#humansofalgeria

[humansofdzair]

These Algerian women fought one of the strongest armies at its time and brought it down to its knees. These are the heroes of the war against the French enemies.

[redouene]

#portraitphotography #portrait #humans #humansoftheworld #humansofalgeria #colorful #protest #manifestation #algerie #algiers #photography (à Algiers, Algeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv6vDvQjdHy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tl0aft41pmas

[thecrazysouq-blog]

WAT? 😲 By: @arsxan _____________ #TheCrazySouq #SougElhbal #wat #troll #algiers #alger #dzair #algerian #portraitphotography #streetphotography #TCS #dzair #humansofalgeria #crazyart #maghreb #tunisia #morocco #algeria #northafrica #portrait #dziri #everydayalgeria #everydayafrica #everydaymiddleeast (at Algiers, Algeria)

[humansofdzair]

“I was without a job for many years. I had to drop out from school at an early age due to certain circumstances and life wasn’t exactly easy since that day.

The day I turned 24 years old I decided to change my life. I stopped looking for a job and decided to create my own job, even if small and even if I didn’t make any real profit in the beginning.

I started a small kiosk. Well, it wasn’t really a kiosk but more of a small metal box next to a busy cafe in our town.

The metal box grew by the day until I was able to rent a store and start an actual business selling all sorts of cosmetics and perfumes.

I enjoy saying “I decided” because it gives me the feeling that I have control over my life, and also it’s my favorite quote from the former great Algerian leader Houari Boumediene who used to say “We decided”. I even try to copy his tone when I say it (smiles)”

[humansofdzair]

Hello! I hope everyone is doing very well. I want to apologize for the long disappearance. The fact that I'm running this whole project alone makes it a bit hard to keep it active all the time, but the stories will resume again. Thank you for your continues support.

[humansofdzair]

“Our traditional meals were simple and healthy. That was before all the processed food stormed into our lives making our people weaker. Nowadays we try to go back to our roots and prepare more of our traditional food and refuse anything we didn’t make ourselves.

That’s the only way we can insure that our families remain healthy and capable of living in this harsh environment.

The life is the Algerian Sahara is difficult even with a healthy lifestyle, so imagine living it while eating all these processed unhealthy foods.

Our traditional meals are sometimes considered “heavy” but it keeps us healthy because it’s all natural and we live an active life, in addition to drinking plenty of green tea every day. The new foods might look “light” but it’s all poison on the inside and even gallons of green tea can’t cure its effects”

[humansofdzair]

"This is the first time I see the snow, and I am truly loving it. I have been begging my father to take me to the mountains near our town for weeks.

When we arrived here, I forgot to even put my gloves on. I just ran and started playing with snow. Few minutes later, I was crying because my hands were freezing. I was crying but I was still happy that I am here. I wish there is snow all year long"

[humansofdzair]

"During 2014 I was on a trip crossing the empty desert between Bordj El Houasse and Tamarasset when my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. The closest village was 300 km away. I spent the whole day trying to fix the car, and around the time of sunrise I was thinking that I will have to be stuck here for a couple of days . Then suddenly, these men showed up from far. There is actually two others who are sitting over there. They came to help me and they saved my life. We became very close friends since that day. I live outside Algeria but whenever I come to Algeria I must drive the 4000km from my town to their town and back in order to see them. We are also always in touch and I'm ready to give my life for them anytime. I will never forget that I'm alive because of them. They're part of my family now and nothing is going to change that. The problem now is that their debt on me keeps increasing because every time I visit them they shower me again with their endless generosity. They keep saying it's nothing, but believe me, it's something huge! They're the best human beings I've ever met"

[humansofdzair]

“Life in the Algerian Sahara is harsh, but it teaches us patience. Our summers are extremely hot and our winters are extremely cold. Our resources are limited and little, but we adapted to that life and it became something very normal for us and for our families. We never forget to thank Allah for his blessings in every prayer because despite all its difficulties, our life now is very easy compared to what our grandfathers experienced”

[humansofdzair]

“We came here to study Quran and Sharia from different parts in Algeria. I come from a city located 400km from here.

The fact that this Quranic school is secluded in the mountains away from everything gives us the chance to connect better with our creator, and to focus on our religious studies away from all the distractions of modern life.

We never leave this place until we finish our studies, and we have everything we need here. We created a tiny farm and some of the good people bring us resources from nearby towns occasionally.

