The opinions expressed in this essay are the author’s own.
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About the PhotographerBorn in 1996, Issam Larkat is a self-taught Algerian photographer with a license in sociology from the university of his hometown Relizane. He developed his visual language through his love for cinema, capturing a mix of his background with what he sees and lives daily inside different cities of his country. He considers photography to be a medium to peacefully fight the injustice of the modern world and give a voice to unheard important causes. He has had exhibitions in Switzerland, Germany, Indonesia, Lagos, and Nigeria. |
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Skyline of the city of Relizane, to show what type of buildings these youngsters were born and grow up in, buildings without architecture. 2021. © Issam Larkat
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Torn up poster of the current president on one of the main road entries to the city of Relizane. West of Algeria, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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This project focuses subjectively on the youth of Relizane, a small town in the west of Algeria with nothing in it for the youth to do but to sit on the streets and develop various philosophies about life and self-centered mentalities. Most of the youth inside Algerian small cities seems to know each other whether in direct relations or through common friends, yet everybody seems to feel like strangers to each other. Everybody wants to leave their towns, or even the country, but no one can really get out. They feel abandoned and excluded from what is happening in the world.
When they arrive in Algeria, the first thing a lot of foreigners like to state is how claustrophobic the country is to them, and how strange the feeling they sense about it.
Nobody speaks about pessimism, nihilism, Communism negativity, and all of these taboo words in the country, while they are the routines and daily life of the youth inside Algeria.
But when you look at this project in a larger sense, it is an entirely contemporary look at the Algerian youth that represent more than 70% of the population, living their daily lives of unemployment. They have foggy futures, and it’s obvious to the local citizens of the country that they are living under a dictatorship.
The government, the official authorities, and the media have been repressing the truth, broadcasting fake news about the will and needs of these youngsters and the Algerian people in general, and taking the country to the darker corners that normal humans cannot endure mentally.
When they arrive in Algeria, the first thing a lot of foreigners like to state is how claustrophobic the country is to them, and how strange the feeling they sense about it.
Nobody speaks about pessimism, nihilism, Communism negativity, and all of these taboo words in the country, while they are the routines and daily life of the youth inside Algeria.
But when you look at this project in a larger sense, it is an entirely contemporary look at the Algerian youth that represent more than 70% of the population, living their daily lives of unemployment. They have foggy futures, and it’s obvious to the local citizens of the country that they are living under a dictatorship.
The government, the official authorities, and the media have been repressing the truth, broadcasting fake news about the will and needs of these youngsters and the Algerian people in general, and taking the country to the darker corners that normal humans cannot endure mentally.
“Harragas” are North African migrants who illegally immigrate to Europe or to European-controlled islands, sometimes in makeshift boats. The term Harraga literally means “to burn,” alluding to the migrants’ practice of burning their identity papers and personal documents in order to prevent identification by authorities in Europe. The North African men who partake in illegal immigration refer to themselves as Harragas (burners).
In this image you see Sofiane a youngster in his 20s, who escaped the country illegally during the pandemic, heading towards Spain. 2019. © Issam Larkat
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The rise of the Algerian popular movement (“Hirak”) on February 22, 2019, against the dictatorship of 20 years of ruling by Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Relizane, February 22, 2019. © Issam Larkat
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Kids selling bikes on the weekend to make some money. Relizane, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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A kid hanging by a pull up bar. 2020. © Issam Larkat
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Two underaged boys sell vegetables on a hard, sunny summer day. Child labor is considered by most Algerians as a normal thing or a normal scene you’ll see on the streets daily. Relizane, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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Zonket el rekaba is a local market in Relizane where the people who face unemployment can sell phones, clothes, and variety of other stuff. Relizane, 2019. © Issam Larkat
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Cafés are more than a place to get a coffee or a drink in Algerian culture. They are a place to exchange business and are considered to be the second home for unemployed youngsters. El matmar, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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A tired youngster in a café. Djdiouia, Relizane, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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Kids playing soccer on the yard of an Islamic Mosque. Djediouia, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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Portrait of Mohamed Mahboub, a 24-year-old “Rapid club Relizane” football club ultra fan who found solace in touring with the local team after a failed attempt to escape the country illegally by the Mediterranean Sea. Relizane, 2020. © Issam Larkat
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Bird and animal trading and selling has become a sort of unclaimed community for all the unemployed youngsters to exchange and meet on a weekly basis. Relizane, 2021. © Issam Larkat
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Portrait of a bus worker trying to fill the bus with customers. Yellel, 2021. © Issam Larkat
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“FIS” graffiti is the last remaining on the wall in one of the provinces in the west of Algeria. FIS was an Islamist political party in Algeria during the 90s. Officially made legal as a political party in September 1989, less than a year later the FIS received more than half of valid votes cast by Algerians in the 1990 local government elections. When it appeared to be winning a general election in January 1992, a military coup dismantled the party, interning thousands of its officials in the Sahara. It was officially banned two months later. Because of this political act Algeria entered a civil war for 10 years and lost over 250,000 souls. 2020. © Issam Larkat
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“Hitis” or “Chômage” are names thrown in the faces of the unemployed youngsters who sit on the street, mostly close to walls. They constantly feel ashamed, and they feel that they are the shame of their families because they are failures in their opinions. © Issam Larkat
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A youngster sits in front of his house. Relizane, 2021. © Issam Larkat
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An enigmatic painting on the wall I found, showing a small pistol with the price of 20 dollars below it. Relizane, 2022. © Issam Larkat
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