Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
February 2, 2013

Morocco's Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT), a public training institution that offers vocational education across 35 fields of study via 327 training institutes across Morocco, has chosen Microsoft Office 365 to help enhance its education and vocational training solutions. In addition, OFPPT will work with Microsoft Corp. to create 100 new Microsoft IT Academies across the country. This strategic partnership is designed to transform education and enable OFPPT to continue its mission to offer quality training that aligns with the needs of young Moroccans and the regional economy.

"The approach we've taken with Microsoft is a model of public and private partnership for advanced professional training in the ICT sector," said Larbi Bencheikh, general director, OFPPT. "The use of new technologies will actively contribute to human development, as well as support the growth of the national economy and ongoing infrastructure projects through effective, efficient and proven Microsoft solutions."

Extending Adult Education

Founded in 1974, OFPPT manages vocational training centers across Morocco and provides diversified services, such as seminars and technical courses, training via mobile units, remote learning, intensive adult training, functional literacy courses, and evening classes. Along with adding 500,000 users to the Office 365 cloud solution, OFPPT and Microsoft will create 100 new IT Academies, including some in the midst of prisons around Morocco.

In addition, the partnership with Microsoft is expected to lead to 60,000 Microsoft Office Specialist and Microsoft Certified Professional certifications over the next three years for OFPPT's trainers.

Office 365 will deliver the power of cloud productivity to OFPPT institutions, helping to save time and money while increasing student and faculty productivity. In addition, one of the major factors in the decision to choose Office 365 was Microsoft's comprehensive commitment to quality products and programs, as well as the system's seamless interoperation with the entire Microsoft product portfolio.

"These new deployments of Office 365 will give OFPPT trainees the best and most up-to-date tools to be competitive in the workplace," said Samir Benmakhlouf, country manager for Microsoft Morocco. "In addition, the new IT Academies will provide opportunities for people to develop the necessary skills to be successful in the 21st century."

More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp. Copyright (C) 2013 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-to-provide-educational-opportunities-for-500000-students-and-trainees-in-morocco-via-the-cloud-and-new-it-academies-2013-01-30
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LanguageCorps, a premier international program for talented people interested in travel, internationalism, and teaching English abroad, has added two new program locations to its wide range of offerings. Teachers can now teach English in Panama or teach English in Morocco through LanguageCorps.  

Panama is a desirable addition to LanguageCorps' Latin American program locations, which include Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.  As the southernmost country in Central America, Panama bridges the gap between North and South America, links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, and features lush tropical rainforests juxtaposed with modern and thriving cities.

The four-week, 130 hour classroom based TESOL training course in Panama includes ten hours of assessed teaching practice. The course is conducted at the Panama City TESOL training center, which offers modern, comfortable facilities in a convenient downtown location.

Morocco, LanguageCorps' second program addition, expands their offerings in the Middle East and complements their program location in Turkey. Historic medinas, the Atlas Mountains, Berber villages, as well as the Sahara desert and both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, all contribute to the incredible variety of attractions the country has to offer, and it is conveniently located near Spain and other Western European locations for travel.

The four-week training course in Morocco features 120+ hours of classroom time, including eight hours of observed Teaching Practice with local EFL students. The Program includes a combination of workshops, seminars and demonstrations, and is conducted at the state-of-the-art LanguageCorps Training Center in Marrakesh.

"We are thrilled to debut our new Panama and Morocco teaching locations," says Michael Patton , director of marketing and technology at LanguageCorps. "Precisely because of the current difficult economic conditions, now is a great time to teach English abroad. The availability of paid teaching positions remains high in all of our international locations and is especially strong in Panama and Morocco."
For more information about LanguageCorps, visit www.languagecorps.com.
Full press release available here: http://www.languagecorps.com/press-releases/languagecorps-adds-panama-morocco-to-teach-english-abroad-programs.php

About LanguageCorps: LanguageCorps offers a variety of specialized programs for talented people who want to gain international experience with teaching jobs abroad. Programs are offered in 21 different locations in 18 countries, with opportunities to teach English abroad in Europe, Latin America, and throughout Asia.
PR Newswire ( http://s.tt/1z6I1 )
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/languagecorps-adds-panama-and-morocco-to-its-teach-english-abroad-programs-188877991.html
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Human rights activists are hailing a Moroccan decision to modernise the country's legislation regarding rape and child abduction. The Moroccan justice ministry announced last week that it would re-examine a controversial section of the kingdom's laws that allows the rapist of a minor to marry their victim. The January 22nd decision by the justice ministry to reform section 475 of the penal code received a warm welcome from activists.

The current second paragraph of the section states that when a prepubescent minor is kidnapped or forced to marry her attacker, the assailant can only be sued by those who press charges and have the authority to have the marriage annulled; and he cannot be convicted once the annulment has been pronounced. With the removal of the second paragraph, minors' rights will be further protected.

Moroccan legislation has to adjust to changes in society and to human rights' universal values, Don't Touch My Child Organisation President Najat Annoure said in a press release about the amendment. "This is a reaction to the on-going demands from local NGOs for the maximum protection of minors' rights against anything or anyone liable to violate their well-being as children," she said.

Casablanca attorney Salima Nehrich considered the current code appalling, saying "it would have been great if this clause of section 475 - which gives the rapist the choice to marry his victim in order not to be prosecuted - had been removed a long time ago... but I guess it's never too late to do the right thing."

Feminist activist Almoula Houria agreed with Nehrich, arguing that they should not have waited for other women to be victimised in order to speak up about these sections of the penal code - one that is becoming progressively incompatible with a legislation, now more concerned with protecting children's and women's rights. "There's still a lot to do because children's and women's rights remain the weakest link in our penal code," Houria said.

The issue was brought to the fore last year when 16-year-old Amina El Filali drank rat poison after being forced to marry her rapist. Her March 10th suicide provoked a national debate over the necessity of changing section 475. Some claim that removing this clause was a victory for the civil society whose activists fought so hard for the feminist cause and the legal protection of children.

The amendments to section 475 will ensure the protection of minors from sexual violence, Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid said January 22nd in Rabat.

The minister suggested adding three paragraphs to section 475 to further protect child victims of sexual assault after kidnapping or statutory rape. The proposed changes would also create tough punishments for criminals. "If a sexual relation, even consensual, is followed by kidnapping or statutory rape, the guilty party could serve up to ten years, and in the case of a sexual assault, up to twenty; in the case of rape, they could be sentenced to 30 years," a statement from the justice ministry said. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2013/01/29/feature-04
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Morocco to change law allowing rape marriage.
By SMAIL BELLAOUALI The Associated Press RABAT, Morocco

Nearly a year after Morocco was shocked by the suicide of a 16-year-old girl who was forced to marry her alleged rapist, the government has announced plans to change the penal code to outlaw the traditional practice.

Women's rights activists on Tuesday welcomed Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid's announcement, but said it was only a first step in reforming a penal code that doesn't do enough to stop violence against women in this North African kingdom.

A paragraph in Article 475 of the penal code allows those convicted of "corruption" or "kidnapping" of a minor to go free if they marry their victim and the practice was encouraged by judges to spare family shame.

Last March, 16-year-old Amina al-Filali poisoned herself to get out of a seven-month-old abusive marriage to a 23-year-old she said had raped her. Her parents and a judge had pushed the marriage to protect the family honor. The incident sparked calls for the law to be changed.

The traditional practice can be found across the Middle East and in places like India and Afghanistan where the loss of a woman's virginity out of wedlock is a huge stain on the honor of the family or tribe. While the marriage age is officially 18, judges routinely approve much younger unions in this deeply traditional country of 32 million with high illiteracy and poverty.

"Changing this article is a good thing but it doesn't meet all of our demands," said Khadija Ryadi, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights. "The penal code has to be totally reformed because it contains many provisions that discriminate against women and doesn't protect women against violence." She singled out in particular outmoded parts of the law that distinguish between "rape resulting in deflowering and just plain rape." The new article proposed Monday, for instance, gives a 10-year penalty for consensual sex following the corruption of a minor but doubles the sentence if the sex results in "deflowering."

Fouzia Assouli, president of the Democratic League for Women's Rights, echoed Ryadi's concerns, explaining that the code only penalizes violence against women from a moral standpoint "and not because it is just violence." "The law doesn't recognize certain forms of violence against women, such as conjugal rape, while it still penalizes other normal behavior like sex outside of marriage between adults," she added. Recent government statistics reported that 50 percent of attacks against women occur within conjugal relations.

The change to the penal code has been a long time in coming and follows nearly a year of the Islamist-dominated government balking at reforming the law.

