Freeman G. Henmry
March 18, 2018
Dear Betsy and family,
The news of Hamou’s passing has left me stunned. I was so hoping to see him, and you, again after so many years. We were in Boulder together for no more than a fleeting year, but my recollection of and fondness for you both have often come to mind. In Hamou I found a quiet, gentle man wise beyond his years. At the time, I knew little of his participation in Algeria’s struggle for independence, only that he had been a “freedom fighter.” His book, which I have read and have recommended to friends and colleagues alike, has completed the picture. I was not surprised to encounter therein the humor that in a real sense frames the darkness and violence of the times; for he was a man of vision who was able to see beyond the moment, however bleak, and elevate his humanely infused sense of self above the fray. Nor was I surprised to encounter the kind and loving words with which he portrayed the Catholic girl from Massachusetts who would share his life and who would carry her own torch to Algeria in order to light the very pathway that he himself had chosen for his country. I am today a better, richer person for having known you both. And for that I thank you.
My wife Jane and I send you our love.
Freeman and Jane Henry
Tuesday March 20, 2018 at 2:59 pm