Hirak – الحراك
The Algerian protests
Hirak – الحراك | The Algerian protest
Hirak الحراك or movement, this is the Algeria I saw in March 2019. Things are moving, changing ! Yet they remained frozen in appearance for several years. I returned to Algeria for a photo report between January and February and there was nothing to suggest the Hirak happening. Many of my friends asked me how was welcomed the possibility of a 5th term, I said it’s quiet, it seems calm. Then February 22 came, with this wave of protests and human tides in the streets and boulevards of the capital and many other cities in Algeria. That’s when I thought I must go ! I have to go back there ! Meanwhile I had two sundays on Paris, “Place de la république” where I had my firdt vision of the movement that shakes my country.
Arrived on Algiers in early March to cover a fair trade, I’ve been stopped at the airport by the authorities who wanted to seize my camera and all my equipment. It was predictable, I am not a journalist I told them, which is true, i’m not having a press card and above all I was on a mission for an Algerian company. They did not want to know anything at first. But after two hours of negotiations and after they saw on my site and my social media accounts that I was really not a journalist I finally got home.
The tension was palpable at the exit of the airport, the plot was set ! I went to my family to spend some time with them, while being worried about the situation, we all have the image of the Arab Spring and the worst cases that have prevailed in some countries. We also remember the unfortunate bloddy decade that calme after the events of October 1988 … On Friday, March 8 and March 15, I went to walk on Algiers to see with my own eyes this revolution of the smile. Men, women and children in a festive atmosphere and with a smile and above all a lot of civility were at the rendez-vous. A peaceful revolution was taking place. Sometimes a smile on my face sometimes tears in the eyes of emotions.
I leave room for pictures, they say more than my words.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
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[…] the Newsteam staff, we were received with a little suspicion and the tension was palpable. The Hirak movement was in it’s intensity, a general strike had been declared by the opposition at the […]
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[…] celebrates the champions of Africa, in this Friday like no other, echoing the Hirak, the greens carried by a whole nation in this very special year. An African cup of Nation that I […]
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[…] The joy and the songs of the supporters made vibrate this the eighteenth district of Paris. Women, men and children have let their joy flare flags and pennants in hand, smoke red and green have colored the streets and horns have rythmed the songs and screams of happiness. This is just a qualification for the semi-finals, but the fans of the Fennecs needed this victory as to echo the Hirak. […]
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[…] three people dressed in black were resting peacufully on the ground. Then suddenly, about fifteen Riot police fell on them, arrsting […]
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[…] I took these pictures between the end of February and the beginning of March, cut by a stay in Algeria where I was able to attend different gatherings that you can see or see again here […]
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your photos are amazing! i was in algiers this may. incredible this movement of ALL algerians . hopefully that the army doesnt intervene.
Amazing Photos ! keep it up