“I Thought We Would Establish Freedom, Democracy and Professionalism,” Says Exiled Algerian Journalist in Interview with APN

Unlike many of her fellow journalists who fled Algeria in the violent 1990's, Ghania Khelifi, former editor-in-chief of Liberté and Le Matin, did not leave her home country until 2006. This was several months after the referendum launched by President Abdelaziz Bouterflika, aimed at restoring peace and erasing the memory of a thirteen-year civil war with its 150 000 victims. In an exclusive interview with Arab Press Network (APN), Khelifi explains her late departure, retraces her path as a woman in a male-dominated profession and reveals the tensions that still exist in Algeria.

APN: Tell us about your journalistic path.

Ghania Khelifi: I'm a self-taught journalist - I've got an undergraduate degree in English and a Masters in Library Science. Journalism had tempted me for a long time, but I wasn't interested in working for government-controlled media, which was the only form authorized until 1990. When the independent press emerged, I gave up my position in an economics research centre to take my first steps in journalism. I started writing for three or four publications. However, they quickly went bankrupt. Then I started working for the weekly L'Observateur as a researcher. At one point I was assigned a story to fill in for one of the journalists, and that's how I became a journalist at the paper. Two years later, in 1992, the newspaper disappeared for political reasons. So I moved on to work for Liberté, a daily that had just been launched. I was in charge of investigative reporting and features. Competition among papers was very fierce at the time, especially alongside El Watan and Le Matin. The newspaper needed to build a reputation, and it did so by specializing in reporting on for example corruption among the elite and customs officials.

Within a year, Liberté had become the top daily in terms of circulation, and I was appointed editor-in-chief. I finally left Liberté in 2000. I think they didn't want a woman to hold a position with responsibilities, since I got the blame by the management every time something went wrong. So I joined Le Matin, where I was again able to write freely, until it was forced to close down in 2003 and its director Mohamed Benchicou was imprisoned.

APN: You left Algeria in 2006, at the same time as the reconciliation and peace process started. Why?

GK: Since the year 2000 or so, besides the continual deterioration of working conditions that prevent journalists from reporting from the field, a form of laziness has replaced the courage that media used to show in the 90s. Improving security did not come hand in hand with more freedom of _expression. Everyone is now chasing profit, including the media industry. I've been very disappointed, because I expected that after the civil war and all these years of sacrifice, we would establish freedom, democracy and professionalism. Furthermore, the freedom of _expression situation has become more restrictive since 1998. The Islamists lost in military terms, but their ideology won and prevailed. But the self-censorship that exists in the media, the legal harassment, the repression of liberties and the national reconciliation all of this leads me to doubt the effectiveness of our efforts. Algeria seems to be lagging behind right now, since everyone - old and young alike - wants to leave, with the exception of the small number that's making a lot of money. Writing is the only skill I have and I don't know how to be anything besides Algerian.

APN: How did your departure affect your career in journalism?

GK: I left a leading position in a top daily to become a correspondent in Paris. First I worked for the daily L'_Expression, and now I'm working for Midi Libre. Being a correspondent for an Algerian newspaper is a way for me to avoid burning bridges entirely. The biggest challenge in France is to overcome professional isolation. There are dozens and dozens of us Algerian journalists here in Paris, but we're in the margins. Two months ago, to counter this, some colleagues and I created a club for Algerian journalists in France, so that members of our profession could get together and share experiences. Leaving Algeria gave me back my enthusiasm to take on new tasks, and believe that anything is possible if one really wants it to happen.

APN: How do you see the future?

GK: For Algeria? I'm not very optimistic. I just got back from a trip there and was frankly saddened by the number of young people who want to leave the country, and an atmosphere that's becoming more and more stifling for women. It seems that everyone is waiting for change, for something that would pull the country out from its current situation. Personally I started believing in things again when I got to Paris, but back there I still get the painful feeling that no one is happy, that no one in Algeria believes that dreams can come true anymore.

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!