Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
May 20 , 2006

AMANA organizes cultural event for Moroccan community.
Over 90% of Moroccan land is arid or semiarid, official.
Cereal harvest might reach 86Mn qls, minister.
Morocco's energy strategy banks on renewable energies and private sector, diplomat.
Government writes off debts of some 100,000 farmers.
Moroccans top 'love' searchers list on the net. 
Moroccan Jews gather in Essaouira to celebrate Hilloula.
"Centre for the study of Islam and democracy" to open branch in Morocco.
Prizes Moroccans awarded by French Academy of Arts, Science and Letters.
Sensitisation campaign in Casablanca to fight cancer.
Morocco launches gender equality program Morocco has launched a national strategy for gender equity and equality
WHY MY TIME IN MOROCCO WILL BE WITH ME ALWAYS
Per capita annual consumption of fish in Morocco is 10kg.
Morocco spends on infrastructure to spur growth.
Marine scientific mission to defend Mediterranean protection cause launched from Tangier.
Moroccans united against terrorism.

AMANA organizes cultural event for Moroccan community.

The American-Moroccan Association of North America (AMANA) organised on Sunday in Maryland (USA) its eighth cultural event for Moroccan living in Washington. The event was marked by the organization of a spectacle of magic that was appreciated by the Moroccan audience, reported MAP news agency. AMANA aims by this action to encourage the members of the Moroccan community to meet and exchange experiences and ideas, and establish friendship relations. This action was also intended to reinforce the spirit of belonging and social solidarity, added MAP. Created in 1998, AMANA is a non-profit organisation that organises cultural, artistic, sports and professional activities on behalf of Moroccans living in America.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/News/article.asp?id=14797 
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Over 90% of Moroccan land is arid or semiarid, official.
Marrakech, May 15

Some 93% of Moroccan land is arid or semiarid, High Commissioner for water and forests and desertification control, Abdeladim Lhafi, said, here Monday, calling for an environment-friendly sustainable development. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 14th meeting of the International Soil Conservation Organisation (ISCO), Lhafi pointed out that dam silting up is estimated at some 75Mn m3, which reduces storage capacity to nearly 0.5% every year. Some 4Bn ha of emerged lands and 250Mn of persons suffer from desertification around the world.

The participants in the conference themed "water sustainable management and soil conservation in semiarid areas" called for carrying out concrete measures for a participative and sustainable soils management. The conference aims notably to stress the importance of research in water management and soil conservation. The one-week conference is scheduled to offer oral and poster presentations and an opportunity for discussion and exchange of information in various aspects of soil and water conservation. ISCO's conference, an international forum held every two or three years, gathers participant from 53 countries.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_economy/over_90_of_moroccan8242/view 
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Cereal harvest might reach 86Mn qls, minister.
Rabat, May 12

The cereal production of the current agricultural campaign might reach 86Mn quintals, which is double compared to the last year's (41.4Mn qls), Agricultural minister Mohand Laenser said at a press conference on the expected yields of the 2005/2006 agricultural campaign held here on Friday. According to the Minister, this increase is up 44% compared to the average of the last 5 years. The 2005-2006 agricultural campaign differs from previous ones by regular rainfall in most of farming zones. The rainfall average up to May 8 was 364mm, while usually it stands at 347mm a year.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/cereal_harvest_might/view 
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Morocco's energy strategy banks on renewable energies and private sector, diplomat.
New York (United Nations), May 12

Morocco's energy strategy is based on the diversification of energy sources and the promotion of renewable energies, said here Thursday Morocco's permanent representative in the UN, El Mostafa Sahel. Speaking at the 14th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the diplomat said this policy encourages partnership with the private sector. Private companies produce 60% of the electricity and participate in all country's energy programs, he said. He recalled, in this regard, the 1996 rural electrification program (Programme d'Electrification Rurale Global) aiming at providing all rural areas with electricity by 2007 (by end 2005 81% of the countryside had electricity). The diplomat said the north African country has launched an action plan that consists in installing three big wind power parks and providing solar energy for community houses and institutions, as well as some industrial units. The Moroccan diplomat stressed, on the other hand, that attaining the objectives of sustainable economic development "requires boosting international cooperation, especially in the fields of renewable energies and clean technologies."
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_s_energy_str/view 
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Government writes off debts of some 100,000 farmers.
Meknès, (central Morocco) May 16

Some 100,000 farmers facing hardships have seen their debts written off during the 2005-2006 agricultural season, said Abderrahim Benyassine, head of the cereal, pulses and fodder department at the Agriculture Ministry. The cancellation of the debt concerned MAD 3Bn, about USD 330Mn, including MAD 2Bn by the Moroccan agriculture fund (Credit Agricole Marocain) and the rest by the State, he said.

