By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 26, 2013

Algerian officials and media outlets have recently fired a number of vehement allegations at Morocco, accusing the kingdom, and HM King Mohammed VI, of strategically targeting Algerian youth by flooding Algeria with Moroccan-made Hashish, and of clogging Algerian economy by “pumping its fuel.”

According to online news outlet Almoustakil, Algerian Mohammed Safahi, vice-president of the Communal Council in Tlemcen, addressed an open letter to HM King Mohammed VI, in which he states:

“Your Majesty, you the so-called commander of the faithful, stop flooding Arab and Muslim nations, from Mauritania and Algeria to Tunisia and Egypt, with tons of Hashish…which is planted and harvested in your kingdom and with your consent. It is against Islamic principles and against the good neighboring values that you start this war against Algeria for political ends and because of diplomatic positions that Algeria has made crystal clear concerning the opening of frontiers between our nations and the Sahara issue.”

According to the same source, this Algerian condemnatory message has allegedly come as a response to a controversial message previously addressed by Moroccan Salafist Sheikh, Mohammed El Fizazi, to the Algerian head of State, Abdel Aziz Boutaflika.

Mohammed Safahi, the Algerian official who addressed this message to HM the King, is also suspected to be “a mere political puppet in a bigger political agenda tailored by Algeria in a cold war against Morocco.”

While Safahi accused Morocco of purposefully targeting Algerian youth by “injecting destructive poisons in their veins,” some Algerian outlets leveled abrupt allegations at the kingdom that seem to flow in parallel with those of Safahi.

Algerian daily newspaper L’Expressiondz titled one of its article published today, “It floods Algeria with its drugs and pumps its fuel up,” referring to Morocco. According to the Algerian newspaper, Morocco has been “illegally trading in Algerian fuel unmindful of the severe economic damages it causes to Algeria.”

In the article, the author also establishes a blurry link between Moroccan-Algerian relations and Moroccan Sahara issue and a so-called “Moroccan goal-directed strategic attack at Algerian social fabric and economic prosperity. The article also claims the damage the Algerian economy has faced because of alleged “Moroccan illegal trade” is estimated at 1 billion Euros.

While similar allegations continue to surface on the front pages of Algerian news outlets, changing alleged statistics of damage and loss recorded in Algerian economy, analyses of these allegations pinpoint a suspicious consistency that proves that accusations seem to come from one source and are targeting the same end.

It is also believed that the fact these Algerian allegations abruptly surfaced simultaneously is nothing less “than a strategic attack targeting Moroccan political stability amidst the tense political mutations now characterizing the region.”

By Sara El Bekri

Morocco World News

Marrakesh, July 26, 2013

Tonight on my way back home I took a taxi and the driver was a woman. Actually, I have been many times in a taxi with a female driver. Yet this time, I couldn’t help but notice how so many people would stare at her. Some would even point fingers at the woman looking surprised and almost annoyed by her being behind the wheel. What annoyed me even more is a young woman who after realizing the taxi driver was a woman found an excuse not to get in the cab and walked away.

Women have started recently doing jobs that have always been reserved for men, such as driving taxis and buses. However, these women are not given enough credit as if they will never be as good as men. There are those well-known stereotypes for instance concerning women drivers and how they just can never be good drivers.  Nowadays, this stereotype has become commonplace and male drivers who are not so good would be said to drive ‘like women’.

In my opinion, driving skills have nothing to do with gender as I have come across many men drivers who are terrible on the road. However, there is some truth to this narrative; women can be relatively more scared then men. But again we cannot generalize. There are good men drivers as well as bad and the same applies to women.

I had a little chat with the taxi driver I met about her daily life and I asked her a few questions about how she feels being a taxi driver and whether she gets disrespected or harassed by men. She explained: "It is alright, work is good."

At first she did not want to talk about men harassment but when I insisted she added: "not really no. Because I put limits every time it happens. There were two cases but I put limits every time. They can sometimes be very disrespectful." 

Then she told me the two stories in details about some men who made sexual advances to her in indirect ways. I feel the need to point out that the veiled woman is married and has children. She furiously told me about one man who was very disrespectful to her: "he touched my hand and said he would take good care of me if I would go home with him to his fancy villa."

The men would usually brag about their huge villas and great wealth trying to tempt the woman assuming she would be interested because she works as a taxi driver. The idea that men have about women who do jobs such as taxi driving is the biggest problem here.  These uneducated, brainless men believe they have every right to hit on those women because they chose such jobs.

For some males, the fact that a woman is driving a tax is interpreted as an open invitation for sex (as stupid as it sounds).

Those female taxi drivers are women who go out every day to work all day long to be able to provide for themselves and support their families. And sadly, they have to do this while struggling with all these stereotypes and misrepresentations and most importantly being in constant fear of sexual harassment. 

To these fighters, I take my hat off!

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 26, 2013

Morocco’s economic growth slowed down in the second quarter of the current year, as it grew by 4. 3% only in the second quarter compared to 4.8% recorded in the first quarter.

The rate of expansion seen in the first quarter of the year 2013 was enabled by the high added value of agricultural output.

The High Commission for Planning has revised its initial figures that estimated the growth in the second quarter of 2013 to 4, 8%. The figure was later reduced to 4, 2 % showing that economic growth is still sluggish.

As a precautionary measure, Morocco reduced the volume of its imports, which has narrowed the trade deficit by 5. 3% as the volume of imports decreased by 3. 2 %.

The Moroccan economy for the current year is marked by a considerable slowdown caused by the high cost of energy imports and the decrease in exports.

 The financial crisis in Europe has not spared the Moroccan economy since the European Union remains one of Morocco’s largest trading partners.

In its latest report, Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al Maghrib revealed that the delay of structural and economic reforms especially those concerning the compensation fund and the tax system has deeply affected the national economy.

Economic experts expect Morocco to enter into another stagnation phase marked by a steep decrease in domestic demand for petroleum products in addition to an abrupt drop in demand for building material and a fall in the amount of loans attributed to Morocco by international institutions.

By Youssef Sourgo

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 26, 2013

The ambassador of Netherlands in Morocco, Mr. Ron Strikker, fasted the 14th day of Ramadan in solidarity with Moroccans, after his embassy took charge of organizing a collective Ftour meal for needy people, as part of the second edition of the “Ftour du Coeur” initiative carried out by Maroc 21 association in Rabat.

Mr. Strikker modestly showed up at the Ftour time to address a word of solidarity to all participants. He was also glad to announce that he himself fasted that day and that he was delighted to share the Ftour meal with the beneficiaries in a familial atmosphere, according to Actu-Maroc.

Before and during the Ftour time, 150 volunteers dressed in orange, a color of historical significance to Netherlands, were circulating from one roundtable to another, ensuring that beneficiaries were well served. The Ftour atmosphere was reportedly exceptional. According to those who were there, it was a great illustration of inter-cultural solidarity and cooperation.

“While some Muslim and Arab embassies did not respond to his partnership request concerning the charity initiative, the Embassy of Netherlands delightfully accepted to take part in it and give a helping hand to the association,” Mr. Abdelrhni Bensaid, president of Maroc 21 association, was quoted by Actu-Maroc as saying.

