• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Sunday, January 17, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Berbers: North Africa’s Marginalized Indigenous People

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
12/02/20
in World
Amazighan women with their children. Photo: Fadel Senna/AFP

The Berber people are descendants of North Africa's pre-Arab inhabitants. Photo: Fadel Senna/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Berbers are descendants of pre-Arab populations across North Africa, from the extreme west of Egypt to the countries of the Maghreb.

The Berbers, who refer to themselves as the Amazigh meaning “free man”, have long fought for greater recognition for their ancient ethnic group, their culture and language.

Here is some background on Berber communities that have stretched across North Africa since long before the Arab conquests:

Morocco

On Africa’s northwestern tip, Morocco is home to the largest Berber community in the region.

Their language — of which there are three main dialects — was only given official status alongside Arabic in a new constitution in 2011.

One of the major consequences of this recognition has been the appearance of their Tifinagh alphabet on public buildings next to Arabic and French.

Since 2010 the Tamazight TV channel has been dedicated to promoting Berber culture.

Some years ago lawmakers created a major stir by talking in the Berber language in parliamentary sessions.

Despite advances, the Moroccan authorities still sporadically refuse to register Berber names on the official registry.

The Amazigh flag was a major symbol in protests that hit the depressed Rif region in the north of the country in 2016, where the group is a majority.

Algeria

The Berber comprise about 10 million people in Algeria, making up roughly a quarter of the country’s total population of 40 million.

They live mainly in the mountainous northern region of Kabylie, and as in Morocco they have led a long fight for their rights.

After some progress, such as the recognition of Tamazight as the country’s second official language in 2016, the Berber was the target of much repression in the crackdown on anti-government protests.

Several dozen demonstrators were sentenced to jail for having brandished the Amazigh flag, banned from rallies by the army.

Libya

Persecuted under dictator Moamer Kadhafi, who denied their existence, the Berbers of Libya have called for their language to be given official status alongside Arabic and for greater political representation.

They make up around 10 percent of the 6.4 million and live mainly in the mountains west of Tripoli or in the vast southern desert regions.

Their demands have become more vocal in the turmoil-wracked country since Kadhafi’s ouster and death in 2011. The Berber flag can now be seen on administrative buildings.

Textbooks in their language have also been produced, but they have not been officially approved by the internationally-backed government.

Under a draft constitution endorsed by parliament, but still awaiting ratification, the languages spoken by the various communities, including Tamazigh, are recognized as part of Libyan cultural heritage but not given official status.

Tunisia

In Tunisia, estimating the number of Berbers is tough as official statistics based on ethnicity are prohibited.

Outside their traditional heartland in the south, Berbers are mainly found in the capital Tunis following an exodus from the countryside.

They complain of marginalization and exclusion in a state that recognizes only Arabic in its constitution.

Jallol Ghaki, the head of the Tunisian Association of Amazigh Culture, estimates that while some half of Tunisians may be of Berber origin, the vast majority have been fully Arabised and only one percent speak the local Chelha dialect.

While activists complain that the state takes no efforts to preserve or educate children about Berber culture, there have been some improvements since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Tunisian civil protection workers
Refugees

Bodies of 20 Migrants Retrieved Off Tunisia, Ministry Says

by Staff Writer
December 24, 2020
A migrant boat off the coast of Libya.
Refugees

At Least 74 Migrants Dead in Shipwreck Off Libya: UN

by Staff Writer
November 12, 2020
Anti-government protests in Algeria
Media Freedom

Another Algeria Journalist Jailed in Growing Crackdown

by Staff Writer
August 24, 2020
Instructor Chablis Torres reads to children in a pre-school class, wearing masks and at desks spaced apart as per coronavirus guidelines during summer school sessions at Happy Day school in Monterey Park, California, in July.
Opinion

COVID-19 and the Opportunity of Un-Schooling Harmful Myths

by Mneesha Gellman
August 18, 2020
African migrants seeking to cross to the Canary Islands typically travel in small wooden boats like these
Refugees

27 Dead in Mauritania Migrant Boat Disaster: UN

by Staff Writer
August 7, 2020
Elyes Fakhfakh resigns from Tunisia post no-confidence motion
World

Tunisia Risks Fresh Political Deadlock as PM Resigns

by Staff Writer
July 16, 2020
Next Post
Anti-Guantanamo demonstrators dressed in Guantanamo Bay prisoner uniforms march past Capitol Hill in Washington on January 9, 2020.

Guantanamo Bay Is Grand Act of Hypocrisy That Must Be Closed

A man hangs a poster reading 'Congratulations Mr. President' at his bar in Rahovec, Kosovo.

The Western Balkans: An Opportunity for Biden to Restore US Foreign Policy

Recommended

The filing was submitted by Justice Department lawyers on Thursday, January 14.

US Rioters Sought to ‘Capture and Assassinate’ Lawmakers at Capitol: Prosecutors

January 15, 2021
Biden proposes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Biden Unveils $1.9 Tn Economic Plan as US Recovery Buckles

January 14, 2021
Senegalese soldiers from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, July 24, 2019.

UN Peacekeeper Killed in Mali, Seven Wounded: Spokesman

January 13, 2021
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

NGOs Accuse France of Climate Inaction in Landmark Court Case

January 13, 2021

Opinion

President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

Riots at Capitol Hill: Darkness Before the Dawn?

January 8, 2021
Volunteers are given the Moderna vaccine on August 5, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan.

Who’s First-in-Line for the Vaccine? A Classic Problem in Medical Ethics

December 30, 2020
A sorghum farmer inspects her small grains crop thriving in the dry conditions in March in the Mutoko rural area of Zimbabwe

The 10-Year Food Systems Revolution Must Start Now

December 22, 2020
Playing the Un-Naming Game in New York Is Harder Than It Seems

Pandenomics: The High Cost of Living While Undocumented in the United States

December 22, 2020
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post