COVID-19 Disrupts Ramadan Traditions Across North Africa

Maghrebians are frustrated to be spending a Ramadan in sobriety and without flavor. There are many Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians who are deprived of iftars, prayers, evening gatherings and night outings this year. Maïssa, a 46-year-old teacher from Algiers, regrets that the coronavirus has made the holy month insipid this year. The same goes for many Muslims in Tunis, Rabat, Algiers or Casablanca, who lament the absence of the long musical entertainment in the popular neighborhoods, reports AFP.

The preventive measures taken by the various states have forced the closure of many commercial spaces; which has made it difficult for citizens to supply themselves with various food products. The products usually consumed during Ramadan are absent from the plates this year due to confinement, except for those who cook at home. In Morocco, at the beginning of Ramadan, despite the curfew imposed to prevent night outings, some venture "not far from home, to smoke a cigarette at night," confides a young man from a popular neighborhood in Salé, near Rabat. "No more cafes, no more worshippers in the mosques... It’s unprecedented," he laments.

Fekhreddine Zerrouki, president of a charitable association, is saddened by the fact that his association could not set up its tent, as in the past, to serve meals to the needy. "We deliver the iftar to their homes even if the number of beneficiaries is very low compared to the number of people in need," laments Samir, a volunteer from the Algerian Red Crescent.