The number of beneficiaries this year reached 1,200 persons up from 500 people last year. This increase is mainly due to the double efforts invested by the association? its partners and sponsors. The Maroc 21 association plans to extend its charitable activities to other parts of the country.

By Abdelmajid Bouziane and Nina Morgan

Morocco World News

Marrakech, July 27, 2013

An exciting development in Moroccan American studies is in its early stages.

On July 2, 2013, a small group—Dr. Karim Bejjit (Hassan II Mohammadia – Casablanca University), Dr. Nourdin Bejjit (Mohamed V Agdal University, Rabat), American Legation Director Mr. Gerald Loftus, and Dr. Nina Morgan (Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA)—met at the historic site of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM) to begin discussing the how a national organization committed to “Moroccan American studies” might be built.

A growing group of scholars long-committed to work in the field of Moroccan American studies are involved in these efforts, and interested members of the academic community—whether scholars associated with a university or independent researchers, or writers, artists or students—are invited to join. Especially significant in the development of this project are the “movers and shakers” of Moroccan American studies at Hassan II Mohammadia-Casablanca University, who teach both graduate and undergraduate courses in the subject and who publish regularly in their journal, Moroccan American Studies, and who began the “Moroccan American Studies” Lab (MAS).

The MAS Lab was created as a result of the desire of the Ben Msik Faculty of Letters—especially the Department of English—to focus on Moroccan-American relations. The story started some years ago when Hassan II Mohammadia – Casablanca University signed Letters of Memorandum with several American universities. As the Department of English at Ben Msik had already embarked on establishing a specialization in Moroccan-American studies, their faculty members took the lead in looking for and creating more academic links.  Many important projects have resulted from these relationships, including the international exchange of professors and students, the creation of a community museum, teaching American students in summer programs, putting students (on both sides) online for interactions, and running joint conferences. Of special significance is the way in which these relationships have boosted the participation of American theater troupes over the last four years in the International Festival of University Theater (FITUC) in Casablanca, which celebrated its Silver Jubilee in June 2013.

In order to formalize Moroccan American relationships and examine them from an academic perspective, two major institutional structures were created within the Faculty of Letters and Humanities at Ben Msik: the MAS Lab and the Moroccan-American Studies masters program. These two complementary bodies of research, together with American partners, work hand-in-hand to train young researchers in gaining adequate know-how to understand both Moroccan and American social issues with the hope of creating links that are based on mutual understanding and benefits between the two countries.

The students enrolled in this masters program mainly focus on four areas: Culture, Literature, Language, and Media Studies. The MAS Lab, with the support of both the University and the Faculty together with the American Embassy, organized a very successful international conference in Marrakech (4-8 December 2012) on the theme of “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Arab Spring and Its implications for American Studies in Arab Universities.” Lectures and discussions about the status of American Studies in Arab universities raised more questions than answers. Therefore, in order to extend the discussions about this issue and others, a group of researchers in this field in Morocco decided to create the “Moroccan American Studies Association. “

The “Moroccan American Studies Association,” or “MASA” is to be housed at TALIM, but future workshops, conferences and meetings may be held anywhere in the country.  MASA is still taking shape, so writing the “constitution,” as well as elections for officers and various other organizational tasks are yet to be completed.  Later, MASA may affiliate with the American Studies Association in Washington, D.C.

The initiative described in this report - though it happened at TALIM - was born out of the December 2012 Marrakech conference on American Studies, post-Arab Spring, in the MENA region.  The conference was organized by the Moroccan American Studies Lab of Hassan II University in Casablanca.

Dr. Abdelmajid Bouziane is an associate professor of English at the Faculty of Letters and Humanities Ben Msik, Casablanca, Hassan II Mohammadia - Casablanca University. He is involved in the teaching of skills subjects in the Moroccan-American Studies masters program. He is also actively engaged in the growth of the MAS Lab as he leads one of its lines of research: Research in Academic Skills.

Dr. Nina Morgan, Associate Professor of English at Kennesaw State University and Reprise editor for the Journal of Transnational American Studies, is affiliated with the American Studies Association (ASA), of which Nina is also former Chair of the Women's Committee.

By Abdallah Zbir

Morocco World News

Chicago, July 27, 2013

Our thinking of education, now, is different and so is our thinking of its challenges. Teaching now reaches beyond our classrooms and inter-relates to more disciplines than before. The quality of the What and the How of learning no longer bases its criteria on pre-structured disciplines. In the schools of today, this quality is governed by laws of sequence, consequence and continuity of thinking.

When we discuss education, we ultimately bring to the forefront merely academic items and we relate it less effectively to other inter-related fields as socioeconomics and geopolitics. This is wrong and is proven to be counter-productive.

In education, schools structurally try to promote social norms and values so every individual is more prepared to contribute and engage positively in his or her community. In our classrooms we learn to be punctual, competitive and active. We also learn to accept laws and rules that regulate us into our wider society. This should be relevant to every Moroccan school and should direct the thinking of every Moroccan teacher of his or her classroom. Otherwise, Our work would have no significance, and these values would not step beyond our shelves. The productivity and efficacy of our Moroccan schooling system requires an intensive study of a set of elements that relate to education. Learning nowadays is perceived to be an occurrence of instructive and administrative practices and should equally be highly influenced by subtle elements such as personality, leadership, aesthetics, hygiene, motivation and more significantly workers’ choices and the quality of their lives.

In 1954, Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist and the author of Toward a Psychology of Being, published his book, Motivation and Personality. Abrahams’ ideas that were developed and introduced in his model, "the Hierarchy of Needs" are today more relevant than ever and remain valuable resources in the fields of motivational psychology. His classification of human needs should allow us better understanding of our own unique potentials and model us a more positive work climate. A climate where working conditions have equal standing to technical elements such as programming and assessment in the workplace.

In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral scientist and researcher proposed his Two-Factor Theory and introduced us to broader definitions of work productivity. For Herzberg, the consideration of salary structure, administrative policies, benefits, physical working conditions, status, interpersonal relations, job security, recognition, sense of achievement, growth, promotion, responsibility and accountability can contribute significantly to the success and development of the working individuals. Consequently, this would reflect on the quality of the work itself. In this respect, education cannot be an exception. Actually, his approach is more relevant to the field of education more than any other field.

Within these contexts, John Stacey Adams, a behavioral psychologist, introduced his Equity Theory on workplace psychology and job motivation. His model of interpretation of behavioral phenomena extends beyond the individual self and integrates the influence of wider contexts in the workplace. Adams chose to focus more on the practices of fairness and qualities of justice in work setting, encouraging a stronger awareness of equity. This directive forces us to ask ourselves: Do our schools operate under such influence? Do Moroccan teachers work in fair conditions and receive fair rewards? Unfortunately, the answer is no, and this is what is alarming.

The focus, now, should be on the quality of our awareness and on the tensity of our sensitivity as educators to these relevant factors and also on our abilities to see beyond this concentration on programs and what technically works and what does not. On the same token, attempts have been made by many educators to better know the ins and the outs of the academic formula of success, and to more precisely detect what control the rate and ends of this success. Our duty now is to contribute to these attempts by bringing more influence to our academic debates and discussions and to advance a more positive thinking of education. Here, social media can play a key role and open us larger windows of discussions.