I plan to become a Quran teacher myself when I finish my spiritual and educational journey here”

[humansofdzair]

These cute Algerian faces were my audience during the recording of a television interview about "Humans of Algeria" in Algiers yesterday.

[humansofdzair]

“I come from a very small village near the city of Msila. My Mother passed away when I was just 4 years old. I was too young but I still felt the gap she left behind her.

 My father was a simple farmer who did not think school was important. He thought studying is a waste of time when the kids can be working and helping their families. Like most of our fathers back then, he did not understand the importance of education because they were deprived from it during the French colonization era.

 That did not stop me from studying on my own when I became old enough. I remember I used to secretly smuggle books into the house. My father was always suspecting I was reading books behind his back but he did not say anything. I used to hide the books I had under my mattress, and I must admit that my sisters covering for me did help me a lot.

 There was a one time when I got too close to getting caught. I was shepherding not far from our home, and I was reading a book and I got really into it to the extent I completely forgot about the sheep who went everywhere. My father was very upset that day and he came home after collecting the sheep screaming “I know you were reading a book. Where is it?”

 A year later, my elder brother sort of kidnapped me from the house to get me to school. I was already 4 years late for school but he somehow managed to squeeze me into class. My elder brother was the first member in the family to get an education and he went as far as becoming an inspector, which was a big deal back then.

 I had an interest in Islamic studies from an early age, so when I finished middle school I packed my stuff and took an unexpected route. I moved to Saudi Arabia with the goal of completing high school and University there. I was only a teenager on my own in a whole new country, but I made it and I mastered high school and finished University in Saudi Arabia as well. After that I moved back to my homeland and I did my masters in the Islamic University of Constantine, and I started working in the same University after that.

 After that I moved to Adrar in the Algerian Sahara, where I completed my military service before going back to Constantine. While I was in Constantine, I got a job offer from the University of Sana’a in Yemen. I remembered reading about the history of Yemen once and all the cultural heritage and the ancient documents it has, so I decided to move there but with my wife and kids this time.

 My time in Yemen gave me the chance to really focus on my studies and my research. I traveled to Morocco to present my PhD research and get the degree with excellence.

 After that I moved to the United Arab Emirates where I become a Section Head and a Professor in one of the largest government-managed universities there.

 Thanks to God, to this day I have published more than 50 hardcover books in my specialty “Hadeeth Nabawi” in addition to many articles and participations in international conferences. I was recently given the “Excellence Medal” by the Sheikh of Sharjah.

 I sometime sit and look back at the timeline of my life, how I moved from shepherding and living in a small mud house to becoming a professor in a place far away from home. It’s all thanks to God.”

[humansofdzair]

" I’m from the Algerian city of Setif, but one day I decided to apply for a course I found online in Constantine.

I was really nervous about moving to a different city, and about joining a group of people that I’ve never met before. I’ve never been part of any group before so I wasn’t sure if I’m going to get along with people there or not.

Luckily – and thanks for the prayers of my mother I guess – I ended up meeting these pretty ladies on my first day, and I was very happy to know that they come from the same city I come from and share a lot of similar dreams and goals in life.

This experience taught me to be more courageous about taking decisions in the future, and to not be afraid to go anywhere for the sake of my dreams and ambitions."

[humansofdzair]

"It all started when I was still a little kid in elementary school. I remember I was in the third grade, the grade where you must decide what foreign language you want to study. The norm was French, but for some odd reason, they also included English as an option this time. I decided to go for English despite everyone else in the class going to for French.

That is where the story began.

I became the best English student in my high school. That opened too many doors for me. I won my first scholarship at that time. A scholarship that was a completely new to Algeria. They selected me because I was the best in my high school. Since then, scholarships started raining all over my head, from Access, to NESA, to Fullbright. The latter was the best of them all. I got my Master’s Degree in TESOL, and now I’m a teacher.

I believe that the best decision I ever made in my life was to learn English at that early age. Maybe I ready in the future and that is why I went for English."

[humansofdzair]

"Algerian Roots جذور جزائرية" is a small personal project that aims to document some of the stories of the old times as told by a group of old Algerian people, and save it for the future. Created, recorded and directed by Omar Dakhane. Currently available in Algerian Arabic only.

[humansofdzair]

"I am known to be the neighborhood's technician. I never had any technical training but I can fix anything that comes my way. It started at an early age as a mere curiosity, but then it grew with time into a lifetime passion. I never got the chance to go to school so I can't really read or write anything, but I can fix anything that works on electricity"