Algeria

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flat =**Map:**=



= History =
 * The first inhabitants of Algeria were the Berbers.
 * In 1830, the French invaded Algeria to expand North Africa.
 * In 1954, The National Liberation Front was established and has been the dominating political party since.
 * Algeria gained independence in 1962 after being ruled by France for over a century under Ahmed Ben Bella of FLN.
 * Bella was thrown off by the defense minister, Houari Boumedienne, who ruled until he died in December 1978.
 * June 1990 was the first multi-party election in Algerians history. The FLN won, but a favor for other parties was shown.
 * In 1992, The Front Islamique du Salut won. They were most popular in urban areas.

https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world- factbook/geos/ag.html http://www.historyking.com/World-History/history-of-africa/algeria-history/Brief-History-Summary-Of-Algeria.html

= Geography =
 * It is located in Northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
 * Algeria is the 11th largest country in the world and is the second largest country in Africa.
 * It is the 2nd largest country in Africa.
 * It is slightly smaller than 3 times the size of Texas.
 * There are mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers along the coast. It is a drier, cold winter and a hot summer on the high plateau.
 * Natural resources include: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc[[image:800px-Iazzuggen.JPG width="318" height="227" align="right" caption="Northern Algeria" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Algeria"]]
 * The land consists of mostly high plateaus and deserts with some mountains.
 * Natural disasters include earthquakes, mudslides, and floods.
 * Northern Algeria lies on about the same latitude as Southern California and they share similar weather.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html

=Economy=
 * The labor force is 49th in the world, which is an estimated 9.9 million.
 * The unemployment rate is 9.9%, which is the 109th in the world.
 * The population below poverty rate is 23%.
 * The inflation rate is 5%, which is the 139th in the world.
 * Agriculture products: include wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle.
 * Industries include: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing.
 * Electricity production is 34.98 billion kWh, which is the 61st in the world. Their electricity consumption is also the 61st in the world.
 * Oil production is 2.125 million bbl/day which is the 16th int he world. Their exports are 12th in the world.
 * Natural gas production is 86.5 billion cu m and is the 7th in the world.
 * Their natural gas exports is 4th in the world.[[image:800px-Autoroute_est_ouest_ghomri2.JPG width="356" height="196" align="right"]]
 * Their largest export partner is the U.S.
 * Their external debt is 115th in the world.
 * Average wages are from $18-22 a day
 * They only receive about 200,000 tourists a year.
 * 32% of the workforce works for the government.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Algeria

=Relationship between France and Algeria=
 * Relations begin in 1526 when Francis I began the France-Ottoman alliance.
 * They have kept close ties despite Algeria gaining their own independence.[[image:461px-Barbarossa_Hayreddin_Pasha.jpg width="202" height="256" align="right"]]
 * Record numbers of Algerian Islamists have fled to France.
 * In the 1990's, 20 percent of Algeria's imports and exports were either to or from France.
 * Their alliance has proven to stay strong since France's support for the military regime in 1992.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeria%E2%80%93France_relations

=Music=
 * Algerian music has become popular in France, Spain, and other parts of Europe.
 * In the 1930's, Kabylians moved in large groups from Paris and set up musical cafes. In the 1980's, this music became sentimental pop music.
 * The most recent popular urban music is folk music. The greatest performer is El Hajj Muhammad El Anka.
 * Their music is diverse is not only just the types, but in gender as well.
 * Rai is a type of music where people express political discontent. It is known as "rebel" music. It is called that because they touch on subjects like sex and alcohol which is frowned upon. People appreciate this music for it being so blunt and willing to talk about these tough subjects.
 * Malouf music is public music that is performed at places like weddings and ceremonies. Recordings of this music is very rare.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Algeria

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=//__Rachida__// Film Review=

Destinie Maxham 11 May 2011 Sylvie Charron Rachida

Rachida is a film based in modern-day Algeria. After the battle of Algiers, the country had trouble regaining its stability. They used to be the top exporters of wheat in Europe, but now they do not export much wheat at all. Algerian’s have now become minority in their own country since the battle. Education is hard to come by. The education rate of the population is very low. Algerian’s were frightened by terrorist on a daily basis. Algeria is going through a constant battle between citizens and government.

The film is called Rachida because it is the main character‘s name. It was filmed in 2002 and directed by Yamina Bachir-Chouikh. Yamina is a long time editor born on March 20, 1954. She was born in Algeria and based Rachida off of events that she saw happen around her. She did not invent any of the ideas but based Rachida from true events. She became a director to express these horrors. Her brother died as a victim of many of Algeria’s terrorisms. Rachida is an inspired character of a real teacher who was killed in an actual school bombing. Yamina wanted to also express the educational system and how corrupt it is. As a mother, she hated sending her children to a place where they would learn about hatred and intolerance.

The main themes are the film include fear and human spirit. Fear is the main theme of the movie because it is reoccurring and it the main objective. Rachida begins her fear when she is addressed by a gang of terrorist who want her to place a bomb in the school that she teaches at. She has such a love for children that she refuses and tells them that she does not want the children to die. She fights the terrorists as they proceed to toss her around. They then shoot her and leave her to die. When she gets out of the hospital she is sent to a private village to get away from the terrorists in her home town. Whenever she sees a gun she is terrified and her memories and brought back to her. Her and her mother still live in feel even though they are in a private village. There are still terrorist in their new town. There is no escape from the horrors of Algeria.

