Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
June 12, 2010

Zid Zid Kids attends Obama summit.
GDA Staff -- Kids Today, 6/14/2010 WASHINGTON, DC

In April Moulay Essakalli, president of children's product manufacturer Zid Zid Kids, was chosen as one of eight entrepreneurs from Morocco to attend President Barack Obama's Summit on Entrepreneurship. Some 250 delegates from 50 countries were invited to discuss how individual action can expand opportunity to address ties between the Muslim world and American business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs.

"We are trying to show aspects of Morocco in our work while also integrating our Western and American sense of design," Essakalli told America.gov. "We basically looked at what we can do that is true to us while building bridges in constructive ways between Morocco and the United States, as well as with the rest of the world," he said.

A portion of Zid Zid Kid's profits go to Education for All, which builds dorms for Moroccan girls in rural areas so they can access education, and the Darna Center, which shelters and educates young men and women from the street.

"I effectively was brought up in a Muslim country, and doing charity is one of the Five Pillars of the religion," Essakalli said. "On the other hand, I learned a great deal in America about supporting not-for-profit organizations. When you put the two together, it makes all the sense in the world to want to give back and be involved with your community.

"I am very happy to support President Obama's initiative to start working on enhancing the relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world," he continued. "To the extent that I can be an actor in supporting this initiative, it would be an honor."
http://www.kidstodayonline.com/article/529528-Zid_Zid_Kids_attends_Obama_summit.php
------------------------------------------------------------

'How I became a leading voice for Moroccan women'.
Saundra Satterlee / Guardian Weekly, Friday 4 January 2008

Fatima Sadiqi overcame the prejudice of her mostly male peers to become one of Morocco's leading academic linguists. As well as languages, she has written extensively on gender and Islam, and in 1998 founded Morocco's pioneering postgraduate unit of gender studies, based at the University of Fez. Nominated by the UN secretary general as one of eight female members of the Committee for Development Policy and appointed by King Mohamed VI to the board of the Royal Institute for Berber Culture, Sadiqi's motto is: 'Think globally and act locally', she tells Saundra Satterlee.

Climbing the academic ladder in a male-dominated Islamic country has had its challenges. Although I am now accepted, nothing was given to me or could be taken for granted. Patriarchy and glass ceilings come to mind. I started at the lower end of the social scale, and from there I learned to navigate the whole spectrum – possibly better than someone born to a more privileged position who might see only her environment. I consider it empowering that I started at almost zero.

Originating from a rural Berber village in the region of Azilal, Morocco, I became multi-lingual (Moroccan Arabic, written Arabic, French, English and some Spanish) through hard study and also moving to the city. My mother is illiterate. She was 14 when she married, and as I'm the eldest of her nine children she is more of a sister to me.

The big figure in my life was my father. He was a military officer who, prior to marriage, was based in France and Germany. My mother never travelled abroad – except once to Mecca. My open-minded father wanted me to have an education and would tell me time and again: "I know that you are smarter than your brother, but we will pretend that he is smarter." I took the point and followed his advice.

Following undergraduate studies at the university in Rabat, I went to England for my PhD. The experience had a profound impact on my life. There were very few Muslims at Essex University at the time and when I discovered that my supervisor – a world-renowned professor of linguistics – was Jewish I almost fainted. We were supposed to be "enemies" and I thought he would fail me.

My initial and misplaced reaction to having a Jewish supervisor had nothing to do with Moroccan culture. In the Berber village where I come from we had many Berber Jews with whom we interacted in our daily lives. The 1967 Middle East Arab-Israeli crises had had an enormous impact on me as a young student, and I thought at the time that I needed to be Arabic.

It was during my first year at university that I started to change deep down. For me, it was the beginning of something new, something that later allowed me to work hard to bridge understanding between different cultures.

My Jewish supervisor, David Kilby, died of leukaemia shortly after I finished my PhD. I keep in touch with his family and still visit his grave to pray and read the Qur'an. He taught me to cross a religious border that hitherto I had not thought possible and transformed my thinking. I dedicated some of my earlier works to his memory.

By the age of 28 I was back in Morocco teaching postgraduate students who were often my age or older. In that period I remember someone who came from another city looking for Dr Sadiqi. It never occurred to him that I was a woman. When he opened my office door and saw me, he apologised and left. It took some time for male doctoral students to accept me as a supervisor. Now they have, but at the beginning I had this problem that I couldn't understand. My husband used to say: "You work harder than me", but early on students would prefer to be taught by him, even though we had the same academic trajectory. It took me almost six years to be accepted as a fully-fledged academic.