This article was inspired by the work of Colin J. Marsh, Key concepts for understanding curriculum.

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 27, 2013

Who would have thought that the zealous crowds that had spearheaded the uprising against Mubarak could cause the greatest damage to their cherished revolution? 

The political analyst Marwan Bishara was totally right when he said in his book The Invisible Arab that the Egyptian revolution “is not a sprint affair. It’s more like a marathon, or indeed, a relay.” This simply means that anyone who believes that the Egyptian revolution is a one stage process, yielding all those idyllic expectations must be totally misguided.

The People and the Military 

One must admit that the recent twist in the Egyptian revolution was not that farfetched. The status of the military in post-revolution Egypt remained obscure and the democratization of Egypt would have inevitably ended with a civilian control over the military, an unacceptable outcome for an institution that reaped for decades many privileges without a glimpse of accountability. The military remains as it is the case in many countries, a closed institution living by its own rules. Anyone who would pose any threat to the generals’ dominance would harvest their bitter wrath. But it is worth asking here, does the military believe in democracy? It is indeed an intricate question for an institution based on authority and tight stratification. In that case, what are the circumstances that can mobilize the Egyptian military into action?  The motive behind Morsi’s ouster is identical to the logic that had propelled the military to the limelight during the revolution of 25 January: Centeredness.

The military needs to remain at the center of the political action in Egypt despite the claim for a peaceful intervention and objectivity.  Once again, the stage was free for the generals to lift the curtain and start their show. The Egyptians, who were so adamant about the drafting of a flawless constitution, became so embittered with the Muslim Brotherhood’s deaf politics. They decided to relinquish their own principles just to have the Islamists out of sight. Here lies the most hazardous step for Tahrir Square activists. The acceptance of a military coup against a democratically elected president constitutes a fatal blow to democracy and a dangerous regression of the Egyptian revolution.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s  Faux Pas

It is a pity that the Muslim Brotherhood missed such historical turning point. The stubbornness of their elite and the inelasticity of their improvised political agenda were the major factors behind this civil disobedience. Identifying the pitfalls of the MB political vision is a step towards understanding the whole insurgency in Egypt. After the revolution, the MB came to power with the good will, a lot of rancor against the figures of the unseated regime but with a foggy vision of a post-revolutionary Egypt, where everyone claims staunchly the right to free expression. Armed with their famous slogan “Islam is the solution,” the MB refused to alter their monolithic vision of Egypt. But Egypt is diverse. Egypt is not made only of pious Muslims or pro-Islamists Muslims needless to recall that not all Egyptians are Muslims. If the Muslim Brothers have sustained their narrow vision and faced less resistance they would have turned the country into a real orthodoxy obsessed by religious compliance rather than governance.

The MB was taken by surprise at the magnitude of the 25 January uprisings and their outreach. They soon realized that if they do not take part to the massive demonstrations against Mubarak’s regime, they will be left empty handed. But we need also to pinpoint that the MB suffered for decades at the hand of Mubarak and his security apparatus, and it was just the right time for the vendetta. It was also the right time to reap the fruits of long standing charity and associative networks that earned them the sympathy and the support of the masses.

Thus, the MB came to power with vengeance in their heart, a reactionary dream in their mind and no clear political agenda to grapple with the sluggish economy, rampant unemployment, high living costs, and the geopolitical challenges in the regions and most importantly with no knowledge in the management of ideological conflicts. Each attack on the MB was perceived as an attack on Islam which is another erroneous superposition. Obviously, the MB‘s road map lacked the most important element to govern a composite society like Egypt: modulation.

The Egyptian Opposition, Hypocrisy and Democracy.

The Egyptian opposition became incrementally disgruntled with Morsi’s stern governance. His moves were perceived as an attempt to Islamize Egypt instead of finding reasonable solutions to the country’s numerous problems. The discontent with Morsi’s policies grew bitter and bitter as the economic situation was ceaselessly retrograding with soaring prices, petrol shortage, energy cuts and unaffordable living costs.

In the midst of these practical hardships, the ideological rift between the secular camp and the Islamist one was getting wider. For some, the opposition to Morsi’s rule was a battle for bread but for others it was a battle for ideas and negotiable margins of freedom. It was clear from the beginning that the secular parties were uncomfortable with the rise of political Islam. They were constantly fearful of its potential for autocracy.

The opposition then found a safe haven under the wing of the military and the demand for a radical change became more pressing. Though the military rejects the label “Military Coup,” the military intervention, the deposition of Morsi, his detention and the sudden issuance of conspiracy allegation against the MB’s senior members convey exactly what a military coup stands for. By consenting to this move, the opposition has betrayed democracy, and most importantly, it has failed the hopes of millions of Egyptians for a brand new Egypt.

Split Egypt, the Crack in the wall 

Egypt is today split into two adverse and undeterred camps. It is not really easy to give absolute labels to each party. Those in Tahrir Square claim to defend the revolution from the tight grip of the Muslim Brotherhood whereas the pro-Morsi mobs rallied in Nasr City claim to defend the legitimacy of democracy. But it is worth asking, is the Egyptian opposition oblivious of the primary premise in democracy: The power of the ballot? Indeed, for unsatisfied citizens, there might be other channels to express their discontent, more democratic ways than an abrupt military intervention.

That said, the experience with political Islam showed that though the Islamists use democracy to rise to power, nonetheless they are not fully devoted to its principles and more particularly to pluralism. Islamists chose to play the democratic game, but once they are in a powerful position they tend to forsake it just to adopt more orthodox and exclusive ways. But history showed also that this double standard approach in politics does not yield the expected results and can have many setbacks for political Islam itself.

Today, Egypt is truly a nation at the crossroads of history. The choice for Egyptians is not between a military or civilian rule. The real issue for Egypt today, is what does each camp mean by “Democracy,” how democratic they can be in their own political practice and how much goodwill they have to attune their vision with the adverse parties.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 27, 2013

According to the news agency EFE, Article 222 of the Penal Code was applied Tuesday, July 23 at the Salé court with the conviction of a girl to three months in prison for smoking during the day of Ramadan in Rabat on Sunday, July 21.

The girl who smoked in broad daylight gave the pretext of headache and that she needed a cigarette to calm down the pain. However, medical examination found no ailment that could exempt her from fasting. Moreover, she was not in her menstrual period when she smoked.

The family of the girl demanded bail but it was rejected by the judge.

Article 222 of the Penal Code specifies that “anyone who is notoriously known for membership in the religion of Islam and ostensibly breaks the fast in public during the time of fasting Ramadan, without the reasons permitted by this religion” is liable to 1-6 months in prison and a fine.

This verdict would again stir debate on Article 222 of the Moroccan Penal Code. Many rights groups and social and political activists call for the decriminalization of eating in Ramadan and see the act as personal and religious freedom. “What does bother Muslim fasters if somebody eats in public?” they ask.

