{"id":98630,"date":"2024-02-08T08:08:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T07:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jazairhope.org\/?p=98630"},"modified":"2024-02-08T08:08:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T07:08:29","slug":"the-french-algerians-moving-to-algeria-seeking-freedom-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jazairhope.org\/en\/the-french-algerians-moving-to-algeria-seeking-freedom-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"The French Algerians moving to Algeria \u2018seeking freedom, opportunity\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What was once a one-way street heading north is now a two-lane highway with some people heading south out of France.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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Fafa finally feels free in her attire, long scarves and abayas covering her head to toe.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old can wear them today in Algeria without the trouble she would have faced in France, her country of origin which she decided to quit in 2016, seeking more religious freedom.<\/p>\n

Third-generation French Fafa, who comes from a Muslim family, says she never felt uncomfortable in France until she decided to become a practising Muslim as an adult.<\/p>\n

According to German online portal Statista, there are more than 5.4 million Muslim French people, about 8 percent of the population.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I discovered Islam, I naturally adopted a religious lifestyle in line with my principles, and since then, I no longer felt at home in France,\u201d she tells Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could easily end up being snubbed, insulted, even attacked. We\u2019re asked to change our lifestyle. We\u2019re prevented from doing certain things or going to certain places because we are veiled.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fafa is sure the marginalisation she felt was not due to her \u201cforeign origins\u201d, but rather was only about her religious affiliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband, who is of French descent and converted to Islam, felt the same. This sense of not belonging in France clearly comes from the fact that we\u2019re Muslims,\u201d she underlines.<\/p>\n

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Muslim women in France have faced harassment for their choice of attire [File: Miguel Medina\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was once a one-way street leading north to France now seems to be a two-way street with a noticeable number of people heading south to Algeria.<\/p>\n

The mother of three says the move she took eight years ago is \u201cthe best decision\u201d of her life.<\/p>\n

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