The Justice Ministry at the time argued that al-Filali hadn't been raped and the sex, which took place when she was 15, had been consensual. The prime minister later argued in front of parliament that the marriage provision in the article was, in any case, rarely used.

"In 550 cases of the corruption of minors between 2009 and 2010, only seven were married under Article 475 of the penal code, the rest were pursued by justice," Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane said on Dec. 24.

While Morocco updated its family code in 2004, a comprehensive law combating violence against women has been languishing in Parliament for the past eight years.

Social Development Minister Bassima Hakkaoui, the sole female minister in Cabinet, said in September she would try to get the law out of Parliament and passed.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/23/3196063/morocco-to-change-law-allowing.html#storylink=cpy
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Morocco might scrap disputed rape law: ministry.
AFP , Monday 21 Jan 2013

Perpetrators of rape crimes could be excused if they married their victims, the Moroccan justice ministry reveals new law. Morocco could scrap a disputed statutory rape law that favours the perpetrator, excusing them from jail if they marry their victim, the justice ministry said on Monday.

The suicide in March 2012 of 16-year-old rape victim Amina Filali, who was forced to marry her aggressor, launched the law into the spotlight and led to intensifying calls for its repeal.

The justice ministry said in a statement it supported a proposal by parliament to alter article 475 of the penal code, under which the rape of a minor is punishable by several years in prison unless the victim and their aggressor wed.

The proposal has yet to be formally approved by both houses, however.

The ministry said it was prepared to go even further than scrapping the paragraph on marriage, suggesting harsher punishments for rapists of minors, including up to 30 years in prison rather than the current stipulated five.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/63005/World/Region/Morocco-might-scrap-disputed-rape-law-ministry.aspx
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Morocco's economic growth slowed to a real, seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent year-on-year in the last quarter of 2012, from 2.9 percent in the third quarter, the country's planning agency said. The economy was hit by a 9.2 percent drop in agricultural production during the past quarter, as the country suffered a drought. 

However, GDP growth is expected to pick up to about 4.5 percent in the first quarter of this year because of a budding pick-up in external demand and the start of a recovery in the agricultural sector, the agency said late on Tuesday.

Agricultural production is forecast to rise 5.9 percent in the first quarter as rainfall is improving. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/23/morocco-gdp-idUSL6N0AS07W20130123
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Devil Is in the Details - Promoting U.S.Product Standards
By Jean R. Abinader, 31 January 2013 Washington, DC

The US-Middle East Free Trade Coalition at the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) met today with representatives from USTR, Commerce, and the State Department, who are gathering ideas and support for a MENA spring conference on product standards. To be held in the Gulf, the goal of the conference is to promote the adoption of US standards. Since the last effort in 2009, there have been many changes to America's trade relations in the region.

Product standards have a clear impact on US trade policy. Think of it this way: when abroad, one of your first concerns is adaptors for your electronics - Apple or PC products that don't work if the plugs don't fit. That's a simple example of how non-US standards affect our ability to sell and use US-made products overseas. From electrical circuits and the length of cords on appliances, to packaging and labeling for consumer products, and the contents of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, virtually all US exports face challenges when they do not conform to standards used in the local markets.

In the late 80s, the private sector worked with Congress to mandate a full time standards professional residing in Saudi Arabia at a shared cost with the government. The body that oversees US standards, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), was less than thrilled with this legislation, and the program was eventually transferred to Commerce. Now it seems that this specialist function is but one of many assigned to economic counselors in US embassies, even though they lack the training and networks that were critical to the success of experts assigned through NIST.

This is very important today because US products face difficult entry barriers in overseas markets that use European or Chinese technical specifications. Another issue is that most MENA countries do not have a firm grasp of the notion of "voluntary" compliance, which is the US model. In America, specialized industry groups such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL) develop standards that are then adopted industry-wide, and companies "voluntarily" conform to those standards. MENA standards bodies, as a result of their bureaucratic culture, prefer to have "mandatory standards," so no discretion is possible. But the US system also features regulatory agencies to make sure that there is compliance with standards and that the standards are kept up to date and reflect market demands.

These differing approaches make promoting US standards more difficult because most MENA countries don't yet have a Consumer Products Safety Commission or the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) ASTM and have more pressing regulatory issues such as the environment and energy.

Morocco has adopted US standards for construction machinery, electrical safety, and toys. However, as with other MENA countries, the government does not formally advise the US when standards are being developed. It's only when new standards are announced that public comment is welcomed...then it's too late. So why doesn't the US government have standards experts in key countries, particularly those with Free Trade Agreements, on a full time basis to work with their colleagues on developing friendly standards? The US Government representatives at this week's meeting did not see this happening, even if the private sector once again paid for the person.

The Gulf Standards Organization (GSO), which represents the GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) will be co-hosting the conference with the USG. The GSO has strong ties with the MENA standards organizations and is seeking participation from the Arab countries. But more needs to be done to bring Morocco and the other non-oil producers closer to US markets. North Africa cannot be treated as an afterthought of US trade promotion, especially in the case of Morocco, which has an FTA.

The US can do a lot to ensure that follow-up mechanisms are in place with or without the episodic conference. For example, at the start of the US-Morocco FTA, capacity building technical assistance was provided to give Morocco experience in developing best practices for regulatory agencies. This can be replicated and expanded. The program "The Standards Alliance," which brings together WTO, USAID, and local regulatory agencies, can be better funded and more proactive in supporting proposals from North African countries. And the existing FTA can become a vehicle for enlarging the scope of US-Morocco trade by amending the current rules of origin so that a larger array of products from the Maghreb can enter American markets duty free.

If the US wants to work for a stronger and deeper commercial footprint in north, west, and central Africa, than it needs to promote mechanisms that facilitate and revise or replace those that inhibit trade. Reinstituting regional standards specialists is a big step forward. And a diligent and long-term effort to harmonize product standards is another key ingredient in helping US companies successfully penetrate these markets.
Jean R. AbiNader is Executive Director of the Moroccan American Trade and Investment Center.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201302010987.html
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Women's rights in Morocco are poised to improve with the probable scrapping of a law allowing rapists of minors to avoid jail by marrying them. But the road to gender equality in Morocco remains long.

The kingdom was shocked in March 2012 by the suicide of Amina Filali (16) who was forced to marry the man who violated her. For him it was a way under Article 475 of the country's penal code to remain a free man. On Monday, the country's Islamist government expressed its backing for a Bill to repeal this section of the law.

The justice ministry has also said it supports a proposal by Parliament to alter the article that states the rape of a minor is punishable by several years in prison unless the victims and their aggressor wed. The proposal has yet to be formally approved by both houses, however.

The ministry said it was prepared to go further than scrapping the paragraph on marriage, suggesting harsher punishments for those who rape minors, including up to 30 years in jail rather than the current stipulated five. "The amendments by nature guarantee the necessary protection for minors against sexual assault," said Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid.

Driss El Yazami, president of the National Council for Human Rights, said that the way was now clear for a favourable amendment in both houses. "Any progress is noteworthy and it is clear that there was a shocking provision" in the current law, he said, but also called for speedier reforms. "The question is not simply to affirm the principle of equality, but to see how parity" can be achieved, he said, noting that his council urged the creation of a superior body on equality as stipulated under the Constitution.

Violence against women

But progress towards gender equality in Morocco is moving slowly. Since 2004, following an initiative by King Mohammed VI, Morocco has had a new family code ( moudawana) governing polygamy. But daily Le Soir Echos cited alarming data showing that marriages of minors are on the rise in the kingdom, with 34 000 cases reported in 2010 – up from 29 847 in 2008.

A key concern is violence against women, said Khadija Ryadi, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights. Six-million Moroccan women have suffered physical or verbal violence, more than half suffering abuse in marriages, according to Bassima Hakkaoui, the only female minister in a government dominated by Islamist Justice and Development Party which won the 2011 parliamentary polls.

Media reports have also highlighted other cases.

In early January an attempted suicide by a house maid caused an emotional outpouring in Morocco. The entire incident was recorded on video by a neighbour and posted on the internet. The young woman, who leapt from the fourth floor of an apartment building in Casablanca where she worked, said she was raped two years ago and rejected by her family.

She was saved by a young man who caught her but he was killed doing so. The maid said afterwards she had wanted to kill herself because of "continued exploitation".

Education and attitudes

Morocco has up to 80 000 minors who work as domestics, according to several associations.

Last week there was also an angry tumult when a member of Parliament initially sentenced to a one-year jail term in a rape case was acquitted on appeal. "The Constitution has allowed some progress in theory, but there has been no tangible contribution," said Ryadi. "If it hadn't been for the Amina Filali case, we would not have even be talking about Article 475" on the rape of minors, she added.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings, the kingdom in mid-2011 enshrined "equal rights and freedoms" for men and women, adding that "the state would work to achieve parity" between the two.