Morocco World News

Fez, July 27, 2013

The Moroccan triathlon and marathon athlete, Hassan Baraka on Thursday succeeded in swimming across the strait of Gibraltar.

Born in Tetouan in 1987, Hassan Baraka, is the youngest Moroccan swimmer who took this challenge to fight the Mediterranean waves and successfully achieve his goal to reach the other shore. Through his challenge, and by choosing Spain as his starting point, Mr. Baraka tried to highlight the reverse influx of migrants crossing to Morocco and the change that this new phenomenon can create on both immigrants and the host country.

"I want to make my crossing in the direction from Spain to Morocco in order to highlight the reversal of current migration flows to demonstrate the potential of the Kingdom and especially his sense of home and the hospitality," he was quoted as saying by Jimdo.com.

The challenge to swim from Tarifa Spain to Punta Cires, morocco, (16.5 to 22 kilometres) took 4hrs and 1 minute.

"That's it! It took me 4:01 minutes to swim from Tarifa to Punta Cires in Morocco," said Mr Baraka.

"I warmly thank my sponsors Ain Atlas Cement Morocco and Le Soir Echos, without whom this adventure would not have happened! Their support and involvement allowed me to be calm during my preparation and in the implementation of this challenge," he added.

Hassan Baraka dedicates his achievement to king Mohammed VI, as well as the Moroccan people. "I dedicate this crossing to His Majesty King Mohammed VI and to the Moroccan people," he said.

Mr. Hassan Baraka obtained holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration and sport activities from Toulouse, France.

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Something was cropping up in my mind which made me unable to do away with writing. Something that brought me face to face with my fate. One that kept nagging and disconscerting me a long time ago. It is this: freedom. It is one of the most abstract ideas that haunted people whereever they are, whenever they are and whatever they are. Freedom, the ability to ask for something that belongs to you but taken away.

It is the moment when you feel that life is that which you are not living. The moment when you live with the feeling that you don't have any reason for not being what you are not. To spend your days looking at the horizon yearning for flowers to grow up without any mower, red roses to sprout without being yellowed, birds to fly in God's lovely air high up and up without being hunted down, and nightingales to sing and breathe the wet morning without wailing for the woods that are burning. To behold the beauty of nature smelling the green grass and rejoicing the sight of children playing around the game of Hide and Seek. To see the villager tilling his land, planting the corn and running behind his sheep throwing up stones over the cows that want to cross the bean.

But then, again, to weep over the poor man who died just because he asked for the dinner of his kids, to sigh and smile when you see your mother takes off her blanket and adds it to yours in times of frost and cold in winter nights and to think about the rich man who would frown at the beggar asking him not to show his face again, this is not it.

The flowers of the cherry tree,

How they wave about!

It's not that I do not think of you,

But your home is so far away.

He did not really think of her. If he did, there is no such thing as being far away. If he did, then why not being told to shut up and hasten  to get his poem effaced and thrown away into fire in order to read this poem:

la gare La gare m'a appris ceci: Si le train vient de partir, Ne t'essouffle jamais derrière lui Car celui qui t'aime T'aimera davantage en attendant.

In other terms, to wonder and ponder about Reason that people claim to have been bound up with. One should hope that the following questions will be asked out of this so called Reason; Is it really possible that freedom, once gone, will never come back to us? Is it possible, I hope it is not, that Rousseau was right when he addressed us saying:" Hey you, free people, retain this maxim and learn it by heart: It may happen that man will seize freedom, but once he lost it, he would never grant it again."? Je peux pas m'empecher de me sentir tout délabré, écrasé, anéanti, n'ayant plus conscience de rien que d'une extrème fatigue le moment ou' j'entends parler de cette invention Rousseauènne. Sommes-nous tous des maitres pour écouter cette citation magique: "Peuple libres, souvenez-vous de cette maxime: "On peut acquérir la liberté, mais on ne la recouvre jamais." ?" Une maxime paradoxale sur laquelle on deverait consulter nos coeurs et nos esprits dans une interrogation bien ordonnée.

Is it necessary for us to believe in freedom and work on its presence? What is freedom? What differences can there be between those who are free and those who are not? Is it enough for one to say he is free in order to vouch his freedom? What sort of things into which one can hope to bump while being free? What expectations are there from those who are not free?

To start out with, being but narrow minded people, albeit the pretence we are not, we do not really seem to have the capacity for defining things. It would be all the more ridiculous to try to close things by wanting to assign specific words or expressions for them. Many and many are the ways, we know, in which we persist in scoping and presenting things as they are perceived by our senses rather than our minds. Our minds are filled with our senses and the obverse is also true. Nobody has ever said anything that proved to be constantly agreed upon with no need to be doubted or questioned. It is very hard to make it otherwise. This is settled; there is no such thing as something to be settled. It is of no use to keep on maintaining that we are only dealing with names. Names are themselves named as names. Therefore, the true identity of things or their presence in our minds is something that has to be constructed and carried out in a reluctant artificial way. Artificiality is all that we can offord to do. Accordingly, the first duty in life is to try to be as artificial as possible so as to be fully accepted and acknowledged in society. Of course, it is extremely important to keep in mind that the only thing worth living for is no more than to keep one self pure. But it is extremely important to retain in mind as well that this can only take place and come about when there is no place for others to impose themselves in one way or another. Solitude is a very case in point. It provides us with a space where one can actually start to forget. To forget society is necessary as it is vital. To come closer to one self and discover its potentialities that are most of the time hidden and repressed. To look for a way out and then in to deploy them and make sure they are working effectively without any codes. This is basically the first step towards freedom. Frederich Holderlin, inside his twenty years of madness, could not but react in this way: "Now I only understand man when I am far away from him and living in solitude."

What one cannot help saying is this: There should be no glamour of hope from those who refuse to ask for their freedom. What on earth is the value of man if he does not ask for his life? That we should live and hear of no possible thing to mar our existence is absolutely what all of us are here and present for. Every one has to prepare himself to admit the fact that nobody has ever come to life to see others reveal and demonstrate their superiority over him. We are all equals in terms of everything. We should be equals in terms of everything. We have to be equals in terms of everything. Les hommes sont égaux par nature; mais nous ne sommes pas à l'origine des temps. What really prevents this truth from being shown is illusion.

Illusion, to my own thinking, is always present as something that is capable of deviating people from performing certain things according to certain rules (religious as they are or societal). This can be avowable but to some extent. The fact will not possibly be of great importance in so far as truth comes to be concerned. Indeed, truth itself is capable of generating the same sort of things. It can deflect certain people and prompt them to do certain things with reference to certain dominions. The question, thus, is the following: What makes us concede that something is true while something else is illusive? Reality and imagination for instance; does the former stand for truth while the latter for illusion? What if both of them are two inseparable parts of the same thing which is illusion? Are we able to live in reality without imagination?

One needs to talk about freedom. The point I wish to make clear is that freedom is not an ideal we are waiting to be imbued with. It is our very reason d'etre without which we are no longer in a position to make any choice regarding our lives and the way we expectingly want them to be lived. Freedom is a human condition and not an idea waiting for its chance to be used.