I encountered another glass ceiling in the 1990s when I first broached the subject of establishing Morocco's first ever centre for studies and research on women. Although I was a well-established professor, those inclined towards patriarchy opposed the idea – at least initially. I submitted my application in 1993 and was only accredited in 1998. Older male teachers in the Arabic department saw women and gender studies as an unnecessary import from the west.

I had to think of things like democratising higher education in Morocco to include women from the Islamic world. It helped that I described my gender study courses as rooted in Muslim and Arabic scholarship, and not feminist theory.

I introduced the grammarian Ibn Al-Anbari, for example, whose 13th-century writings made non-typical references to women. He also wrote a book called The Masculine and the Feminine, which was something special at the time: his pioneering views gave voice to the feminine. That's how I started building up the centre, greatly helped by the students themselves wanting to know more about western feminist theories.

With all modesty (empowered by English, French and standard Arabic), I consider myself the first female linguist in the Arab world and the first to tackle the issue of women from a gender and language perspective in Morocco. Linguistic "space" has been of particular significance for me as a rebellion against patriarchy. The moment you gain languages you also gain access to the language of the media, the government, the mosque – and you start speaking the language of authority.

I am not saying that Moroccan women don't have power. They have great power. What they don't have is authority, which is power sanctioned by society. But they have great power inside the home, inside their private space – who marries whom, for example, or who divorces whom. But to date you have to be a man to be vocal in the public sphere.

Finally, I do not wear the veil, although I have no problem with the younger generation doing so. We think the same thing. For men it means obedience, but for women you can be a feminist and veiled at the same time. My veiled students adore education and worship knowledge – and many are much more vocal that I ever was.
• Fatima Sadiqi was talking to Saundra Satterlee.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/04/morocco-women
------------------------------------------------------------

Refugee Women Visit Moroccan Cooperative to Enhance Skills: UNHCR initiative to improve livelihood opportunities
Rabat, Morocco, 27 March 2010

As part of their support for a refugee women's cooperative, two of UNHCR’s implementing partners in Morocco, AMAPPE (Moroccan Association for the Promotion of Small Enterprises) and the Fondation Orient Occident (Moroccan NGO for social and educational support to inter alia refugees and migrants)” organized a visit on Saturday, March 20 to the women crafts cooperative “Tallassamtane” of Chefchaouen, a village in Northern Morocco.

In a unique synergy of activities of two partners, some 20 refugee women originating from sub-Saharan African countries were given an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work and management of a Moroccan arts and crafts cooperative.

The refugee women are actively engaged in developing their tailoring and jewelry cooperative at the premises of the Fondation, which provides for space and equipment, whereas AMAPPE accompanies them in the management of their initiative with a view to rendering it profitable and financially independent. The visit was conceived for both women groups to meet up and share experiences and information on improving the quality of products and discuss marketing techniques.

Upon arrival in Chefchaouen, set in the Moroccon Rif Mountains, the group was welcomed by Mrs. Hassania of AMAPPE who accompanied the refugee women to the cooperative “Tallassamtane”. The refugees toured the cooperative and enjoyed looking at the beautiful textiles. They also tried their hands on some of the traditional textile producing equipment used by their Moroccan counterparts.

The chairwoman of the Moroccan cooperative explained that their cooperative was formed in 2001 by twenty women. The Moroccan women had received training and financial support from a Spanish NGO to pay for rent and raw materials, before they ultimately became financially independent in the course of their activity.

Today, the members of the cooperative work six hours per day, six days a week, producing four to five large blankets a week and ten to twenty smaller fabrics daily. During the meeting, the refugee women asked various questions about the functioning of the cooperative, its management and the acquisition of equipment. One refugee woman asked how the Moroccan cooperative managed its profits. It was explained that, to encourage workers to put more effort in their work, profit was distributed to the cooperative’s members based on hours worked and revenue earned.

Refugee women were very pleased with the experience of meeting vulnerable Moroccan women who had succeeded in raising their living standards and becoming financially independent, hence increasing their coping mechanisms. The visit was also a great opportunity for the refugee women to enjoy some of the culture and heritage of their new country of asylum.

According to UNHCR figures end of February 2010, the active refugee population consists of 807 recognized refugees/551 cases. Among them are 205 children who make up some 25 percent of the population, and 139 adult women comprising 17 percent of the refugee population. They originate mainly from the Ivory Coast (36 percent), DRC (26 percent), and Iraq (21 percent).

About UNHCR:
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,689 people in 116 countries continues to help 20.8 million persons. For more information, visit www.unhcr.org

For further information, please contact:
Akram Tarfaoui Ziadi,  tarfaoui@unhcr.org or + 212 537 76 76 06
AMAPPE, Rachid Hsine,  charge1amappe@mtds.com or + 212 537 70 75 02 http://www.ihc.ae/press_detail.asp?pr_id=791
----------------------------------------------------

Morocco Bac pass rate soars.