Analyst Yazami says that what is needed now is a change of mentality. "In addition to legislative reforms, there is probably very important work to be done in terms of education and mentality," he said. – AFP
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-01-24-morocco-takes-a-step-towards-gender-equality
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Along with Arabic, French has long been one of Morocco's languages. It is the language of culture; it is the flipside of our identity -- of our double identity, if you will, which is the result of a long coexistence and exchanges between generations.

Even though Morocco has been independent from French colonialism since 1956, the French language has never left our history and even less our memory. And today, while some are trying to bury the French language into a deep grave, there seems to be a revival of interest for the language.

The demand for French lessons is growing, according to Mohamed Malki. A former teacher of French and French literature for many years, Malki was later named inspector general of French at the Moroccan education ministry. “We are in a context of globalization, internationalized economy, closer relations with the EU, the development of off-shoring... and for Morocco, French is the historic bridge to Europe.”

This argument makes sense. It follows King Hassan II’s creed to open Morocco to the world.

The French Institute of Morocco (IFM) has regional offices across the country. Their classes are fully booked, and they never lack students. “Young Moroccans are more and more eager to learn French and the demand outweighs the supply.” It’s a new reality that totally contradicts those who had prematurely announced the death of the French language.

Those who are considered responsible for the slow decline of French in Moroccan schools are the Istiqlal party, a pro-independence and pro-monarchist party with conservative and nationalist views. They were the first to lead a crusade against French, while advocating massive Arabization. The Istiqlal lead its vigorous and politicized – quasi-ideological – campaign for decades. The arabization process created a rift between two opposing worlds and a new generation that can’t speak either French or Arabic properly. This rift, born of an extreme ideology, bears the responsibility of the current cultural divide that the Arab world is experiencing.

Globalization, the digital revolution, Internet and smartphones are not Arabic appendages. As sad as it may sound, the Arabic language is not in phase with the transformation of the world. Culture today revolves around new technologies -- and the new universal languages inherent to it are English and French, and pretty soon, Chinese or Brazilian...

This brings us to King Hassan II’s other paradigm: “An illiterate today is someone who only speaks one language!” The close-minded pro-arabization advocates cannot comprehend that in this new era, we need foreign languages – English or other European languages – as a complement.

When we interviewed people for this article, we realized that contrary to what we believed, young Moroccans were very eager to learn English or French. And Spanish too. For them, foreign languages are bridges to other worlds, a necessary step for a country open toward others.

Asserting cultural identity

This is about openness but also cultural and linguistic diversity. In its fifth article, the new Moroccan Constitution stipulates such a demand: 

“Article 5: Arabic remains the official language. […] Tamazight constitutes an official language as common heritage for all the Moroccans without exception […] The State also preserves the Hassani culture as an integral part of the united cultural identity of Morocco.”

Tamazight is an ethnic Berber language from central Morocco, while Hassani culture refers to the Bedouin nomadic tribes of the Sahara desert, in southern Morocco. 

For the sake of a coherent and cohesive heritage, the old demon of linguistic ethnocentrism – in the form of Arabic – is trampled under the foot of the rising socio-cultural specificities and the assertion of ethnic and cultural identity.

Universalism and ethnocentrism aren’t opposite notions -- in fact, thanks to languages, they can be complementary. The revival of the French language in Morocco stems from an individual process. Officially though, there is a growing awareness of the divide between French and Arabic, even if we use both in the private and public sector.

According to Charles Fries, the French ambassador in Morocco, “the French school network in Morocco is the biggest one we have outside of France, with 32 schools and 26,000 students, of which 15,000 are Moroccan.” There was a 2.8% jump in registrations for the 2012-2013 school year, i.e. 700 new students. The French schools are jointly run by bodies affiliated to the French government (AEFE) and to the Moroccan government (OSUI). The partnership is a success.
http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/french-language-revival-in-morocco-colonial-nostalgia-or-bridge-to-modernity-/education-school-language-english-arabic-/c3s10662/
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Morocco announces court ICT system upgrades .

The Moroccan government has announced that it has launched a new ICT digital court project for all its judicial system at the court of cassation in Rabat. The move will see improved court proceedings and the government hopes it will speed up trials and court sessions.

The Ministry of Justice said that “the pilot will be extended to all of the chambers of the court in the next five years.” It added that the experiment “covers areas such as electronic legal document archives, management systems, remote forensic evaluations and online case files shared in real time through in-court notebook computers.”

The court’s strategic plan for 2013-2017 also refers to “digital courts using new technologies to facilitate procedures, unify judicial interpretations and increase the quality of decisions.” According to the ministry, citizens will now be allowed to file complaints electronically and “…case management will be improved through online communications between the court and users.”

The digital court project will set up an integrated training system, with incentives to learn how to use the new technologies to improve court personnel productivity.
http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2013/01/morocco-announces-court-ict-system-upgrades/
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Growing up in Tameslouht, Morocco, 20 km outside of Marrakech, is a history lesson. We’re surrounded by the tombs of saints and the crumbling walls of old religious buildings. The ancient Zaouia, or religious school, probably serves as the best teacher. This 500 year old building sits in the middle of the city and is used as a home and community gathering space to this day……………
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/01/73522/interfaith-dialogue-conference-tameslouht-morocco/
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Cold wave affects tomato development in Morocco

The low temperatures registered two weeks ago in Agadir, Morocco, have had an impact on the shipments to European markets. Perpignan's operators were the first to notice the lower supply volumes, as these fell by over 15%, although now that temperatures are warmer, production is also back to the usual levels.

The drop in temperatures was not extreme, but they went as low as 3-4 degrees Celsius; temperatures at which tomatoes stop their development. In addition to the colder weather, strong winds during the past week and a half have caused the suspension of some routes between Tanger and Algeciras, leading to delays in the shipments.

In any case, operators of the Saint Charles Market were not worried, as demand in France was paralysed because of the snow in the central and northern parts of the country, although they did show concern about the consequences of the cold wave, as plants during the second quarter of the campaign are especially sensitive to weather changes.
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=105413#SlideFrame_1
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Help for Morocco's street vendors will soon arrive, government officials announced. After years of being ignored, Moroccan street traders will soon see much needed help, Industry and Trade Minister Abdelkader Amara told MPs last month.

The minister said that the previous approach was unilateral and based on the settling of these traders by the authorities. A new organisational framework will be created to enable traders to work legally, he said told Parliament on January 8th.

Traders will be allowed to work at specific locations during set hours in towns. Amara also announced that the ministry intends to set up a fund to finance the new reform, which will include awareness-raising and training aimed at traders.

A pilot scheme will soon be run in Kenitra, 40km north-east of Rabat, in partnership with the local authorities, he said.

The roughly 240,000 street vendors in Morocco's towns and cities are the breadwinners for over 1.3 million people, Amara added.

MPs questioned the minister about the phenomenon, for which "no effective strategy has been put in place". They highlighted the need to find working solutions to manage these traders and to help tackle their insecurity while also preventing public places from descending into anarchy.

That is what the traders themselves want as well. Some of those who were contacted by Magharebia recalled the case of their "colleague" Mohamed Bouazizi, whose actions sparked the revolution in Tunisia.

Thirty-two-year-old Karim Msemmer became a fruit trader four years ago. The law school graduate was unemployed for five years before he decided to get into the profession. He said he would like to have a shop where he could trade without having to worry about police officers patrolling, who sometimes confiscate street vendors' wares. "Our situation is fragile. Our incomes are very limited. If the state helps us, things can change," he said. Msemmer earns between 2,500 and 3,500 dirhams a month and has to provide for a family of six.

When Souad Cherrat's husband died ten years ago, she went to work to support her three children. At first she sold vegetables, but then she decided to sell clothes. "My daily life is tough. There is always the fear of the authorities. Besides that, staying in the street all day and for part of the evening without any protection from the cold or the sun causes health problems for traders," she said.

Sociologist Samira Kassimi said that the government must improve the social situation of street vendors, who she said constitute a real ticking time-bomb. "The state must help to end their insecurity. These traders must move from the informal sector to the formal sector with the help of financial and technical support," she said.

The approaches that were adopted to date revealed their limitations, especially when vendors were moved to markets located on the outskirts of towns, she added.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2013/01/25/feature-03
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Morocco capitalized on its democratic transition.
By Nicholas Norbrook in Tokyo Thursday, 31 January 2013

Having ridden the wave of the Arab Spring, Rabat is now looking to Gulf financing and multilateral financiers to help it roll out infrastructure building programmes and develop and support a network of small enterprises. Europe's slowdown has spread gloom to the Moroccan economy, but the government in Rabat has developed a series of policies that target long-term growth.

