 At the age of 10, he ran away from home for the first time, living for long periods of time on the streets of a nation torn by war.A tailor named Dianoux, of Algiers, took Halimi under his wing and trained him to work as a tailor by the age of 12.After he was caught in a fight on the streets of Algiers, Dianoux encouraged him to train at the Mouloudia gymnasium.