RABAT - I recently interviewed a very active member of the Amazigh movement. For the purposes of this article, I will call him Takfarinas here (that is not his real name). He is a 25-year-old student, from a town near Agadir.

What I found very striking about my first meeting with Takfarinas, is that he looked me straight in the eye and said “there are no human rights in Morocco.” I have not heard anyone else make such an open criticism since arriving here.

I asked Takfarinas many questions about the rights of people and specifically of Amazigh  people in Morocco. I asked him about the status of the Amazigh language, and said that I have heard there is new legislation encouraging the study of the language in schools. He described this as a joke. He said it was, at best, a PR move--a half-hearted attempt for the government to make themselves look better.

I also asked Takfarinas about some of the new reforms Morocco has made in the past few years, including the right of free speech. He also described these as a joke.

“You cannot say what you like in Morocco. You cannot say you are not a Muslim, you cannot say you are a Republican. If you say anything against the King, you can be put in prison. There are many people in prison for their ideas.” He said he wanted a country where people are free to choose their own religion and express their ideas freely.

He also said that the government uses religion as a vessel to control people, and that the education system does not encourage people to think for themselves. He said that people do not use their minds enough in Morocco and do not question the status quo, as they should. He said that the government uses religion to control the minds of people. He asserted that the Moroccan government seeks to make Morocco an Arab state, and to eradicate the Amazigh identity, even sometimes prohibiting people from registering their children under Amazigh names. He said that the propaganda of the government makes people believe that in order to be a good Muslim they should be Arab, and speak Arabic.

"If Amazigh activists try to fight this, they are accused of not being Muslims, of being Christians or Jews or are trying to turn people away from Islam," he noted. He also said that the government tries to convince people that the Arab way is superior and represents TAmazigh people as primitive and uncivilized. “They say we are like monkeys.”

Takfarinas told me he has been arrested several times, and that he has been beaten by police, generally for attending protests to further the cause of the Amazigh movement. He said that there are divides within the movement, and also that the current government makes any progress impossible. He said he was also active in the uprisings of 2011, and that more effort needs to be done to further the revolutionary cause.

When I asked Takfarinas what he believed were the biggest hindrances to the Amazigh movement, he said that it was divides within the movement, and also that most people are not thinking as much as they should, and are being too passive about the violation of their rights.

At the close of the interview, Takfarinas re-affirmed his staunch commitment to the realization of human rights in Morocco. He stated he would not leave Morocco to live his life in a country where he can enjoy his civil rights. He believes, instead, that Moroccans need to work to make their own country one where human rights are respected. Takfarinas concluded the interview also by saying that he believed it was only a matter of time before he was once again arrested, probably under false pretenses that he had committed a serious crime, so that the prosecutors could evade bad publicity, and put him away longer. “I only hope that I am able to complete my studies before this happens” he said.

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Casablanca

Self-immolation as a form of protest against social injustice has almost become a common phenomenon in the Middle-East and North Africa. Morocco was no exception to this controversial trend of protest, and the victims are mainly young Moroccans at the blossom of their lives.

After a 38-year-old entrepreneur set himself ablaze last March 31 against the overdue service dues owed by the Municipal Council of Aknoul, Taza, the phenomenon is back again in the kingdom.

Abderrahman Chaikh, a 24-year old Moroccan from Tetouan, died on Thursday in Moulay Rachid Hospital in Casablanca after setting himself on fire in the border between Ceuta and Tetouan  in northern Morocco.

Chaikh allegedly set himself on fire in protest against custom authorities in Sabta who confiscated his merchandise, worth around 7000 DH ($900). He was rapidly taken to Moulay Rachid Hospital in Casablanca, where he died at 2:00 am on Thursday.

According to many sources, a considerable crowd of outraged Moroccans head right after Chaikh’s funeral in Tetouan to the house of a custom official, accusing him of being the one whi have caused Abderrahman Chailh to set himself on fire.

The outraged crowd incriminated the custom services and held them responsible for the tragedy. They also called on the government to promote job creation and launch large scale project that would offer young jobless Moroccans decent jobs and spare their families such tragedies.

Nabila Nali – Tangier

I have news for you. Nobody that has ever changed the world really knew exactly how they would do it when they started.  So, yes it can be just as simple as that. Strike that T out of can’t and embrace the possibility of a can-do attitude! You will develop what it takes to  look deeply at yourself and your personality; you will find the tenacity and strength that god instilled in you in order to overcome life’s difficulties.

God knows how challenging life is and gives us the tools to overcome and keep going, but it is up to you to tap into that strength and possibility. In fact, you are tougher than you think if you have not yet exercised your spiritual “muscles.” Naturally, without use, they grow soft like any muscle. It is only through diligence, perseverance, and discipline that you can reignite and strengthen these spiritual tools that are the keys to a fulfilling life. At the heart of this life is seeing the beauty of possibility.

