Mohamed Ninou spends most of his days playing dominoes at the village coffee shop because, like millions of Algerians, he has no job.
Ninou lost his when the village militia laid down their arms last year at the end of Algeria's decade-long bloody war with Islamic rebels bent on turning the North African republic into a purist Islamic state.
Now, he tries to forget the past, marked by the rebels' notorious butchery of entire villages, including children, at the peak of the violence in the mid-1990s.
"When we took up arms to fight terrorists, we were seen as heroes, but now that terrorism is over nobody cares about us," said Ninou who stayed to defend Haouch el Gros, 50 km (30 miles) south of Algiers, despite the danger.
"At that time, it was quite simple: if you were with the terrorists you were safe, otherwise you, your family and friends were dead," said the 36-year-old.
The rebels began their holy war or jihad after army-backed authorities cancelled parliamentary elections which the now-banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party was set to win in 1992.
Their military successes caught the army by surprise and forced it to equip some 500,000 people with more than 600,000 weapons, experts say.
A decade later, human rights groups estimate that more than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, died in the fighting.
Islamic militants numbered more than 25,000 in the mid-1990s. Fewer than 1,000 remain, largely because the army gradually won the war and the majority of rebels agreed to stop fighting in exchange for an amnesty in 1999.
The militia, known as patriots in Algeria, say they are left out in the cold because they are no longer needed. Few patriots remain on active duty.
The province of Blida, just south of Algiers, was one of the worst hit regions and Haouch el Gros was the first village to arm itself against rebels in 1994.
"I lost a lot of friends in brushes with the rebels. We killed dozens of terrorists and I must confess that we saved the village," said 55-year-old Zouak Abas.
The Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) began fighting after the FIS was banned. It was soon overtaken by the more ruthless Armed Islamic Group (GIA).
"Blida was overrun with terrorists. They were acting as if they were taking possession of the land. They killed the men, raped the women and burned the babies," Abas recalled.
"I remember when they knocked at the door of Mohamed and asked him to deliver his daughter Samia to their emir. Mohamed pleaded with them that his daughter was his only support after the death of his wife. But the terrorists shot him and took beautiful Samia," Abas said.
The patriots of Haouch el Gros, a village of a several hundred people, would patrol at night and set traps for the rebels, particularly Antar Zouabri, one of GIA's most feared leaders.
"It's hard to forget the face of a friend and neighbour when you find their heads in the street of your village," Abas said.
Patriots reject reports by international human rights groups that they were responsible for some of the deaths and abuses. They say they were just defending themselves.
Psychiatrist Saliha Lefkir said many Algerians who suffered from the rebel period in Blida were still in a state of shock about what happened to them and needed rehabilitation.
"Most of them are financially unable to go to a psychiatrist, others who can go don't dare because they do not want to be seen as crazy," Lefkir said.
Ninou said he found it hard to make ends meet and care for his three-year-old daughter.
When he was a patriot the monthly compensation given by the army was between 10,000 and 15,000 dinars ($130-200), equivalent to an average monthly salary in Algeria.
Last year the authorities began disarming local villages and stopped paying compensation, saying the war on the rebels was largely won.
As he campaigns for re-election on April 8, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has repeated his amnesty offer for those who lay down their arms and set up a commission to investigate the missing. Critics say the commission has no real authority.
Patriots are angry because they feel worse treated than the rebels who almost destroyed the country.
"The terrorists who gave up the jihad and surrendered are better considered than us. My neighbour, a retired terrorist, even got a weapon to protect himself from the patriots," Ninou said.
Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyhia recently praised the patriots, saying they saved the country and that they would never be forgotten - a hollow election promise, say the patriots.
"It's like Rambo's story. He was a hero during the war, but when it was over government and society abandoned him," said Ninou. "This is what has happened to the patriots".
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