La galère de la jeunesse algérienne

Abstract

The struggle of Algerian youth - Two main characteristics dominate the portrait of Algerian youth, its overwhelming demography in the population and the high level of unemployment (more than half the young people aged between 15 and 25 are inactive). Neither should the sense of helplessness of these young Algerians with regard to their cultures and identity be under-estimated, outcome of a lengthy colonial occupying presence and and of the «mission to civilize». All this goes a long way towards explaining the tense relationship with the language, the religion, the history (or its absence in cultural and educational transmission) and Algerian identity. For we can speak in terms of an absence or a «weakness» in the handing on of historical legacy, of the collective memory of young generations. And so from imagination of young people the myth emerged of a boat from Australia (the arrival of a boat for migration to the southern hemisphere). This latter emphasises their symbolic cultural and material frustration and their fears and uncertainties with regard to unemployment.