ALGIERS, a small Christmas market has opened in Algeria’s capital, catering to a rising number of Christian African migrants as well as diplomats and locals in the overwhelmingly Muslim country.
Around 99 percent of Algeria’s population is Sunni Muslim but the number of Christians has been rising due to an influx of migrants from sub-Saharan countries such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Caritas staged a similar Christmas market last year but kept it low profile. This year it advertised the market in advance, calling for a “living together” between Christians and Muslims.
“It is not about making money, but rather about using the money to help the most vulnerable, whether Algerians, African migrants or Syrians,” Caritas Algeria director Maurice Pilloud said.
Veiled Muslim women mix with foreigners at the market in Algiers’ El Biar district, where honey, chocolate, cakes, jewelry and trinkets are sold. Many donations came from Muslims, said Pilloud.
The market offers the chance for young people to make a contribution to society in a political system where the ruling party has dominated all aspects of the oil-producing North African state since independence in 1962.
“We need 50 Caritas associations in Algeria to help the vulnerable, whether Algerians or migrants,” added Saida, his 79-year-old mother.
Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Ulf Laessing/Mark Heinrich