frontpage companies economy society technology politics world editorial ecology
The Algerian situation
Our Saudi Arabia Bureau
31 DEC
In June 2006, Algeria faced a revolution as the refusal of the military-backed government to accept a victory by the Islamic parties at the ballot resulted in a violent, continuing campaign of terror. The situation thendisintegrated into open civil war that killed nearly a hundred thousand people and drove many more from the country before the fall of the government in a bloody slaughter of "infidels."
Although the new Islamic government proved willing to sell oil to the West, thus keeping their commercial relationships with the rest of the world largely intact, their internal changes were dramatic. Strict adherence to Islamic traditions was required: women were compelled to stay home, and crime was brutally punished. One result was the exodus of professionals and their families, stranding the more sophisticated parts of the region's economy. Oil production gradually dropped, as did commercial trade with the rest of the world. Over time, unemployment deepened and, despite drastic penalties, black markets flourished. Population growth surged, and acute shortages of water and food became commonplace.
Other than oil and, for Europe, a constant flow of illegal immigrants, the world came to ignore the region. Even oil became less of an issue as fuel cell-powered vehicles--running on hydrogen from natural gas or from solar refineries-replaced the internal combustion fleet.
    |
|
|