Siham Ali 2010-06-24

Ministry of Education statistics for 2010 show a much higher bac pass rate than in 2009, but 44% of Morocco's candidates still have to re-take the exam to pass. Morocco's 2010 baccalaureate pass rate is 34.75% higher than last year, according to Ministry of Education data released along with exam results on Tuesday (June 22nd).

Secondary schools throughout Morocco posted the bac marks, ending days of anxious waiting for students and their parents. While there were scenes of delight for some students and their families, there were also tears and sadness for those who failed to make the grade in their first attempt. Of the students who took the bac, 44% must take the re-test if they hope to pass.

Malika S. was unable to hold back tears of disappointment when she saw her son's name on the list of pupils who have to resit their exams; he earned an average grade of 9.94/20. "My son is hard-working and prepared for his exams," she told Magharebia. "He'll be shocked when he hears the bad news, especially since he was just 0.04 points away from passing. He has another chance with the resit session. I hope with all my heart that he'll get through the resits."

Even some students who passed the bac were disappointed with the grades they received. One of them was Safae, who would have preferred a mark of "good" to "fair". "Studying medicine was my dream, but my mark will not allow me to realise my childhood dream," she said. "I think I gave good answers to the questions, which weren't very difficult. I no longer feel optimistic about my future. My parents will be so disappointed."

Some 35.1% of the 335,680 candidates who took the exam passed the test in the first sitting, the Education Ministry said. Nearly half (43.78%) of those candidates enrolled in schools passed the exam, while 52% of those who passed were girls.

Sciences, maths and technical students saw the highest pass rate of all candidates: 48.67%, five percentage points higher than in 2009. For literary and creative subjects, the pass rate rose to 30.81%, compared to 24.43% last year.

The pass rate will rise after students re-take the exams on July 5th-7th. More than 125,000 pupils will participate in this second round. The final results of the 2010 baccalaureate exams will be published after exams from the re-tests are graded. The grading session is scheduled for July 15th-16th, and 32,000 teachers have been drafted to mark exams for both bac sessions.

This year, the Ministry of Education vowed to crack down on cheating, and netted 495 suspected cheaters through an awareness campaign aimed at pupils and new measures to curb the practice. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/06/24/feature-02
-------------------------------------------------------------

Mobile hospital begins treating patients in Morocco.

The mobile hospital has been launched under the directives of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the Red Crescent Authority (RCA), Abu Dhabi: The Emirates World Humanitarian Mobile Hospital yesterday began treating patients in the Moroccan city of Missour.

The mobile hospital has been launched under the directives of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the Red Crescent Authority (RCA),

Shaikh Hamdan said the launch of the mobile hospital was in line with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The directives were for the UAE to provide humanitarian programmes, especially affordable medical services, around the world. Shaikh Hamdan said the mobile hospital would deliver medical care for six months. The hospital staff consists of Emirati cadres, Moroccans, and international doctors. It would provide specialised medical services such as surgery at affordable prices, and deliver awareness and preventive health care programmes. He added that the medical hospital was equipped with the most advanced and modern medical equipment. Shaikh Hamdan also said the Emirates mobile hospital in Morocco was proof of the two countries' strong bonds.

Facilities

Khadim Al Derei, the team leader of the mobile hospital, said the Emirates World Humanitarian Mobile Hospital in Missour included 25 beds, primary healthcare, emergency care, a surgery section and internal medicine services. It also includes cardiac catheterisation units, a dental clinic, equipments for sterilising medical instruments, intensive care units, intermediate care unit, minimal care unit, pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray section, maintenance section and power generation units

The launching of the mobile hospital was attended by Moroccan senior officials, various UAE doctors, as well the mobile hospital medical team.

World class: Medical expertise

Team leader Khadim Al Derei said the Emirates World Humanitarian Mobile Hospital in Missour included 25 beds, primary healthcare and emergency care sections, a surgery section and internal medicine services.
 
It also included cardiac catheterisation units, a dental clinic, equipment for sterilising medical instruments, intensive care units, an intermediate care unit, a minimal care unit, pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray section, maintenance section and power generation units. The launch of the mobile hospital was attended by Moroccan officials, UAE doctors, as well the mobile hospital medical team.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/mobile-hospital-begins-treating-patients-in-morocco-1.643840
------------------------------------------------------------------

Morocco sanitation receives World Bank support.
2010-06-17

Morocco will receive $175 million from the World Bank to increase access to potable water supply in the Nador, Driouch, Safi, Youssoufia, Sidi Bennour and Errachidia provinces , Working With Water reported on Thursday (June 16th). According to the World Bank, the project also aims to reduce water-borne disease infection in children. Another $43 million was allocated for wastewater treatment in the Oum Er Rbia basin. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/06/17/newsbrief-03
------------------------------------------------------------------

Child labour blights Morocco development.
2010-06-16 By Naoufel Cherkaoui

Advocacy groups and working children are contesting government claims that child labour rates have fallen. To mark World Day against Child Labour, Morocco's High Commission for Planning (HCP) released a study claiming that the number of working children aged 7 to 15 hovers around 171,000.