Chokri Omri was born in 1985. He is a teacher of English, poet and writer from Tunisia. A number of his poems and articles, both Arabic and English, have been translated into Spanish and Romanian and published in Contemporary literary Horizon Magazine, The Exhibitionist and The Tunis Times

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

By Lhoussine Qasserras

Morocco World News

Kenitra, Morocco, July 28, 2013

It is evident that print media is a considerably powerful force in framing our conceptions and understanding of the self, the other, as well as the universe for the sake of influencing the political process. Print media forms the real public space through which people become fully aware of what is going on across the world. The print media uses a variety of strategies that can both manipulate and alter people’s opinions and perceptions. In this sense, the majority of citizens believe that journalists are somehow biased when covering women in general and female politicians in particular.

We notice that press all over the world devotes little time and space to talk and write about women’s contributions in presidential elections, communal councils, or national parliaments, compared to the opposite sex. They stress their description and portrayal on the roles that should be played either by men or women separately. Women are thought to belong to the family and home life, while men are seen as political agents. Media mainly focus on women’s life-style, interests, domestic life and so on and so forth. They create obstacles for women’s participation in all domains, particularly in politics by concentrating on their domestic aspects of life. For example, in the previous American presidential elections (2008), a Facebook group titled a page, “Hillary Clinton: Stop running for president and make me a sandwich”. This indicates that women are always looked as “MOM”, and are expected to stay at home and cook for their kids and husbands.

The media develops in-depth stories and powerful messages that suggest that a woman’s main place and role is related to her home. She should be a house-wife, mother, and look after her husband. To print media, women are more suitable for ‘soft’ issues such as domestic-life, health and education, while men for ‘tough’ issues such as foreign affairs, politics and industry. Thus, men politicians do not receive as many prejudices as women do.  Men, entering the political sphere, find no difficulties because print media is more interested in their actions, whereas women have to double their efforts since they are evaluated, judged and looked at through the lens of sexist, gendered stereotyping attitudes. Indeed, media has the power to convince and change people’s point of view towards women politicians. They truly hinder female active participation in the political life by using dominant gender frame as a unit to analyze and assess their skills and competencies.

With all these points and questions in mind, it is more apparent that female politicians are under-represented by print media in developed and developing countries, but with different degrees. Consequently, intentionally or without intention, the media puts men at the core of the political activities and decision-making policies while marginalizing women’s agendas and perspectives.

Edited by Allison Kreamer

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 28, 2013

The latest official visit of the Senegalese president Macky Sall to Morocco comes to consolidate the ancestral bilateral relations between two friends and allies, Morocco and Senegal. King Mohammed VI received the president of the republic of Senegal, Macky Sall along with a delegation of ministers, including the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of infrastructure and transport, the minister of agriculture and rural equipment among other Senegalese officials.

Morocco and Senegal share a large number of commonalities compared to other African states. Both countries have forged a solid alliance promoted by their shared values and their ancestral partnerships at the economic and cultural levels.

The Senegalese president described the convivial relations between Morocco and Senegal as “founded on values rooted in the soil of faith and culture”.  Indeed, the relations between Morocco and Senegal are anchored in their belonging to the Muslim World and the similarities between their respective cultures. The exchange between both countries dates back to the Saadi dynasty through trade and cultural relations.

Nonetheless, the advent of colonialism had disrupted the continuity of their bilateral relations. The two allies had to face the same tumult and fight for the same cause: Independence. The struggle for independence has rallied Morocco and Senegal together against the same enemy, the French colonizer.

The main key figures of this period were the late king Mohammed V and the Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor who showed an unwavering commitment to the pan African cause.

Morocco and Senegal consolidated their bilateral relations mainly through a sustainable economic cooperation. Foreign trade with Senegal has considerably increased in the last years prompted by the liberalization of trade agreements under the effect of globalization. A large number of Moroccan companies operating in different sectors like banking, hotel business, food industry, building, pharmacology and energy relocated their activities to Senegal.  It is also noteworthy that Senegal is Morocco’s leading trade partner in West Africa with a volume estimated at USD 122 million.

This bilateral cooperation between Morocco and Senegal is not limited to trade relations. It covers also several partnerships in education and professional training. A large number of Senegalese students are enrolled in Moroccan Universities and other higher institutes with scholarships attributed by the Moroccan Government. The Senegalese students do not usually encounter major adjustment problems due to the cultural proximity with the Moroccan culture notably in religion and social customs.

In addition, many Senegalese followers of the Zawia Tijania, a Sufi confraternity, set out on a spiritual journey to the Moroccan city Fes, which hosts the Mausoleum of Sheikh Sidi Ahmed Tijani, the founder of this Sufi confraternity.

What “Key” do you think that is? It is one of the most important key words in the history of the US. It’s Francis Scott Key. So, who is the man? And what role did he play in the history of his country? Francis Scott Key is the writer of a poem commemorating the 1812 Baltimore battle at Fort McHenry.

In 1931 the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" was adopted by US congressional resolution as the official American national anthem with a new title "The Star-Spangled Banner". The battle of Baltimore was against the British, Ironically Francis Scott Key’s poem was put to the music of a well-known British pub song called "The Anacreontic Song," The first part of the American anthem goes as follows:

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

This was written in 1814, two years later after the famous battle of Baltimore. In the US capital, Washington D.C. there are monuments and institutions that bear the name Key and that plenty of foreign visitors fail to connect to this essential character and that essential phase in American history.

Key bridge, over the Potomac River, is one such monument. If I remember well, it makes it possible for you to come from Maryland State and get to Georgetown and vice versa. Georgetown or Town of George is named after George Washington, the first American president. The greater city of Washington, DC is equally named after him.

An important institution that also bears the name Key is the Key Escuela. This institution is an important achievement of Spanish and American diplomacy, I was told. The director of the school is the daughter of an American diplomat who was appointed by the State department to the US embassy in Madrid during General Francisco Franco’s presidency.

In a nutshell, the Escuela in Washington D.C. came as a fruit of Spanish-American relations. I visited the Escuela with Moroccan colleagues in 2005 and was quite impressed by the way it was managed. There can be plenty of other monuments all through the US bearing the name of Key. What I essentially aimed to highlight is that keys serve either to open or lock, this one Key can open an important chapter of American history to people who may not have heard or read about it.

By Sahar Amarir

Morocco World News

Paris, July 30, 2013

A young man was recently sentenced to 3 months in jail for publicly smoking during Ramadan. Article 222 of the Moroccan Penal Code that states, "anyone who is known for belonging to the religion of Islam and ostensibly breaks the fast in public during the time of fasting in Ramadan, without the reasons permitted by this religion risks between 1 and 6 months in prison and a fine."

This article has been heavily debated throughout Moroccan society for several years now, and what is striking in this repeating cycle of debate, is precisely that no common ground has been found. Indeed, a lot of Moroccans get caught in a simplistic dichotomy where one gives his argument to maintain or to suppress the law.

Of course, different opinions should be allowed in all societies, and people presenting their opinions as to why the law should be suppressed have every right and reasons to do so.

On a purely analytic basis though, there seems to be a lack of perspective regarding the broader picture of this law and how the Moroccan society apprehends it.