Morocco's finance minister Nizar Baraka is happy to admit that the government chose a Keynesian solution to the eurozone crisis, engaging counter-cyclical measures such as boosting salaries.

Times are tougher for Morocco: continued malaise in Europe, a key export destination and source of tourists, has contributed to growth rates dropping from 4.5% in 2011 to around 3% this year.

Baraka explains that Morocco is approaching international capital markets to lift pressure on domestic debt markets and avoid squeezing small companies and the private sector.

The government issued a eurobond in 2010 and tested Morocco's international valuation. Given the 4.5% interest rate it received, it was a generally positive result.

November 2012 represented the first time the government issued on the dollar market, "which is much more liquid, and we hope the confidence in the Moroccan market will give us a good spread. We are going for between $750m and $1bn." The money will be used not to repay loans – the next big repayment instalment comes in 2017 – but to finance investment, Baraka says. Baraka will not countenance the idea that Morocco's debt levels are unsustainable.

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded its outlook analysis of the country from stable to negative in early October. "The problem of debt sustainability is a false problem," says Baraka. "External debt represents just 12% of GDP \[gross domestic product], while the global debt of the treasury is around 57% of GDP. So we are very, very far from external debt problems."

He points to the continued stream of companies entering Morocco as proof the country has created the conditions to attract investors. "We have Renault in the auto sector, Bombardier in aeronautics and lots of Spanish companies are seeking to escape the crisis in their own country and set up here."

Other sectors are opening up, with new legislative frameworks to support public-private partnerships (PPP) in green energy, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

The government hopes that using instruments such as the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion will allow it to lend support to these sectors without getting stuck in the 'industrial policy' problems of the past. Rabat also seeks to avoid a more recent problem: that of the private sector doing well out of PPPs, while the government is saddled with debt and uncompleted projects.

"There is a certain benefit to not being the first to attempt these deals," says Baraka, wryly pointing to the United Kingdom's woes with PPP contracts in the overhaul of the London Underground. "We are trying to get the best practice in this area, particularly in the specification of performance criteria and getting the best value for money." Other sources of non-market finance remain close to hand.

International finance organisations are keen on stable clients: the African Development Bank has $1bn invested in Morocco, World Bank funds rose from $300m to $700m last year and may well hit $1bn, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development started operations there in October.

It is the only country to have received a $6bn precautionary credit line from the International Monetary Fund, should it need one.

The Gulf is also a useful source of finance. Morocco is now an observer member of the Gulf Cooperation Council and will receive a grant of $5bn over the next five years to finance development. "We are currently putting together the project proposals for this funding, which should begin next year," says Baraka.

Confidence remains strong, not least because of the manner in which Morocco surfed the North African uprisings. "Morocco has managed to capitalise on the fact that it had started the democratic transition earlier. We started in the middle of the 1990s. There was a change in power.

"With the arrival of the new king \[Mohammed VI] there was an acceleration of political, social and economic reforms, so that when the Arab Spring came we were the best prepared to complete our democratic transition, which resulted in a new constitution and the November 2011 elections," says Baraka.

Morocco benefits from this political stability "because it gives us continuity of policymaking. This is in part driven by the palace – we can have a strategic vision, which is essential for development. But the new governments also give a fresh impetus each time."

In the early 2000s, the government was working with McKinsey, the consultancy group, to flesh out an industrial strategy for the decades to come. McKinsey was against getting involved in solar energy – but the palace prevailed, and Spanish investors are now queuing up to plug into the country's five large-scale solar energy projects.

Baraka is keen to boost the job-creating potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While governments pay much lip service to SMEs, many of these companies hit cash-flow difficulties because bills are not paid on time. "What we have done," says Baraka, "is to push through a law on payment schedules that fixes it at a maximum of 90 days, with a 10% punitive interest rate for all late payments. This goes for government contracts, too."

The government has also put in place a monitoring system in the prime minister's office to ensure govern- ment follows through on these promises. The finance ministry equally has a monitoring agency to ensure that government reimburses value-added tax for small businesses in a more timely manner.

Policymakers plan to adopt another new law before the end of the year to ensure at least 20% of government contracts go to SMEs. "Different markets will be broken up into smaller lots to allow SMEs the chance to compete," explains Baraka.

Ministries are also demanding that all large companies that receive a government contract transmit the list of SMEs they subcontract to so that these companies can be prequalified in future bidding rounds. There are also various programmes that fund corporate governance overhauls so that SMEs can grow, and another fund that helps build technical capacity and supports the adoption of new technology
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The economic downturn in Europe continues to weigh on Morocco's tourism sector. Morocco is hoping 2013 will be a year of economic recovery for the tourism sector but experts are cautioning the rebound will not be as easy as once thought. "Tourism in Morocco is crucial to the country's economy, as it represents about 7.1% of the gross domestic product," financial analyst Moussa El Mouritani explained.

The analyst told Magharebia that reviving the sector this year would be difficult: "The European market represents over 50% of the tourism in Morocco; however that market is still unstable and the economy is having a hard time getting back to its normal pace and normal progression."

Moroccan Tourism Minister Lahcen Haddad has pointed out that efforts have been made on many levels to find ways to minimise the impact of the weak economy, particularly in Europe. Haddad said that the Moroccan government plans to develop and finalise pragmatic methods that would allow several projects to come to life. That would require raising a total of 38 billion dirhams for developing 36,000 additional beds and eventually lead to the creation of over 10,000 jobs.

The point here, Haddad said, was to invest with people involved in important projects such as the convention centre and the amusement park in Marrakech, the Tama Ouanza resort in Agadir as well as the myriad of resorts in Fez and the Biladi clubs in Martil and Benslimane.

Also on the 2013 agenda, the introduction of medical tourism and sustainable tourism classes.

Tour operators are dissatisfied and feel that the field "is not living up to expectations". For Abdelali Mouktadir, who works in sales at a Marrakech hotel resort, the bad economy makes them less competitive. Another Marrakech hotel operator said that the government should focus efforts mainly in the aviation sector and should work harder on making Morocco a tourist destination.

The country's potential is not being correctly showcased, Casablanca restaurant manager Driss Belloufi said.

The National Tourism Federation (FNT) wants to reinforce logistics so that the country's vision for domestic tourism gets some kind of support. The tourism minister also looks to further reinforce training through the establishment of several partnerships with various international institutes. He also asked field professionals to help out and determine their exact needs in terms of expertise and human resources.

On a financial level, Industry and Trade Minister Abdelkader Amara noted that tourism related investments come mainly from domestic sources (64%), while only 36% come from abroad, primarily the US and Saudi Arabia. "Next year we will have investments in the area of 20 to 30 billion dirhams," he said. According to the latest data of the High Commission for Planning (HCP), tourism represents more than 7 per cent of the gross domestic product and is one of the top five job generating fields in Morocco.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2013/01/24/feature-03
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Morocco has received the first slice of a $2.5 billion (Dh9.1 billion) aid package promised by wealthy Gulf Arab states, a Moroccan official said on Friday, part of a pledge designed to cement ties between Arab monarchies.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait agreed in December 2011 to distribute $2.5 billion to both Morocco and Jordan, the only two Arab states outside the Gulf with monarchies.

“The valves are opened and we hope they will continue to be so,” said the Moroccan official, who declined to be named and would not say how much money had been transferred. Sources said the North African country had finalised the agreement with the Gulf Arab states on the margins of the Arab Social and Economic Development Summit in Riyadh last month.

Rabat is anxious to avoid a drop in living standards and prevent a return to street protests for political and economic reforms that King Mohammad managed to stifle in 2011 with constitutional reforms, social spending and harsh policing. The cash-strapped country relies on foreign aid, given its $90-billion economy is heavily exposed to the debt-scarred Eurozone through trade, tourism revenues and migrant remittances.

Its trade gap was 7.9 per cent higher in December than a year ago at a record 197.2 billion dirhams (Dh88 billion) largely due to a surge of imports of energy and wheat imports, which the state heavily subsidises. The government now aims to cut the budget deficit to 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2013 from 6 per cent in 2012, and projects GDP growth of 4.5 per cent this year, after 2.8 per cent in 2012.

