When someone came to ask us for help, it was sacred. We did not even think twice. We helped them, even if we had only meagre means; we offered them arms, a little bit of money, and in occasion, men.

When Abdel Nasser brought Ben Bella to speak for the first time to an Egyptian audience he broke into tears because he could not speak standard Arabic. Ahmed Ben Bella (Arabic: أحمد بن بلّة‎‎; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian soldier and revolutionary who was the first President of Algeria from 1963 to 1965. His arrest led to the resignation of Alain Savary opposed to Guy Mollet's policies.