For decades, North Africa’s young people have pushed against social, economic and religious restrictions. A Moroccan Christian shares their struggles and the new paths some are finding as they turn to Christ.
Ever since they shook off European rule or ‘mandates’ between 1951 and 1962, the five countries forming Northwest Africa (known collectively as the ‘Maghreb’) have not served their young people well. The new governments in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya all brought various shades of dictatorship.
Young people marginalised
A Communist dictatorship emerged in Algeria, a dictatorial civilian regime in Tunisia, a monarchical regime and then a dictatorial military in Libya, a hybrid Bedouin regime in Mauritania, and a monarchy in Morocco under Hassan II (which introduced a multi-party system, but controlled it with a strong hand). These regimes marginalised young people and their role in society, and often suppressed them harshly when they rose up in protest.
