Mohand Ameziane Sail was an Algerian anarchist who fought in World War I defending France. He was watched because he was an anti-colonialist "agitator." In 1936, he came to Catalonia to join the POUM militia and fight against Franco. Bestani Belkacem, also Algerian, was 28 when he went to the Aragon front. Mohamed Hammis was an illiterate peasant and left Algeria at 43 to join the International Brigades. Jean-Joseph Akl was a Lebanese man who also fought in the Spanish Civil War.