Rabat - More human interaction! It won’t be a choice, but a necessity; you’ll have to deal with more people than usual, because you’ll be doing everything by yourself!

I remember when I had to go to Charleroi Airport in Belgium and had to take a train, 2 taxis, walk, and run to catch up the last bus going to the airport! What made this process beautifully crazy is the huge number of people I asked for direction: some giving you the right way, others trying to make you get more lost. You will have the opportunity to know different types of people: good ones, bad ones, good and acting as bad, bad and acting as good! Therefore, trust will become just a word in the dictionary (This will make you learn how much trust you should give to every person around you). But still, you will definitely meet amazing people that will always stay in your mind.

Assertiveness. You have to take the initiative if you want to meet and know other people. If you don’t want to end up alone, then you must start conversations with others, just make sure to start it the right way, no "RASTA" (Racist, Aggressive, Stupid, Tense, Annoying) behaviors.

You get to know more about yourself.  You challenge your fears, find out your strengths, and discover the adventurous and courageous power in you. Sometimes you might even be surprised from what you have done, and you will be so proud of yourself! Did I ever imagine that my best friend and I would be kicked out by our host family’s house in Turkey at 1 a.m. for absolutely no valid reason? Of course not! Because I never imagined that somebody would act this way toward its guests visiting a foreign country! It has been 3 years since this happened, I still don’t know the reason behind that behavior. It was a very painful experience, but guess what? I would want to live it again if I have to because it made me much stronger.

You will realize that you are able to speak without using words. Imagine living with a host family that doesn’t speak any language you know, and you don’t speak any language they know...It is something you’ll have to live with! Maybe in the beginning you will be speaking a language that doesn’t exist yet, or just mixing every language you know in one sentence (Zdravo amigo, cava? Labass?). However, it is just a matter of time; language is never a barrier unless you want it to be!

Freedom and Independence. Nobody tells you where to go and what to do. I remember daily eating habit in The Netherlands: making breakfast at 6:45 a.m., having 3 to 4 little snacks during the whole day, then start making a good Indian dish at 11:30 p.m. Sometimes (or most of the time) there will be nobody around you to help. You will realize that even the little things require a lot of efforts. When you want to cook your dinner late at night and find out you have no food left; or when you need to renew the residence permit card, or or or…  These kinds of situations help you become a better decision maker, and build a stronger personality.

Change would be more fun than worrying when you face a new culture, language, or even currency! When I was in Serbia I had to convert the Serbian dinar to Euro, then to Moroccan Dirham before buying anything, or the cheese overdose I got there because most of the food is either with cheese or pork! No other choice. This makes you a more flexible person that adapts easily to changes.

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Rabat - Nowadays, one of the most lethal threats to any country is the loss of its political stability. Dealing with this kind of problem is not an easy task for any government.  It is even harder for citizens to cope with political upheavals because they are the first ones to be highly affected and pay the cost. 

Recently, a group of Moroccan artists launched a video called “Ounadikom,” (I’m calling you), which they dedicate "to all the innocent people in the world." This initiative discusses one of the many issues that has attracted the attention of the world in recent years. There have been many events where bloodshed has become a daily routine that creates instability, poverty and homelessness. A major example of this is the events occurring since the beginning of 2011 in Egypt and Syria.

The video reminds us of our responsibility towards those in need- those people who totally lost faith in humanity due to the daily suffering they undergoing. Our duty is to help them in every way possible to alleviate their pain, because if we don’t, it will definitely affect us as well.

“We want people to become aware of the sufferings in the world, especially aware of what is currently happening in the Arab countries, said Karim Jarram, one of the people who were on the video.

"People should remember that we are all brothers and sisters; we ought to fight together against  violence and inhumanity. We shouldn't forget the pain of the other nations,” he added.

The first contribution we can offer to our country is love. Every individual should be proud of his/her own country without reaching the level of being arrogant. It is quiet unfortunate that, in some countries, the cultural wealth is highly valued by outsiders more than it is by locals, or even undermined.

Every person on earth wants to live peacefully in the society they belong to. However, to help our countries become better places, we should first start by changing ourselves to be better individuals and positively affect our environment.

Tolerance towards the other is one of the main pillars of the national stability of any country. When a person stops trying to change others and works more on changing him/herself, the world and society will witness systematical change.

Sometimes understanding the other is more important than being right. This understanding can be achieved by listening rather than just hearing. We don’t only need a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens. Also, we need to act responsibly; even the smallest things we do are related in a way or another to our countries.