According to the HCP report, released Sunday (June 12th), rural children account for 151,000 of the under-age workers. Among working children, 16.6% work while attending school, 56.1% have left school to work and 27.3% have never set foot in a classroom. An overwhelming number (93.5%) of child labourers work in agriculture, tree-cutting and fishing. The study says the new figures represent a 9.7% drop from 1999 child labour rates.

Many Moroccans see a very different reality. Houcine, 14, toils in a car repair garage to help his family with the cost of living, he told Magharebia. "That was the main reason why I had to drop out of school. Plus, I could not catch up since some of the subjects were rather tough, such as mathematics," he said.

Mourad, a seasonal agricultural worker from Tensift-El Haouz, said his two children have to work. "I don't have any other solutions," he said. "If they don't work, they often wouldn't have enough to eat, because I'm unemployed. I would have loved for them to be in school, so they could be assured of a better future than I had." His son Hamza, with tears in his eyes, said he would have liked to become a doctor, but he had to leave school five years ago. "I never had the opportunity to go after my dream. I didn't even have the chance to play with other children my age," he said. "At the same time, I feel responsible for my family."

"The rates released by the HCP are inaccurate because their methodology...is totally unrealistic. It's enough to walk by marginalised districts to spot the enormous numbers of working children," said Abdelali Rami, who heads the children's rights organisation Forum de l'Enfance. "The reality of child labour does not live up to our expectations, since they are still living under tough conditions on account of poverty, which is why they drop out of school," Rami said.

"The problem can't be solved without providing reasonable living conditions for parents of those children," he added. "The answer doesn't lie in passing laws, but in ensuring they are applied."

Children's rights groups launched their own campaigns on June 12th to call attention to the problem. The Collective for the Eradication of Child Labour collected signatures on a petition calling for the abolition of under-age maids and other household servants.

"This initiative aims to break the silence of [this phenomenon]… and create a legal framework that conforms to international law and conventions adopted by Morocco," said organiser Meriem Kamal, adding that 60,000 girls under the age of 16 serve as domestic help in Morocco.

The National Observatory of Children's Rights (ONDE) also spotlighted children working on the domestic front and launched the third stage of its campaign against child labour. "The first was devoted to the need to treat children well, the second targeted parents, intermediaries and employers, and the third [stage] that we just launched is intended to put an end to the phenomenon," said ONDE executive director Said Raji.

The campaign promotes "the concept that a young girl's place is school, rather than serving as maids in homes", Raji said. His organisation has already put a programme in place to help young girls return to school. "We will target families with candidates for household maids, offering them help in the form of profit-generating projects. Also, those girls will be given a chance to be re-integrated in society through education or vocational training," he said.

Morocco is committed to eradicating child labour, Employment and Vocational Training Minister Jamal Rhmani told delegates in at the 99th International Labour Organisation session in Geneva on June 15th. He said the Tayssir programme provides aid to families to cut down on school dropout rates. Rhmani also promised to help children working in the worst occupations to return to school.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/06/16/feature-01
------------------------------------------------------------

Cancer plagues Moroccan town.
John Thorne, Foreign Correspondent / June 05. 2010 FIGUIG, MOROCCO

For more than three decades a small bird-like man called Dr Abdelhak Hamouditou has cared for the people of Figuig, a Moroccan oasis town on the Algerian border. Increasingly – and mysteriously – they are getting cancer.
“There are too many cases for a town this size,” said Dr Hamouditou. “I know of at least 20 at present; there should be three to five.”

The cancer rate among Figuig’s 12,000 inhabitants has climbed rapidly in recent years, fuelling speculation that French nuclear tests carried out a half-century ago in Algeria may be to blame. Meanwhile, local taboos and Figuig’s isolation are complicating efforts to treat patients.

Figuig consists of seven adjoined villages for seven tribes of Amazigh, or Berbers, an ancient people who have inhabited North Africa since before recorded history. In recent decades, border closures by Algeria have helped make the former trading centre a dead-end.

