Belaskri Yahia

Belaskri Yahia

Category : Letters - Languages ​​- Islamic Sciences

BELASKRI Yahia

Belaskri_Yahia.jpg

Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer and Journalist

Radio France Internationale (RFI) - Paris, France

Born September 24, 1952 in Oran, Algeria

Origins & Education

Yahia Belaskri was born on September 24, 1952, in Oran, a major metropolis in western Algeria, in an Algeria still under French colonial rule. His childhood unfolded during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), a formative experience that would profoundly mark his literary work.

Childhood in Wartime (1952-1962):
  • School Environment: He attended Louis-Lumière primary school then Pasteur school, French institutions where he discovered the language that would become his tool of literary expression
  • Context of Violence: His childhood was marked by war, where "every day, I encountered corpses of Europeans and Algerians in the streets"
  • Traumatic Experience: During a school outing to Raz-el-Aïn, "we were showered with those projectiles that bring death"
  • Formation of Consciousness: These early experiences of violence forged his sensitivity as a writer witnessing History
University Education:
  • Higher Studies: After studying sociology, he acquired a deep understanding of social mechanisms that would nourish his literary analyses
  • Dual Culture: His Franco-Algerian education gave him a unique bicultural perspective on relations between the two countries
  • Literary Awakening: Discovery of French and Maghrebian literature that would guide his writer's vocation

Scientific Career

Yahia Belaskri's career is characterized by a gradual evolution from the business world to journalism, then to literary creation, with each stage enriching his understanding of the contemporary world and its tensions.

Professional Phase in Algeria (1970s-1980s):
  • Managerial Responsibilities: He worked in human resources in several Algerian companies, an experience that gave him intimate knowledge of Algerian socio-economic realities
  • Transition to Journalism: He turned to journalism, developing his talents for observation and analysis
  • Witness to Transformations: He lived through the mutations of post-independence Algeria, essential material for his future novels
Exile and Settlement in France (1989):
  • Triggering Events: One year after the events of October 5, 1988 in Algeria, he came to settle in France
  • New Beginning: As a writer, he has resided in Paris since 1989, where he rebuilt his professional and personal life
  • Journalistic Career: He became a journalist at Radio France internationale (RFI), a platform that allowed him to maintain links with Africa and the Maghreb
Literary and Intellectual Specialization:
  • Areas of Expertise: He wrote numerous articles and various contributions on relations between France and Algeria, immigration, dialogue of cultures in the Mediterranean basin
  • Collective Works: He thus participated in numerous collective works, affirming his position as an engaged intellectual
  • Editorial Role: He is a member of the editorial committee of Apulée magazine (Zulma editions)

Distinctions & Recognition

Yahia Belaskri's work benefits from constant critical recognition, confirmed by numerous prestigious awards that establish his place in contemporary Francophone literature.

  • Ouest France-Étonnants Voyageurs Prize (2011): For his novel "Si tu cherches la pluie, elle vient d'en haut", major recognition of literary quality
  • "Coup de soleil Languedoc-Roussillon" Favorite Prize (2012): Also for "Si tu cherches la pluie, elle vient d'en haut", confirming the impact of this novel
  • European and Mediterranean Book Prize (2014): Recognition of his Mediterranean roots
  • Beur FM TV5 Monde Prize (2015): For his novel "Les Fils du Jour", recognition in the Francophone space
  • "Des racines et des mots" Prize (2019): For his novel "Le livre d'Amray"
  • Special Mention of the Five Continents of Francophony Prize: For "Le Silence des dieux" (Zulma, 2023)

Impact & Influence

Yahia Belaskri's work stands as a major contribution to understanding contemporary issues of the Mediterranean world, particularly in Franco-Algerian relations and the condition of exile.

  • Memory of the Algerian War: His works remain marked by "his attention (his fidelity) to the humble, the dominated, the fate of women, victims of racism: Jews or Spaniards of Algeria, pieds-noirs or immigrants of France"
  • Franco-Algerian Relations: His universe explores "Franco-Algerian relations" and "the mixed history of his country"
  • Defense of Cultural Mixing: He "defends a luminous Islam that considers life as sacred, that advocates a cultural mixing of identities and peoples"
  • Voice of the Diaspora: His path as an exile makes him a privileged witness to the contemporary migratory experience
  • Resistance Writing: He "believes above all in the strength of man, the capacity of peoples to write their history"
  • Stylistic Influence: "He mixes the symbolic with realism, speech with incantation – this is the originality and strength of his universe"

Major Works

Major Novels:
  • "Le Bus dans la ville" (2008): First novel, urban and memorial exploration
  • "Si tu cherches la pluie, elle vient d'en haut" (2010): Novel about "the tragic destinies of a man and woman caught up by religious violence and the weight of recent Algerian history: an uncompromising dive into the black decade"
  • "Une longue nuit d'absence" (2013): Meditation on exile and separation
  • "Les Fils du jour" (2014): "An Algerian saga" that "undertakes a violent incursion into the History of Algeria"
  • "Le Livre d'Amray" (2018): Novel that "tells of a 'defeat', that of Amray and those who resemble him, in a country still waiting for 'the wedding of sun and sea'"
  • "Le Silence des dieux" (2021): Visionary fable about "an isolated village" where "authorities decree that anyone who tries to escape would be shot without warning"
Biographies and Essays:
  • "Khaled" (1995): Biography of Algerian artist Khaled
  • "Abd El-Kader : Le combat et la tolérance" (2016): Biography where he "delicately traces the adventurous life and exceptional destiny of Abd el-Kader (1808-1883)"
  • "Chroniques amères d'un Méditerranéen" (2023): Collection of reflections on Mediterranean current events
Collective Works and Contributions:
  • Co-directed works: "L'Épreuve d'une décennie. Algérie, arts et culture 1992-2002" (2004), "Algéries 50" (2012)
  • Essays and Articles: "L'islamisme et l'Europe sociale", "Camus et l'Algérie : le retour", "Fanon et moi"
  • Short Stories: Contributions to numerous anthologies and literary magazines

Themes & Literary Universe

  • War Memory: Constant exploration of the trauma of the Algerian War and its contemporary resonances
  • Multiple Identity: Questioning of cultural and linguistic belonging in a postcolonial context
  • Violence and Power: Analysis of mechanisms of political and religious oppression
  • Mediterranean Heritage: Celebration of the mixed history of his country and Mediterranean civilizations
  • Exile and Nostalgia: Reflection on the expatriate condition and the quest for origins
  • Tolerance and Dialogue: Advocacy for intercultural understanding and peaceful coexistence

"The History of humanity is marked by enslavement and even degradation. In many places, it is enough for the holder of power – a clan, a group, a dictator, an autocrat – to say something for entire sections of the population to follow."

Further Reading

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