How often do you say “I can’t” when it’s, at best, a half-truth? Maybe you really think that you can’t draw – but could this be because you have never actually tried? And if you can’t get organized, or quit smoking, or lose weight … do you really think this is because you can’t or rather that you won’t?

It’s the same with all those things that you can’t do today. They might seem big and challenging – almost impossible – task to do right now, but the thought of doing it is much worse than actually doing it. Plenty of other people have tackled and conquered the same things (and they started out from just where you are right now).

You must learn how to control your mental capacities. Dominate your mind and don’t let your mind dominate you. In other words, don’t let anxiety, worry, and negative thoughts bring you down. Learn to control your mind in order to cultivate positive, self-affirming thoughts. I know this sounds easier said than done, and I will be the first to admit that, but you have to be brave and have faith.  The mind is a powerful tool, and you can make it work in your favor.

So what is the solution? Reverse the mental image, this will of course require a considerable exercise in reeducating  yourself. This will not be easy, but neither is it impossible.  The process begins with realizing that your thinking should be changed. Changing your mental habits is a difficult feat because it implies a restructuring of long held beliefs. It means that the pessimism so ingrained in your consciousness will protest this strong positive mental reorientation.

However, if you are weak and defeatist, it is due in large part to the fact that your mind has actually lied to you for years about your real abilities. This is what causes you to fail, and this is why you must stand up to your mind, take control, and tell yourself, with conviction, that ”I have a powerful new thought, a vital faith and hope in god and myself, and  I intend to ride it to success and happiness and you–you old negative and defeated thought pattern–you will not control me anymore!”    From now on I will take control of my thoughts and my life by reeducating my mind to disregard self-loathing and doubt. I will instead embrace belief and self-confidence. I will embrace the beauty of possibility and my abilities.

Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be, raise your sights and see the possibilities, for they are always there. After all, as authors like Vivian Greene often remind us in a slew of poetic proverbial sagacity, life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning how to dance in the rain.

Photo by Yassine Abouyaala

Edited by Anna Jacobs

Washington- In a recent interview with France 24 English, Morocco’s sole openly homosexual writer/filmmaker, Abdellah Taia optimistically foreshadows Moroccan society in the future, stating, “Morocco is actually ahead of other Arab countries when it comes to homosexuality, because at least the issue has been debated in the press.” He also said that “there’s a place for gays in Islam. As he awaits Morocco’s approval to release his first film, ‘Salvation Army’, he discusses growing up in Morocco as a homosexual and his lasting connection to his homeland.

Salvation Army, Taia’s autobiographical film about growing up gay in Morocco, chronicles the obstacles that Taia faced to finding his true self while living amongst a society that shunned his sexuality, and a government that punished it. In his piece for the New York Times in 2012, Taia describes the moment when he could no longer suffer the rebuke from his peers, family, and neighbors and, before physically leaving Morocco to live in Europe, he mentally escaped from his situation. He acknowledges his difficult childhood as merely a memory: “Today I grow nostalgic for little effeminate Abdellah. He and I share a body, but I no longer remember him. He was innocence. Now I am only intellect. He was naïve. I am clever. He was spontaneous. I am locked in a constant struggle with myself.”

Today, Taia is hopeful that his symbolic return to Morocco via his film will help re-affirm the attachment that he has to his homeland. He feels that, although some Moroccans may use Islam in the government to perpetuate reproach of lifestyles that are different from traditionalism, he still maintains a strong connection to Islamic culture—Islamic philosophy, sociology, and poetry in particular. To Taia, the idea is natural, “of course there’s a place for gays in Islam.”

But mostly, Taia wants to turn Morocco into a place where young people feel free to express themselves openly and without societal or criminal consequences. He stated, “I definitely feel a connection to my homeland, and will for the rest of my life. I lived in Morocco for 25 years. I feel attached to the land there, the sky. Morocco is inside of me: its culture, its violence, its folklore. At the same time, I am aware that in Morocco, I was prevented from becoming what I am today, from feeling free. And I see that people over there are still suffocating. But that doesn’t take away from the very strong emotions I still have for the country.”

The film, which was shown recently at the Venice Film Festival, represents Arab cinema’s first gay protagonist and is currently under consideration by the National Centre for Moroccan Cinema to be released in Morocco.

Washington- Sofia El Marikh, a Moroccan born actress and singer, was recently ranked the 15^th most beautiful woman in the world by World Actuality.

Also representing the Middle East and North Africa in the top 50 list were Amal Maher of Egypt, who ranked 37^th, Saudi princess Amira Al Taweel, 18^th, Iranian actress Claudia Lynx, ranked 14^th, and Tunisian model Rim Saidi in 8^th place.