The reality is much more complex than the simplistic picture the debates have depicted over the past years.

There are different issues that should rise out of this article beside the core one that has focused everyone's attention, which is that of enforcing or not enforcing the rules of Ramadan in the public sphere.

The first issue deals with the very nature of the law: the law aims at Muslims and only them. This means, like every Moroccan can testify, that non-Muslims whether they're Moroccan Jews, tourists or foreigners living in Morocco, can eat and drink in public during Ramadan, and very ostensibly for a lot of them (which does not constitute a particular wrong by itself but needs to be highlighted as the "ostensible" characteristic of the act is essential in the law).

This aspect of the law is a huge source of division, as some consider it "liberal", since it does not enforce the Islamic obligation of Ramadan on non-Muslims. Others depict it as "unfair" because those who are labeled by default as Muslims by the Moroccan state, though they are not practicing or not even followers of Islam, will fall under the jurisdiction of this law.

The second issue is about the reality of the application of that law. This can be compared to the law about death penalty in Morocco that hasn't been applied by judges nor asked to be applied by plaintiffs. Thus, the law has become obsolete and made Morocco one of the countries who have de facto abolished death penalty, but not de jury since the law still technically exists. It is actually almost the same issue with this law except that some people still enforce it. Considering the facts, it has only been asked to be applied in very few isolated cases by police officers being witness of it, or more surprisingly, citizens themselves who denounce people eating in public and call the police. Regardless of what a law is about, it is supposed to be enforced the same way everywhere, and not be enforced at the discretion of some police officers or zealot citizens. This touches to the very core of rule of law, but in this case it is mostly a societal issue in Morocco today.

Indeed, those two main issues, though they deal with this problem on a juridical level, are all linked to the social aspect of the matter. A fellow Moroccan was recently telling me about a rather comical street interview done on Moroccan television regarding this law. The main question was what people thought of this law, but also what they personally think would happen to them if they did eat in public during Ramadan. One of the Moroccans that was interviewed oddly stated that it depended on which neighborhood one was in: according to him, if one was in a regular neighborhood, nothing would happen to him, but if he were in a neighborhood renowned for its poverty and high population of drug users, people would easily get angry because they have been brutally cutting on drugs or cigarettes the whole day. The drug use supposedly makes people feel out of control and prompts them to call the police over the person eating in public out of anger.

Others stated that people were free to practice Ramadan or not, but that if they wanted to eat, they should do so in private and not in public as an act of provocation.

To add to this geographical oddness, there is a social and demographic one, pertaining to French-Moroccans. French-Moroccans are often seen as faithless people, or Muslims who have given up religion and do not respect it as tradition as the rest of the Moroccans. Because of this prejudice, some Moroccans have towards the French-Moroccans, they would criticize them for eating in public but wouldn't act further regarding the matter. This happened a couple of years ago to a relative of mine who was taking his kids out during Ramadan. He bought his children water for them to drink and he drank as well, out of habit, in front of the shopkeeper, forgetting he was fasting himself.

It happens very often for Muslims to forget they are fasting and to drink or eat something, only to remember they are not supposed to, especially in the beginning of Ramadan, when people aren't yet used to it. However, when that happens in family gathering for example, people usually warn you that you are slipping up before you accidentally break your fast. Upon seeing my relative drinking water and knowing he was a French-Moroccan, the shopkeeper did nothing but look at him oddly, probably thinking his prejudice about French-Moroccans being less religious was true. It was only when his son asked him why he broke his fast that he realized it, and also understood the sudden odd attitude of the shopkeeper.

All of those different exceptions in the definition and the application of the law are, in reality, a reflection of the schizophrenia within the Moroccan society regarding the different components, groups and minorities among the Moroccan population, and the even bigger schizophrenia regarding our approach to religious practice and its enforcement or not. Indeed, one could ask the question as to why those who see no problem with enforcing Ramadan on others do not enforce the 5 daily prayers - that are listed before the fast of Ramadan in the five pillars of Islam. That might be because Ramadan has more and more become a cultural phenomenon rather than a religious one.

In any case, all this uncertainty grows into inconsistent arguments that are starting to divide the society from within and it appears urgent to get out of this initial restricted circle of debate regarding this law in order to analyze the broader picture and finally end this social issue in Morocco.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

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By Anna Jacobs

Morocco World News

Traveling and immersing oneself in other perspectives makes us see ourselves for who we really are. Morocco challenged me and supported me when I needed it. The most essential lessons of all came through the many personal relationships I developed there. They taught me my own limitations, which has helped me cultivate a better understand of human beings, culture, and the world around me.

I had thought myself open minded and educated and yet I had put myself and one of the people I loved most into categories with a plethora of biased assumptions going along with them. I realized that I always said that I respected different opinions, beliefs, cultures, and ways of life--but it wasn’t until I lived in Morocco that I began to realize how this was not always true. I also suffered from misguided judgments, prejudice, and pride. Luckily for me, the people I have met--in Morocco, the United States, and many other countries-- have helped me begin the process of truly opening my mind to the beauty and possibilities that can be found in difference. I do not want to claim that my relationship with my boyfriend has been easy--we do have significant differences in opinions ranging from religion to sexuality to politics. But I began to realize that I was blind to our commonalities. His devotion to Islam and his faith is how he negotiates questions of ethics and social problems relating to poverty, patriarchy, nationalism, and identity. And, without being as aware of it, my christian upbringing plays a role in my negotiation of these very same issues. Though of course it doesn’t have to be religion--it can be any element that has touched your life and helps you make sense of it.

Self-awareness is a lifelong process and residing in other countries facilitates this endeavor, or at least it did for me. My privileged upbringing was rooted in the American dream, promulgating a tenacious and unshakable work ethic. The idealistic notion that “anything is possible,” was ingrained in me as a child, and I am incredibly grateful for that. The proverbial  “pull yourself up with your own bootstraps,” may come to mind.  Yet, the other proverb I remember, that my southern, traditional grandparents would always remind me,  also stuck. They would look me straight in the eye after reminding me about the importance of hard work and say, “But don’t think for one second that life is always that simple. Don’t ever forget that a nation should always be judged on its weakest and its poorest. Never get too big for your own boots and forget your fellow man.”

While few doubt the allure and possibilities of the American dream, economic mobility is a rare breed in twenty-first century America. Economic inequality  is now the order of the day.  Nonetheless, these two pieces of advice and the American dream that they stand upon significantly affected in my worldview. This view was both challenged and cultivated through my education in the United States and my second home country, Morocco. Throughout my life it has kept me always thinking and dreaming about where to go and what to do--the possibilities were endless. I used to think this mentality was inherent, but I have since learned that the power of possibility goes hand in hand with human dignity and human rights--a luxury that we do not all share.

In the end Morocco taught me lessons about more than its own society, politics, and religion--it made me look at my own opinions and my own upbringing in a whole new light. People are people. While culture is ubiquitous--and its structural prowess in framing our questions and debates cannot be overstated-- closely observing and understanding the immense diversity in Morocco has allowed me to better understand my own Southern, rural heritage, one that I am so quick to judge and dismiss. Yes you can find Fox News on a plethora of television stations, but you also find immense ethnic and political diversity in this historical land of tradition and hospitality.