At a conference on government measures to market the 2005-2006 produce held here on Monday, Benyassine said the funding of farms concerned by debt cancellation is to be taken charge of by the new "Dar El Fellah" fund, which intends to create 15 branches throughout the nation. He said various measures have been taken to ensure good marketing and storage for cereal output and to insure farmers against drought, adding in this respect that 108,000 hectares have been insured. "Dar El Fellah" was set up in 2005 to accompany farmers in building viable agricultural enterprises and is expected to help some 350,000 farmers during the five coming years.

The inception of the fund was made part of the government action plan to mitigate the effects of the previous poor agricultural season Due to an irregular repartition of rainfalls, a dry period between end of December 2004 and February 2005 combined with above-average heat, the 2004-2005 agricultural season was poor as the filling rate of all Moroccan Agricultural dams did not exceed 58%. Early May 2005, the government decided to cancel the debt of some 100,000 small farmers and allocate MAD 3 billion to fund olive culture and MAD 1 billion for other crops in an attempt to mitigate the poor agricultural season.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_social/government_writes_of/view 
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Moroccans top 'love' searchers list on the net.
Washington, May 13

Moroccans are decidedly among the most romantic and love-searching people in the world, or, at the least, among internet users.
It is a conclusion that is now buttressed by the results, revealed by Google and published by the US daily, International Herald Tribune, on which nations search for what. Surprisingly enough, writes the paper, the search for "amour," French word for love, was not documented in Paris, so-called "romantic haven," but in... Rabat, Algiers and Tunis. Paris actually does not appear in the top ten altogether. According to the results, available on google.com/trends, Dubliners looked up "Morocco" most frequently after Casablanca and Rabat inhabitants.

The results also show that the ongoing French political struggle has shed somewhat of a shadow on people's searches. Interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, the paper wrote, "draws as many searches on his own as his rivals, President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, combined." Politics also played a role in orienting Internet users' searches in the Mid-east. Iranians seem to have "googled" up George Bush twice as often as their own president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Russians too are interested in Bush. The results say they looked up the US president, not twice, but seven times more than Russia's president, Vlademir Putin. In France, Bush gets one and a half look-ups as often as president Jacques Chirac, it said. The figures also show look-ups around the world for words and concepts as diversified as Allah, Guns, democracy, drugs, sex...
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/moroccans_top__love/view 
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Moroccan Jews gather in Essaouira to celebrate Hilloula.
Essaouira (west), May 15

Hundreds of Moroccan Jews from around the world have gathered, since Friday, in the Atlantic city of Essaouira to celebrate the annual Hilloula of Rabbi Nessim ben Nessim. These Jewish pilgrims from Moroccan origin came from France, Canada, USA, Great Britain and also from Morocco to celebrate this religious event that winds up Monday. "Our presence here evidences, once again, our attachment to our ancestral traditions," said president of the Jewish community in Agadir (southeast) and president of the holy places of the south, Simon Levy. He also called on the Jewish community taking part or represented in the festival to invest in Morocco, which he described as "very promising thanks to its tolerance, its stability and the rule of law."
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_culture/moroccan_jews_gather/view 
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"Centre for the study of Islam and democracy" to open branch in Morocco.

The American Centre for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) will shortly open a branch in Casablanca, Map news agency said, quoting Mokhtar Benabdellaoui, the head of the Philosophy Department in the Hassan II University. Benabdellaoui, said that the CSID, an American non-profit organisation specialised in the study of Islam and democratic political thought, will open its office in Morocco within a clear legal framework.The centre will go on promoting research on Islam and Democracy, and working on education on equity and freedom, both in Morocco and the Arab World, added Benabdellaoui, who participated in the meetings of the Network of the Arab Democratic Activists held lately in Washington.

