


{"id":10584,"date":"2025-01-08T10:56:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T09:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=10584"},"modified":"2026-09-04T05:08:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T04:08:31","slug":"neo-colonial-writers-serve-as-native-informants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=10584","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Neo-Colonial Writers&#8221; Serve as &#8220;Native Informants&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Algiers<\/strong> \u2013 Researcher and writer <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-external\" data-dzsl=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:Search?search=Ahmed%20Bensaada\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Ahmed Bensaada<\/a> described some contemporary writers as &#8220;neo-colonial writers&#8221; who act as &#8220;native informants,&#8221; pandering to former colonial powers at the expense of their cultural identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking on &#8220;Canal <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-internal\" data-dzsl=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?cat=1\">Alg\u00e9rie<\/a>,&#8221; Bensaada explained that neo-colonial writers tend to align with the former colonizer, adopt its most regressive ideologies, and exploit stereotypes to demonize their societies. He referenced his book <em>&#8220;Kamel Daoud: Colonized Minds, A Counter-Investigation&#8221;<\/em> (2016), noting that such writers are often promoted by literary systems that perpetuate colonialism, even decades after independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bensaada elaborated that &#8220;neo-colonial writers are easily identifiable as they integrate seamlessly into the literature of the former colonizer, adopt its regressive ideas, and weaponize stereotypes to vilify their own societies.&#8221; He added that this alignment comes with rewards, such as recognition by prestigious media outlets, comparisons to great authors, and literary awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The writer also discussed the concept of a &#8220;native informant,&#8221; describing individuals who, due to their cultural background, are perceived as experts on issues related to their <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-internal\" data-dzsl=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?cat=41\">culture<\/a>, despite lacking genuine qualifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bensaada criticized the promotion of such figures in Western media, arguing that this perpetuates distorted views of cultural and religious realities. He also denounced some authors&#8217; efforts to ingratiate themselves with &#8220;Zionist circles,&#8221; accusing writers like Kamel Daoud and Boualem Sansal of pandering to these groups for career advancement at the cost of their identity, language, and religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Highlighting specific examples, Bensaada pointed to Kamel Daoud&#8217;s claim of being &#8220;more French than the French&#8221; after obtaining French citizenship. He also cited Boualem Sansal&#8217;s lack of solidarity with the <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-internal\" data-dzsl=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?cat=48\">Palestinian<\/a> people, a stance Bensaada criticized as &#8220;encouraging barbarism.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more cultural insights, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/\">DZWATCH.DZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Author: Nor-Eleslam<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Algiers \u2013 Researcher and writer Ahmed Bensaada described some contemporary writers as &#8220;neo-colonial writers&#8221; who act as &#8220;native informants,&#8221; pandering to former colonial powers at the expense of their cultural identity. Speaking on &#8220;Canal Alg\u00e9rie,&#8221; Bensaada explained that neo-colonial writers tend to align with the former colonizer, adopt its most regressive ideologies, and exploit stereotypes &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","iawp_total_views":15,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10584"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73114,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10584\/revisions\/73114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}