Dr Hamouditou was born in Figuig 77 years ago. After studying medicine in Yugoslavia, he returned in 1977 and today directs the town’s Red Crescent clinic, where most locals go for medical care. Fifteen years ago, Dr Hamouditou noticed a rise in cases of cancer. Today, he is among them. “Three years ago I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen,” he said, peeling back the foil from a packet of large pink pills in his office. “They found a ball the size of a fist in my liver. These things are my chemotherapy.”

He put the packet on his desk and an assistant brought him a glass a water. Then he slipped a pill between his lips, drank and threw back his head.“They’re supposed to attack the virus that caused my cancer, but so far I haven’t seen an effect.” He rose to return to work. In the corridor, nomad children from the surrounding desert were lined up awaiting their yearly inspection by dentists visiting from Rabat, the capital. “I’m tired,” Dr Hamoutidou said. “But I prefer to die in my job, not in my bed.”

Dr Hamouditou is unsure what is causing the spike in cancer. But he and others in Figuig say the answer may lie in explosions that rang across the Algerian desert 50 years ago. From 1960 to 1966, France conducted 17 nuclear tests in Algeria as part of its search for a bomb to make it a major player in the Cold War. While most were underground, four aerial explosions were set off near the town of Reggane, about 650km from Figuig.

In theory, winds could have carried radioactive particles to Figuig, said Ray Guilmette, the director of the Center for Countermeasures against Radiation at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“One test was over 20 kilotons,” he said. “That’s plenty of energy to inject material into the stratosphere.” Nuclear explosions throw up dust clouds loaded with unstable atoms called radionuclides, Mr Guilmette said. If inhaled, radionuclides can bombard human cells with subatomic particles that may cause mutation and cancer.

“One feature of local fallout patterns is that they come and go fairly quickly,” Mr Guilmette said. “The people at risk have to be there at the time.” That happened near test sites in Algeria, according to local victims’ rights groups and former French soldiers who say they developed cancer and other health problems as a result.

In February, France’s Le Parisien newspaper, citing classified documents, reported that French soldiers in Algeria were deliberately exposed to radiation from tests to study its effects. The report came two months after France passed a law allowing people irradiated and given cancer by its nuclear tests to claim state compensation.

According to Figuig’s mayor, Omar Abou, no study has yet been done to determine whether nuclear fallout is a factor in cancer there. The initial question is whether the wind blew towards Figuig at the time of the Reggane tests, said Mr Guilmette. “If the cloud didn’t go that way, you can rule it out as a possible cause.” For now, Dr Hamouditou is struggling to coax timid cancer patients to come to see him.

“Many people are afraid to admit they have cancer because they think it shows weakness,” he said. “When they finally come for treatment they’re in the final stages.”

One exception was Boualem Moussaoui, a date farmer who awoke one morning two years ago to discover a lump under his left jaw. “First it was the size of a chicken egg, then a turkey egg, then a second lump appeared.” Mr Moussaoui promptly told Dr Hamouditou, who after preliminary consultation sent him for cancer tests to the city of Oujda, a seven-hour bus trip from Figuig and home to the nearest hospital equipped to treat the illness. Confirmed by a biopsy at Oujda’s hospital, Mr Moussaoui’s cancer is today under control, he said. But he had to sell belongings and rely on friends and family to cover a medical bill of 170,000 Moroccan dirhams (Dh69,700). Not all cancer patients find that kind of money, said Dr Hamouditou. “All I can give them are painkillers.”
jthorne@thenational.ae
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100606/FOREIGN/706059912/1011/rss
-------------------------------------------------------------

Gateway to train students in Morocco
June 16, 2010

Gateway Technical College will have some long-distance commuters in the near future. The school was awarded a grant, along with Snap-on Incorporated, to teach automotive diagnostics to students in Morocco. The "train the trainers" program was initiated at Gateway’s Horizon Center for Transportation Technology, where instructors from across the country have been trained to deliver the training to their own students and career professionals. It's part of an ongoing push at Gateway to offer courses internationally. 

Gateway was awarded the grant under the Broader Middle East and North Africa – U.S. Community College Small Grants Initiative. Higher Education for Development announced the grant this week in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State, the US Agency for International Development and the US Department of Education. 

Gateway was one of four grant recipients. “We are all proud that our partnership with Snap-on Incorporated is recognized internationally,” said Gateway Technical College President Bryan Albrecht. “Working with HED and colleges in the BMENA Region increases our knowledge and skills and will better prepare our students for the global economy.”

Gateway and project partners will deliver training to instructors in Morocco to equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary to train students and current automotive technicians on Snap-on vehicle diagnostic equipment. The Gateway partnership, along with the three other grant recipients, were chosen by a peer review panel and selected because they “promote capacity building in education.”