This responsibility expands even further, for people have obligations toward their fellow nationals more than toward foreigners. Living within a group creates a special relationship, attachment and commitment that enforce the necessity to respect special duties and rights toward one another.

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Taroudant - According to BBC, Morocco is the one country in the region prepared to help refugees.

A Moroccan women cooperative “la Fondation Orient-Occident” - Orient-Occident Foundation - offered professional training and an opportunity to earn a decent living to hundreds of refugees from the trouble spots of the Middle East and Africa who end up in Morocco.

After a long trip of hardship and danger, Khadija Saleh, an Iraqi refugee, who fled the sectarian conflict in her country, found peace and work in Morocco.

“When we arrived to Amman with nothing to call our own, we went to the Moroccan embassy. They really helped us, gave us a visa to Morocco and financial support” Khadija Saleh, said in a BBC video posted on Youtube.

Mrs. Saleh is one of many women refuges who were given work at the Rabat-based “Foundation Orient-Occident.”

Under the brand name “Migrants du Mondes”, (Migrants of the world) the women employers are dedicatedly making Moroccan traditional costumes, particularly kaftans, a business that give them enough to live a descent life.

“We have women from Afghanistan, from Iraq, but most of them are migrants from countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, especially from Congo,” Nathalie Freige, director of Orient-Occident Foundation, said in the same video.

The foundation has created a network of shops to sell their products.

Thousands of refugees and migrants from the sub-Saharan countries arrived in Morocco with the aim to crossing the sea to Europe, but many who could not make it to the other side stay illegally in Morocco and try to find work.

Early January, Morocco launched an operation to give residency permits to tens of thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally, after the king expressed concern about their harsh condition of living.

By Lamia Bazir - New York

January 16, 2014 was a Big day for the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), as well as its community and school partners throughout Morocco.

In the course of one day and throughout 8 provinces, around 10,000 trees were planted; thereby launching the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) “1 Billion tree Campaign”. This amazing event has involved local communities including local farmers, teachers and children.

The HAF staff have traveled throughout the country to attend tree plantings but also lessons on sustainable development and other activities involving locals. The High Atlas Foundation, a key actor in Morocco's development, has once again emphasized inclusiveness, and sustainability. Its 1 Billion Tree campaign embraces the participative approach and is founded on respect of local cultures and the environment.

According to Morocco's projections, the planting of 1 billion trees throughout the kingdom will contribute to remedy rural poverty and environmental problems such as deforestation and soil erosion. Thus, the HAF's initiative is harmoniously aligned with Morocco's developmental priorities, plans, and goals.

Boujdour: HAF Site Manager Hana oversaw the planting of 798 trees in Boujdour Province at five sites. Community members and school children planted different varieties, including Lagunaria, Acacia Cyanophylla, and Schinus Molle – species that are well adapted to handle the dry environment in Boujdour.

Essaouira: Director of Programs Lynn and Program Assistant Joke oversaw planting at two schools in Essaouira, attended by the Governor of Essaouira Province, Mr. Abdelouahab El Jabri. 41 olive and carob trees were planted with about 150 school children. See more about the planting at Essaouira here, and check out this video clip.

Mohammedia: At The Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences of Hassan II University in Mohammedia, the tree planting was celebrated with Matthew Lussenhop, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Morocco. Mr. Lussenhop praised the actions of the High Atlas Foundation and the continued cooperation between the US government and the movement towards a Green Morocco.

Rhamna: Office Manager Fatima-Zahra and Program Manager Aicha Galef visited 5 schools in Rhamna Province. After distributing trees to the first two schools, it began to rain, a most promising sign for the health of the trees and the local agriculture. In Rhamna, 390 almond, 1,440 olive, 62 orange, and 730 pomegranate trees were planted.

Taroudannt: Site Manager Fatima oversaw the planting of 383 trees in Taroudannt Province. 6 schools in 2 communes received almond trees to be planted in school yards, and more trees were distributed to students to bring home and plant with family members in their orchards.

Taza: Director of Programs Mouhssine oversaw the planting of 3,949 trees of different varieties in Ain Bashar of the Taza Province. HAF is expanding into additional provinces throughout Morocco, and the millionth tree event gave HAF the opportunity to begin expansion and partnerships in 26 sites throughout Taza Province.

Smara, Morocco - When you get up in the morning, stop for a while and think about your bed as your tomb. Think about being resurrected and being given a second life.