El Marikh made her way into the public eye with her first modeling gig at 4 years old in a diaper ad.  From then on she continued modeling until the age of 15 when she acted alongside Sophia Loren in the French film Soleil.

El Marikh’s big break came when she was a finalist on the Middle East reality talent competition show Star Academy. Quickly gaining fame from her time on the show, Sofia toured the Middle East for a series of sold-out concerts in Tunisia, Kuwait, Egypt, Dubai, Jordan and Lebanon.

Eventually, she landed a high-profile Pepsi advertising campaign and released her debut album which earned her best Artist in 2007.

El Marikh has worked with famous directors such as Randa Alam, Wissam Smayra, and collaborated with Jermaine Jackson.  She has also been awarded high honors by King Mohammed VI.

By Mariem Habibi

TUNIS - This is a story that is deeply carved in my heart and that will never fade away from my memory, a story that ended up by swapping the bad for the good. It is about the past, present and future. It is about a tough childhood but a pleasurable adulthood.

I have lost my father when I was two years old. I remember nothing about him. I cannot remember his face. I cannot remember his smell. I cannot remember his voice. My family members used to always tell me stories about him. They told me that he works in a very far place. I believed that; but not for a long period of time as I started asking questions. I never gave up till I got that ominous answer:

“Your father is in heaven.”

Being a child, I did not care about being an orphan. However, when I started school, I went through a mixture of deteriorating feelings when I witnessed a father playing around with his daughter.  This scene hurt me a lot. It broke my heart into millions of pieces. I went back home crying. I told my mother about it. She held my hand and said: “Baby, don’t cry. I'm your mother and your father. Look at your family and see how much we all love you. Be grateful for the family you have for many other orphans like you do not have that.”

Although my childhood was full of grief and sorrow because of the excruciating crack I had in my heart because of my father’s absence, it was also blissful because my family gave me a lot of love, especially my mother.

Growing up, the dark side in my heart was very hard to remember as it vanished through the light of hope. It was hard for me to grow up in such fatherless circumstances. Every once in a while I get some irrational ideas. I say to myself what if my father were alive and it was my mother who died instead, he would have looked for another wife, the thing that would have ruined my life especially with the fact of being forced to live with a stepmother. I also once watched a TV series saying that people can return to life after death. Although it's delusional, the idea itself gave me hope. Thoughts like that were practically driving me crazy. I knew that I seriously needed to stop thinking that way or I will end up in an asylum.

I hated the way I used to look. I wanted to be pretty; but, I was overweight, the thing that kept me from being happy. At the age of eighteen, I felt really down. I looked for someone to love me, someone other than my own family, someone that would be capable of compensating the lost of my father's love. My long-lasting search was in vain. I couldn’t find someone worthy enough to break the chains imprisoning my heart. But then again, if I had a lover, I would probably be married now and I would not be able to finish my studies and pursue my dreams.Time healed me. I got used to my father’s absence. I came to realize that everybody dies eventually and we can change nothing about it. My days got better when I found a solution for my weight problem that helped me lose weight and enjoy a healthy life at the same time. Now, I am satisfied with the way I look. I decided to have more friends rather than a lover. I decided to delay the desire of having a lover as love can wait.

Oh! Welcome spring.

I converted my weaknesses into strengths. I used to be a mean, arrogant and greedy person. I didn’t feel like I had complete control over myself. Now, I am a grown-up. I control my life, actions and attitude. I am able of loving and appreciating myself and others around me. My future plans are awaiting me to be fulfilled. I want to resume my long trip and change the bad habits and ways of thinking because “life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams,” as Ashley Smith put it.

Oh, leave it to fate!

Writing this, I felt proud of myself as facing one’s reality is not as easy as some people would think. We should always remember that we all go through ups and downs in life, but the most important part is that we learn from them. We should also keep in mind that life is a learning curve, and that thanks to the hard times we go through, we can make beautiful and wise people out of ourselves. I know that my mother suffered a lot as being a single mother is no piece of cake. I hope that one day I will make my mother happy and proud of me.

Washington- What would you do for a date with Kristen Stewart? Well, one Saudi prince paid $500,000 for a 15 minute meeting with the actress, according to MSN Arabia.

Movie producer, Harvey Weinsten, organized the meeting in an effort to raise money for the Hurricane Sandy relief fund last year.  He announced the unique fundraiser to reporters at the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert documentary 12-12-12, which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival last week.

In Weinstein’s words, the transaction was simple, “Kristen sits with the guy for 15 minutes.” Allegedly, the Saudi prince paid the sum up front, met with Stewart briefly at MadisonSquareGarden, then Steward swiftly donated the whole $500,000 sum to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Stewart’s donation is merely a portion of the 20+ million raised by celebrities like Paul McCartney, Adam Sandler, and Bruce Springsteen.

