France
Long-Term Projects 1st Prize
World Press Photo Story of the Year
Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt
Young people make up more than half of Algeria’s population, and according to a UNESCO report 72% of people under 30 in Algeria are unemployed. Pivotal moments in Algerian history have had angry youth at their core. High unemployment leads to boredom and frustration in everyday life and many young people feel disconnected from the state and its institutions. In neglected working-class neighborhoods such as Bab el-Oued in Algiers, a sense of community and solidarity is often not enough to erase the trials of poor living conditions. In February 2019, thousands of young people from working-class neighborhoods again took to the streets in what became a nationwide challenge to the reign of long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Kho (the word means ‘brother’ in colloquial North-African Arabic) is about the genesis of a revolt. It is the story of the deep unease of youth, who, by daring to challenge authority, inspired the rest of the population to join their action, giving birth to the largest protest movement in Algeria in decades.
Friends relax and watch television in their diki, a converted storeroom in Bab el-Oued. Young people often seek refuge in diki—private places that are ‘bubbles of freedom’ away from the gaze of society and from conservative social values.
