page 475 - Long Walk Original Manuscript [LWOM_475.jpg]

Marcellino and I left Morocco about the same time, he for Dar for discussions with his colleagues, while I continued my journey to West Africa.

We spent 3 fruitful days with Dr. Mustafai and some of his men and he systematically and patiently told us the history of their revolution the men who planned it, how the defeat of the French army in Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam influenced the start of their revolution, how at first their aim was a military victory over the French and therefore concentrated all their energies on armed warfare and neglected the task of mobilising international opinion on their side, the reasons for not only fighting from bases inside the country but also relying on a regular army operating from Morocco and Tunisia.

He stressed that in the course of the war they realised that a pure military victory over the French would be well nigh impossible and they then began to establish offices in London, New York and other centres to rally diplomatic support. He also stressed the importance of political unity before starting armed operations as well as that of drawing the support of people from all walks of life peasants, workers, business men, professional men and other intellectuals.

At the end of the 3 days he sent us to Oujda, right across to the border of Algeria, which was then the headquarters of the Algerian army on the Moroccan side. We visited army units at the front and actually saw French posts with the naked eye and their troops with the aid of field glasses. Our interpreter and friend at Oujda was Nordine (a cover name check real one). Before he joined the