The south was home to Jim Crow, but it was also home to the individuals and organizations that broke down this seemingly impenetrable system of racism and hatred. People here and throughout the country continue to fight the systematic racism that permeates this country--whether that be in the shape of racial profiling, economic immobility, or mass incarceration.  This system has taken countless victims and has rationalized innumerable injustices--the most recent being seventeen year old Trayvon Martin. The Zimmerman case is a classic example of the American system. While “we are a nation of laws,” we are also a nation of civil rights, political engagement, and democracy. Holding the system and its powerful institutions accountable is where the real beauty of our political culture lies.

In the end, my transition from a tourist to a resident in Morocco required me to make the intellectual and psychological leap from judgement to discernment, if I was to not go mad in trying to understand the seemingly endless flow of contradictions I was trying to decipher.  Furthermore, while I was raised in a cultural context that was limiting at times, the difference was that I was capable and able to acknowledge this and make the choice to broaden my horizons.  Both sides of my family are proud southern families whose faith has been the cornerstone of their existence--but in this case it has engendered a strong sense of education, human rights activism, and political and social engagement in my family.  The same goes for Islam, or any religion for that matter--it can be manipulated and utilized to promote fear mongering and marginalization, but we too often forget that it also the foundation of the hope and belief that keeps millions of people living, breathing, and helping others.

America is having to come to terms with its foreign policy debacles in the Middle East--but not everyone voted for George Bush, nor Barack Obama for that matter. In fact, voter turnout hovers around half of potential voters--which means that less than half of American citizens vote in presidential elections. What does this mean? It means that I should not assume Moroccans share the same opinions as their politicians, and also that Moroccans should not assume the same about me. Living and learning how to listen in Morocco has helped me better understand my country, my culture, my heritage, and myself. Sometimes all it takes is another perspective. Luckily for me, this is just chapter one.

Anna Jacobs graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in Government, Foreign Affairs, and French literature. She will be starting a Master of Philosophy program in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford this fall. She is Morocco World News’ assistant Editor. 

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 30,2013

No wonder that Morocco ranks first in the Arab world and sixth worldwide in terms of the number of traffic accidents. Thousands of people die annually in fatal road accidents, because of many reasons chief of which the human factor.

Fatima Zahra Najbit is another victim of reckless minds that circulate in our streets and roads with their vehicles and carry death along wherever they move.

On Friday, July 17, Fatima Zahra finished her exams at the faculty of law Hassan II in Casablanca at 5 p.m. and headed to the bus station with many expectations, dreams, hopes and fears of a young student full of life and ambition. At the bus station Fatima Zahra didn’t know that the moments she spent waiting on the bench of the station were the last moments in her life. When the bus/death came, she stepped into it with one foot, but the reckless driver didn’t wait until she got in and rolled along. Fatima Zahara lost balance and crushed her head against the sidewalk. The internal bleeding in her brain finally caused her death before she could break her fast on the same day.

According to her classmates and friends, Fatima Zahra was known for her morals, respect and self-discipline; attributes that made her a lovable person among her friends.

 The tragic death of Fatima Zahra caused anger and resentment at urban transportation companies in Casablanca and Morocco. An avalanche of comments Facebook denounced the state of chaos and disorder in public urban transportation and called on the authorities to organize the sector and enforce the law to spare Morocco more deaths and casualties.

By Loubna Flah

Morocco World News

Casablanca, July 30, 2013

Five parliamentary groups boycotted on Monday the monthly session devoted to the major directions of the government policies in the House of Representatives, according to the Moroccan daily Le Matin.

It is not the first time that the opposition abstains from attending a parliamentary session leaving the head of government with an audience of MPs from the majority only. This boycott comes as a reaction to the uneven allocation of time during the monthly parliamentary session.

The Opposition pinpoints that Mr. Benkirane takes more intervention time and seizes the opportunity to convey political messages. The president of the PJD parliamentary group, Abdellah Bouanou has described the opposition’s boycott as political torpor. ”there are still 10 points of discord regarding the parliament internal law and we are still waiting for the constitutional council verdict, this agreement should be respected,” he said.

The PJD has also condemned the Istiqlal party’s absence especially that the IP member Nourredine Mediane was the one who had presented a question about the situation of Moroccans living abroad, a topical issue often raised during the summer session, which coincides with the arrival of Moroccan expatriates.

In response to the opposition’s questions, the head of government expressed his commitment to improving the situation of the Moroccans living abroad. As regards the question of political representation, the head of government pledged to enshrine this right in the electoral laws.

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By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Tingedad, Morocco, July 30, 2013

On the occasion of the fourteenth anniversary of his enthronement, King Mohammed VI stressed the importance that Morocco safeguards its Islamic identity known for its moderation, tolerance and openness, as well as its plural identity and linguistic diversity.  

In keeping with a longstanding tradition, the king addressed the people, highlighting several major economic and social projects launched by the kingdom, in addition to the political and institutional reforms that were introduced to fulfill the aspirations of the nation.

 Expressing commitment to make sure that culture should reflect the practical diversity, plural identity and linguistic diversity of the kingdom, the king expressed his keenness “to ensure that culture receives all the attention it deserves.”

“Not only is it the bedrock of cohesion within the nation, but it also reflects our identity as well as our traditional values,” the King said.  

The King stressed that “since Morocco boasts a rich identity built around a variety of specific linguistic and ethnic components, and given our country’s outstanding cultural and artistic heritage, the cultural sector should seek to illustrate this diversity and to encourage all forms of creativity, be it in connection with our time-honored heritage or with contemporary trends, thereby reflecting a harmonious blend between traditional values and modern creativity.”

The throne speech further recalled that all citizens should be mobilized to complete the reform of the justice, and “the preservation of our identity and its protection against the risks of reclusiveness and distortion hinge upon the proper understanding of our religion.”

The King also expressed his commitments, as Commander of the Faithful and protector of the faith and of the community of believers to preserve Morocco's "tolerant Islamic identity". 

To achieve this goal, the King stressed the efforts he made to safeguard the Islamic identity of the Moroccan people by means of adopting an “Ulema charter”, whose foremost goals include the achievement of the Kingdom’s spiritual security and the preservation of the Moroccan Islamic identity.”

“Ours is a typically Moroccan approach to the practice of Islam, which is based on the homogeneity of the Maliki rite, as well as on tolerance and moderation,” the King noted.

By Youssef El Kaidi

Morocco World News

Fez, July 30, 2013

On the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the Throne Day, a day held in honor of the king's ascension to the throne, the American Secretary of State John Kerry issued a press statement congratulating his majesty the king Mohamed VI and the Moroccan people.

“On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I offer warm wishes to King Mohammed VI and the Moroccan people as you celebrate your national day this July 30” Said John Kerry. In his statement, the US official highlighted the long friendship and diplomatic relations between Morocco and the United States, expressing at the same time pride at such enduring relationship.

