Climate of fear in the Algerian diaspora in Montreal

The pressure exerted by the Algerian regime against members of the diaspora who had supported the Hirak pro-democracy movement from Montreal created a climate of fear that reduced many activists to silence.

The concern is so great that Quebecers of Algerian origin harassed by the security forces during a visit to the Maghreb country are careful not to mention their misadventure on their return, declared to The Press an Algerian journalist with many ties to the local community.

“I know at least a dozen in Montreal who have never wanted to publicize their troubles for fear of further reprisals,” said Zoheir Aberkane, who manages an independent online media in Algeria, on Tuesday.

Mr. Aberkane, who himself has had a run-in with the Algerian authorities because of his coverage of Hirak, notes that the regime wants to “make pay” supporters of the movement in Montreal directly for their commitment, while discouraging others. to continue to support the protest movement.

“The message is that they may never again be able to go to Algeria to see their loved ones if they persist in continuing,” he noted, noting that the same ploy is used with the Algerian diaspora in France.

A Quebecer of Algerian origin who participated in numerous demonstrations in Montreal said Wednesday on condition of anonymity that the scheme of the Algerian authorities discouraged many people from taking to the streets.

The activist is convinced that she is on a list of people to target produced by the Algerian consulate in Montreal, which did not respond to a request for an interview on Wednesday. The Press.

For fear of being harassed, she says she gave up going to Algeria and had to miss the funeral of her mother, to whom she was very close, last year.

“I who was there every time she needed me, I can’t even go and pay my respects to her grave. All because I pleaded for the government to stop arresting people, ”she said with emotion.

The country’s leaders are “ready to do anything to keep power”, but try to maintain a “pseudo-democratic” image by doing things behind the scenes, the activist added.

“Like a criminal”

Hassina Bourzah, an Algerian-born Quebecer who operates a daycare center in Longueuil, did not expect her participation in pro-Hirak protests in Montreal to get her into trouble during a visit to Algeria in late 2021. .

However, the police came to arrest her at the family home in Sétif and took her away to be interrogated for hours. “They treated me like a criminal,” says Ms.^me Bourzah, who says he then answered many questions about his participation in demonstrations in Quebec.

Further interrogation sessions followed with various security forces on the same topic before Mr.^me Bourzah only learned in February, on her way to the airport, that she was not authorized to leave the country.

It was not until May, after obtaining an official document confirming that she was not the target of any legal proceedings and after her case had been publicized, that the Algerian national was authorized to leave.

The episode, she says, “terrified” her instantly, but did not dampen her determination to demonstrate for a more democratic Algeria.

“When we have seen the injustice, we cannot be silent”, notes M^me Bourzah, who sees in his entourage the negative effect of the pressure exerted by Algiers.

“I won’t go back”

Lazhar Zouaïmia, a Quebecer of Algerian origin who supported the pro-democracy movement online, also saw several people distance themselves after a family trip to Algeria that went wrong.

It was on his way to the airport in February 2022 to return to Quebec, after a three-week stay without a hitch, that he was apprehended by security force agents and placed in police custody before being detained for forty days in a prison in the city of Constantine.

The media coverage of his case in The duty as well as pressure from his union and the Canadian government forced the hand, he says, of the Algerian authorities, who agreed to let him go in May.

However, Mr. Zouaïmia was later sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for having “undermined national unity” and cannot now return to the spot without being apprehended.

“I will not go back there”, notes this technician by profession, who intends to continue to campaign in support of pro-democracy activists active in Algeria.

“The Algerian power has been traumatized by the great pro-democracy movement of Hirak and wants to do everything to prevent it from happening again,” he denounces.