The network was founded last December in Morocco at the end of an constitutive general assembly, which brought together 60 Arab militants for the sake of democracy from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. Participants also came from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the Sultanate of Oman, and Jordan.

Benabdellaoui noted that the CSID has issued an informative manual in Arabic on "Islam and Democracy, for an Efficient Citizenship". The manual is meant to provide Arab youth with basic information on democracy. Earlier this month, the CSID held its 7th annual conference in which Morocco was represented by Benabdellaoui and Jamal Bendahmane, a founding member of the network and a permanent contributor to the "Democratic Observatory", one of the CSID's publications. The event also saw the participation of Saadeddine El Othmani, the General Secretary of the Moroccan Party of Justice and Development (PJD). During the conference, El Othmani received the award of the 'Muslim Democratic of the Year'. The CSID was set up in 1999 by a number of Muslim and non-Muslim academicians and researchers.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=14809 
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Prizes Moroccans awarded by French Academy of Arts, Science and Letters.

The French Academy of "Arts, Sciences, and Letters" has recently discerned prizes to number of Moroccans, Map news agency reported. The awarded Moroccans include Hakima Himmich, president of the 'Association Marocaine de Lutte Contre le SIDA' (ALCS), historian Hamid Triki, and TV animator Choumicha Choufai. Jean-Pierre Boutin, the Academy's general secretary, told the press that that awarded names were selected by the Academy's delegate in Morocco. The awards include diplomas and medals. Created in 1915, the French Academy is placed under the patronage of the French President.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/News/article.asp?id=14868 
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Sensitisation campaign in Casablanca to fight cancer.
May 19, 2006

An anti-cancer sensitization campaign was launched on Wednesday in Casablanca (90km south of Rabat), under the initiative of "Lalla Salma Association Against Cancer." The 30-day campaign aims to sensitize people on the disease and the importance of early screening and appropriate treatment, said the Moroccan first channel "TVM." The campaign provides a free-toll number to listen to citizens' inquiries about the disease that touches some 40,000 persons in Morocco, including over 1,000 children. The campaign also includes diffusing radio and TV spots. President of the scientific council Association, Taher Alaoui, told TVM that the campaign aims to raise people's awareness on the disease and the hazards of traditional treatment methods through a call center destined to persons wishing to contact specialized physicians.

"Lalla Salma Association Against Cancer," launched late November, is a non-profit association which aims at fighting cancer in Morocco through four intervention fields, namely bringing assistance to patients and relatives, providing information and prevention, and providing support to the medical staff and clinical and operational research. The association also seeks to provide help and assistance to the creation of oncology centers.
http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.fullStory&sp=l35234 
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Morocco launches gender equality program Morocco has launched a national strategy for gender equity and equality through the integration of the gender approach development policies and programs.

Devised by the State Secretariat in charge of the Family, Childhood and the Handicapped with the technical support of the German cooperation for development (GTZ), the program aims at reducing the gap between men and women through the full participation of women in the development process in all fields. MAP reports that, "State Secretariat, Yasmina Baddou said her department will play a key role in the follow-up this strategy through the sketching a sector plan that lays down the measures to be taken and the coordination schemes with the different operators."
http://ionglobaltrends.blogspot.com/2006/05/womens-issues-morocco-launches-gender.html 
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WHY MY TIME IN MOROCCO WILL BE WITH ME ALWAYS.

19 May 2006 First day of work! Wake early and meet other English volunteers Christina and Nicky. Changed nappies for the first time in about 13 years. Screaming babies. Sick and snot everywhere. A foul stench clogging up the air. Nicky feels suddenly very sick and has bad stomach cramps. She's in tears and in the end our host Karima takes her to see a doctor. Meanwhile, I feed babies milk and play with them, trying to combine a mixture of French, Arabic and English.

Difficulties in communication with the women who work at the orphanage. Not many speak French well, or at all, and my Arabic skills are very limited! Working with handicapped children is a brand new experience, and at first I'm very nervous, especially on being immediately confronted by a stark naked 17-year-old boy to clothe.