Morocco raised $1.5 billion via a bond sale in December, which lifted its foreign currency reserves to 140 billion dirhams — but that only covers about four months of import needs, which economists say is an uncomfortably low level. In August, the International Monetary Fund approved a $6.2 billion precautionary line of credit for the North African country, to be treated as “insurance” in case economic conditions deteriorated further. http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/morocco-gets-first-instalment-of-aid-package-1.1140792
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Females and political activism

Moroccan cinema has portrayed females in different ways. Apart from the exploitation of the female body in Moroccan cinema, many films represent women in a positive way as militants, social activists and rebellious. We can take as examples: Kherboucha, Jawhara, Atach.

Hamid Zoughi gives an alternative image to Moroccan women in his movie Kherboucha, produced in 2010. In this movie, the actress Houda Sedqi plays the role of a Sheikha called Hada and known as Kherboucha. Kherboucha used to be a mythical character in the region of Abda in the late 19th century. After killing all the members of her tribe, Kherboucha stands up to the despotic rule of Lkaid and calls for a rebellion against him and his totalitarian regime. In this movie, Zoughi succeeds in changing the stereotypical image about Sheikhat in our culture, as he depicts the sheikha as a good rebellious woman who fights to avenge genocides committed on her family and tribe.

Zoughi chooses to tackle the issue of females and their contribution to resisting the power of the Makhzen. He uses a woman’s voice and meaningful songs as a sign of resistance. In order to retrieve the rights of her tribe and to face the tyranny of the ruler, Kherboucha composes a song in which she recounts the story of her tribe and how the Kaid and his followers exterminated them. The story turns around the use of the female voice and songs not as an erotic object, but rather as a way to uncover the atrocities and the crimes committed by Lmakhzen.The movie ends in a tragic way by Kherboucha being buried alive after she refused to consent to the laws of Lkaid.

From Kherboucha’s story which goes back to the late 19th century, we move to Jawhara’s story on the years of Lead and how women were part of the political opposition at that time. Jawhara was directed by Saad Chraibi in 2003, starring Mouna Fetto. This movie tells and depicts the suffering of women in prison and it was the first film to visually deal with this issue on screen. The story of the movie is a fusion of the past with the present. It is based on storytelling of the past with some flashbacks. The story is told by Jawhara when she is older, and she retells her autobiography, her memories of the past and the life she had with her mother in prison. The movie starts by her voice stating that she wants to write the story of her mother Safia.

Safia was a young woman married to a political militant and involved in a political oppositional movement. The story takes place in the seventies of the last century and it draws attention to the political activists in the years of Lead.

Safia and her husband were performing a play that sheds light on political detention and the questions of forced disappearances in Morocco. Thus, they were arrested with all the members of their group. She was sent to prison where she was tortured physically and psychologically. She was also subjected to rape and sexual harassment by the police. Safia discovered that she is pregnant and she had no other choice except giving birth to her child Jawhara in prison and continuing her life in confinement.

In the two cases of Hada in Kherboucha and Safia in Jawhara, filmmakers depict scenes of torture and suffering of women in order to show to viewers that Moroccan women are strong enough to bear physical and psychological suffering. Women in Jawhara and Kherboucha play a significant role in resisting the despotic regime and being part of the resistance. This depiction of women contributes to changing traditional ideas about females as passive and docile. Moreover, it helps society to recognize the role of women in the construction of our Moroccan history.

Women between the local culture and the Western culture

The image of women is not constrained to these two types; we can find many other representations of Moroccan women in movies. Many other films focus on the emancipation of women and how they are torn between two worlds, the modern world and the traditional world. As in the case of Bab Sma Meftouh or Door to the sky, directed by Farida Belyazid in 1988, the story is about a young girl returning home from France and starting a quest for her real identity. Nadia the protagonist of the movie is caught between two cultures, the French culture, as it is obvious in her way of dress and the way she behaves, and her Islamic Moroccan culture that she seeks to discover throughout the movie.

When Nadia returned home, she was completely Western, in her manners and physical appearance. After the death of her father she starts her journey to look for her identity as she begins to learn the Koran and she becomes a member of a Sufi brotherhood. Nadia the mystical character finds relief and peace by adopting a new life based on Islamic rules. She devotes her house to become a Zawya and a shelter for desperate women.

Farida Belyazid tries to depict the reality of women and the situation of “hybridity” in which they live, between the local culture and the global one, and between Islam and the secularist ideas of the West. She also covers an essential aspect of Moroccan culture, which is women’s involvement in the Zawayas and the Sufi brotherhoods. Belyazid chooses to end with Nadia who finally finds herself and her roots and succeeds to sever all ties with the Western world. Thus she overcomes her hybrid situation, realizes her real culture and discovers her true identity.

In this regard we can talk also about Badis, a movie directed by Tazi produced in 1988 in the same year of Door to the Sky. The screenplay was written by Belyazid. The story of the movie begins with a teacher and his wife leaving Casablanca towards a remote area in Elhoceima called Badis, in which the Spanish colonizers still occupy a small part of the region. The story turns around a Riffian girl who lives with her father after her Spanish mother abandoned them. Moera and the teacher’s wife become friends and decide to escape from the patriarchal society to colonized Morocco, since Moera was in love with a Spanish soldier who promised her to help her finding her mother.

Badis illustrates the situation of females in rural areas and their suffering from the male dominant society. The film remains controversial because the two women find nowhere to escape except to the colonizer’s territory, and when they are caught they are lapidated to death as a punishment for their alignment with the colonial authorities and as punishment for their rebellion against the social status quo, since they were considered as traitors and as a stigma to their society.

To conclude I would like to say that Moroccan filmmaking have dealt with the situation of women in several ways and have provided a wide range of images about women. Those movies have a social realist touch because they tackle contemporary issues in our society and help the society to make social progress by realizing the weaknesses and the pitfalls in our social structures. I tried to discuss the most essential representations of women in our national cinema and the way filmmakers tackle this issue and deal with women in their cinematic productions.

Reference:

Edwards Brain T.   Disorienting America’s Maghreb, From Morocco Bound Casablanca to  Marrakesh Express, (North Carolina: Duke University Press: 2005)

Mulvey, Laura. “Visual pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, eds., Film Theory and Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004)

Orlando, Valerie. Francophones Voices of the New Morocco in Film and Print: (Re)presenting a Society in Transition (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009)

Meriame Achemlal is a first year PhD student at the Faculty of Letters and humanities, Oujda. Her PhD thesis is entitled “A Comparative Study of Moroccan Male and Female Prison Writings.” She holds a master’s degree in Cultural Studies  from Sidi Mohammed Benabdelah University, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Dher Lmehraz, Fez.
©Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed
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http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/02/76285/the-female-representation-in-moroccan-cinema-part-2/
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Khalid Lahlou, Director of the Population Directorate at the Ministry of Health, said on Friday that Morocco has made “remarkable strides” in reducing the number of deaths among mothers and new-born infants.

On the sidelines of a meeting hosted in Dubai on the issue, Lahlou told  MAP news agency that the national programs launched by the Ministry of Health have helped reduce mother mortality rates from 227 deaths per one hundred thousand births in 2008 to 112 deaths in 2012. In this regard, Lahlou pointed out that the four year action plan carried out by the Ministry (2008-2012) has reduced child mortality, particularly for children under the age of five.

The Health Ministry has succeeded in reducing deaths among five-year-old children by 64 percent from 1992 to 2011 by fighting the deadly diseases which children in Morocco usually suffer from. Some officials have attributed this success to the fact that child and maternal health is among the priorities set by the Ministry.

Also, free maternity services that are offered in remote areas have considerably contributed to bettering the lives of so many new mothers and their newborn babies. Vaccination campaigns in some neglected parts of Morocco have also accounted for the reduction in child mortality.

In regards to future plans envisioned by the Ministry to address maternal mortality, Lahlou added that pregnant women are in the process of having full access to free birth services, as well as medical check-ups to detect potential health problems during child birth.

Given Morocco’s participation in several international health forums, Lahlou envisages presenting the initiatives that the Ministry has taken, while also learning from foreign health specialists to further improve the health sector in Morocco. Mr.Lahlou said that exchanging health experiences with other countries is, among other things, a way of developing the sector.

The health of women and children has been neglected in Morocco during the past few decades, which is why the Moroccan Ministry of Health has rung the warning bell in order to give this neglected aspect of life its due importance.
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http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/02/76450/morocco-reduces-child-and-mothers-mortality-rates-2/
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Diverse, authentic and original Morocco is strongly present in the 33rd International Tourism Fair, FITUR 2013, said Deputy Director of the Moroccan National Office of Tourism (ONMT) in Spain, Mohammed Sofi. The Moroccan 400 m2 pavilion, one of the largest in the fair, aims to present the tourist attractions of the Kingdom, its ancient culture, its history and its ancient heritage, Mr. Sofi told MAP on the sidelines of FITUR (January 30-February 3), which is considered the second most important tourism fairs in the world.

