Algeria celebrates this Tuesday, July 5 the 60th anniversary of its independence. A military parade is planned in the capital, the first for 33 years. While the people of Algiers remember the euphoria in the streets, some question the education deemed flawed of access to independence.
On July 5, 1962, Salim was 12 years old. He remembers the demonstrations of joy in Algiers for celebrate the independence of Algeria : “ We invaded downtown. Because for quite a while, the Arab quarters were cut off from the European quarters, when the OAS acted: it terrified everyone. But at independence, we invaded the city to dance, to laugh, to sing. »
In the Belcourt district, in Algiers, Mahdia was also in the street on July 5, 1962: “ We walked with my parents, we went down town, I saw lights and people had gone almost mad from independence. Now there are things that are not going well, but we are able to rise to the challenge. »
Sixty years after independence, Salim says he is optimistic about the possibility of change in the country. ” We had the spring of 1980 [lors des manifestations réclamant la reconnaissance de la langue et identité berbères, NDLR]we had on October 5, 1984 [début de manifestations qui ont entraîné la fin du système du parti unique]we had the 1990s [la décennie noire, où l’Algérie a fait face à une guerre civile]we had on February 22, 2019 [naissance du mouvement du Hirak], so the Algerians are still walking. And that’s the hope: it’s when a people doesn’t stop walking. »
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