IN ALGIERS, NEW MIGRANTS WEAKENED BY THE DEPARTURE OF THE PREVIOUS ONES

October 31, 2017

Credits: Bachir / Le Monde

In the picture, they pose near a beautiful fountain in the heart of a garden. Desiree, Helen and Grace are in Italy and they publicly show it on social networks. These Cameroonian women have lived between two and six years in Algeria, in the same neighborhood. "Almost everyone we knew in the neighborhood are in Europe now," says Josiane, a friend of them, Cameroonian too (upon her request her name has been changed).

For two years, the road to Libya has been fairly open. In Algeria migrants who wanted to go to Europe have, by a large majority, succeeded in doing so. Those who hesitated ended up being convinced by the pictures published by their friends. Result: In Algeria, newcomers are left alone or almost without a community network to support or advise them, even as the attitude of the authorities towards them has hardened.