More than thirty Moroccan businesses are present at this event, including representatives of travel agencies, regional councils of tourism, hospitality industry professionals, said the head of ONMT, adding that the pavilion aims to promote the Kingdom as a tourist destination and attract more Spanish tourists to Morocco. He said the number of Spanish tourists visiting Morocco rose by 4 percent in 2012 to nearly 800,000 visitors.

To reach the goal of one Million Spanish tourists, Morocco regularly participates in various tourism fairs held in Spain, especially in the regions of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, to establish contacts with Spanish tourism professionals, he said.

Nearly 9,000 companies representing a hundred countries, including Morocco, will take part in the 33rd International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2013), which will open Wednesday in Madrid. A total of 8,979 companies from 167 countries and regions all over Spain will participate in this event.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/02/76392/authentic-original-morocco-charms-visitors-of-fitur-2013/
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When we teach, we rarely put into our minds that the students we teach today will be our colleagues one day. A decade in the life of a teacher, as is the case in the life of a nation, is not that long. You open your eyes and you close them and here we are working with the students we used to teach and with teachers who will work soon with the students they teach too.

A year will come, soon or later, when you open your shop/classroom to find out that an ex-student of yours is also opening a similar shop’s door on your left or on your right. You will find him/her sitting beside you in the teacher’s waiting room, sharing the same concerns, the same reality, the same job, the same salary and talking to you about the person you used to be.

What would you want to hear from those ex-students when you meet them or when they will meet you in the future when they become doctors, engineers, taxi-drivers, mechanics, fathers, mothers and citizens of tomorrow?

What will you tell them to justify the ill-treatment, the harshness, the badness, the exploitation and the stupidity and laziness you chose as a teaching style and as a living strategy when you were teaching them? What a bad situation to avoid!

This happened to me and it is still happening especially when I meet some students of mine who are teachers today. I feel so happy when i see them walking wearing the white “uniform” talking to their students and teaching them. That reminds me of all my ex teachers, both the good and the bad ones.

I see myself as a student of theirs and I feel happier when they tell me, and tell my students too and my colleagues, about things that they still remember from my classrooms a decade ago. I feel joyful and thankful because they remind me of things I forgot and of things I, normally, should not forget, of beautiful and funny situations that should be written in our books of professional development and professional history book.

Believe me, I feel happy because what they remember are good memories, nice, funny jokes and events. I forgot them for sure but they seem to be our historians writing our history. That is why we should always be aware that when we teach, we do not only write dates on the board and on the students’ copybooks. Indeed, we write our and their history textbooks.

The Dalali Lama wrote in his Becoming Enlightened that “if you are a teacher, before sitting down to teach Imagine your own teacher on the place from which you will be speaking and bow three times, thereby showing reverence for the source of your teachings and for the teachings themselves.”

He adds that “as a teacher you should have sufficient training in morality such that your senses are controlled. Otherwise your senses will be like wild horses. Pulling you into unfit actions,” they will also be “providing antidotes to the three poisons of lust, hatred, and ignorance.”

In other words, today’s teachers should teach their students without forgetting that toady’s learners will be tomorrow’s colleagues and the future’s teachers and the future’s future itself.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed
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http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/01/76138/todays-students-might-be-tomorrows-colleagues/
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Everything started when she was hired as a journalist in a very prestigious multilingual newspaper in a city far from her home. Having been the only one to succeed in the job interview amongst hundreds of young talented people who applied too, she felt very lucky and blessed for such an opportunity. She promised herself not to let anything stand in the way of realizing her dream of becoming a well-known journalist…………..
Read more: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/01/75744/the-soulmate-or-the-best-friend-short-story/
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About four months ago, I received a call at night from a dear friend wishing me a happy birthday and suggesting that we celebrate it together the following day. I was very delighted to hear that since I had never celebrated my birthday. We met in a cultural club and we enjoyed the event together. It was really a special day because it was my birthday and with a dear friend that I greatly appreciate. Before leaving, I was offered a precious gift from my friend:  A collection of ten books of the outstanding writer Paulo Coelho. It is a collection that I had been longing to have for a long time……………

Read more here: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/01/75715/paulo-coelho-wishing-me-a-happy-birthday/
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Practising yoga on the beach at sunset on the Morocco trip. Click on the magnifying glass icon to see a map of the places visited

At the end of the long day's walk under the searing Moroccan sun, across endless expanses of sand, the Berbers slowed their camel and stopped. We had arrived at the camp that was to be our home for the night. I was hot and tired after following in the nomads' footsteps, and desperate to cool off. Lucky for me, we weren't, as it may sound, in the Sahara desert, we were on the Atlantic coast, so I simply stripped down to my bikini and ran into the sea.

This was the joy of the week I spent on a new "nomadic beach retreat", walking a stretch of coastline between Essaouira and Agadir with a tribe of Tuareg Berbers. This part of Morocco has mile upon mile of unspoiled, deserted golden sands – we rarely came across anyone save a lone man on a donkey, a pair of horse riders or a local family having a picnic.

In winter the tribe live in the desert, running a luxury camp (desertcampmorocco.com). Their leader, Mohamad Boulfrifri (known as Bobo) turned to tourism when the construction of a dam in Ouarzazate affected his water supply and put paid to his family farm. Bobo has now teamed up with a small company specialising in retreats to offer the unique new beach camp: his tribe take care of the camping and guided walking, and Emma from Morocco Retreats organises yoga, meditation and beauty treatments experienced along the way. It is a far more immersive experience than the usual one-night stay in the Sahara that some tourists stretch too.

Setting up an elaborate Berber camp in the July heat each day looked like hard work but Bobo laughed it off: "We are used to the desert. We love it by the sea! It is cool here!" Bobo, who speaks six languages, was a charming guide with a great sense of humour – and great fashion sense, mixing a batik suit with a modern gilet, or zebra-print shorts with a trendy T-shirt. His tribe operated on a strict hierarchy when there was work to be done but everyone played football together on the beach at break times.......................

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2013/jan/26/morocco-beach-walking-holiday-yoga-retreat
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Am I a terrible parent? Is it wrong to want time off from my kids? Even though this is supposed to be a family holiday? Can you really sunbathe in Morocco in December?

And more important than any of this – will the wine be any good?

These were the thoughts that circled my mind as we cruised up the long, palm-fringed driveway of The Mazagan Beach Resort. I had never been to an all-inclusive hotel before, never mind a five-star one, and I don’t mind admitting that I felt a little guilty (and also a little excited) about the prospect of crèches, kids clubs and babysitters.........................

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2269637/Morocco-family-holidays-Hiding-away-pirate-castle-Magazan-Beach-Resort.html#ixzz2JSV9tT4s
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The magic of couscous: ‘Crowning achievement of Berber cooking’ – Telegraph Steamed traditional way, couscous is more than just quick-cook starch
The Telegraph, by Bee Wilson (Feb 1, 2013)

Couscous is proof, if proof were needed, of the ingenuity of cooks. Contrary to appearance, these yellow pellets are not grains, like rice. Whether fine, medium or giant, they are a human fabrication. Couscous is fragments of semolina dough, originally created in North Africa by skilled hands raking in endless circular movements.

Paula Wolfert thinks that couscous is ‘magical’: the ‘crowning achievement of Berber cooking’. In her stunning book, The Food of Morocco, Wolfert points out that couscous is seen in Morocco as the food that will most satiate hunger. There is a saying: ‘A handful of couscous [given in charity] is better than Mecca and all its dust.’

But goodness, it’s hard work. I hadn’t realised quite how laborious traditional couscous was. In my house, couscous is a lazy option. It’s what we make when there’s no time for potatoes and we can’t be bothered with rice or pasta. We pour out half a packet, add the same volume of hot stock or salty water, a dash of oil, and it’s ready in five minutes. We fork it a little to separate the grain. Done.

This, needless to say, is not the proper way to prepare couscous in Morocco, where it is served for Friday lunch with brothy stews. Wolfert says that, no matter what it says on the packet, couscous ‘requires two steamings of 20 minutes each and a final steaming of 10 minutes’. That’s assuming you are using the ‘instant’ stuff (I favour the Ferrero brand sold in Middle Eastern grocers). If you are using ‘hand-rolled, sun-dried couscous imported from Morocco’, it needs to be steamed four times. The very word couscous derives, Wolfert says, from the hissing noise made as the steam from the pan rises through the grain.

