Military convoys from France passing through the Algerian town of Reggane in the Sahara are still vivid in the memory of Touhami Abdelkrim, now 87 years old. In the 1950s, he was young, poor, and hungry, and the arrival of French soldiers with advanced equipment seemed like a chance for opportunity. Between 1960 and 1966, France carried out 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara—four in the open air near Reggane and 13 underground at In Ekker, located in the Hoggar mountain range to the south. This program continued for five years after Algeria gained independence in 1962, as stipulated by the Évian agreements, signed on March 18, 1962. These agreements officially ended the Algerian War of Independence, but an annex allowed France to continue its nuclear testing program for an additional five years. Of the 17 tests conducted in Algeria during this period, 11 happened after the country became independent. At these test sites, many tasks were given to the local population. Algerian workers like Touhami Abdelkrim were involved in handling equipment, often without proper protection or even basic information about the dangers of radiation. French military personnel oversaw these operations, but the local workers bore the brunt of the risks. Many of these individuals, now elderly, have spent their lives dealing with the health and environmental consequences of these tests, which were conducted without their full understanding or consent. Raseef22 is an online news platform founded in Lebanon in 2013 as part of a wave of new media outlets that emerged after the Arab Spring uprisings. The name "Raseef" means "sidewalk" in Arabic, symbolizing the platform's role as a space for public discourse. Bilingual and politically independent, Raseef22 covers social, political, and cultural developments across the Arab world, though most of its content focuses on the Middle East. While the platform aims to report on all 22 Arab League member countries—home to over 360 million people—its coverage remains heavily concentrated in the region. The legacy of France’s nuclear tests in Algeria continues to be a sensitive and often overlooked issue. For many Algerians, the tests represent a painful chapter of colonial history, marked by environmental degradation and health risks. Today, the French government has acknowledged the harm caused and has offered compensation, but for many like Touhami Abdelkrim, the damage is both physical and emotional, and the full extent of the consequences is still being understood.