The Chinese community in Algeria has asked the authorities to establish a ‘China Town’ in the capital Algiers, where the biggest Chinese community in the Arab World can live together. This comes after a number of bloody incidents in recent weeks in Bab Azziwar, a district in the Algerian capital.

By Abdelali Ragad

The latest clash between Chinese emigrants and Algerians took place on Wednesday in the suburbs of the city of Annaba (500 km to the east of the capital). A group of Algerian workers at one of the Chinese-French water purification works submitted a list of requests to the management, asking for improved working conditions.

According to the daily newspaper Asshuroeq, the Chinese manager was not amused and "tore it into pieces before them. One of the workers protested against this. In response, the manager punched him several times before his colleagues could stop him." In an act of solidarity with their representatives, workers laid down their tools and left their workshops.

Quarrels
The cultural officer at the Chinese Embassy in Algeria, Tsi Tsiu Zhi, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide:

"What is happening is not unusual, all cultures experience quarrels and fighting. We in Algeria consider what happened in the Bab Azziwar district to be no more than an individual incident."

And the Algerian workers are not the only ones to protest. In several places there have been protests by Chinese workers too. Like in Al-Husainieh (70 km to the east of the capital), where the Chinese revolted against their employers because of their low wages, lack of grants and difficult work conditions.

Violence
These protests even led to road blocks roads and vandalism. The Algerian security forces had to intervene in order to prevent the situation from escalating into violence. There are 567 Chinese companies located in Algeria and about 3600 foreign salesmen. A large number of unemployed Algerians think that the Chinese emigrants are to blame for the high unemployment and decline in job opportunities.

Colonial era
The Algerians had no previous experience with labour migration. The Chinese community, with as many as 35,000 immigrants, was the first community to settle in Algeria. The colonial era witnessed the immigration of more than two million French and European settlers. In those days Algeria was occupied by France. The multicultural society in Algeria makes the Chinese presence “somehow acceptable”.

The streets of the Algerian cities are full of Chinese women, girls and children. Even mosques see a small number of Chinese people converted to Islam.

China Town
Al-Khabar daily newspaper reported that the Chinese community in Algeria wants to establish its own ‘China Town’. The Chinese embassy in the Algerian capital Algiers has promised to take a look at the issue. Were the incidents of Bab Azziwar the straw that broke the camel’s back? Tsi Tsiu Zhi says:

"The establishment of a China Town is the desire of those Chinese who work in free trades in Algeria, and not the request of the majority who work in construction companies. In many respects Algeria and China have a similar history and culture. China Town is not an attempt by the Chinese community to isolate itself from Algerian society. So-called China Towns exist in many countries all over the world, where Chinese emigrants live."

Mixed marriages
Despite the fact that the Chinese community in Algeria consists of migrant labourers and salesmen, it is becoming a permanent community. Mr Tsi Tsiu Zhi says this is shown by the increase in the numbers of Chinese speaking Arabic and of Algerians wanting to learn Chinese.

What is striking is the number of mixed marriages between Chinese women and Algerian men, although they are limited. However, according to the cultural officer, this indicates a certain amount of understanding, familiarity and co-existence between the two cultures.