Nouara is 65 but ready to join thousands of others who burn their ID and pay traffickers for a chance of a new life in Europe
At 7am on a clear day in Algiers, Nouara looks out of her window to the narrow street below that leads to the market, and declares: “I can’t stand living here any more.”
Nouara, 65, wants nothing more than to leave her country, and is now considering boarding one of the boats that carry migrants on the often deadly crossing over the Mediterranean to Spain. “I’ve lost the tiny hope I had in this country,” she says.
Nouara, who preferred not to give her full name, lost her husband, Foudhil, to Covid in 2020. He was one of more than 6,800 Algerians reported to have died so far.
“Despite his advanced age, he was a man in good condition – healthy and active,” she says. “He died overnight, after a drastic lack of oxygen.”