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WASHINGTON - Princess Lalla Soukaina, King Mohammed VI’s niece, who is engaged to Mehdi Regragui, son of King Hassan II’s former adviser, is set to be married in October of this year, according to the news outlet Le360.

Princess Lalla Soukaina, 27, spent her childhood as a very close grandchild to her grandfather– the late King Hassan II, who organized for her fairy parties, including for her birthday. 1999, however, marked a tragic turning point in the life of the young woman who witnessed the divorce of her parents and the sudden death of her grandfather.

King Hassan II’s favorite granddaughter, Princess Lalla Soukaina is also very close to King Mohammed VI, her uncle. She also accompanied  him, in 2000, for his first official visit to Spain.

The marriage of the princess is sure to be closely followed by the Moroccan people, as their romance was also closely observed. Both Regragui and  Lalla Soukaina were raised in Rabat. Regragui comes from an affluent family, his father was a businessman and close adviser to King Hassan II.

Princess Soukaina first completed her undergraduate degree at the Royal College, and then moved to Paris to continue her studies and obtain a Master’s degree in journalism and communication. During her first year of studies in 2004, she was selected, along with her mother, Princess Lalla Meryem, as one of the top successful Arab women. She is regarded by Moroccans as the embodiment of Moroccan women’s beauty and elegance.

Princess Lalla Soukaina is the daughter of Princess Lalla Meryem, first daughter and eldest child of late King Hassan II.

The Princess’ father, Fouad Filali, is the son of the late Abdellatif Filai, former Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister.

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Taroudant- Although same-sex marriage has been legal in France since May of 2013, a Franco-Moroccan gay couple was denied union Saturday in Jacob-Bellecombette, Chambéry.

According to the French daily Le Monde, the couple, Dominique, a Frenchman, and Mohammed a Moroccan, can’t get married because of a bilateral agreement between France and Morocco banning marriage of  same sex couples from said countries.

Following the promulgation of the law “le mariage pour tous” (marriage for all) that was adopted by France last spring, the French Ministry of Justice released, at the end of May, a circular which states that citizens of 11 countries, including Morocco, cannot marry a person of the same sex.

The minister said that the bilateral agreements between France and such countries that do not allow same sex unions "have superior authority over the law.”

The couple announced through their lawyer that they would go to court to recognize their right to marry.

Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau celebrated their union on May marking the first same-sex couple to marry in France after fierce debate and months of anti-gay mass street-demonstrations that divided French society.

By adopting the law of marriage for all, France has become the fourteenth country worldwide to allow same-sex couples to marry.

By Majda Layek

CASABLANCA - How would you feel, if a poor member of your precious family was prevented from doing the only job, that brings him a piece of bread for the day?

Before generalizing a rule on a group of people who did not choose to become poor, nor were born poor, one has to put himself in their shoes, feel their pain when they stand every single day in the burning sun, baring peoples’ humiliating gazes only to be able to afford school for their dear children. We are all human beings, but sometimes we forget that we were all born equal, until luck arbitrarily makes or breaks our lives.

City limits or boundaries are only walls which are meant to charm the tourist when he visits the city, but those people (street vendors) are flesh and blood. They have dreams and aspirations. They want to have a good home, a good salary and a fancy life just like the rest of the community, but instead, all they end up with is a sidewalk booth that might be taken away from them at any minute, inviting dreadful poverty to eat them alive.

Street vendors suffer enough from their ego being crushed every minute of every day. As people walk by, some view them as inferior creatures who are ruining the city’s beauty and charm, while others don’t even notice them, and might even step on their possessions without a single apology. These individuals don’t need more torturing from rich people, whose hearts have been frozen in the blind pursuit of money. In other words, what is the use of being a human being if humanity is lost?

Take one look at what these poor people are selling, and ask yourself if you would ever stand five minutes in the streets, coping with people’s underestimating gazes and hurtful words, that strike like thunder. The answer would definitely be negative. No human being on earth wants to be stuck in the bottom of the hierarchy. Anyone would rather crawl under a rock and just die. However, life, as hard as it is, turns the strongest, wealthiest to the weakest person alive. As a result, being a street vendor might be your only option.

Edited by Anna Jacobs

Audrey Bellis- When my friend Brooklyn Middleton shared Delia Ephron's New York Times article on Facebook a little over a week ago entitled "You Can't Have It All, But You Can Have Cake" -- we both rejoiced that finally, someone was rejecting the "Lean In," "Having It All" propaganda and spelling out exactly what "having it all" means.

