"El Menfi": Meriem Guemache sheds light on the plight of Algerian exiles in New Caledonia

Launched at the 2026 Algiers International Book Fair, "El Menfi," the latest novel by journalist and author Meriem Guemache, recounts the tragic history of Algerians deported to New Caledonia during the 19th century. Following the 1871 uprisings, thousands of Algerians, including leaders like Boumezrag and El Mokrani, were sent to the remote Pacific island. The novel centers on the fictional character Slimane, a young man from Bordj Bou Arreridj who was sentenced to hard labor for opposing the seizure of his family's lands. Guemache documents the brutal sea voyage, the squalor of the "île Nou" penal colony, and the systematic loss of identity faced by the convicts. Drawing on two years of historical research, the author seeks to preserve the memory of these forgotten exiles and highlights a painful chapter of French colonial history that remains largely untold.