Harragas, sometimes spelled Haraga (Harrag in the singular form) (from

Algerian Arabic Algerian Arabic (, romanized: ), natively known as , or , is a variety of Arabic spoken in Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and is mostly intelligible with the Tunisian and Moroccan dialects. Darja () means "eve ...

حراقة, ''ḥarrāga, ḥarrāg'', "those who burn") are

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n migrants who illegally immigrate to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

or to European-controlled islands sometimes in makeshift boats. The term Harraga literally means “to burn” alluding to the migrants practice of burning their

identity papers An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

and personal documents in order to prevent identification by authorities in Europe. The North African men who partake in illegal migration refer to themselves as Harragas (burners). The Harraga are from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

, they are specifically

Algerians Algerians () are the citizens and nationals of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. The majority of the country's population is composed of Arabs who make up 85% of the population, and there is a Berber minority of 15%. The term also ...

Moroccans Moroccans () are the Moroccan nationality law, citizens and nationals of the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who ...

, or

Tunisians Tunisians () are the citizens and nationals of Tunisia in North Africa, who speak Tunisian Arabic and share a common Tunisian culture and identity. In addition to the approximately 12 million residents in Tunisia, a Tunisian diaspora has been ...

and are predominantly men between the ages of twenty and thirty five years old. The term Harraga is also used in reference to the act of covertly crossing over a country's border or transgression of a law. It can also refer to smugglers and human-traffickers who directly facilitate regular and irregular ''migration''.

Etymology

Harraga (in arabic: حراقة), Harraga is an Algerian neologism created from the Arabic word “hrag,” meaning “burn” or “those who burn” the borders. It is used to describe irregular North African migrants who attempt to leave for Europe by boat. The verb 'to burn' can also ''mean'' 'to ''jump'' a ''queue''' or to 'run a light'. The word derives from

, designating "those who burn.", meaning those who burn their identification documents and seek their fortune as asylum-seekers in Europe.

Overview

The earliest references to the phenomenon of irregular migration of undocumented North African migrants (Harraga) to Europe can be traced to the 1980s. The Harraga who migrate to Europe do not necessarily come from the least educated or the poorest communities in their respective countries. On the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan harragas typically hope to cross the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

in order to reach Spain. Additionally, harragas also sometimes manage to complete the voyage from Africa to the island nation of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, or the Italian island of

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; ; ) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lamp ...

. :fr:Harraga, Retrieved 10 February 2011 From here they often go on to emigrate to other regions of Europe. On the Atlantic coast of North Africa, Mauritanian and Senegalese harragas set off in hope of reaching the Spanish-controlled

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

in small, flat-bottomed boats referred to in Spanish as "patera", or in rigid or inflatable rafts, (such as "Zodiac" rafts), or even paddle boats. Boats such as these are not designed for ocean crossings and the death rates for harragas are very high. The motivations for undertaking this extremely risky act are twofold: profound economic poverty and extreme political repression, both widespread throughout North Africa.

Film

Algerian film director directed a film entitled ''Harraga Blues,'' which chronicles the illegal immigration of an Algerian youth (''harrag'') to Spain. The film premiered at the

Abu Dhabi Film Festival The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF; ), formerly the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF), was an international film festival held in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007 to 2015. History The Middle East Internationa ...

in October 2012, and was released in 2013.

Bibliography

* Sansal, Boualem. ''Harraga'', (Gallimard, 2007) (French) * Sansal, Boualem. ''Harraga'', (Merlin, 2007) (German) * Lozano, Antonio. ''Harraga'', (Zech, Tenerife 2011, first ed. Zoela, Granada 2002) (Spanish) * Lozano, Antonio. ''Harraga'', (Zech, Tenerife 2011) (German) * Arianna Obinu. ''Harraga, il sogno europeo passa attraverso la Sardegna (2006-2012)'', Livorno, Edizioni Erasmo, 2013 (Italiano) ()

References

{{reflist European migrant crisis Immigration to Malta Algeria–Malta relations