The Haratines...the painful legacy of slavery in Algeria
It is widely believed that the Algerian nation consists of two components. Arab and Amazigh only, while some Algerians do not realize that there are citizens like them with black African features who live mostly in the south of the country, and they are called "Hartine", and they are the descendants of freed black slaves.
Last February, during the final of the African Cup of Nations (SHAN), which Algeria hosted, a video spread showing an Algerian YouTuber documenting her journey from the entry gate of Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers to her seat, and in the video the girl says she stopped Much to explain to other Algerian fans that she is not from Senegal (the second party in the match), and that she is Algerian like them who came to support the national team.
These behaviors, despite their spontaneity, reflect the stereotype formed by some Algerians about black-skinned people, according to which they are often foreigners coming from sub-Saharan African countries, as there is not, in the Algerian popular imagination, a black-skinned Algerian citizen.
The stereotype of a citizen is that he is often of brown or white skin with Arab or Mediterranean features, but almost certainly does not have African features.
Some Algerians do not realize that there are citizens like them with black African features who live mostly in the south of the country, and are called "Hartine".
Colonialism enslaved blacks and society suffers to this day
The enslavement of blacks was an integral part of the history of North Africa and the Sahara, as the slave trade across the Sahara desert, over the course of 13 centuries, led to the transfer of about 65,000 black Africans to Algeria between 1700 and 1880, according to a study by Marie-Claude Shamla, under Title "Ancient Inhabitants of the Desert and Adjacent Areas".
According to a study by Benjamin Claude Breuer, which he included in his book "Rethinking the Abolition of Slavery in Algeria," the decision to abolish slavery issued by the colonial authorities in 1848 had no effect in southern Algeria, as these practices continued in the desert regions throughout the French colonial period from 1830 until 1962, and the writer believes that the end of slavery in the Algerian desert was slow because the French authorities neglected the application of the law.
The writer says that the French authorities' acceptance of this custom was for the practical reasons of colonial rule, as the French gave way to slavery in the Algerian desert more than anywhere else. Slave masters and traders obtained permits to trade slaves and keep their property until the 20th century. In turn, the slavers and merchants provided intelligence about the outlying regions to the colonial authorities.
According to the same source, the practices of agricultural and domestic slavery gradually ended in Algeria, in the second half of the twentieth century, after the independence of Algeria and the granting of citizenship to all Algerians, but recovery from the effects of slavery remained difficult for the local communities in the desert, where its effects remain to this day.
Black identity in Algeria after independence
In an article entitled "Black phobia in Algeria: an analytical study of the statements that evil is colored," which was published as part of the book "Blacks in the Maghreb, Issues of Identity," says the researcher in anthropology at the "Algerian National Center for Research in Prehistory and Biology." Man and History”, Salim Khayyat, which indicates that the history of the debate regarding identity in Algeria after independence was limited to the efforts of activities and movements that called for the empowerment of the Amazigh identity on the one hand, and the official position defending an Algerian nationalism based on equality under the umbrella of citizenship and Islam on the other hand, but it did not In any chapter of the modern history of the Algerian state, it deals with the identity of Algerian citizens with black skin.
The writer pointed out that those who discussed this history went to give selective legitimacy to stigmatize it with the Berber, Andalusian, or Arab heritage, while the black dimension remained neglected, and only a few researchers addressed it. Because of this ignorance of the various social, cultural, and anthropological aspects, the black community in Algeria remained unknown. Without a written history and with a restricted memory field.
And with blacks being Algerian citizens with full rights, the authenticity of their belonging to the mosaic of pluralism in Algeria, according to the writer, has been forgotten, and if it happened and was remembered - the writer says - then this happens within a folkloric framework.
Social remnants of the era of "slavery"
The young man Youssef Mohamed (a pseudonym), who lives in the city of Adrar, southwest of Algeria, tells that in his youth he was called “Al-Hartani” as an insult that detracted from his status among his peers, and he had to engage in many quarrels at school to restore his dignity. Despite his twenty-five years of age today, our interlocutor still feels discrimination in many of his daily dealings in Adrar, whose social structure is divided into the categories of "Chorfa", "Almoravid", "Free" and "Hartine".
Youssef asserts that his feeling does not stem from systematic racism, as the Haratines in Algeria, like the rest of the citizens, enjoy all the rights of citizenship and government services. Indeed, many of them have reached high positions in the state, and the generalization and compulsory teaching has made among them doctors, university doctors, and professionals in other professions. A high position commands respect for its owner in society, unlike the professions in which the ancestors of Haratine worked in the past, such as land and house service.
Youssef explains that his feeling comes from a fact that only Al-Hartani can feel. It is true that the situation has improved a lot compared to the past, thanks to the laws that imposed on society a situation contrary to the old ethnic divisions. However, class barriers in society can be felt when Al-Hartani addresses the rest, works for them, or enter their homes.
Social norms throughout the country forbid intermarriage between a "Hartani" man and a white woman
Blacks and marrying others
Youssef says that social norms throughout the country, and especially in the area in which they live, prohibit intermarriage between a "Hartani" and a white woman, while attempts to break this habit remain decent and often end in society rejecting the girl's family who accepts her daughter's marriage to a black man in Conservative desert and rural areas, and get their share of bullying in urban areas and large cities.
!Sufi practices perpetuate discrimination
Youssef also believes that some Sufi practices that are widespread in southern Algeria bear part of the responsibility for discrimination against the Hartani, although he believes that religion played an important role in deterring this discrimination. Youssef notes that Sufi ceremonies and shrine visits include a responsibility for the Hartani to fetch water and portable utensils for hand-washing, so that shrine guests with religious titles can wash their hands before eating.
The ancient Sufi mosques and zawiyas in Adrar are also closely related to this distinction. Indeed, this matter is considered a given among the people of the region, according to Youssef, who says that most of these mosques are governed by customary rules, yet the opposite occurs in the mosques that the state builds and which are distinguished by equality between All groups, as there is no discrimination in sitting in the first row or in praying in it, and everyone enjoys the same opportunity to perform the actions of the imam and the call to prayer.
Youssef admits that these practices are acceptable to a significant part of the Haratines, as a social imperative despite their belief that Islam embodies the values of equality and justice embodied in the hadith of the Prophet, “There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for a white over a black, nor for a black over White except with piety,” he added, adding that the behavioral deviations of other groups towards blacks are seen by the Haratine community as individual behaviors that have nothing to do with the essence of religion.
Youssef believes that discrimination based on race or color must be combated in any case by all available means, and awareness must be raised among people, noting that the media, mosque discourse and education are supposed to play a greater role in eliminating this phenomenon, although he acknowledges the difficulty of changing mentalities. Society, but his hope remains great for future generations.
Discrimination and hate law
Since 2020, Algeria has adopted a law to combat hate speech and all forms of discrimination that imposes penalties of up to 10 years in prison against perpetrators of this type of crime.
This law, which came on the orders of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, includes the establishment of a national observatory that undertakes early monitoring of forms and manifestations of discrimination and hate speech and notifies the concerned authorities of this, analyzes them, determines their causes, and proposes the necessary measures and procedures to prevent them.
It is noteworthy that Algeria ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in December 1989, which stipulates in its article 20 that “any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence is prohibited by law.”
Source : websites