Navigation guide Refugee populations in the UK: Algerians - ICAR

Cultural background
The Algerian population in the UK has only begun to grow significantly over the last ten years and is still
small compared to many more established national groups. The rich cultural heritage of Algeria is therefore
not widely recognised in Britain. Algeria has well developed traditions of art, literature, music, film and
cuisine. This section aims to give a brief introduction to these aspects of Algerian cultural practices for the
non-specialist. Representing the cultural diversity of Algeria is not an easy task. The ‘Year of Algeria’ in
France (2003) presented an extremely rich programme of Algerian cultural events but has raised
controversy in a number of areas (see box).
Djazair 2003 1 - the controversy of ‘representing’ a national culture
Even a reasonably objective assessment of the year of Algeria in France 2003 must judge it to have
been a tremendous success for all concerned. The Algerian government have undoubtedly benefited
from the positive associations it has created, and the success of the year is certainly not insignificant in
Bouteflika’s victory in the presidential elections of April 2004. The burst of media coverage, which began
in mid-2002 and continued to March or April 2003, threw up considerable controversy and discontent
from those individuals who foresaw that the positive effects on the Algerian government, which they saw
as highly repressive and undemocratic, would be the only result of the year. High profile Algerian figures
such as the singer Idir 2 and the comedian Fellag announced they would boycott events. A large group of
significant political and civil society figures criticised the programme as a public relations exercise for the
Algerian government. 3 Such voices of dissent were certainly raised with regard to other special events,
notably during the ‘Year of Morocco’ in 1999, but the criticisms of the ‘Year of Algeria’ were rather more
mainstream.
However the range of criticisms and discussion itself made it clear that events were providing an
outstanding opportunity for publicising all points of view on Algeria that would not have existed
otherwise. The Algerian political scientist, Lahouari Addi (certainly not a friend of the Algerian regime)
spoke out against a boycott, arguing for this opportunity to examine the record of the Algerian regime in
a range of public fora. 4 And this, to a large extent, seems to be the way things went. Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) and the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH) received
considerable coverage of a striking poster of a pair of intricately decorated hands, dripping with blood,
that announced ‘During the celebrations, the massacres and the repression continues’. The FNAC (a
large French chain of stores selling books, music and equipment) were the first to announce a separate
programme called ‘Another vision of Algeria’, but others followed. Even Idir appeared in a series of
events celebrating ‘L’Année ‘Off’ D’Algérie’ (the fringe). The year provided the occasion for the
publication of more than 500 books on Algeria, and the official programme was certainly impressive,
involving €20 millions of public money supporting more than 3,000 events all over France. It is difficult to
believe that this was all coordinated in support of the Algerian government and indeed the French
minister of culture announced that there had been no censorship at all. 5 Cultural expression is,
arguably, always a political act, and this is perhaps especially the case in a divided society such as
Algeria, but the year of Algeria had the means to get beyond that. Once the opportunity had been
provided, it seems that everyone was ready to focus on Algeria from their own perspective.
1 The programme and press coverage is still available at http://www.djazair2003.org.
Navigation guide to refugee populations: Algerians
©ICAR 2004, moral rights Michael Collyer
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