To paraphrase: it means moments of joy, content and simple pleasures. It is impossible to reach perfection and even in moments of perfection, they aren't static. If they were, we wouldn't have anything to compare them to.

My immediate response to my friend was this: The problem of "having it all" is that not only is it an impossible ideal to achieve and maintain, but that we allow such an impossible thing to perpetually be our guide and how we are constantly made to feel that we fail to measure up. Leaning In, by definition, perpetuates the scarcity myth that we, as women, aren't doing enough already.

Is it me, or does the whole "having it all" notion smell like scarcity packaged as perfectionism while preying on our deepest fears?

Maybe it's because I've been a tad Brene Brown obsessed lately, but I think "having it all" sounds a LOT like perfectionism. Brene writes in her book, Daring Greatly: "[Perfectionism] is the belief that if we do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame."

Cue my Girls Hannah moment of "I want all the things":

Well yes, I do want all the things! But my "all," like Ephron points out, has changed. It's diminished dramatically from what it used to be: an impossible, self-imposed need to be the "every woman" for every person in my life. The crushing weight of that reality led to a major depression and quarter-life existential crisis also known here as my year of celibacy.

So, what does "having it all" mean to me now?

Like Ephron, for me, it's the little things. It was the first day I got out of bed and didn't want to hide under the covers until the world stopped existing after a major six-month depression. It was the day I chose to live.

It was the first time I felt butterflies from a tall handsome stranger that stirred feelings with an intensity I had never experienced and other feelings I thought I'd never feel again. It was also the moment in which I let down my walls enough to let him in and didn't regret it.

"All" is when my niece wants to spend the night, but refuses to go home the next day so she has to stay another night to make sure I have enough of her hand-drawn pictures to last me until her next visit.

"All" is when my sister makes me laugh and snaps a candid photo of it to remind me that its OK to let my guard down sometimes.

It's also the first deep breath when I step onto my mat in yoga as I silently thank myself for carving out time for my practice. When I feel my ribs expand and I know I'm filling the space with a calm gratitude for life.

Finally, moments of "having it all" occur for me when I can catch myself slipping into old habits of people-pleasing and choosing to honor myself instead by maintaining my boundaries.

They don't all happen every day. Sometimes the moments are fleeting while others last a bit longer, but they make it all worthwhile for the periods of time in which all existed in equilibrium.

Casablanca- Nador’s “forbidden kiss” has not only spurred the sympathy of some young Moroccans, who subsequently organized random “kiss-ins” in solidarity with the two young students who were initially arrested for posting pictures of them exchanging kisses, but the controversial kiss has garnered the sympathy of some Moroccan artists as well.

Mohamed El Baz, a famous Moroccan installation artist and photographer and graduate of the Higher School of Fine Arts in Paris, and Fadila El Gadi, a Moroccan fashion designer, expressed their sympathy towards Nador’s students in a picture posted by Le360, an online news outlet.

The picture depicts the two renowned Moroccan artists affectionately holding each other close, on the verge of a kiss, as an expression of sympathy towards Nador’s teen couple.

The picture was also described as an encouragement to the few Moroccans who recently staged a “kiss-in” in Rabat, which stirred the outrage of other Moroccans who were there at that time. The issue has ignited uproar on social networks, as Moroccans have expressed strongly diverging opinions on the matter.

Having the distinction of being two of Morocco’s most celebrated artists, the act of sympathy towards the two teenagers arrested in Nador that Mohamed El Baz and Fadila El Gadi expressed through their recent photograph is expected to add more fuel to the ongoing controversy.

Their act of sympathy has also been touted as a rejection of and challenge to the legal procedures Nador’s three teenagers were subjected to since their arrest.

Edited by Elisabeth Myers

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MUNICH - "I am not an egoist. I always play for my team. I try to enjoy during the game. I improve the level of the game every day," says Franck Bilal Ribery in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency (AA).

The Frenchman -- who was named the UEFA Best Player in Europe last season -- is among the top contenders along with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, to win the Ballon d’Or on January 13, 2014.

The world famous football player says he is a man of small things: "I am aware that life consists of small things. That is why I always stand when someone stops me on the street. I talk to many people. My mission is to make people happy."

He says his family was as a child and that his father taught him to respect people:

"My father worked a lot for us. He gave me the character of a winner, taught me to overcome difficult moments in life, and I had a lot of them. He taught me to stay 'on the ground' in every moment in life. That is why, today I try to enjoy in every moment, in every training, in every game. I want to make people happy, in the pitch and out of it.

"I worked in construction with my father to earn a living. I knew to play football when I was a child, and even that time I knew football will be more important than school for me. Actually, I was aware I can benefit from it. Though, I have not even dreamt that I can make such a big career. I was thinking I can play in the first or second league but I never thought I will be at the highest level. I had a great support from my father and wife and it helped me get here. Football gave me everything."

