Antifascist volunteers from the Arab world

Reactions in the Arab world to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War were swift. The main leftist organizations, sometimes with the support of certain nationalist groups, launched solidarity campaigns with the Republic. In most cases, this involved organizing public events, from demonstrations to rallies, and collecting food, medicine, and clothing. But there were also several hundred volunteers who traveled to Spain to fight against fascism. Their backgrounds were diverse. They included French, Spanish, and Italian volunteers, but also Arabs, Kabyles, Maghrebi Jews, Chaldeans, Armenians, and Greeks.

Algeria was the region from which a large number of volunteers came. There were various reasons for this. On the one hand, there was its proximity to the Iberian Peninsula and its close historical ties. The Oran region was home to a significant historical settlement of people from Almería, Murcia, and Valencia, so the Civil War quickly mobilized sympathizers from both sides. It is not surprising that the port of the city of Oran became a hub of intense activity. On the other hand, a large number of Algerian workers had settled in mainland France - in cities like Paris, Lyon, and Marseille – decades earlier, some of whom had become active members of the main leftist organizations.

Rabah Oussidhoum, the subject of this photograph, is a good example of this. An Amazigh from the Kabylia region of Algeria, he joined the French Communist Party (PCF) after emigrating to Paris, where he worked in various factories, most notably the Renault plant in Billancourt. In Spain, he went on to command the Paris Commune battalion—the highest-ranking position held by an Algerian—until his death in combat at Caspe in March 1938.

Although fewer in number, volunteers from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq have also been documented. Most of them joined the International Brigades, although a few volunteered with the anarchist or POUM militias, especially at the beginning of the war. The best-known anarchist was undoubtedly Mohand Ameziane Sail, a Kabyle Algerian like Oussidhoum, who had also settled in Paris, where he became a member of the Anarchist Union (UA). In Spain, he served in the Durruti Column.

Within the International Brigades, the Maghrebi, Lebanese, and Syrian volunteers were generally assigned to the XIV or XIII Brigades, which were predominantly French speaking, while the Iraqis, Egyptians, and Palestinians tended to join the XV Brigade, where the English speakers were grouped.

AR/MA