Photo credit : Seif Koussani
Naccache was an emblematic figure of the Perspectives Movement and, in many ways, the Tunisian Left, and indeed of the resistance movement as a whole. A communist and a political prisoner from 1968 to 1979, he wrote the iconic book
Cristalwhile in prison in 1974 on the paper packages of a brand of cigarette of the same name, with a pencil he sharpened with the lid of a sardine can. He also wrote fiction, commentary, poetry, fables, and science fiction. Naccache makes possible, through his itinerary and writings, a long view of what it means to be a militant, a survivor of repression and torture, and a writer under authoritarian rule. In fact, his generation of prisoners of conscience set standards for resistance and introduced new traditions in militant conduct inside prisons, including cultural activities and means of struggle such as hunger strikes. In his writings, he prefigures transition by reflecting on issues of memory, reconciliation and forgiv