Navigation guide Refugee populations in the UK: Algerians - ICAR

• There is some evidence that younger Algerians develop political interests 47 , but research suggests
that this may be a minority position in the UK 48 . Younger Algerians, who have now experienced war in
Algeria for more than half of their lives are most often deliberately apolitical, rejecting all sides in the
conflict. 49
Geographic distribution
• Algerians are overwhelmingly concentrated in London.
• Within London there are concentrations around Finsbury Park, where the Algerian Refugee Council is
located and in Waltham Forest where the Algerian Welfare Association is based.
• Dispersal statistics collated at the end of January 2003 showed that the largest numbers of Algerian
asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation were based in Glasgow, Sheffield, Birmingham and
Manchester. Outside London, it has also been suggested that there are also significant Algerian
communities in Bournemouth and Leicester partly due to the government’s policy of dispersing
asylum seekers to particular locations, but also due to the development of social networks.
Other characteristics
The Algerian community in the UK has a growing reputation as an artistic community. There are certainly a
large number of singers, poets and artists for a relatively small population. This may be attributed to the
profile of emigrants during the 1990s. These migrants may be more likely to be interested in artistic pursuits
due to the circumstances of their flight from Algeria (see historical context on the flight of intellectuals and
the cultural background section on targeting of writers and musicians).
47 Denaud, P. (1997) Le FIS : Sa direction parle… Harmattan, Paris.
48 Collyer, M. (2002) ‘Explaining change in established migration systems: the movement of Algerians to France and
the UK’ University of Sussex, DPhil thesis, bound and recorded at the British Library.
49 Collyer, M. (2002) ‘Explaining change in established migration systems: the movement of Algerians to France and
the UK’ University of Sussex, DPhil thesis, bound and recorded at the British Library.
Navigation guide to refugee populations: Algerians
©ICAR 2004, moral rights Michael Collyer
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