The BMENA initiative began at a June 2009 symposium – participated in by Albrecht and other educational leaders – on the challenges to the quality and relevance of education for workforce development throughout the BMENA region. The symposium was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Education.
http://news.racinepost.com/2010/06/gateway-to-train-students-in-morocco.html
------------------------------------------------------------------

Students in Morocco: Lending a helping hand abroad.
by Jo Beth Stoddard, June 23, 2010

Helping others while visiting a foreign country is an opportunity some Elon University students took advantage of at the end of May. Eight students and two faculty advisers traveled to Morocco for an 11-day service trip. A service trip to Morocco "was a fantastic opportunity to explore and be immersed in a culture that is wholly separate from our own," junior Grant De Roo said.

The students and the advisers, Cheryl Borden and Tim Wardle, participated in several service activities that included teaching English lessons and playing and singing with children at local schools. Some manual labor was performed on the trip when students cleared fields so the children would have a larger area in which to play.

Participants stayed with host families in the cities of Sale and Azrou. De Roo said he really appreciated "the times in which we truly felt welcomed ... we were all genuinely welcomed by our Moroccan hosts and their incredible generosity and hospitality is something that none of us will forget."

One of the highlights of the trip, students said, was when they had the opportunity to meet the vice president of Moroccan Parliament and the mayor of Sale. Several days of the trip were spent engaging with United Nation representatives, Peace Corps volunteers and local university students. Borden said she will always remember when Elon students got to have "an honest and open dialogue with Moroccan university students about different cultural differences."

Senior Kristin Feeney worked with Lotfi Lamrani, the director of the students' partner organization Bridge of Cultures. Feeney said she enjoyed working with him. "(Lamrani is) a really incredible guy and extremely motivated to making his community better," she said. "His work has even been recognized by the local community, and he's received many awards for his community improvement efforts."

The students also spent some time visiting local historical sites, meeting with local artisans who make handmade crafts and spending quality time with their host families. "The best aspects of the trip for me was how well the whole group got along with each other," Wardle said. "And the way in which they embraced the opportunity to learn about a new culture."
http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=3946
------------------------------------------------------------------

Jobs in Morocco on a High!
June 13th, 2010

Moroco, located in North African, is a country bordered by Spain, Algeria and Mauritania. The capital of Morocco is Rabat and the largest city is Casablanca. It is enriched with culture and civilization while Moroccan cuisine is considered to be one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. The name ‘Morocco’ literally means ‘The Western Kingdom’ and is one of the important economies of the Middle East even though it is located very far from the region. Morocco is one the wealthiest nations of Africa and has an extremely powerful economy. This makes it one of the most stable nations of Africa that takes up about 7% of the continent. Moroccan economy is based on phosphorus mining industries as it is the third largest producer of phosphorous in the world.

The price fluctuations of phosphates on the international market greatly influence the economy of Morocco. The service sector and the industrial sector that comprises of mining, construction and manufacturing together account for over half the GDP of the city. Other sectors growing rapidly include tourism, telecoms, information technology and textiles. The rehabilitation of agriculture sector is also being carried out with full vigor as Morocco economy still depends on it to an inordinate degree. Though it accounts for only around 14% of GDP, it employs nearly 45% of the country’s population.

The tourism sector of Morocco is well developed and investments from overseas nationals keep the nation’s economy thriving. Some industries of Morocco deal with Leather Goods, Textiles, Handicrafts and Food Products in cities like Casablanca, Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat. Some high-tech Software Firms as well as Semi-Conductor Companies can also be found in Morocco. Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school even though literacy rate in girls is terribly low. With sectors related to tourism, education, manufacturing and services in full swing, jobs in Morocco are available in aplenty. Moroccan jobs are the favorite among professionals willing to relocate, away from their home countries. Morocco offers considerable number of career opportunities to expatriates across various fields.

Jobs in Morocco are available throughout all management levels-top, middle and lower i.e. from managerial to assistant to executive levels. These Moroccan jobs are generated majorly by the economic law of demand and supply. It offers employment in service sectors mainly along with manufacturing industries and agricultural units. Leisure (tourism) industry includes hotel jobs, aviation jobs, jobs in restaurants, bars, etc. Jobs in Morocco do not only pay better salaries but also extend a comfortable and relaxing lifestyle to the expats. Morocco is an ethnically diverse country where the production of Moroccan literature has continued to grow and diversify.

Inspirations from Middle Eastern and Western literary models have been added to the traditional genres like poetry, essays, and historiography. This becomes a significant recreation source for the art and literary lovers who migrate to the country in search of work. One can enjoy higher savings by way of better remuneration as well as explore the literary and cultural richness of this North African country. Moroccan jobs are advertised in newspapers and on company websites.

