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TUNIS: Viral TikTok videos showing seven Algerians teenagers arriving by boat in Spain have sparked debate over rising youth migration in a country where half the population is estimated to be under 30.
The clips, originating in early September, show the teens cutting across the sea in a small recreational boat, with one video drawing 3.4 million views.
Another shows one of the boys, the youngest of whom was said to be just 14, patting the motor as a self-appointed captain shouted: “Spain!“
Many in Algeria have blamed their parents for allowing the trip, while others see an example of an issue long fueled by a lack of opportunities in the country and endemic corruption.
One of the teens, identifying himself on TikTok as “Ouais Belkif,” later went live on the app to field questions from viewers about their voyage.
He recommended using a maritime navigation app called Navionics Boating, saying it could be used offline once the charts were downloaded. “It works both on iPhone and Android,” he said.
He also recounted how they “stole the boat at night and set off” from La Perouse, a town at the eastern edge of the bay of Algiers, and how they stocked gasoline by filling a friend’s moped at a petrol station then secretly syphoning its tank in bottles for the trip.
Stolen boat, or rented? 
“Some wondered what we were up to, but we wouldn’t say anything,” Belkif said.
Yet a Spanish migrant-rescue NGO worker told AFP on condition of anonymity that their plans were not secret.
Their parents had contacted him in advance, he said, in case the teens went missing, adding that the boat theft claims were “a tall tale.”
“The boat was rented out by one of the boys’ father,” he said.
The teens were now at a juvenile center in the custody of Spanish immigration services, the NGO worker said.
None of the parents AFP reached out to agreed to be interviewed. A school teacher who allegedly taught three of the youths also declined to comment.
The youngest of the teens, whom they called “le petit” (the little one), was an aspiring football player on the municipal team, one local told AFP, also on condition of anonymity.
He said that after the boy tried out for Paradou AC — an Algiers club known for its youth academy — but was turned down, he “thought he would have a better chance of playing professionally in Spain.”
Algerian authorities rarely issue statements on irregular migration.
The Defense Ministry’s magazine El Djeich denounced reports as stemming from “malicious media agendas” seeking to “convey a false image of Algeria.”
It called the incident “an isolated act” that did not “reflect the reality of Algerian society,” citing “higher levels of irregular migration” in other countries.
But Europe’s border agency Frontex says irregular crossings on western Mediterranean routes have risen by 22 percent compared to last year, with departures from Algeria accounting for over 90 percent of the 11,791 crossings it detected on those routes this year.
‘Escape and adventure’ 
El Djeich said Algeria had “carried out major projects... for the benefit of ambitious young people who are offered vast future prospects.”
Resource-rich Algeria has Africa’s third-largest economy but many of its 47 million people wish to emigrate, and their motives are not restricted to poverty.
“It’s a mixed phenomenon driven by multiple factors like limited opportunities, political grievances and restricted mobility,” said Ahlam Chemlali, an EU migration researcher at Aalborg University in Copenhagen.
“People feel the changes that were promised never came,” she said.
Yet, “migration can also simply be about autonomy,” Chemlali added. “Younger people just want more of life. They sometimes want thrill, escape and adventure.”
Algerian sociologist Nacer Djabi said another factor was that “younger people now view borders differently.”
As they are “more connected” on social media, “they’re more globalized than older generations,” he said.
Djabi also spoke of political frustrations after Algeria’s quelled 2019 mass protests, saying that youths sought “more social freedoms” in the conservative country.
But he also noted that it was not just young men attempting the crossing, saying “government workers, families and lone girls are doing it, too.”
All seven teenagers were set to resume school this month.

BEIRUT: Syrian government fighters entered the city of Sweida over the summer in an apparent bid to assert control over the enclave of the Druze minority that for years had operated in semiautonomy.
It backfired. Sectarian attacks on Druze civilians during the ensuing fighting have hardened Sweida’s stance against the government, pushed it toward Israel, and led some in the minority sect to go as far as calling for secession.
Now Druze groups have set up a de facto military and governmental body in Sweida, similar to the Kurdish-led authorities in the country’s northeast. It is a major setback for Damascus struggling to exert its authority across the country following a 13-year civil war and win the support of minorities.
When former President Bashar Assad was brought down by Islamist-led insurgents in December, many Druze celebrated, welcoming a new era after over 50 years of autocratic rule. They were willing to give interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda-linked militant who promised a democratic and inclusive political transition, a chance.
Among them was Omar Alkontar, a 21-year-old biology student. Then his village outside the city of Sweida was burned to the ground in July’s clashes.
Now, he said, “The main idea is that we have to separate (from Damascus) to prevent another massacre.”
A de facto Druze administration
While many Druze were initially willing to work with the new authorities, a notable exception was Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, a divisive figure who had flip-flopped between support for Assad and anti-government protests and now opposed dealing with the new government.
