The Algerian leader Ahmed Ben Bella did not give me the chance to welcome him to Egypt—the land he came to on a short visit marking the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Algerian Revolution in 1954. He welcomed me in his residence as though he were an Egyptian just as much as he was Algerian. He said he wished his life would end on Egyptian soil, to be buried beside those he loved and who loved him—foremost among them his “brother” Gamal Abdel Nasser, as he liked to say.
He had just returned that same day from visiting the grave of the late Fathi El‑Dib, whom Nasser entrusted with coordinating with the leaders of the Algerian Revolution and managing its entire file until independence was achieved. El‑Dib developed a deep bond with Ben Bella, and—as he told me before his death—his home in Heliopolis witnessed many meetings of the revolution’s leaders.
The renowned broadcaster Ahmed Said told him of my wish to conduct a journalistic interview. Ben Bella immediately agreed, saying:
“The Arab is in the heart… the Arab is in the heart.”
When he appeared before me with his dignified, angelic face, his welcome was anything but conventional:
“My brother Said… Nasser is one of the lights of this region. Without Egypt, there would have been no Algerian Revolution. Without Nasser, there would have been no support for the revolution. I wish to end my life in Egypt.”
The First Visit
I sensed the purity of his emotions—this man who, as he said, was ready to climb mountains if it served his nation. Despite his 88 years—24 of them spent in prison—his heart remained youthful. I asked him:
“Mr. President… do you remember the day you first came to Egypt carrying the torch of Algeria’s revolution against French colonialism?”
He laughed:
“Yes, my brother… yes. For six months after I first set foot in Egypt, I longed to eat ful. I did not speak Arabic—I spoke French, because Arabic was forbidden by the French. They even imprisoned me for ten years because I knew Arabic!”
Ahmed Said, the first director of Sawt al‑Arab radio, was the first to receive Ben Bella in Egypt. Through him, Ben Bella was introduced to Egyptian intelligence officer Fathi El‑Dib, and thus began Egypt’s support for the Algerian Revolution.
Ahmed Said recalls in his memoirs (soon to be published) that on Sunday, 27 September 1953, a guard informed him that a man from Algeria wished to meet someone from Sawt al‑Arab. The visitor was a tall young man, his complexion slightly dark, his features sharp like the edges of mountain rock, yet radiating simplicity and warmth.
Said gave him his full attention despite being busy preparing that night’s broadcast. He asked him to return at 7 p.m.—and he did.
During their hour‑long meeting, Said learned that the young Algerian had come straight from Alexandria to Sawt al‑Arab. Over dinner and tea at the Kasinor restaurant overlooking the Nile, the young man—using the alias Miziani Massoud—began to open up. Said helped him find lodging and buy clothes, then wrote a detailed report for Fathi El‑Dib, noting:
- He was not merely a refugee fleeing colonial police.
- He was cautious, disciplined, and military in bearing.
- He distrusted political leaders who limited their struggle to peaceful activity.
- Many young Algerians had lost faith in political methods and were ready for armed struggle.
- Names he mentioned—like Boudiaf, Dabaghine, and Mehri—were unknown in Cairo at the time.
This report became the first building block in the relationship between Nasser’s Egypt and the Algerian Revolution. Sawt al‑Arab became the bridge connecting the revolutionaries of Algeria with those of Egypt.
When I told Ben Bella this, he smiled:
“Sawt al‑Arab was the herald of the Algerian Revolution. Its role in supporting us until victory was immense. It unified, mobilized, and Arabized the struggle for independence.”
He added:
“There is something I never mentioned before. I told my brother Gamal about it.
When France asked to negotiate with us, their foreign minister came. Each side presented its demands. I expected their first concern to be the 2.5 million French settlers in Algeria.
But to my astonishment, their first demand was: Sawt al‑Arab.
It was more than an army to them—it was an army that fought.
To this day, it is my favorite radio station.
My first address to the Algerian people was broadcast from Sawt al‑Arab—written in Arabic but in Latin letters, because Arabic was forbidden.”
Nasser’s Trust
“How much do you trust this young man?” Nasser asked Fathi El‑Dib after receiving his report on Ben Bella.
El‑Dib replied:
“Completely. He is a rare type in our Arab world—honest, faithful, determined, and as solid as steel.”
He explained to Nasser the strategic value of opening a front in Algeria—the heart of North Africa—which would deal a fatal blow to French colonialism.
Nasser responded:
“I agree to supporting the armed struggle in Algeria. Follow the preparations closely and report to me. I will meet Ben Bella later.”
Ben Bella never forgot that first meeting:
“There was a translator because he didn’t speak French and I didn’t speak Arabic.
But despite the translator, our hearts spoke.
Something passed between us—heart to heart.
A bond that never breaks.”
I asked him:
“Did this personal bond play a decisive role in Egypt’s embrace of the Algerian Revolution?”
He replied:
“Yes, it played a role. But our goals were the same.
My brother Gamal fought colonialism—we fought it too.
He struggled for his nation’s independence—we struggled for ours.
The July Revolution was our refuge. Without it, independence would have come—but five years later.
The unity between the Egyptian and Algerian revolutions accelerated victory.”
He continued:
“We came to Egypt because we saw something new—something that touched the Arab soul.
A force awakening after centuries.
Egypt’s revolution was fertile ground.
Gamal was the culmination of Egypt’s national struggle.
And we came with the legacy of 132 years of Algerian resistance—every decade a new uprising, every uprising preparing the next.
The French killed 7.5 million Algerians in those uprisings.
And in our final revolution, we gave one and a half million martyrs.