Try to start your new day as if it was a new page in the book of your life. Try to think about what you would like others to read about yourself, your character and your personality.

Try to correct your mistakes, your habits, and the way you treat yourself and other people as long as you still have the opportunity to do so because you may not be given that chance tomorrow.

There are always those who go to bed when you get up and those who get up when you get in your bed to sleep. It is merely a question of time and place.

We take for granted that all humans are the same. We love the same things and the same deeds and we all want to be treated similarly and equally.

They differ just in How to do them, when to do them and where.

As you open your eyes in bed, be sure that future doors are always open for those who know what they want and how to get what they want.

Wanting alone is not enough to achieve our dreams and goals. We must climb the mountains and the hills if we want to reach the summits.

We should fall and get up, laugh and cry, suffer and be patient and strong before we celebrate our personal victories and learn from our personal defeats because our defeats are our maps to the realm of victory.

The best way to change your live is to keep being the person you are and to go on living your life as you want it to be.

 You should stop being dependent on those who are not independent. Do not count on those who cannot achieve their dreams and help you to achieve your dreams. They will merely help you destroy yours.

Your dreams are yours as theirs are theirs. When we take initiative and start the process of change from within, change will reach the others and the world.

Just plant the tree of dreaming and love and never care about who will eat the fruits. You will certainly be among those who will taste the sweetness of the fruit and you will get the reward.

The eggs are full of future chickens. When you break an egg, you are, unconsciously, killing the mother of thousands of eggs and chickens. You are slaughtering unlimited number of roosters and hens.

This is how history is made and this is how victories are achieved. These are some lessons that I have learnt from those who took the road of success before us. I hope these lessons can help us to fulfill our goals and dreams.

Edited by Matthew Osborn

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Casablanca- Dar America, the cultural branch of the US Consulate, held a volunteer orientation on January 23, for anyone interested in helping the Casablanca community.

The orientation introduced the idea of a volunteer program that would carry out different community services, including, but not limited to, a reading club and visiting orphanages, schools, and cultural centers.

Over 30 volunteers eagerly attended the meeting in hopes of coming together to help their common community. The attendees included Moroccans, Americans, Chinese, teachers, students, and business professionals. The overall tone of the meeting was informational- giving details of the projects and the partnerships with various Moroccan volunteer associations.

Although informational meetings can often lead to boredom and an excess of information, the atmosphere of this meeting was energizing. All of the volunteers introduced themselves with the mentality that coming together as a team will create the most benefits. Throughout the meeting a common consensus about what volunteerism truly means was reached- People need people to make them smile…and everyone ultimately wants to know they are noticed and cared about.

There are countless associations, organizations, and individuals involved in volunteering throughout the world that have lost sight of the reasoning behind volunteer work. The core of volunteering is to show acknowledgment to others and to create relationships that help a community thrive. This core value should never be lost, despite other factors.

It was encouraging to be in a roomful of passionate individuals from all different backgrounds that were able to unite over one common goal- helping others. An attendee of the meeting stated, “It was refreshing to share a space with people who know how important it is to help the community they are a part of.” With seemingly limited options for volunteer opportunities in Casablanca, this program is opening new doors for those with a passion to help their community.

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Ifran - Sometimes, we receive a friend request on Facebook from a person we do not know. We accept or refuse it based on the profile picture, on our relationship status, or simply on our mood.

No matter what you think, one day you will find yourself chatting with someone you do not really know: someone you are not even sure even exists, someone who ticks you off poking you all the time, someone you poke all the time, just, someone.

You will not only find yourself chatting with this anonymous person, but also laughing with them, telling them stories, or talking to them about whatever crosses your mind. But if by any chance you meet “anonymous” somewhere in real life, you will act like you don’t know each other because

            1- You remember all the nasty words you wrote to “anonymous”

            OR

            2- You just found out that “anonymous” is ugly.

For me, social networks are a way to explore the world, as long as you also explore real life. There is no harm in getting to know other people through social networks, unless it is your only interaction with other people. There is no problem in having a virtual life in addition to your real life, for it is almost the same if you talk face-to-face with someone at 9am and virtually to someone else at 9pm.

More than that, social networking offers you two extra bonuses:

            1- There is no way of getting an STD in a virtual relationship.

             2- You can easily stop talking to someone who is annoying you.

             In other words, you are in control of the whole situation.

