Specialists warn against decline of Algerian family values
2008-07-02
Sociologists and officials came together on June 28th-29th to discuss the erosion of traditional Algerian values and its impact on youth and family structures. Widespread social problems like unemployment and the influence of foreign media were identified as causes.
By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 02/07/08
 [Said Jameh] Deputy Minister for Family and Women's Issues Nouara Djaafar told conference participants last week that Algerian families are focused on securing means of living, at the expense of culture and ethics. |
Algerian specialists issued a warning recently against what they call a "growing phenomenon of family disunity" in light of changes witnessed by Algerian society. Social and ethical values are receding, they say, because families are becoming less involved in raising their children.
Experts sounded the alarm after a University of Algiers Centre for Prevention and Ergonomics study was released at last week's conference, "Family and Upbringing: between Communication and Alienation".
The results showed that social and ethical values, previously common among families and society, have receded since the decline of the role played by families in the upbringing and guidance of youths.
According to the study, the most prominent sign of the family's decreased role in children's upbringing is indifference towards social problems such as drugs, theft, and violence in schools and public areas.
This attitude of indifference, "which is foreign to Algerian society", can be attributed to a number of reasons, such as "economic and social pressures weighing down on families", in addition to "the negative direction of certain media that choose to focus on the commercial aspects of social problems, and exaggerate them, instead of seeking to serve the family and promote its unity".
In this context, Hamou Boudrifa, head of the Centre for Prevention and Ergonomics, called on educational institutions, specialised agencies, families and mosques to stand in the face of attitudes foreign to society and diligently seek to restore respect for social and ethical values.
Nouara Djaafar, Deputy Minister for Family and Women's Issues, agreed with the researchers, noting during the conference that "the cause of family disunity and the spread of various negative phenomena can be traced back to the malfunction of the family in society".
"Families nowadays are concerned with securing means of living for their young ones, instead of paying attention to their education," she added, noting the increase in recent years of the number of Algerian mothers who work, leaving their children in day care centres or with relatives. This number has increased from 10% to 17% over the past decade; a change that has, according to the Minister, impacted children's sense of belonging in their families.
"Parents have become withdrawn," she continued. "Cultural and ethical examples are faint. The impact of mass media and modern technologies on families and how they undertake their jobs is substantial."
Sociologists echoed many of these opinions during the conference. Mohamed Boumekhelouf , Professor of sociology at the University of Algiers, said social problems are most to blame for problems in the development of the Algerian family. He added that children in more than 15% of families do not work, constituting an additional burden.
In their closing statement, conference participants recommended the launch of television networks specialising in family, children and youth affairs, emphasising the role of domestic and regional media, as well as that of mosques and schools.
The latest demographic statistics in Algeria denote that the birth rate has dropped to 1.72%, compared to 2.70% in 1994. Marriage rates also declined from 33.5% for men and 29.9% for women in 1998, reaching 31.3% for men and 27.6% for women, according to the latest stats revealed last June. This decline is attributed to the high cost of living, limited resources and housing problems.
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bendjeffal Posted 2008-07-03
Decline of family values! It seems to me that the title has been shortened, because the truth is that this is the result of 16 years of the disintegration of the Algerian family by a programme that was originally initiated by those who are called the Westernised secularists. They are the people who, for the most part, are not close to the people (see: the bourgeois and the nouveaux riches). Since the 1980s, they have been thinking that the only path to Algeria’s salvation is the same as that of France and the other European countries, that is: destroying traditional family, religious, ethnic and other values that do not conform to European culture. Also, they have excelled in applying several education programmes through processes that are under complete submission. I give you this as evidence: “A professor of sociology at the university of Algiers continues to either deny or ignore the real reasons for Algerian society’s decadence.
الهواري Posted 2008-07-03
Democratic Algeria? Killers!: The Algerian generals are accused of the war of exterminating the Algerian people. Yes this true and without comment. The census says that there are a quarter million killed people and hundreds of thousands of lost people. Whereas the Algerian generals are singing and enjoying their distorted democracy. They pretend that the Algerian people are ok. They are terrible killers. They must be presented to the International Court of Justice on charges of human extermination.
HAFRIT Posted 2008-07-03
The problem is not a societal one, but a social one. Do not read Bourdieu; read Alain Soral, “The Misery of Desire: The Fall towards Feminisation”, everything is explained there. Algerian society quite resembles European society. Nothing has changed: the ideas, the government and even the ideology are copied and pasted. Beware, you thinkers and ideologists of the state!
وافق أصيل Posted 2008-07-04
In the name of God the most gracious the most merciful. The most hurting reality for the Algerian family and which wasn’t mentioned by academic researchers or theoretician politicians is the injustice and unfairness in the distribution of resources among the members of the Algerian society. Not everyone is offered the opportunity to obtain its resources through work on the basis of personal capacity and powers. This is rather done through favouritism which has shaken all balances. Generally and commonly the unqualified and incompetent take leadership or non leadership posts. But this has a serious impact on the overall functioning of the state institutes with its different bodies, from the top of the hierarchy to its bottom. Therefore, there is the prevalence of mediocrity. Deficiencies are thus prevailing in all aspects of the economic, social, and even religious and moral life. As regard competencies, they are marginalized and dying slowly under the threat of forgetfulness. Or they immigrate so that are exploited by other nations and peoples. It is a severe exhaustion of human resources that are capable of taking the country out of its permanent and compound crisis if they were granted an opportunity to be where they should. But since things are like that, the results of the prevalent mediocrity and rampant injustice, necessity and feeling of injustice have introduced society in the tunnel of despair and despondence. The best example of this is that many young people prefer dying in the sea than staying in a society where the least rights of citizenship are absent. It is certain that those who don’t know or cannot provide a living don’t know how to educate generations characterized by authenticity and modernity at the same time and who are capable of survival and continuity in a world whose foundations represent that halo part of the overall problematic.
algerienne Posted 2008-07-08
We need to search for leaders during this decline in our values with Algerian society. The media and influence of foreign societies are the ones plaguing our culture and morals.
youcef Posted 2008-07-19
Salam alikum. I am a student preparing a bachelor degree about violence against women in Algeria. If you have the address of a centre or anything that might help me please call me, thanks. I will be very grateful to you or you can write me.
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