“When Morocco granted American merchant ships safe passage after the outbreak of the American Revolution, it signaled the beginning of a strong and enduring friendship. We are also proud that the Moroccan city of Tangier is home to our oldest diplomatic property in the world,” said Mr. John Kerry.

John Kerry also praised Morocco’s cooperation after “more than 225 years of friendship and peace” to work together “to expand trade, promote stability in the region, and enhance mutual understanding between our nations.” The US official expressed his intention to push this relationship ahead for the common good of the two nations. “We look forward to building on our long history of relations as we work together to advance common goals,” Mr. John Kerry said.

Morocco was the 1st country to recognize the independence of the United States of America in 1777. The U.S-Morocco Peace and Friendship Treaty, ratified in 1787, is the longest unbroken treaty to which the United States is party.

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The sacred texts, the ancient traditions and all philosophies of all ages tell us to look at and learn from Nature, its beauty and its cycles, and to the ephemeral and eternity. We know that we love, naturally, but they still teach us to love better, to love consciously and spiritually, and to learn to apprehend meaning in detachment. And we have to choose between the reserve of Kant and Nietzsche’s impetuosity, between the way of Buddha and that of Dionysus, between the love of God and the love of Desire. Between an idea of freedom and the management of needs, between independence and dependence, and between detachment and bondage. One does not choose to love but one can choose how to love. Tariq Ramadan, love and detachment

It was not long ago that this was cropping up in my mind. But in truth,I did not want it to be or at best to end this way. It is not the kind of thing, I wish to make clear, I would accept in this life that is mine. I tried many a time to take it at once for an indecent idea because it is, indeed, one and by no means a decent one: To wait for others to offer you that which, had you worked upon it yourself, you would have made it come into being without their help. This is not so difficult a task to move through towards the light instead of remaining in the dark waiting and nobody around appears to care. It is just, I must say, within the limits of the possible to have your mind made up to it without any impalpability. But then, let me say it no more.

I take responsibility for all of this and you take none. I have something to say to you while you have none. It has never before come to my notice that I know so little of you. I have wanted to come closer to you, to be with you, to see you, and then to stop listening to what others say about me and you. Take all the time you need but never ask me what difference there can be between wanting and obtaining. It is my conviction that of all those upon whom the sun shines, only those who help themselves will yearn for being helped.

In the meantime, were anyone to take the liberty of asking me who would come to their help, I would perhaps say it is not any concern of mine. They are helping themselves. Do you not at all understand? They are helping themselves. God help them, please, and they are really helping themselves. They are not to be left wanting. They are looking for a way out of this extremely painful universe where things come and go and people never know. Have I said it to you? No. Then, have I wanted to say it to you? No. But then, have I gleaned it out of nothing just to say it to you? No.I think I will let you know. There came few tears to my eyes when I saw that the reason behind this all is past finding out. It is my dignity that prevents me from knowing why. But at the same time, it is that which guides me into saying this to you: Never come back to me. I am not waiting for the unknown to be known. I am not waiting anymore. My way is still long; I am going to be the man who never trifles with time. I will say after Friederich Hölderlin:

“Let us live, oh you who are with me in sorrow, with me in faith

and heart and loyalty struggling for better times!

For such we are and if ever in the coming years they knew

of us two when the spirit matters again

They would say: lovers in those days, alone, they created

Their secret world that only God knew. For who

Cares only for things that will die, the earth will have them,

but Near the light, into the clarities come

Those keeping faith with the heart’s love and Holy Spirit who were

Hopeful, patient, still, and got the better of fate.”

We are agathious from creation to the general doom. We only do not seem to be aware of that because of the film of familiarity which obscures from us the wonder of our being as Percy Bysshe Shelley would put it. There aremany rips in our lives. What do we do vis- à- vis them? It is really up to us to decide whether or not they are going to be mended. Or are they to be left unmended? It is up to us to mend these rips and walk through them to the light or remain forever in the dark. There is more enterprise in striving to repair some of the erroneous things in the world rather than to clench our hands over our foreheads and then foolishly shed tears over them.

Let us make a terrestrial galaxy as the stars do in the sky. To put it, in short, and in as a few words as possible, let us create our secret world because the outside world is not doing very well. Why cannot we stop caring for the material and the sensual? Why cannot we stop caring for the things that will die? Let us feel for the spiritual. There is still much hope since, as I like to think and would like to put it, we have not learned enough despair so as not to hope. Despair and hope do not cause us to be ridiculous.

But then, Eros is inaccessible to those who lack love as well as spiritual insight. He is inaccessible to the profanum vulgus. “ Only he who himself turns to the other human being and opens himself to him receives the world in him. Only the being whose otherness, accepted by my being, lives and faces me in the whole compression of existence, brings the radiance of eternity to me”.

Martin Buber is ultimately clear enough to be understood. When Adonis lived, it is not the sun and the sharp air which lurked like two thieves to rob him of his fair as Shakespeare maintained. Adonis does not blame it for the destiny. He must be held responsible for the loss of Cytherea. She was all in love forlorn. Had he loved her with a love so over-powering as she did, no sun,no sharp air, no whatever would have deprived him of her. It is love, say mutual love or any other , which alone brings things together.

It is that which,I must say again, brings people together and makes an extraordinary galaxy out of them. We must struggle for the sake of it and stand in no comformity with their vulgarism and disparaging gestures. Most of all, we must put under question and not merely cleave to the values established by tradition. Patterned thinking will lead almost nowhere. Only by straying afield of our selves and of tradition innovation and accuracy as regards our lives will become possible.This is to be evidenced not only in ourselves but equally in the kind of knowledge we unfailingly continue to receive and accept without checking or verification.

Michel Foucault’s prolific work in sociology but then in philosophy would not find the means and ploys to open up new avenues of research and enquiry in history and the social sciences if it remained imprisoned by tradition and atavism. Foucault’s sociological and philosophical output, Steven Connor makes clear, refused to stay within the established and precomprehended territories of theory and thereby succeeded remarkeably in adding and contributing to the over all human knowledge.

‘After all, what would be the value of the passion of knowledge if it resulted in a certainamount of knowledgeableness, and not, in one way or another and to the extent possible, in the knower’s straying afield of himself?’ Foucault would remind us in his essay on ‘ The use of pleasure’.‘The passion of knowledge’; It is interesting to see in it this astounding interaction and intermingling of both heart and mind. Passion with regard to knowledge. What offspring will there be if this passion of knowledge revamps into a love of knowledge? Let us think about love and feel it henceforth. To love means to act and not to just say empty words that would add more horror to life.

Call it as you like but love is more than what people think. There is, this is it, more to love than what many people think. It is the most important thing in life. To love, J.Krishnamurti wrote, means to be sensitive. To be sensitive is to feel for people,for birds, for flowers, for trees_ not because they are ours, but just because we are awake to the extraordinary beauty of things. We are awake through love and knowledge and not through ignorance and fear.

Photo by Yassine Abouyaala

Chokri Omri was born in 1985. He is a teacher of English, poet and writer from Tunisia. A number of his poems and articles, both Arabic and English, have been translated into Spanish and Romanian and published in Contemporary literary Horizon Magazine, The Exhibitionist and The Tunis Times

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