Kabylie - Trauma of the mega-fire
Reportage with the victims of the giant fires that hit the north of Algeria, from August 9 to 17, 2021, and more severely the region of Kabylia. Tens of thousands of hectares of forests were ravaged, and 240 direct and indirect deaths were counted in November 2021 by Algeria Press Service, as well as about forty soldiers (the provisional balance sheet was 90 deaths including 33 soldiers according to AFP on August 14, 2021). Kabylia is a region regularly affected by fires during the summers, as is often the case in the Mediterranean region, but the inhabitants agree that this year has been unprecedentedly violent. Fires described as mega-fires, a direct cause of global warming, and favored in particular by the dryness of the soil, water stress, extreme heat and the increase in human presence in the territory. Many experts and local witnesses emphasize the lack of preparation and anticipation of the authorities during this summer 2021. Algeria has no aircraft powerful enough to fight against major fires and has only water bomber helicopters acquired in 2012 (source: Le Monde newspaper). At the time of this report made in November 2021, three months after the fires, the toll is still increasing with the death of some victims taken in hospital, and nature remains very marked by the passage of fire, as well as the minds of everyone. The objective of this report was to meet the victims on the spot and still living in an environment of great trauma.