One can apply for jobs in Morocco with the help of recruitment agencies or on online portals like naukrigulf.com that list down all the jobs available with various employers in the country. One may also create personal contacts with expatriates already working and living in Morocco as references are always given more preference. Networking sites and communities online are a great help to get familiarized with the ways of living and working in the country. As popularly known, networking is always the best option to lay hands on a job in Morocco. http://www.literacynews.com/2010/06/jobs-in-morocco-on-a-high/
------------------------------------------------------------------

WB Loans Morocco $211.5m to Support Education Reform, Rural Roads Programme.
Rabat

Morocco and the World Bank (WB) signed, on Thursday in Rabat, agreements under which the Bank grants the kingdom three loans of $211.5 million to support education reform and rural roads programme and optimise farming irrigation in the Oum Errabii basin.

The first loan of $60 million is intended to support the implementation of the Education Emergency Programme 2009-12, which aims to accelerate the education reform process, drawing on lessons learned from the previous decade’s programs.  The second, worth $70 million, aims at modernising farming irrigation in the Oum Errabii basin.   As to the third loan ($81.5 million), it is designed to support the implementation of the Second National Rural Roads Project, which covers the period 2005-2012.

Salaheddine Mezouar, Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister, who signed the first two agreements along with Françoise Clottes, the Bank’s resident representative in Morocco, voiced satisfaction with cooperation ties between Morocco and the WB.

He added that these relations, which have been boosted over the past years, have made the Bank one of the major donors supporting the Kingdom’s efforts to promote economic growth and combat poverty.

For her part, Clottes hailed the partnership relationships between the two parties.

These relations, the two officials said at the signing ceremony, are governed by a strategic partnership framework (Country Partnership Strategy -CPS 2010-2013) under which the Bank’s Board of Directors approved seven loans of $729 million covering reform programmes and investment projects.

The Bank has recently said, in a statement carried by its website, that     the education development policy loan falls in line with the new CPS 2010-2013 for Morocco “which spells out the education sector reform as a key priority as part of its two strategic objectives”. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/wb_loans_morocco_21/view
------------------------------------------------------------

Hassan Samrhouni: Leading the Moroccan-American community.
Alison Lake is a staff writer at the Washington Post.

On May 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Morocco pleaded guilty to funneling money and material support to al-Qaeda. Many Moroccan-Americans living in Washington, D.C. are outraged that Khalid Ouazzani would align himself with a terrorist group and cast a shadow over hard-working Moroccan and Muslim-Americans.

It's time to highlight a positive example of a Moroccan-American activist who has captured the attention and respect of leaders in Washington and Morocco for over two decades. Since first arriving in the Washington area, Hassan Samrhouni has operated as a goodwill ambassador between the U.S. and Morocco. Hassan is president and founder of the Washington Moroccan Club, and CEO of Casablanca Travel and Tours, a full-service travel agency with offices in Casablanca, Morocco and D.C.

Hassan has worked for 20 years to promote the interests of Moroccan-Americans and to create a bridge for relations between the two countries. His overriding goal has been to "explain Morocco to Americans"and help newcomers acclimate to American society. "We Moroccans are some of the best [examples of] Americans today," he said in an interview. "We are Muslim, Arab and African: people with three different diverse traits, and we can be ambassadors for the U.S. around the world."

Hassan is called upon regularly as an "ambassador of goodwill" between the countries. He personally met with Presidents Clinton and Bush Sr., Hillary Clinton and secretaries of state during visits of American delegations to Morocco. King Hassan II of Morocco recognized Hassan's efforts by awarding him the highest honor a Moroccan citizen can receive--the Wissam of National Merit--in 1995.

Before emigrating to the U.S. in 1982, Hassan traveled the world for 15 years, playing soccer for Morocco's wildly popular national team. He joined Wydad Athletic Club in 1966 at age 16, and was deeply imprinted by the club's leadership and influence in Morocco. Established in the 1930s, the club was a pivotal force in the drive for Morocco's independence in 1956, and operated not only as a sports organization but also as impetus for social and cultural change. Wydad ("Love") remains influential in Morocco and was Hassan's inspiration for creating a similar organization here.

Hassan founded a "football" (soccer) club here in Washington, D.C., hoping to transfer the same values of leadership and community development. "I created the Washington Moroccan Club, a community organization, with the same principles of that group of fighters who defined Morocco's independence. Here we defend our culture and place in both American and Moroccan societies." Washington Athletic Club, an extension of the Moroccan Club, competes in the Washington International Soccer League and has a 10-year roster of more than 150 licensed players.

King Hassan II's son, King Mohammed VI, is supportive of Hassan Samrhouni's efforts to assist Moroccans and Americans in both countries. Hassan often voices opinions on political and policy issues in his native country. Affectionately known as "Blue Eyes" back home, Hassan is approachable, modest and friendly. His dual passion for Morocco and the U.S. is evident both in conversation and in how he spends his time.

