Some 50 pages are devoted to a series of articles written in 1939, "The Misery of Kabylia, " detailing life in the famine-stricken northern region.

WSJ: Book Review: Algerian Chronicles

Kabylia, a prosperous region east of the capital whose largely Berber population has begun pressing for autonomy, is now a no-go zone for the federal gendarmerie.

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Only then, they argue, will it be protected from measures such as the new law which makes it an offence for a political party to address a rally in Kabylia in Berber.

ECONOMIST: Algeria: Identity crisis | The

In Kabylia, Arabic is often the third language.

ECONOMIST: Algeria