Human spirit is the other theme in the movie. Even though the people of Algeria are always living in fear of their surrounding, they still find time to laugh and have a good time. Rachida and her mother have girl time with a friend. They laugh and bring back good memories. Rachida’s mother also recalls a memory that she is very fond of. She tells Rachida about a story of her mother and her father having a fig tree and that every time she see a fig tree she is reminded of him. The fig tree is very sentimental to the both of them. They live in a country full of crime but they still find beauty in the landscape.

I found the most interesting aspect of the themes was that there is nowhere for them to ever be away from the crime in their own country. Rachida once says that she is “in exile in [her] own country.” She can not hide from the fear that she still has. She is terrified by any gun because the terrorists are not scared to kill anyone. They have no mercy and are willing to kill a school full of people. She still enjoys teaching at the new school but it is not the same to her. I can not image living in a country where there is literally no safe place to hide. It would be unbearable for me. It would be hard for me to sleep at night if I lived in Algeria.

The tone of the movie is hopeful. It is very hopeful because all they do is wish for a better place to live. They know that the progress of their country is declining but they hope for it to get better. They hope for one good day where nothing bad will happy. The hope for their lives to be peaceful for once. They hope for a country with a better grasp on government, so the people would not rebel and run hectic through the streets. Rachida hopes for a school where she knows the children are safe. Rachida’s mother hopes for a town that her daughter would not be scared to walk out the front door. The tone helps provide the proof that there is human spirit and it exists as one of the themes. With hope the people can manage to find strength and happiness when they need it most. It makes us believe that maybe someday things will change because there is such strong hope for the country.

The mood of the movie is mournful. Every day the country of Algeria is mourning the deaths of many. There are many bombings and shootings. One particular scene when terrorists came through the village, an elderly man was shot. His wife is screaming as she holds her dead husband. She yells at the crowd because they did not help her when she really needed the help and he ended up died. She now has to live the rest of her life as a widow. They have to deal with these tragedies all the time and there is no justice for them. That is the worst part. They are unsteady the rest of their lives because they know the killer of their loved one is roaming the streets as a free man is will just continue killing people. Everybody is in disbelief on a daily basis. The mood puts us into the Algerians shoes. We know how they feel regularly and we understand the sadness that they endure. We feel remorse toward the mood.

The costumes are relevant to the setting of the movie because we know by what the woman wear, what their religion is. They must be covered up in public or they will be sinning and it is frowned upon. The only time Rachida mother does not where her coverings is when she goes to sleep. Rachida does not wear them and she is confronted by many woman who tell her that she needs to where it. She tells them she does not have to, but they do not liked that at all. Another aspect of the costumes is what all of the rest of the people wear. We can tell they live in a country of poverty because people wear very cheap clothing, that are dirty and sometimes look like rags. It shows us that they cannot afford nice clothes and we know just how poor the country is. The décor also helps prove that they are in poverty. The village that Rachida lives in is very poor. They live in small houses and the downtown is also very small and poor. Items are hard to come by. The school is also shown as poor because nothing is modern. She only has a whiteboard to teach with. They also do not need or have cars where they live. Few people do. Walking is their means of transportation. The costumes and décor relate to the poverty of the country and creates a good image of the pain and suffering.

One significant scene that was of importance in the first half of the film was when Rachida was shot. It is the most important part of the movie and it corresponds with the entire things. The movie is based off of how she is shot. She has to go into hiding because of this event and leave behind all of the people she cares about except for her mother. She tries to grow as a person and forget about the horrific event. She tries to become better and live her life as she pleases. The lighting in the scene where she gets shot was considerably bright. It is a nice sunny day and all of a sudden she begins to get attack in broad day light. It shows that no matter where people are, or how sunny it is outside, they will still get attacked and possibly killed. Guns now frighten her and she gets a panic attack from them. Her mother tries to calm her down and get her happy again, but Rachida is very depressed. She is still young and she almost died. The filming of the scene shows frontality and shows a long shot of her with the entire group. We get the full aspect of what they look like, what they have with them, and the comparison of them to her. She has no chance against them no matter how hard she fights. The diegetic sound in most parts of the movie are gun shots. It is a normal thing for the citizens to hear and there is nothing they can do about it. They just pray the next is not them or someone they know. The wish that they would not have to hear it in the first place. After Rachida is shot the camera shows a close up of her laying on the ground. She is on her back and is taking small breaths of air. Her limp body bleeds out as she is unconscious on the cold, hard ground in a well-lit alley. An old man comes to her rescue and prays for her to stay alive. Rachida was lucky that the human spirit of her country still survives and someone was nice enough to help her out. She makes a full recovery physically. Emotionally she is scared and she knows that.

The second scene of importance is when she dreams about being shot. It is dark, and she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. Being shot is still haunting her and she can not get it out of her head. She knows that there are more and more people out there going through the same thing as she is. We see that Rachida is making no progress with her tragedy but is trying to the best of her ability to try and live like a normal person would want to live. This scene is relevant to it being dark because it is a very dark memory and it haunts her when it is dark while she is sleeping. We see the remaining fear in her face. Her costume is something she would be sleeping in so we know it is the middle of the night. There is enough light coming through Rachida’s window that we know what is happening. Rachida knows that this could all happen to her any other time in her life. This is what puts the fear directly into her body.

Is there any way to put the murderers into jail? If she was of different class would she live in less fear?

http://battleofalgiers.tripod.com/id4.html http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/movie/ http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/article_imprim.php3?id_article=526

=Books=

__-- //Algeria, 1830-2000- A Short History by Benjamin Stora//__ __//-- France and Algeria by Philip C. Naylor//__