Algeria
Oran’s Bawdy Rai Music
Bawdy and subversive, with a history and lyrics that speak to Algeria’s pluralist past, Rai music flourishes in the Mediterranean port city of Oran while its superstars have built international reputations.
Le Pen in Algiers
In the first three months of 1957, Jean-Marie Le Pen, later the founder and president of France’s far-right National Front party, participated in the battle of Algiers as a paratrooper. Witnessing France’s dying empire in Algeria inspired his unlikely — and precipitous — political rise.
The French Soldiers Who Disobeyed Orders in Algeria
The atrocities committed by the French army are still rarely publicly acknowledged in France today. Even less discussed are those within the military’s ranks who, confronted with these horrors, defied orders, refused to participate or supported the Algerians.
Algerians Are Ho-Hum About Upcoming Election
But now, as Algeria approaches its Sept. 7 presidential election, a widespread indifference permeates the nation’s politics. The outcome seems predetermined, with incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune heavily favored to win. This widespread apathy contrasts sharply with the turbulence surrounding the 2019 presidential election.
How Algeria Became a Home to Africa’s Guerrillas, Anti-Fascists and Liberators
After a brutal war of independence, Algeria sought to become a mecca for liberation movements across the African continent, welcoming all the “wretched of the Earth” to its capital for training and material support — from financing to arms.
Into the Inferno — A Week in Algeria’s Fire-Ravaged Mountains
Global warming is contributing significantly to the conditions that cause and exacerbate Algeria’s megafires. But, as the mercury rises higher each summer and residents brace for the flames, there's another problem many point to — the negligence of the Algerian state.
After a Brief Moment of Hope, Algeria’s Free Press Falls Silent
The Hirak briefly extended the realm of the possible for the whole country. After it failed, a space like Radio M, annoying as it might have seemed at times, continued to broaden the horizon, at least for journalists, at least for a while. It showed us that it is possible to seek the truth and document and archive the years “where nothing happens.”