Thread by @koutchoukalimar

This morning I received the news that my father's last surviving brother passed away due to coronavirus.

Though my uncle had a number of other issues, there are a lot of other things that contributed his and his brothers' early deaths. Some thoughts on Algeria.

My father was born in 1956, when the Algerian War for Independence was seriously taking off. The extreme violence of the war – which was even privately criticized by Richard Nixon, of all people – deeply traumatized his and his parents' generation.

After Algerian independence in 62, the country's political system increasingly autocratized, with little hope for a free society. The country's considerable gas reserves propped up the ruling elite, while the country's welfare stagnated.

Attempts at democratic reform in 88 came too late: radicalization of some parts of society was facilitated by the massive import of Egyptian-origin school teachers, invited by the Algerian government at a premature attempt at Arabization.

When the FIS, which ran on an Islamist-ish platform, was poised to win elections in 91/92, the Algerian army intervened. What followed was one of the bloodiest and senseless civil wars of the 20th century. Fear and paranoia was rampant: nobody knew who to trust.

At this time my father was active in trying to expose the Algerian government's culpability: false flag terror attacks, torture of prisoners, and use of excessive violence. Although my dad was religious, his political views were more socialist than Islamist.

1992, the year of my birth, happened to be the year my father visited his homeland for the final time: after that, he was never able to return to Algeria. He died aged ttwo years ago at 62, similar to his brothers, none of which made it past 65.

This lost generation was marked by political&psychological frustration and anger. Many of them ended up leaving the country disappointed: Algeria could have been one of the most prosperous North African countries, but due to mismanagement, turned a much worse direction.

I don't want to blame the current government. Though there is some responsibility, I think it's better to try and move on and see what we can do for tomorrow rather than carry yesterday's burdens along with us, and hope the disappointment died along with my father's generation.