“It’s hard to start a revolution. Even harder to continue it. And hardest of all to win it. But, it’s only afterward, when we have won, that the true difficulties begin.” Former Algerian independence fighter Saadi Yacef wrote these words for Larbi Ben M’hidi’s character in Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 film The Battle of Algiers.

Like Ben M’Hidi, Yacef had been a key leader of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in real life. And when news arrived of Yacef’s passing on September 10, it was impossible not to think about how these lines captured all that he had lived through in his ninety-three years. They summarized the historical moments, transitions, transformations, and even defeats this revolutionary had faced — but also the difficulties the Algerian people continue to fight through today.