Ribery says he is thankful to his father and to Wahiba Belhami -- his wife of Algerian origin -- who Ribery says is the reason why he converted to Islam in 2002 and added Muslim name Bilal.

"Religion is my personal thing. I am a believer and since I converted to Islam, I think, I became stronger, I became mentally and physically stronger. Religion did not change my personality or my perception of the world," emphasizes Ribery.

He says for the past few months he has assumed a different role on the pitch.

"Coach Pep Guardiola tells me that I should always play closer to the rival's goal post," Ribery says, adding that he took his advice.

He is defiant of allegations over disputes between him and the Bayern Munich coach.

"Pep Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world. It is easy to understand him. He talks a lot with players. He brought many new things to our dressing room. I hope we will win trophies with him. It started well, we won the [UEFA] Super Cup at the beginning of the season."

Talking on his plans for future he says he intend to stay in Bayern Munich as long as possible.

"I am satisfied with my position and my family is happy living in Munich.

"Bayern is football giant which I greatly respect. We have excellent relations with media and it contributes great to the image of the team in the world. I want to stay in this team as long as it is possible. After my career, I wish to live in Munich with my family."

Asked whether he likes staying in Munich because he is more respected there than in France, he says:

"I don't know why that is so. Earlier I had some problems, but now I also have good support from France. I would not talk about these things. I will stay in Munich because my family enjoys here."

Ribery will play with France in November in a playoff game against Ukraine for a place in next summer's World Cup in Brazil.

"Those will be difficult and complicated games. I will play without pressure." He adds: "If I don't go to Mundial hardly that I can count on winning the Ballon d’Or," he says.

He sees Germany as the top contender for the World Cup title.

"Germans have everything. Team spirit and great players. Continuously, they make good results," Ribery says but points to a difficult challenge ahead with many other powerful rivals such as France.

"I have more experience now. I won the Champions League, and the World Cup remains for me. That is my dream," he says.

He also comments on the historic berth Bosnia and Herzegovina clinched in the World Cup.

"BiH representation is determined and deserved to be placed in the World Cup."

Ribery spent 6 months with the Turkish side Galatasaray appearing in 14 games with one goal.

"Playing in Galatasaray when I was 21 was a good choice for me. I stayed there 6 months, and I have good and unforgettable memories of Istanbul. Great city and phenomenal fans. I felt like a king in Turkey. Everyone loved me. I played with Hakan Sukur, great star and one of Galatasaray's legends."

By Asmae Azzamouri - Oujda, Morocco - “I have been admitted in the MEPI program,” said a friend of mine with a naïf smile on his face. Was it surprising? Was it unexpected? The answer is for sure, “No."

He fulfilled all criteria to be selected as one of the young MEPI leaders; he was ambitious, pro-active and leadership ran in his blood. Now, you might be wondering: what is the MEPI program? What does the word itself stand for? And what do they do?

MEPI, “Middle East Partnership Initiative,” is a US-state department program that provides financial aids for Non-governmental organizations, development projects, fosters talented individuals in MENA region to become civil society activists, and, promote  political, economic, and social long-term reform.

Since its launch in 2002, MEPI’s staff has been working towards realizing a variety of objectives. Empowering women, developing civil society, and supporting literacy are examples of goals for their organization. MEPI Student Leaders is a cultural exchange program, amongst many others, that serves to engage youth, strengthen their leadership potential and it’s the one my friend took part in.

Nearly 120 undergraduate students throughout the Middle East and North Africa began a life changing adventure in summer 2013. The starting point was Washington DC, afterwards, they were divided into separate groups among six host universities in US. Each Institute offers a rich and versatile program that focuses on the development of the participants’ leadership skills and expands their understanding of American society and culture.

"Benedictine University in Lisle, Il is indeed an outstanding university; more diversified in terms of their program, activities, as well as the quality of lessons and staff," says Ayoub Belgharbi, a young leader from Morocco.

Belgharbi continues. "Being part of this perfectly organized program has contributed to my personality betterment and my growth as an individual”

During their stay, participants were enrolled in an intensive five-week program where they were taught by scholars and experts in various domains, notably leadership, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, and human rights. The program includes study tours in both Washington and New York City, meeting influential figures and people working in government. In addition to volunteering and community service activities within non-profit organizations such as "ROC Wheels," "Northern Illinois Food Bank," "North West Harvest", etc.

