Although some historians have neglected, either intentionally or inadvertently, to mention their heroism, the epics fought by the armed resistance fighters in Tunisia, the "Fellagha", against French colonialism are still present in the minds of many Tunisians to this day.
When the French occupation forces arrived in Tunisia, all components of Tunisian society mobilized to resist the colonizer and try to expel him from the country with all their might.
Although the forces were often unequal between the two sides, this did not deter Tunisians from continuing to fight to rid the country of the worst dark historical era it had ever experienced.
Over the course of 75 years, French colonialism committed many human atrocities in Tunisia, where it committed many massacres and slaughters, left behind a lot of destruction, exhausted the economy, and plundered wealth.
Although historical sources have documented the remnants of French colonialism and depicted the various types of resistance that Tunisians waged to gain their independence, they have at the same time failed to document the heroism of an important group that had a major contribution to resisting the occupier and defeating him in many fields, namely the Fellagha, as Tunisians like to call them.
Who is the Fellagha?
The term fallagha dates back to the 1880s, and refers to the armed men who resisted the French occupation forces in Tunisia.
After Tunisia fell prey to French ambitions in 1881, the fuse of resistance was ignited among its people and all political, union and military efforts were combined to resist the occupier.
The people of the Khamir Mountains, located in the northwest of the country, were the first to spark an armed revolution at that time against the French colonial forces, whose flames spread to most of the tribes, caves and deserts of the south of the country.
But the small number of fighters compared to the large numbers of the French army, in addition to the old rifles they had in their possession compared to the cannons and machine guns of the occupation, was a major reason for extinguishing the spark of the first Tunisian revolution, which did not find sufficient material support from the city.
When the French occupation intensified its raids and shelling on the strongholds of the Fellagha, and set up guillotines in the squares to execute their leaders and symbols in front of the crowds gathered, as a threat to anyone who intended to raise a weapon against it.
Since that time, i.e. after 1885, the military struggle in Tunisia, which had reached its peak, declined and was limited to some cities in southern Tunisia.
While a large group of Tunisians saw the need to move towards a political and peaceful solution, to get rid of colonialism and achieve independence, through activating the role of political parties, the press and unions.
At the beginning of the twenties of the last century, two decades later, blood was pumped again into the ranks of the armed resistance in Tunisia, and the Fellagha began to regroup.
They launched many attacks on French military headquarters and stripped them of weapons and ammunition.
The battles and rounds continued between them for several years, and they recorded heroic deeds that paved the way to a great extent for the country to gain its independence later on.
It seems that the Fellagha revolutionaries were able this time to gain great support and a popular incubator that provided them with shelters and supplies and smuggled to them weapons coming from neighboring countries that supported their armed revolution against French colonialism, via animals and camels.
The testimony of a former resistance fighter in the ranks of the Fellagha who is still alive today indicates that during one of the battles, despite their very small numbers at the time, they were able to kill 130 French soldiers, and they succeeded in shooting down a plane carrying 4 generals.
Some historical sources and living testimonies revealed that the French military forces suffered many painful defeats in various regions of the country, using a small number of bullets that were in the possession of the Fellagha fighters.
Historical symbols and leaders
Tunisian folklore still sings the names of many of the symbols and leaders of the Fellagha who wrote historical epics that cannot be erased from the memory of Tunisians.
Although history has been somewhat unfair to them, by not giving them their due documentation and praise, as activists and historians see it, perhaps among the most important of these names are:
Mohamed Daghbaji
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| Mohamed Daghbaji |
He is originally from the city of Hamma in southern Tunisia. He accepted enlistment in the French camp at the beginning of his life due to need.
However, he soon fled the camp and joined the ranks of the armed resistance, the Fellagha, and ignited many battles in the south of the country, which made the colonizers chase him everywhere and demand his head, until he was executed in 1920 in the public square.
Mosbah Jarbou
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| Mosbah Jarbou |
The name of the guerrilla or the resistance fighter, Mosbah Jarbou, who was born in southeastern Tunisia, was mentioned as one of the fiercest leaders of the fighters, according to the living testimonies of those who lived during his time.
His union affiliation with the Tunisian General Labor Union and his political affiliation with the New Constitutional Party gave him a lot of wisdom and experience that enabled him to lead many successful battles against the occupation forces, until he died in 1958 by the machine guns of French aircraft.
Lazhar Chraïti
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| Lazhar Chraïti |
Many Tunisians call him the Lion of the city of Gafsa, located in the southwest of the country.
In his life, Chraïti was affected by the suffering and pain of the phosphate mine workers in his city, and the injustice and racism to which they were constantly exposed.
He decided to join the resistance to regain their rights from the French colonizer, and succeeded in forming the first armed cell in Tunisia, which became famous.
His star shone at that time as a revolutionary and an Arab hero, and his resistance extended to participating in the Palestine War, and at that time Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser presented him with a medal of honor.
The list goes on, with many of the resistance fighters in the ranks of the Fellagha, whose stories and heroism are still being told by Tunisians to this day.