Fear reigns in Hassi Messaoud. Photo: Laura-Julie Perreault, La Presse
 | Laura-Julie Perreault , Special Envoy |
The city of Hassi Messaoud, Algerian desert, is known for three reasons. First the oil that flows like water. Then for jobs that are much more numerous and better paid than elsewhere the country. But the third reason is receiving attention these days: Hassi Messaoud terrorizes women who want to earn a living.
Clack. Clack. Clack. And yet clack. Clack. Clack.
Slowly, the six locks give way one after another. The two towering metal doors that they maintained closed, the only entrance to a building surrounded by a wall creaked open. On the other hand, there is no state secret or safe, with only a modest apartment two young Algerian women who find refuge after their workday.
Here is one of the most exclusive areas of Hassi Messaoud oil city camped in the middle of the Sahara and economic heart of Algeria, which derives much of its gross domestic product. Before going home, and Samia * Nadia * take a last look over their shoulder. "Since 2001, we must have eyes in the back in Hassi Messaoud," said Nadia, a secretary in an oil company.
In the minds of some 60,000 inhabitants of Hassi Messaoud, the year 2001 has marked a milestone. That year, the night of July 13, dozens of men armed with knives and sticks attacked 105 women.
The night of the beast
In Bouamama, one of the most disreputable of the place, as its inhabitants call El Haicha (which can be translated as "the Beast") , theft, rape and lynching were the three watchwords of a night of unprecedented violence.
Crouched in the shade of a wall to protect themselves from the sun burning which made El-Haicha a furnace - there is 45 degrees in the shade - an unemployed youth of 27 who gave his name as Djelloul tells this night of hell " I was there, but I'm not crazy enough to tell you if I have taken part. That day, the local imam called for Muslims to rid the neighborhood of his "rot". After the sermon, the old men went to talk to women of easy virtue who have stolen 50% of jobs. At first it was peaceful, but it is younger involved and it escalated, "says the young man. "We had warned the women but they were not afraid," added his friend, shrugging his shoulders.
The plight of victims
women attacked, all divorced or unmarried, living alone or with other women. Originating in northern cities, East and West, they were mostly housekeepers, laundress and cook. "Our crime was to live alone without a man in Hassi Messaoud and earn our living by the sweat of our front, "said Salah Rahmouna, one of the victims of that night of horror. Press was reached by telephone at Oran, where she returned to live after being beaten, stabbed and covered with a shroud, that famous night of July 13 in Hassi Messaoud.
In Left for dead, a book published in the spring, Rahmouna Salah, who is now 43 years old, recounts the night of July 13. Nine years after the events, it is one of only two to speak openly about the ordeal she endured. Described as "prostitutes" in the first articles that were written on them, most victims of 2001 preferred to be forgotten, fearing to dishonor their families if they were displayed in public.
Today, Ms. Salah continues to worry about the fate of thousands of women like her who have chosen to settle in Hassi Messaoud to earn a living. Following the legal battle it waged for five years with another victim to get justice, only eight men have been jailed. The harshest sentence was eight years of detention. "If people are not punished, you know what they do? They again, "warns Rahmouna Salah.
The return of fear
She is not alone in fearing that the horror is repeated in Hassi Messaoud. A series of incidents in the spring, put on the alert those who live there, "says Samira *, who works as a maid for a foreign firm.
Her sister tells the thirties, was the victim of a robbery perpetrated by a group of six masked men. After being threatened, the criminals had taken all his valuables. They then raged at her neighbor. "My sister left the next day and Hassi Messaoud does come back," says Samira covering her hair with a slight haze cream.
The newspaper El-Watan reported similar stories in April.
In Algiers, a myriad of feminist organizations and human rights have formed a coalition to ask the Government to investigate these crimes that take as targets women living alone. "These women should be able to work safely," insists spokesperson of the coalition, Chérifa Bouatta.
not appreciate the reputation of their city is contested, the notables of Hassi Messaoud were also working together to thwart the feminists. "The events of 2001 were overstated, and in 2010, nothing happened," La Presse said the union Fadela Khalfa.
She hides his contempt difficult for those who call for help. "If these women who call themselves victims, want to be respected, they stop smoking in the street and get their buddies. Algeria is a company Muslim has its limits, "Ton says.
Meanwhile, authorities are slow to react. Police said that investigators were dispatched to Hassi Messaoud in the last month, but the fruit of their work is still not made public.
Desert women
Meanwhile, in Hassi Messaoud, fear reigns. "It was like living in a prison," says Farida * from the north. "We can not walk down the street. We go from home to work and go back home right after. No question of being in the street after 19h, "says the young woman who wears a tight jeans and a t-shirt neckline.
A trip to downtown Hassi Messaoud after 20h to confirm his statements. While dozens of people massed on the sidewalks to watch a game of the World Cup, there are no women around. In cafes and bars? Unthinkable!
It is also difficult to find a place to interview those who agreed to testify. There are a few pizzerias and rare tea. But there is no privacy. During the interview with Samira and Farida, a dozen men openly lend his ear.
When they saw armed police landed in the tea room, and Farida Samira were suddenly lifted. Both feared reprisals after giving us an interview.
"All we want is to live here in peace, work and walk the streets without being mugged or treatment of a bitch. Before 2001, we could. Hassi Messaoud, it was better than in our hometown, "growls Farida.
The climate of violence that floats on Hassi Messaoud since 2001 has a goal, she says: do women from working. However, statistics show that even the lynching of nine years ago has not slowed the migration of workers: they were 9700 in 2001 and are now 28 700, half the population of the city .
Frontline Empowerment
This situation is exceptional in Algeria, where women constitute only 17% of the workforce. "Hassi Messaoud is a new phenomenon, but it is the farthest point of the struggle for independence women's economic, "the historian believes Djerbal Daho.
Long confined to the family home, Algerian women, said he began to appear in public only after the French left, in the 60s. "It came with the schooling of girls in the 70s. Going to school allowed girls to leave the private space, "says one who is also editor of an intellectual journal, Naqd (Critical), which he dedicated an entire issue the violence of Hassi Messaoud.
If Today, girls outnumber boys to get their degree, the presence of women in the labor market is still marginal. Street, noted historian, still belongs to men. Women who venture to face a flood of comments.
In this context, "says Djerbal, women in Hassi Messaoud bother. Employees, self, without the tutelage of a husband or father, they challenge their traditional roles mere presence not only in Algeria but also in many countries large and growing Muslim developing world.
"assaults, we may still see a lot. And not just in Hassi Messaoud, "he concludes.
* fictitious names were used to protect workers from Hassi Messaoud who agreed to testify. They feared reprisals from their employers or people in the city.
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