Exploring youth violence in the Maghreb

2007-02-23

A recent seminar in Tunis targeted the causes of violence and extremism among Maghreb youth.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis -- 23/02/07

[Getty Images] A Moroccan woman shows the portrait of her brother, who was killed in a suicide bombing in Casablanca in 2003. MDS officials say that terrorist groups tend to recruit young people who are well-educated, but lack religious knowledge.

The Movement of Social Democrats (MDS), one of the oldest opposition parties in Tunisia, organised a seminar earlier this month that focused on the subject of youth violence in the Maghreb.

The seminar, held in Tunis on February 17th --the 18th anniversary of the declaration of the Maghreb Union -- attracted researchers, journalists and young people from around the country.

"Our decision to discuss the reasons for the spread of violence in the Maghreb is no accident … it has been exacerbated by current events in the region," MDS Secretary-General Ismail Boulehya said in his opening speech at the event. Boulehya cited an increase in efforts "to entrap [youths] in the world of extremist Salafi thought, and drive them to commit acts of terrorism in our countries, in the name of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. [This] is incompatible with the mobilization of a new generation to build a united, democratic, modern Maghreb."

Alaya Allani, a member of party's political development committee, stressed "the necessity of not stopping at condemning violence, but also understand its cultural, social and economic roots, so that an effective cure can be devised." According to Allani, the ideal target for these terrorist groups is 20-30 year-olds that are well-educated, but lack religious knowledge -- this makes it easy to persuade them through erroneous religious interpretations and texts.

University researcher Moncef Wannes painted a gloomy picture of Maghreb youth, claiming the state of despair and intellectual drought is due to the misguided policies of post-independence governments in the region. According to Wannes, these mistakes can be divided into three categories: coercion or exploitation of young people by political institutions; harsh treatment of those whose views differ from accepted norms; and the refusal to encourage political participation from apathetic youths.

These choices do not help to cultivate a young generation that is active in political life and capable of influencing political decision-making, he said. "Four decades of programmed political solutions for Maghreb youth have led to … frustration."

Wannes cited figures indicating that the Maghreb region will have 110 million inhabitants by the year 2030, with young people comprising up to 65% of the population. According to government data, the spread of drugs among Algerian schoolchildren has reached 45%. In Libya, according to statistics of the Kadhafi Institute for Development, it has reached 70%. UNESCO claims literacy in the Maghreb region is as low as 50%.

Despite a regional increase in oil revenue, Maghreb countries face external debts in excess of $71 billion. The poverty rate, according to Wannes, "has reached 80% in Mauritania, as compared with 40% in Morocco and 25% in Algeria".

"[Given these figures], can those who strive to fill our young people with extremist concepts encounter any difficulty in enlisting them or sending them to their deaths?" Wannes asked, saying that everyone is responsible for the current situation. Governments need to offer their citizens a life worth living, he said, and civil society must be called upon to provide young people with a good example, "so that despair does not become all-pervasive, for despair is the road to extremism".

Academic Sami Brahem, however, disputed assumptions that the rise in violence in the Maghreb region is due to the deterioration of social and economic conditions. "I believe that … the matter has causes too deep for us to attribute to the state of society or the economy."

Brahem stressed the importance of religious reform, adding that "the violence that has occurred in the region is the result of [extremist] groups' penetration into the educational system, the media and politics".

A group of young students attending the conference commented on the speeches.

"I think they have begun to understand what the youth of today wants: to be heard, and respect [for] our opinions," student Morad Bouzidi said.

"We hope that this awakening and interest in young people’s issues will continue, and is not seasonal or born of temporary circumstances," student Hinda Maghzaoui commented.