I watch with despair as one severely disabled teenager literally screams as she has her clothes taken off, ready for a bath. There is one boy - Khalid - who has almost succeeded in completely ripping off both his ears. I am struck by the poor living conditions: none of the beds have pillows and the blankets are almost completely worn out.

There are not many toys - though in the afternoon I have a lot of fun chasing around Bouchrra, a nine-year-old girl, making her giggle. It strikes me that although there is a pot of toothbrushes, I have never seen any of the women cleaning the children's teeth, so I decide to give it a go. Khalid screams and starts to rip his ears again. Blood all over my sleeve. Bouchrra responds better. Try to find a pair of trousers for Khalid, without success.

He stands silently shivering after coming out of the bathtub. There are no towels - just an old ragged bathrobe used for all the children. Up at 5.20am. Set off to airport by taxi. I feel a strong, strange feeling. A whole three months of my life has been lived out here and I have ultimately, even if unwittingly, become rather attached to Moroccan life and culture.

A whole chunk of events, thoughts and feelings has swollen up and accumulated inside me, so much so that I can't ever really let it go. As I brace myself for the flight home, I am ever so aware that these experiences - the good, the bad and the ugly - will remain with me for the rest of my days.
http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=137199&command=displayContent&sourceNode=136986&contentPK=14496822&folderPk=79934  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Per capita annual consumption of fish in Morocco is 10kg.
Rabat, May 18

The per capita annual consumption of fish in Morocco is estimated at 10kg, while the world average is 16kg, revealed CEO of the National Fisheries Office (ONP), Majid El-Ghaib. In an interview published Thursday by the Arabic-speaking daily "Rissalat Al-Oumma," El-Ghaib noted that the national halieutic production is estimated at 40kg per capita, ascribing this low average to several factors, notably the weak distribution network. To overcome this situation, the ONP signed in August 2005 a framework-agreement with the Interior and Finance ministries, by virtue of which the office will manage the distribution in several cities. The government has also allotted some USD 17Mn to create wholesale markets throughout Morocco. To reach the 16kg/capita, the ONP CEO deemed it necessary to set up a "more developed distribution network through the creation of ten wholesale markets," noting that this average could be achieved over five years.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/per_capita_annual_co/view 
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Morocco spends on infrastructure to spur growth.

Morocco plans to spend up to 150 billion dirhams ($17.36 billion) on its infrastructure over 13 years to boost growth and improve living standards in remote rural areas, the Transport and Public Works Minister said. "The ongoing construction of huge infrastructure sites like ports and roads mirrors the dynamic of a modern Morocco seeking to boost growth that filters down to most of its population," Karim Ghellab said in an interview late on Monday. The investment plan, which began in 2002, stretches until 2015, and aims to make Morocco more competitive internationally. "Upgrading infrastructure is part of a government's drive to build an economy with a annual growth of 6 to 7 percent and create 400,000 jobs per year," Ghellab said.

Morocco must create this number of jobs annually over the next 10 years to prevent mass unemployment threatening its stability, according to an official report early this year. The average growth was less than 4.0 percent in the last decade, with number of jobs created per year swinging from 70,000 to 200,000. The jobless rate rose to 11 percent for 2005 from
10.8 percent the previous year.

The planned spending includes 50 billion dirhams for roads, highways and airports and other infrastructure sites, including 15 billion dirhams to expand the railway network. More than 20 billion dirhams will be go to build a port and free trade zone at the city of Tangier. While some projects have been completed, the port and other road and highway projects are due to be finished between 2007 and 2009.

"When you add the investment by the government and state agencies in infrastrcuture projects for the 2002-2007 period and beyond until 2015, the total spending will between 100 billion and 150 billion dirhams," Ghellab added. The financing comes from the government budget, foreign development aid and loans from leading Arab funds and other lenders like African Development Bank.

As part of a policy to cut poverty that affects more than 5 million people, the government is investing about 1.0 billion dirhams a year to build 1,500 kilometres (937.5 miles) of roads a year in remote villages. "The plan to build rural roads will increase the proportion of rural population with access to roads to 80 percent in 2015 from 54 percent in 2005 and 36 percent in 1995," he said.