To describe her experience, Noor Mehdawe, a Palestinian entrepreneur said, "The program's goal was to connect young social leaders from the MENA region and to empower them to become inspiring change makers… I feel really blessed because I got to be part of the MEPI family; not only that I learned uncountable things, but I also made everlasting honest friendships”

At the end of their journey, alumni go back to their home countries full of positive energy, hopes for a better tomorrow, and inspiration to make a difference. Yet, before heading to the airport, they have to face the moment of truth; to bear the ache in their hearts and to send their new best friends, brothers and sisters good-bye. This, I believe, is the worse part that comes with this miraculous adventure. Students will start working on civic engagement projects to enrich different fields in their communities. Successful projects get presented at the annual MEPI Leadership Conference held in Jordan within first months of 2014.

“One would think that the program overwhelmed us with only intensive courses, but the organizing committee made sure we had as much fun as possible, they got us to do laser tag, bowling, kayaking, sightseeing, tours, shows, and many other fun activities,” said the alumni Ahmad Ehab, an Egyptian engineer.

Thanks to MEPI program, 120 young leaders left US with a new vision to the world, and a roaring hurricane of special memories.

Chicago - Relevant to different historical writings on the concept of leadership, the Republic of the great Greek philosopher Plato has defined its basic qualities and has linked the term fundamentally to the power of personality and its distinctive characteristics.

The power we choose to call charisma. In different contexts, this non-structured component makes of leaders those who can inspire others and have significant influence on the amount and the quality of their work and their contributions. Here, leadership can be identified as a “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task."

In the world of today, leadership and management are introduced in professional arenas with similar references. Practically, this may be justified as both concepts refer to practices of administrating and governing. Conceptually, management refers primarily to the processes of planning, realization and assessment while leadership refers initially to the qualities of inspiration. The latter is our magic word that brings our understanding of leadership to endless limits.

Who is a leader? How do we perceive leadership? To what extent do our perceptions reflect a comprehensive and applicable understanding of its qualities? In our answers, we may limit our thinking of leadership to technicalities and practicalities and think of it from an isolated academic perspective. In our answers, our choices and responses may vary. Yet, our thinking may not reach beyond the word administration. This is false!

Effective leadership can not be realized depending merely on well-designed catalogues of management. Efficacy in the professional world demands strong personalities, ethical values, high sensitivity to responsibility and a great sense of devotion. Effective leaders can be well described as figures with strong abilities to align people at their domains. Effective leaders are those who bring their people together under one vision and one mission. Their success in unifying their people rely on their personal qualities, behavioral values and emotional reserves. Effective leaders are those who walk the dark paths to shine your way into success and growth.

I may personally think of this statement of Theodore Roosevelt, one of the great republicans in the history of the United States of America, on leadership to give its best possible description. "It's not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” I still think of these words as the magical keys to the world of imagination and inspiration and I hope of a “leader who deals in hope” as once Napoleon Bonaparte quoted.

In one of my hallways' discussions with Mr. Sami Hijazi, the Ex-Principal of the Houston, Texas based Al-Hadi School Of Accelerative Learning on leadership, this man I still admires most insisted on one word, trust. For him, trust is the core value, the core stone and the character. He said: “ Trust make you motivate and move your group forward and not necessarily your measurements of control. Your heart makes you motivate and inspire not the authority.” Today, I smile and quote: “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

CAIRO – Ahmed Shahin was groomed to become an engineer but has since taken up work as a taxi driver. He doesn't find anything strange in this, especially given Egypt's turbulent post-revolution landscape – and the resultant ongoing economic recession.

"I haven't found a suitable engineering job," Shahin told Anadolu Agency. "All the offers I receive have nothing to do with my engineering vocation."

He added: "That's why I decided to turn my family's private car into a taxi cab for a living."

Shahin received a scholarship to study engineering abroad. But, so far, his studies have brought him little in the way of viable employment.

He has since joined a growing number of highly-educated Egyptians whose country's deteriorating economic conditions – especially after the January 2011 popular uprising – have kept them from finding suitable jobs.

A large number of other Egyptians have also lost their jobs because of the worsening economic situation. They have either joined the ranks of the unemployed or taken jobs unrelated to their educational qualifications or experience.

Former corporate managers, engineers, accountants, even ex-journalists, are now driving Cairo cabs – all because of the worsening economy.

Mohamed Raafat's career has taken a similar route. Having worked in the past as a restaurant manager, he now drives a taxi for several hours a day to be able to put food on the table for his children.

"I recently had to leave my job in [Red Sea resort city] Sharm al-Sheikh because my employers wanted to cut my salary in half," Rafaat, in his mid-forties, said.

Since early 2011, Egypt's tourism sector has reeled under post-revolution political turmoil.

Hotels that used to boast occupancy rates of 100 percent now stand empty, destroying the prospects of thousands of workers employed – both formally and informally – by Egypt's expansive tourism industry.

Raafat, however, still hides the reality of his work from his friends, even parking his taxi some distance from his home.

