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Berbers, free and proud to be so
Who are the Berbers ? Berbers are the North Africa native people. They are known there since immemorial times. Today, there are about thirty millions of berber-speaking left. They live from small to great areas, spred about ten countries : Morocco (Rif, Atlas, Sous), Algeria (Kabylie, Aurès, Chenoua, M'zab), Tunisia, Libye, Egypt (oasis of Siwa), Canaries, and the touareg land which is divided by six states borders Etats (Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Libya, Algéria). Even though their name comes from the Latin Barbarus, which was how Romans called any people they did not know, Berbers are calling themselves "Amazigh" which means "free man".
From the VIIIth century B.C. until the XIXe century of the Christian time, Berbers had to face several invasions (phœnician, roman, vandal, byzantin, arabo-mueslim, ottoman, french). They have been all violent as conquerors wanted to settle domination.
Mediternean and saharian people, the Berbers are the ethnic and socio-cultural root of North Africa to which was added jewish , european and arab components. Known from their legendary hospitality, Berbers never battled as attackers but always as freedom fighters refusing to live under domination. Among all the foreign people who came to settle on berberian territories, only the Jewish managed to live in harmony with native people, sharing parts of their way of life, speaking their language and influencing them backward.
On the religious level, The Berbers have always been plurals After having known the animism and the paganism, they have been influenced by the judaism, the christianism and islam. But those religions were not conventionally adopted, they were always adapted their own customs and way of life. For instance, the berber right called "azref" unlike the muslim right, is totally beyond the religious sphere. So, by essence, secular and egalitarian is the Berber.
After having hardly sacrified their lives in fighting for the decolonization of North Africa, The Berbers are now facing an unusual situation of "internal colonization" which has nothing to envy the past colonization. Today, Berbers do begin to trust themselves again and get organized in every countries they live in, to defend their rights to live as an identity, as a people.
The immigration of the Berbers in France is one of the oldest as it dates back the XIXth century. It answered both the soldiers needs in a period of war (1st and 2nd world war) and the lack of labour especially in manufacturing and building. The immigration of the Berbers is said to be around 2 millions of individuals who discretely contribute to the ecocomic, scientific, artistic and sports blossoming of France.There is no need to mention that Edith Piaf, Mouloudji, Daniel Prévost, Isabelle Adjani, Zidane and a lot of other people are fruits of this berber input.
The Berbers have naturally recognized in the basis of the french society, the essantial values on which is set their own one : democracy, freedom, secularity, equity. (…)
Belkacem Lounes (Président du Congrès mondial Amazigh) Extraits Le Figaro, 27 juin 2003
