human
Long years ago, and only shortly after the death of the Prophet, the Chaambra resided, so tell the scribes, in the hills of far away Syria. But when the word of Islam was heard and the true believers began to race their strength throughout all the world, the Chaambra came here to the deserts of Africa and here we have remained. Long centuries it took us to gain control of the wide areas of the northern and western desert and many were the battles we fought with our traditional enemies the Tuareg and the Moors before we controlled all the land between the Atlas and the Niger and from what is now known as Tunisia to Mauritania.
gpt
The Chaambra were ever men. Warriors, bedouin; not for us the cities and villages of the Zenatas, and the miserable Haratin serfs. We Chaambra have ever been men of the tent, warriors, conquerors!
human
That was before,
gpt
That will always be! Abd-el-Kader insisted. His four fingers were spread and he touched the first one.
human
Our life was based upon, one, war and the spoils of war. He touched the second finger.
gpt
Two, the toll we extracted from the caravans that passed from Timbuktu to the north and back again. Three, from our own caravans which covered the desert trails from Tripoli to Dakar and from Marrakech to Kano. And fourth --he touched his last finger--
human
All this is verily true,
gpt
Then came the French with their weapons and their multitudes of soldiers and their great wealth with which to pursue the expenses of war. And one by one the Tuareg and the Teda to the south and the Moors and Nemadi, yes, and even the Chaambra fell before the onslaughts of the Camel Corps and their wild-dog Foreign Legion. He held up his four fingers again and counted them off.
human
The four legs upon which our life was based were broken. War and its spoils was prevented us. The tolls we charged caravans to cross our land were forbidden. And then, shortly after, came the motor trucks which crossed the desert in a week, where formerly the journey took as much as a year. Our camel caravans became meaningless.
gpt
Verily, the world changes,
human
We were left with naught but our flocks, and now even they are fated to end.
gpt
At every water hole in the desert teams of the new irrigation development dig their wells, install their pumps which bring power from the sun, plant trees, bring in Haratin and former slaves--_our_ slaves--to cultivate the new oases. And we are forbidden the water for the use of our goats and sheep and camels.
human
Besides, one of the clan chiefs injected,
gpt
So our young people, Abd-el-Kader pressed on,
human
And--?
gpt
And now, he said,
human
The Chaambra are warriors born. Never serfs! Never slaves! Never have we worked for any man. Our ancestors carved great empires by the sword. His voice lowered again.
gpt
And now, once more, it is possible to carve such an empire.
human
Chiefs of the Chaambra, there is no force in all the Sahara to restrain us. Let others work on the roads, planting the new trees in the new oases, damming the great Niger, and all the rest of it. We will sweep over them, and dominate all. We, the Chaambra, will rule, while those whom Allah intended to drudge, do so. We, the Chosen of Allah, will fulfill our destiny!
gpt
And what do you say to all this?
human
Time to go into your act, man,