When asking friends about possible job opportunities, he never reveals that he hopes to find a job for himself.

"I tell them the job is for other people I know," he said.

Shahin, for his part, the engineering graduate, tries to appreciate the limited opportunities afforded to him.

"For now, I'm simply doing the job that's available," he said. "Maybe tomorrow I'll get another scholarship to study abroad."

"But if this happens," he added, "I'll never come back – at least not before I've earned enough money to start a business here."

Agadir- Ibtissam, the young Moroccan girl known as "Sina", was arrested in Agadir on Tuesday for prostitution charges and drug possession.

Sina was caught in possession of drugs, according to police sources.

Author of a controversial video clip posted on YouTube, "Sinaa" has recently built a notorious household name.

According to police sources, the security forces broke into one of the furnished apartments in Agadir where Sinaa was immediately arrested.

“Sina” has created a sensation in recent weeks after the publication of a video posted on YouTube, where the girl appears singing in a suggestive way that was considered by many as “indecent.” The video, which went viral on YouTube and had reached more than a million viewers in less than a week, had sparked the wrath of a broad proportion of the Moroccan public opinion.

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Bordeaux - A Video of twin babies taking a bath gets over 3.6 million views in less than a week.

The video, posted on YouTube by French nurse Sonia Rochel, shows twin babies getting a thalassotherapy treatment.

When French nurse Sonia Rochel posted the video of two of her patients taking a bath, she had no idea it would go viral. In less than a week, the video has been watched by more than 3.6 million people.

The 3 minute long video shows twin babies in water, cuddling and eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.

Rochel has been working with babies for over 30 years. After realizing how parents often only give a quick bath to babies in order to wash them, she decided to teach parents how to give their children long, enjoyable baths that can relax babies.

On her blog, Sonia Rochel also lets parents know how to make the most of the experience for young children. For instance, she encourages them to massage the baby after the bath, in order to create a moment.

Furthermore, the massage will improve the baby's sleep, his sleep is deeper and relieve stomach aches. Massage facilitates wakefulness and stimulates the circulatory, immune and nervous system.

When in 2009 Christopher Fabian and Erica Kochi, two employees of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), developed RapidSMS, a platform for data gathering and group communication using the short messaging system (SMS) on mobile phones, their aim was simply to tackle the problem of slow data transmission within the food security surveillance system in Malawi. Four years later, RapidSMS is touching the lives of millions in many African countries, helping to record births and monitor distribution of mosquito nets in Nigeria, monitor neonatal health in Zambia and track food distribution in the Horn of Africa, among other uses.

Mr. Fabian and Ms. Kochi are now global celebrities. U.S.-based Time magazine included them on its list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. “I am proud to be their colleague. This is a great recognition of how the 21st century ideas and tools can transform ordinary people’s lives in an extraordinary way,” says UNICEF’s executive director Anthony Lake.

RapidSMS is a simple tool that helps frontline workers send data through SMS texts to a secure website. Decision-makers—and the public—can monitor such data in real time and determine progress in projects even in remote communities. Where necessary, they can also intervene promptly.

Nigeria, where RapidSMS was deployed in January 2011, registered about 7 million new births by the end of 2012. Birth registrars in 686 local government areas in 33 of its 36 states delivered data through SMS texts to a Internet-based dashboard.  Before 2011, Nigeria could record only half of the country’s 6 million births per year, says UNICEF on its website, adding, “Without a birth certificate, a child is much less likely to get educated, be vaccinated or receive health services.”

RapidSMS’s built-in feedback loop, which provides quick feedback to health workers, for example, on “the nutritional diagnosis of each child based on the data sent in,” makes it an important tool. It helps workers to respond to the needs of each child. Pregnant women in Rwanda and children living with HIV in Zambia consider such quick information about their medical needs a great help.

Not long ago, health workers in Nigeria used to manually record birth information such as weight, upper-arm circumference and height, which they then passed on to their headquarters. There the information was entered manually into a database before it was analyzed. RapidSMS has changed all that, as it provides “access to accurate, timely and actionable information,” says UNICEF.

To reach millions, project managers in the coming years are likely to rely increasingly on mobile phones’ SMS texts. This is because Africa currently has more than 650 million mobile phone users, according to the World Bank. In 1998 the figure was about 2 million. Most public workers have a mobile phone today, notes UNICEF.

Although RapidSMS provides useful real-time information, Merick Schaefer, a World Bank innovation specialist, says that “technology is only one element of innovation. The question is, can institutional practices keep pace?” Mr. Schaefer wants people to adjust the way they work to take advantage of real-time data. An innovation such as RapidSMS, combined with technology-focused practices, can make a huge impact on people’s lives.

Source: Africa Renewal