In July, armed groups affiliated with Al-Hijri clashed with local Bedouin clans, spurring intervention by government forces who effectively sided with the Bedouins. Hundreds of civilians, mostly Druze, were killed, many by government fighters.
Videos surfaced online showing armed men killing Druze civilians kneeling in squares and shaving the mustaches off elderly men in an act of humiliation.
The sectarian violence changed the minds of many Druze about the new authorities — and about Al-Hijri, who has emerged as the dominant Druze figure in Syria. In August, he established a government-like body called the Supreme Legal Council.
Dozens of armed factions originally formed to counter drug gangs and Daesh group extremists have banded together under the National Guard. Critics say it includes former Assad loyalists and allied militias trafficking the amphetamine known as Captagon. It also includes former opponents of Al-Hijri, most notably the Men of Dignity, a prominent group that had endorsed cooperation with Damascus before the July violence.
“We urge all the honorable in the world … to stand with the Druze sect in southern Syria to declare a separate region that keeps us protected until the end of time,” Al-Hijri said in August, upon welcoming the Men of Dignity into the National Guard.
Al-Hijri did not respond to interview requests and it is unclear exactly what kind of system he envisions.
Many in Sweida want some form of autonomy in a federal system. A smaller group is calling for total partition. Local Druze figures that still back Al-Sharaa are now widely seen as traitors.
The attacks in Sweida sounded “strong alarm bells among the Druze” as well as other minority groups, said Mazen Ezzi, a Syrian researcher from Sweida now based in Paris.
“The Druze realized that to stay part of this new political status quo” under the new authorities “will be extremely difficult,” he said.
Israel seizes the moment
Most of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria, with the rest in Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed.
The Druze of Syria take pride in their historic involvement in revolts against Ottoman and French colonial rule to establish a secular, nationalist Syrian state.
Sheikh Mowafak Tarif, Israel’s Druze spiritual leader, was largely rejected by Druze leaders in Syria and Lebanon, who opposed Israel and supported the Palestinians.
But what happened in July has shaken about a century of Syrian Druze political history and driven many toward a formerly taboo ally.
When violence broke out in Sweida, Tarif called for Israeli military intervention to protect the Druze. Israel responded, launching strikes on Syrian government forces and on the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in Damascus. Syrian forces withdrew from Sweida.
Tarif told The Associated Press that he and Al-Hijri stay in touch “all the time,” organizing deliveries of aid to the besieged province.
Tarif also meets with senior Western politicians and diplomats and has called for a demilitarized southern Syria and establishment of a humanitarian corridor from Israel to deliver food and medical supplies to Sweida. Israeli officials have also pushed for a wider demilitarized zone in Syria’s south.
Al-Hijri has thanked Israel publicly on several occasions.
The impact on the ground is apparent.
When someone hoisted an Israeli flag in Sweida in March, residents quickly took it down. Now, in Karama Square, where people once gathered to celebrate Assad’s downfall, portraits of Al-Hijri and Tarif appear side by side at protests against Al-Sharaa. Most carry the Druze faith’s five-colored flag, but some also wave the Israeli flag.
It’s a sign of “a people who feel let down by their nationalism,” Ezzi said.
Alkontar, the biology student, doesn’t believe Israel’s motives are altruistic, but says its intervention was a lifeline for many in Sweida.
“It’s not necessarily a love for Israel. They felt safer after the strikes, which is very sad,” Alkontar said after a attending a protest in Karama Square. “You want the army of your own government to provide you with that security, not a foreign country.”
Damascus struggles to change course
Al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community since the July fighting and warned that Israel is trying to exploit the tensions.
“Mistakes were made by all sides: the Druze community, the Bedouins, even the state itself,” he said in an interview with state television. “Everyone who committed wrongdoing, made mistakes, or violated people’s rights must be held accountable.”
The president then formed a fact-finding mission. Last month, Damascus alongside the United States and Jordan announced a road map to return displaced Druze and Bedouins, deliver aid to Sweida, and bring about reconciliation.
Both moves were widely dismissed in Sweida.
A Sweida resident, whose fiance and members of his family were killed by gunmen who raided their village, accused Damascus of “covering the attacks up.” She spoke on condition of anonymity after previously receiving threats for speaking out.
“When the (Assad) regime fell, we were the first people to celebrate … but I think Ahmad Al-Sharaa is a murderous extremist,” she said.
Alkontar is disheartened as he walks past another long breadline in a small bakery near ruined buildings after visiting a displaced family.
He believes some Druze “could have a change of heart ... if the government changes its ways and extends a hand.” But many will not.
“As long as this government in Damascus stays, people will lean toward partition or independence,” Alkontar said. “I prefer we stay part of Syria without this ruling group. But as long as they’re there, I don’t know if even federalism will keep us safe.”