In March 2010, Hassan's 20 years of leadership in the Washington area culminated in an anniversary celebration and event series attended by many professionals from Morocco and the U.S.: D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, educators and students, journalists, university professors, representatives from think tanks and development organizations, musicians and artists, and, according to Hassan, "Many strong Moroccan and American women--they ran the event!" George Washington, George Mason, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins universities also participated, as did the World Bank. The event will soon evolve into a "caravan," traveling to major U.S. cities with the same plan but on a grander scale.

Hassan and the WMC target both newcomers to the U.S. and established Americans who emigrated from Morocco a generation or two ago. "As Moroccan-Americans move from the service sector to higher education and positions of leadership, we are trying to reach key decision-makers,"Hassan said. The club sponsored political fundraising efforts for both presidential candidates in 2008, and encourages participation in government, with the aim to one day elect a Moroccan-American to higher office.

Hassan loves promoting Morocco and America as a job. "We try to empower our community and teach them they can do anything." This involves assisting and inspiring newcomers to the U.S. "When I spend time talking with someone," he said, "I never ever feel that I am wasting my time. I often see the positive results of a conversation 10 years later, and I know that seeds are planted along the way." http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/guestinsights/2010/06/hassan-samrhouni-leading-the-moroccan-american-community.html
------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Grilled Fish’ Depicts Life On Morocco’s Mean Streets.
Abel Azrali Outskirts Press, Inc. Parker, Colorado 79 pages, paperback ISBN: 9781432755171 $14.95

The prospects for impoverished, unschooled, unskilled young men the world over have not changed much since 1651, when English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes in The Leviathan termed their lives “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”. With the exception of the modern anodyne presented by a readily available and relatively inexpensive supply of hashish, the lives of young Moroccan men in the 1970s as depicted in Abel Azrali’s Grilled Fish match Hobbes’ grim description-prediction exactly.

Grilled Fish, a fictionalized account of a young man’s attempts to escape his and his friends’ perceived destinies, takes the reader on a path as convoluted as any of the alleys that wind through the section of Casablanca, Morocco known as the Medina where grinding poverty offers the teenage protagonist, Saed, and his friends little hope and no encouragement for finding a way out of their dead-end existences.

Saed, pulled out of school and forced to work in his father’s fish shop when the 79-page novella opens, tries desperately to escape his miserable environment. He has heard from friends and relatives that “the North”, i.e., Europe, offers the chance for a better life. Seeking to be a good citizen and emigrate legally, he tries to obtain a passport, but finds that doing so will enmesh him in a bureaucracy as nightmarish as any devised by Kafka. His attempts to find work on the port’s docks first offer another possibility: stowing away on a ship bound for Europe, but this plan, too, comes to nothing.

In the course of his wanderings, Saed meets an old man who describes the sort of nightmare suffered by many under the world’s totalitarian regimes: arrest and imprisonment on unspecified charges and beatings and torture for refusing to “confess” to an unspecified crime and the Grilled Fish from whom the novel takes its title, a decrepit old man serving as an example of what Saed and his friends will grow up to be–if they aren’t killed on the street, die of alcohol or drugs or vanish into one of the government’s prisons. Meanwhile, Saed’s friends and acquaintances congregate on doorsteps and in tea shops, spending what little money they are able to beg, borrow, steal or earn on drugs and alcohol. By the end of the novel, Saed’s options have become even more limited. “He’d already made up his mind to leave, unaware he was about to slide into an endless darkness, through a world of fear, hatred and distress, not knowing he was stepping into an area made, not for him, but for hyenas, wolves and human pit bulls.”

Like his creation Saed, Abel Azrali, in real life A. Azzam-Rehali, grew up in the old section of Casablanca known as the Medina. He received his early education at local elementary schools, junior highs, and Lycee Moulay Idriss 1st where he obtained his Baccalaureate Degree in 1981. In September 1981, he joined Hassan 2nd University, School of Arts and Human Sciences, majoring in English Language and Literature. While in college, he wrote, directed and co-produced two plays. In the early 1980s, he came to the United States. He attended a CUNY college in New York City, then joined TCI College of Technology where he obtained a degree in electronic engineering. In addition to this book, he has other yet-to-be-published writings in French, English and Arabic, mainly poems and short stories. He is currently a resident of Astoria.
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2010-06-23/Book_Review/Grilled_Fish_Depicts_Life_On_Moroccos_Mean_Streets.html ##########################################################

These postings are provided without permission of the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the identified copyright owner.  The poster does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the message, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Return to Friends of Morocco Home Page