Dear friend of Arkadia, You are heartily welcome to “The Drama of the Harkis: the Forgotten People of French History” a presentation by Dalila Akkal, a French neuroscientist of Algerian (Berber) descent, on Saturday 8.5 at 4pm. The short film ‘les Amendiers de L’Histoire’ (2004) by Jaco Bidermann et Valentin Lagard will be screened on that occasion. The film is in French and Arabic, and subtitled in English. Warm regards, Ian www.arkadiabookshop.fi – Entrance is free and green tea will be served. A donation of €2 (or more!) is suggested and would be VERY welcome. – If you wish to become of a fan of the bookshop you can become one by heading to the link below and clicking in the right places. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Helsinki-Finland/Arkadia-International-Bookshop-Ian-Bourgeot/114962855198875?ref=mf “The Drama of the Harkis: the Forgotten People of French History” By Dalila Akkal. In 1962, Algeria became independent after a long colonization by the French. During the war, some Algerians ended up in the French army, they were named Harkis. As France withdrew, President Charles De Gaulle gave the order to his soldiers to disarm and abandon the Harkis, despite their loyalty to the French army, and despite the death risk they faced from the FLN (Algerian Front of National Liberation). One hundred thousand Harkis would be tortured and executed in Algerian prisons. The Harkis who survived this horrific massacre manage to reach the south of France. However, there, another ordeals awaited them in the camps. Dalila Akkal was born in France and is of Algerian (berber) descent. Her father is a Harki. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience from the University of Bordeaux, France. She spent 10 years doing research in the United States (Pittsburgh,PA).Dalila Akkal is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the Aalto University, Helsinki and is doing research on art and the brain. Dr. Akkal other areas of interest are poetry and photography. She is a member of the National Society of Arts and Letters (NSAL), which promotes young artists.