Steeling myself slightly, I embark on Wolfert’s instructions. The good news is that she says it is unnecessary to steam the grain over the broth, as some cookery writers advise. You also – hooray! – don’t need to buy a special couscoussier: a colander or ordinary steamer over a pan will do. The steamer is lined with muslin, not to stop the grains falling into the water – the steam from below holds them up – but to carry the couscous from the steamer to the dish, where it is whisked and raked and doused with oil and water in between steamings.

The principle behind all the steamings is to get the couscous to absorb as much water as possible while also remaining lump-free and separate. Cooked this way, a 450g box of instant couscous becomes 1.9 kilos. The whole process takes me an hour, at the end of which most of my work surfaces, my hair and clothes are sprinkled with sticky grains.

Is it worth it? I must admit that the finished couscous is sublime – each grain fluffy and swollen, yet in no way soggy. It is the perfect foil to one of Wolfert’s chicken broths scented with ginger and saffron. Yet while I can see myself cooking through all of the tagines in Wolfert’s book, I suspect I will return to my lazy five-minute ways with couscous. I’m glad that cooks in Morocco once devoted so much time to creating this comforting starch, but even gladder that I now don’t have to. http://moroccoonthemove.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/the-magic-of-couscous-crowning-achievement-of-berber-cooking-telegraph/
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Sand, sun and sky – Students from DePauw University spend five days in Sahara Desert.  

A group of DePauw students spent Winter Term touring Morocco. For five nights, students stayed at this Bedouin camp in the Sahara desert.

On the plane back, my borrowed pen raced. I was trying to finish up the hundredth page in the diary I’d written in Morocco before lifting off the runway. I’ve still yet to stop.

Out of two and a half weeks there, we spent five days sleeping in tents in the Sahara. For most of us, this was our favorite location. We didn’t want to leave. Even as we moved on to Marrakesh, common were the cries, “let’s go back to the desert!”

What made the desert appeal more than Fes and Marrajesh, the two other main locations we covered, I suspect was different for each of us. It could have been all of the local musicians we heard and experienced either in the hotel lobby after dinner or out in the desert at night, warming our hands by the campfire. I say experience because dancing and clapping were usually involved.

Moroccan musical performances are far more interactive than traditional American ones. It might have been riding the camels, or climbing the sand dunes, or the treat of watching the sun set from the top of one of them. It could have been the joy of riding around the desert in Jeeps, conquering the bumpy terrain without roads. It might have been all the constellations and shooting stars. Before this trip, I had never seen either.

It might even have been the “danger” of staying near the Algerian border with a conflict on the other side of that country or the situation in Mali that warranted my dad to call me—or rather, call our tour guide. I hadn’t brought my phone, and I didn’t feel like emailing anybody while in a place where technology didn’t reign. Fortunately, I was near enough to take the call, and fortunately, everybody was around for a good-natured laugh at my embarrassment.

For me, it was all of these things, but they were subordinate to the encompassing nature of the sands, skies and people. We didn’t get heckled by merchants the way we did in Fes and Marrakesh. Everyone was friendly, and I felt more welcome here than in the other locations we visited. Adding to this sense was the greater variety of vegetarian options. I was at a loss for how several different restaurants could serve us the same meal every night in Fes and Marrakesh—vegetables and couscous, or a favorite variation, vegetable tahjin—while one place in the desert managed to serve us varying main courses over the course of our stay.

However, when our options branched out, others on the trip were jealous of how delicious they looked. As a result, the number of “vegetarians” fluctuated for each meal. This was common for the desert, whose dishes showed variety despite the usual lack thereof elsewhere in Morocco.

The trip moved on to Marrakesh for the last few days, but a little bit of me remains in the Sahara. I know I’ve got to get back there someday, if only to be whole again. The sky was bluer, and the stars more numerous. I extracted a sense of contentment from the air, from just being there, that can’t be replicated anywhere else I’ve been.
http://moroccoonthemove.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/sand-sun-and-sky-students-from-depauw-university-spend-five-days-in-sahara-desert/
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We often hear that it's difficult for women entrepreneurs to found companies- they face social stigma as founders, or they have difficulty being taken seriously as leaders.

Yet sometimes, these challenges aren't unique to being a woman; they could strike any entrepreneur. When Maha first launched a children’s teaching program in rural Morocco, authorities didn’t take her seriously- they thought she was “too young.” Amira still has a hard time finding competent employees for her NGO in Egypt, while Afnan in Jordan has suffered through a lack of technological support to build a mobile human heater. Yet all three of these women are overcoming these challenges to transform the way that people learn, rebuild societies, and build tech innovations.  

Seeing the widening developmental gap between Moroccan rural and urban areas, Maha Laziri felt an urge to look beyond city life and contribute to building new schools where children could benefit from education that included entertainment. Maha also decided to make contact with village schools in order to negotiate adding recreational hours to their curriculum. “I feel my own personal wounds closing when I do that,” she says proudly.

Despite her enthusiasm, her road was not straightforward. Barely 20 years old when she developed her idea, she wasn't old enough to deal independently with official parties or NGOs; rather, she had to turn to her father. Fortunately, he was very supportive; today, with the help of 10 team members and many volunteers, she has been able to rebuild a primary school in Ichbaken, a village in the Atlas Mountains. She continues to focus on improving education in terms of school buildings or curricula.  

Now, as she continues to focus on improving education curricula in Morocco's schools, she's found that the way forward is through gaining the trust of local communities and parents. “These marginalized communities keep hearing empty promises, so their responsiveness to new projects is very slow. But once we advised them that we would have to return the funding if the project was not completed on time, and they saw our commitment, the excitement began,” Maha explained. Better education also means that Morocco's youth will be better equipped to build new businesses and contribute to economic growth………….
Read more: http://www.wamda.com/2013/01/how-3-women-entrepreneurs-are-creating-opportunities-in-morocco-egypt-and-jordan
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Morocco’s only female minister claimed that the media has targeted her because she dons the Islamic headscarf, commonly known as the hijab. Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development, Bassima Hakkaoui, said since taking office in January 3, 2012, the media attempted to mar her credibility by reporting false news and information about her.

Hakkaoui’s husband having a second wife is among the erroneous information she rebuffed. “The media has attacked me ever since my appointment [as minister] by reporting statements I did not say,” she told the French-language Moroccan weekly magazine, Tel Quel, in an interview. “This is because I am a hijab-wearing woman in parliament…I think this has agitated some people who tried to tar my credibility.”

The 52-year-old minister said she respects journalists despite some who do not verify their reports before publishing. “I find myself to bring more attention more than other ministers as I am the only woman minister.”

The only-female minister urged for changes to safeguard women rights in Morocco. She vowed that there will be changes to article 475 in the country’s penal code that allows a rapist to marry his victim to escape prosecution.

Last year, a Moroccan court allowed a rapist to marry his 16-year-old rape victim, Amina Filali, to “preserve” the honor of the girl’s family. Filali’s case, who later committed suicide, created outrage in the country with many activists called for changes and reforms in the penal court.

“A rapist belongs to jail and not elsewhere,” she said.

Hakkaoui hails from the Justice and Development Party, which became the ruling party since 29 November 2011. The party advocates Islamic democracy.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/01/19/261297.html
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Five Must-See Places In Morocco
Posted: 01/19/2013

Morocco is a country with everything you'll find in the more typical Mediterranean destinations of Europe with many African extras thrown in, and a price tag that's much more forgiving to strained wallets. I'm going to let you in on five of my top Moroccan favorites along with the hotels I personally recommend, but please don't stop at just these five. These are merely to get you started on your Moroccan exploration...............

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-richberg/morocco-travel-destinations-hotels_b_2490779.html
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Fleeing the gloom of northern Europe in search of warm winter waves, surfers are flocking to a fishing village on Morocco's Atlantic coast now selling itself as a top surf destination.

It may be a world away from Australia's Gold Coast, or Hawaii's Waimea Bay.

But with enough wind, the ocean breakers at Taghazout swell to four or five metres (13 to 16 feet) and are usually at least 300 metres long, making it the Maghreb country's best surf spot, according to Moroccan pro Boukel Simo.............

Read more: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130121/lifestyle-travel/article/surfers-ride-high-moroccos-winter-waves
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Moroccans still await tangible improvements in human rights a year after the adoption of a progressive new constitution and the election of an Islamist-led parliament and government, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.

Even as government ministers talked of reform, the courts imprisoned dissidents during 2012 under repressive laws curtailing free speech, and after unfair trials. The police used excessive force against demonstrators, abused the rights of migrants, and advocates of self-determination for Western Sahara faced continuing repression.

"Judging by the text of the 2011 constitution, Morocco's leaders recognize that enhancing human rights is central to meeting popular aspirations," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "But judging by the practice on the ground, they have yet to grasp that words alone are not enough."