Ghellab said roads in remote rural areas increased by three times the number of girls attending schools. Girls in rural areas traditionally stay at home to help with chores such as wood gathering. "Roads bring gas cylinders to homes and free girls to go to school," he said. But building new roads, airports and ports would not be enough to enhance Morocco's economic performance. "Liberalisation to give a leading role to private the sector in road transport, maritime traffic and air transport will grant the best quality of services that benefit the economy," he said.

Morocco has free trade accords with the EU and the U.S., a skilled and low-cost workforce to lure foreign investment, and is mulling further transport projects for 2015 and 2020, including high speed trains and subway train systems, he added.
http://english.alarabonline.org/display.asp?fname=2006%5C05%5C05-17%5Czbusinessz%5C981.htm&dismode=x&ts=17/05/2006%2009:23:38%20%C3%95 
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Marine scientific mission to defend Mediterranean protection cause launched from Tangier.
By Morad Aziz / 4/26/2006

The sailing ship, ambassador of the famous Foundation Nicolas Hulot for Nature and Man (France), the "Fleur de Lampaul", launched, this week from the Tangier port, one of its most ambitious missions: a long Mediterranean tour to defend the cause of protecting the marine environment. In addition to its main goal of raising awareness, the mission "Mer Vivante" (Living Sea), lasting three years, includes an important-scientific aspect.

"During the tour, scientists from different countries will draw up an inventory of the migrating sea birds and evaluate the impact of pollution on the whales," said Pierre Buils, second captain of the sailing ship. "We seek, by efficient methodology, to create a Mediterranean observatory of the migrating sea birds with the participation of scientists from the two sides of the Mediterranean basin," he added.

Concerning the "protection of the whales", the scientists aboard the ship will take samples on the big sea mammals to carry out analyses in laboratories. The scientific research targets the fin-back whale common to the Mediterranean. Although it is one of the emblems of the Mar Nostrum (the Mediterranean), the fin-back whale remains one of the sea mammal species the least well-known. "The food of these sea giants being based primarily on plankton, particles sensitive to pollution, the results of the analyses will enable us to get informed about the health of this threatened species and the impact of pollution on the Mediterranean coast," Pierre, said.

He warned about the alarming signs of the degradation of marine fauna and flora in the Mediterranean. There are at least 100 species that are currently threatened with extinction, taking into account the worrying decrease of their populations. "The sea seal has completely disappeared from the Mediterranean basin and the green tortoise, an endemic species, seems currently condemned to the same fate," Pierre further added. Concerning the causes of this drama which has become increasingly obvious, he cited initially the degradation of the marine flora that constitutes a vital element for the reproduction of the species and a major link in their food chain.

The degradation is caused particularly by: the fishing industry, certain of whose operation consist in scraping sea-beds; the untreated industrial wastes; and real estate projects invading the coasts more and more. In this context, Pierre greeted the Moroccan bill on the protection of the coast which will make it possible to ensure the conditions necessary for their sustainable development.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=14372 
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Moroccans united against terrorism.
May 17, 2006

Moroccans are a "united front against terrorism," stressed unanimously different fringes of the Moroccan society as Morocco commemorates on Tuesday the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks that shook Casablanca on May 16 2003, killing 45 people, including the 12 suicide bombers and injuring over a hundred. If Morocco has managed to overcome these tough times, it is thanks to Moroccans' cohesion and solidarity, deemed deputy Secretary General of the Islamist party "Justice and Development" (PJD).

Abdellah Baha stressed the need to maintain this cohesion to build a united and firm front against terrorism. "We should stand united, build a strong front against terrorism and fight all those who want to exploit these events to sow discord and division in the society," he said in a statement to MAP. Echoing Baha, Secretary General of the Jewish community in Casablanca, Simon Lévy, underlined that the kingdom has succeeded in defeating violence and preserving peace and safety of its citizens, calling on the political parties and associations to get involved in the fight against this plague by raising awareness.

Three years after the May 16 attacks, there is still that feeling, which mobilized the Moroccan people who took to the streets to condemn the terrorist acts that targeted the country, said Water and Environment Minister, Mohammed El Yazghi. Fighting this phenomenon needs a general mobilization to combat poverty, exclusion and literacy, and establish an economy that would allow all citizens live in dignity, he said.
http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l35029 
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