness of Ramadan in an institute where the word of God is supposed to be the supreme and the word of those who disbelieve below. If the principal refuses to hear us, we will stop working. We would close this room ourselves, because it is a refuge for demons. His hands were glued to the chair, his turban and belly moving forward, back, left and right, following the movement of the head and body even though his feet were fixed. As for Sardi, with his thick beard and cunning eyes, his face was devoid of expression.
Before the procession was moved, the explosion took place somewhere in the room where the French speakers were seated. "Do you want to create our own inquisition courts? are we in the Middle Ages? Who appointed you to infringe on the freedom of human beings?", said Hakim, who was calm, surprising the demonstrators with his violent uprising.
There was a terrible silence in the room. Men and women stopped talking side by side and turned to Hakim. Makadri, Sardi, and their group were amazed by his sudden intervention. His white face became dark brown and his worried eyes became two burning flames. The white foam flew from his mouth. His moustache and his pointed triangular chin shivered. He jumped back and forth with his tiny body, as if he had a spring in his feet. "I don’t observe the fast of Ramadan. I am going to smoke with my colleagues. Who among you was a man trying to prevent me?
He looked at Makadri and Sardi saying the last sentence as if he were calling them to duel. Ammar got up from his chair and stood next to him. Sardi approached and his face suggested an obvious challenge to block their path. The two teams were like a powder bar waiting for the explosion. Akli entered with Laroussi, who removed Makadri and Sardi and spoke to them, while Akli took Hakim's hand and left with him. Laroussi managed to calm Makadri and Sardi. He convinced them with his wisdom that what they are doing does not serve Islam.
The bell rang and the teachers went to their classes. Makadri was convinced of what Laroussi had said, as for Sardi; he took his satchel, shook his head menacingly and left. Things were over and no one was talking about the smoking room anymore.
Abdellah Khammar
An extract taken from the novel: Entry bell to class