In its 665-page report, Human Rights Watch assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries, including an analysis of the aftermath of the Arab uprisings. The willingness of new governments to respect rights will determine whether the Arab uprisings give birth to genuine democracy or simply spawn authoritarianism in new clothes, Human Rights Watch said.

Among those imprisoned in Morocco for exercising their right to free speech are journalist Rachid Nini, who served one year in prison for his writing; rapper Mouad Belghouat, who is serving a one-year prison term for a song critical of the police, and 22 Sahrawis who have spent more than two years in pre-trial detention far from their homes in a politically charged case.

Moroccan police allowed some public protests to go ahead unmolested but on other occasions used excessive force to disperse demonstrations, regardless of whether they were peaceful or disorderly. In one recent instance, on December 27, police beat and dragged a member of parliament, Abdessamad Idrissi, after he intervened as they were violently dispersing a protest by unemployed people in front of the parliament in Rabat.

Courts sometimes sentenced demonstrators to prison terms after convicting them in unfair trials of charges such as assaulting or insulting police officers. For example, an appeals court in January 2013 sentenced to prison five demonstrators who support the February 20 movement, created at the time of pro-reform protests in 2011, on the basis of confessions that they claimed had been beaten out of them, and without any witness testimony or other evidence presented in court that linked them to the offenses.

The authorities severely restrict the rights of those who advocate self-determination for Western Sahara, which has been under de facto Moroccan rule since 1975. Morocco refuses to allow pro-independence demonstrations in Western Sahara or to permit the legal recognition of associations whose leaders are known to favor independence. This policy is underpinned by legislation that prohibits "harming" Islam, the monarchy, and Morocco's "territorial integrity." The last phrase is understood to mean Morocco's claim to, and annexation of, Western Sahara. Abolishing such laws should be a priority as Morocco sets about harmonizing its legislation with the 2011 constitution, Human Rights Watch said.

Reports of abuse of Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco increased during the year. The abuse included raids in which police arbitrarily destroyed and seized property and forcibly bused migrants to the Algerian border, dumping many of them there in a manner that violates due process.

Despite the slow pace of reform, some positive developments pointed the right way forward, Human Rights Watch said. Notably, the government allowed the UN special rapporteur on torture to visit Morocco and Western Sahara in September, and the National Council of Human Rights, a state-funded body that reports to the king, issued groundbreaking reports criticizing conditions in the country's prisons and state-run mental institutions.

On the issue of media freedom, the Communication Ministry announced that Al Jazeera would be permitted to reopen its office in Rabat. The government had ordered the office closed in 2010, in dissatisfaction over its news reporting.

"Human rights issues are widely and openly discussed in Morocco, and this is a real plus," Whitson said. "But even as authorities deliberate and consult on the reform process, they need to show the political will to curtail the abuses that persist."
http://allafrica.com/stories/201302010826.html?aa_source=useful-column
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Chainformation Announces Partnership to Launch Franchise Software in Morocco: Leading Franchise Consultant to Carry CCM Franchise Software for Moroccan Clients
January 28, 2013 MALMO, SWEDEN--(Marketwire - Jan 28, 2013) -

Chainformation, a leading provider of software for retail, franchise and chain businesses, today announced it has entered an agreement with BeOne Consulting, a consulting and training corporation based in Morocco. Under the agreement, BeOne Consulting will carry the CCM  franchise software platform, providing Moroccan business owners with an Intranet platform that supports internal communications, quality assurance, governance and expansion.

Launching in Morocco also means that the CCM  franchise software suite has been completely translated to French, allowing rapid implementation with French speaking franchise- and retail-chains. "We are tremendously excited to partner with BeOne Consulting, and bringing CCM franchise software to Morocco. Our turn-key solution continues to capture the attention of franchise- and retail-operations around the world, enhancing daily operations by providing relevant and critical information directly to the store level," says Anders Hall, Sales and Marketing Manager at Chainformation.

The CCM franchise software platform by Chainformation is cloud based and ready to be used out of the box for franchise, retail and chains. It can be implemented in just 2-4 weeks with some of the following key features:

• Cloud based interface
• Faster, role-based communication
• Digital operations manuals in an easy to follow format
• Ability to share content throughout the business, directly to store
• Marketing Design Templates and Execution tools
• Access to Daily Sales Reporting (ERP connectivity)

In partnering with Chainformation, BeOne Consulting will leverage a franchise software solution based on proven technologies used by some of the most demanding customers in franchising, including Wayne's Coffee, O'Learys and ICEBAR by ICEHOTEL.

"Morocco is a fast growing economy and we need to be able to equip our existing and new customer base with solutions that support growth. We have been looking for a software platform that makes daily operations easier, improves daily communications, and encourages collaboration. For us, CCM franchise software by Chainformation met all these requirements," says Fatima Zahra, CEO of BeOne Consulting.

For more information, please visit www.chainformation.com

About Chainformation: Chainformation is a developer of franchise and retail specific software that helps equip work forces with timely, relevant and critical know-how. Clients include franchise and retail chains such as ICEBAR by ICEHOTEL, Wayne's Coffee, O'Learys, and Akzo Nobel. The company is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/chainformation-announces-partnership-to-launch-franchise-software-in-morocco-1750357.htm
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Simple spices bring Morocco to the table
By JILL L. REED / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Published: Jan. 25, 2013

The big fascination at our house these days are maps and atlases and anything that depicts other parts of the country and other parts of the world. We have a children's atlas that the Man found for $1 at a used bookstore several months ago.

It sat on the shelf for a while, getting passed over for various books by Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. Until one day when Ben decided he wanted to take a look. That was probably at least a month ago. And the atlas has been elevated from shelf status to coffee-table book, never far from reach.

This is all fairly understandable, I suppose.

But I am not quite sure where the fascination with Egypt came from. He loves to talk about the pyramids and the Sphynx so much that he asked us if he could go to Egypt. We compromised and told him we would take him out for Egyptian food.

But before we could make that happen, his attention turned to another African nation: Morocco. As with Egypt, he asked if he could go to Morocco.

I told him that we could not do that, but that I would figure out something to cook that would use some of the spices and flavors from Morocco. And that he could help me pick the spices he wanted to use. It seemed like a fun way to go about things and get him involved.

So I lined up a selection of small spice jars with some idea of the ones I wanted to use. But before making the final decision, we opened each jar and took a nice whiff of each one.

Ginger was in, turmeric was out. Cumin made the cut, paprika did not. Cinnamon was deemed acceptable, cardamom was "too smelly."

Once we had picked out our spices, it was time to settle on how to use them in a dish. The ubiquitous chicken breast seemed like a good vehicle. They are a nice, blank canvas for all sorts of flavors. To get in lots of color and make the meal complete, I used tomatoes and zucchini to make a nice side dish.

By planning things the right way, I was able to cook the chicken first then use the same pan for the zucchini and tomatoes. The produce, along with the spices we chose, were cooked with some garlic and cilantro.

Toward the end of the cooking time, I added some chicken broth and honey to make the dish extra saucy. The honey played nicely with the garlic and spices to create a dish that was bold, but not overpowering.

To give the dinner more of a Moroccan vibe, I served the chicken and zucchini mixture over cous cous, with extra sauce on top of all of it.

I have been out for Moroccan food, and while my technique may not be spot-on authentic, I think my flavors were a good alternative to airfare for three to Morocco.

Moroccan-spiced chicken and zucchini

Time: 35 minutes; Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper or a mix of pepper
• 6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 6 tomatoes, cut in a large dice
• 4 zucchini, cut in 1/8-inch slices
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
• ¼ cup honey

Directions

Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken breasts and reduce heat to medium. Cook chicken until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear, about 10 minutes. Turn chicken occasionally for even browning.

When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and set aside, covered.

Increase to high heat and, in the same skillet, add garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, ¼ cup of the cilantro, ginger, cumin and cinnamon to the pan stirring to incorporate spices evenly. Cook on high for 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the pan.

Add chicken broth and honey. Reduce heat to medium and cook another 5 minutes or until zucchini is done to your taste.

Stir remaining ¼ cup of cilantro and any accumulated juices from the chicken into the sauce.

For serving, I like to make cous cous. Slice chicken breast and serve chicken and zucchini mixture over the cous cous in a shallow bowl, spooning extra sauce over the top of the chicken.

Cook's note: If a chicken breast is significantly thicker in some parts than others, consider pounding it with a meat mallet to make it more even. When doing this, place chicken breast in a heavy plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap to minimize the mess.

If using an instant-read thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken, the USDA recommends the meat should be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/chicken-409245-zucchini-spices.html
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