Algeria's war orphans, the tens of thousands of the most pitiful victims of history's most savage colonial war have been abandoned by the outside world and are even being disregarded by certain officials in Algerie itself.
These are the facts that came out in a press conference held by Mlle. Djamila Bouhired, Mme. Zohra Bitat and Abderrahmane Naceur March 1 in Algiers as reported in the March 2 edition of Al Chaab. These three young people head Algeria's national organization for war orphans "El Djil Bl Djadia." =
"We are at our wit's end.”
"We don't have financial or material means."
“We suffer at times from failure of the public powers to understand." , . These three statements, said Al Chaab, constituted the theme of the press conference.
"We called this meeting with the press," Mile. Bouhired declared, “in order to make clear the numerous problems and the very limited means faced by our organizetion, which is very isolated. There is one thing on which everything focuses -- 1t's the publicity in the press. In brief, they talk about collections among the brother Arab countries amounting to seven billion francs (14,000,000). This is false. Nothing has come to us up to now except promises. We were promised aid about as follows: 200 million francs ($400,000) from Egypt, 300 million ($600,000) from Traq, 65 million ($130,000) from Syria, and 600 million ($1,200,000) from Kuwait. But this never went further than the stage of promises.
As for richer and more powerful countries, these were not even mentioned in the conference. If help from Arab countries ends cnly
Bene in promises, what can be expected fre imperialist powérs? Or from "socialist" countries whose corern for "peacefyl coexistence" with a country like France scarcely }:rmits them to Axtend a helping hand toward a country like Algez1? f
"We have at present in El Djil 1 Djadid," the three officers of the organization reported, "2,059children, divided among 15 centers. The cost for each one of ‘iem is around 800 francs ($1.60) a day. During the days of >lonial rule, social centers had 1,700 francs ($3.40) to expend or each child, a difference of 20 per cent, and to this must be adad our lack of material means. On this subject we would like to inicate that there are things which we could turn to use in our lunes for young people that are _ mildewing on the docks in Algiers c) other places. We find it difficult to explain,we aren't pezr1tted to take what we need there." . why oe
The most anguishing problems -1e not in the capital or other big centers but among the youth ir the interior. "It is there that the families hit hardest by the wa’ oxist and it is there that the greatest number of orphans or mala justed children are found and it is in getting at the suurce of Ihe ills that the means for curing them can be found. But without men. nothing can be done. It is & question of life or death." .
In reply to what thg¢ press mistt do about the situation, cne of them said: "Our aim/in meeting {th you today was to raise 4 ery of alarm. We don't Imow how we will be eble to get along if the pubiic powers don't come to ow sid. We propose to organize a national and international campaitn. We count on the entire press to defend our cause and to let people know that our organization is an organization for chiléien and that children have rights w@ must respond to. We invite you {fo visit our centers the better to judge the truth about our activities. . The Minister of Youth and | of Sports refused to grant us certain means without any valid ‘reason. We repeat then, we count ca the press to take an active part in the defense of these child:‘on who form part of the framework of the regonstruction of the sountry and the building of socialism." /
-For those who feel someting should be done to help