However, virtual relationships can ruin your life. There is always a risk that “anonymous” clicked on the “add” button only to spy on you. It can be your parents who created a fake profile, and, oh, wait. Did they discover pictures you never expected them to see? Hum, Kevin, why are you wearing your sister’s bra?

It could also be your boyfriend or girlfriend impersonating an irresistibly sexy lady or a charming, well-to-do lad, and then they ask, “Are you really single, Kevin?” Hum, alright Kevin, by now, you are indeed single, bye.

Today, people are getting more comfortable in expressing themselves in front of a screen rather than in real life. Why is that? It might be because we don’t have to think twice when typing. Today, we all use those fancy words on Facebook: those useless synonyms we look up on Google to impress “anonymous.” This person seems to be an intellectual, but in reality, both of us excel in the synonym “googling” game.

Everyone is brave when it comes to the Internet. Once on Facebook, I insulted a big tall guy who stole my girlfriend. I took my revenge. Oh, I felt like Hulk flexing his muscles. I felt so brave. But on the Internet, you only upload pictures where you look good. You upload what you think will please “anonymous.” In other words, you will be made in China (fake).

Can’t it be the same in real life? Many extremist groups were inspired from the virtual world. They lived their lives far away from any regular human contact. They spent all day, every day on a chair, in front of a screen. What shall we expect from such conduct? A William Shakespeare version 2? Surely not.

Virtual relationships are like smoking cigarettes: you smoke it the first time, you like it. You smoke it a second time, then try weed. You get to liking weed, and then, when you always want to fly high…. BOOM. Game over.

Well, enjoy your virtual life, but watch out! I could be “anonymous,” and you may want to be my secret love. I blame it on you.

Edited by Katrina Bushko 

Casablanca - After Raja’s unprecedented accomplishments in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup hosted in Morocco, Salaheddine Bassir, a former member of Raja’s executive bureau and a former international player, asked the king for a gift.

The outrage that Bassir’s act stirred in Morocco has now been magnified after he has reportedly received his royal gift.

Salahdeddine Bassir has recently received the gift he had asked the king for during the royal reception that the king had offered the Green Club for their accomplishments in FCWC 2013.

In an interview with news website Hespress on January 11th, Bassir admitted that he had asked the king for a plot of land after the Eagles’ outstanding performance in FCWC 2013.

Bassir also said that he was shocked to learn that Raja’s president Mohammed Boudrika had frozen his membership in the club’s executive office without his knowledge. “I didn’t think it would cause any harm to the club’s interest or that it would jeopardize my position inside the green castle,” Bassir told Hesspress.

However, Boudrika’s sacking of Salaheddine Bassir was only one among the miscellaneous reactions that his act has received. More significant was the indignation that Bassir’s request from the king has stirred among Moroccans. Bassir has been described by many Moroccans as “greedy and acquisitive.”

Now that Bassir has allegedly received the plot of land he had asked the king for, many Moroccans’ feelings of admiration and respect for the former international Moroccan player seem to have been replaced by feelings of disdain and scorn:

“I already did not like him before,” and now he has given me another reason to disdain him even more,” Enas Malik, a Moroccan university student and soccer fan tells MWN.

“This is an abuse of people's emotions,” Ismail Chaki, a fervid Raja fan shares his opinion with MWN.

“Just because one had had a couple of accomplishments in the past, he cannot be treated more generously than others.”

“That land is the peoples’ land, and Bassir is no longer a hero,” Ismail adds.

Smara, Morocco - We have repeatedly heard that life is a battle of being or having. It is an existential war that we can either win or lose. We are all soldiers fighting for different causes in different fields.

Our whole history is a story of fighting: winning or losing or waiting for one of those options. It is the process of defeat that follows victory and victory that follows defeat. Of course, we do not always control the results, but we do our best to change the direction of these battles. We can choose to win or lose, to resist or surrender, to kill or be killed.

Our African ancestors warned us about going into a jungle without weapons. They said that only a crazy man could face a tiger with empty hands. They taught us that we should always prepare ourselves for the beasts that might hunt us as we hunt them.

The road of life, like the jungle, is full of wild animals and dangerous insects that might attack the travelers and hunters if they do not pay attention. Thus, it is only when we get out of the forest that we can feel safe. We should stay alert till the end of our journey; real fighters wait for the end of the war to celebrate their victories.

A true fighter strengthens himself continuously and regularly. He seizes a peaceful opportunity to sharpen his sword, to fix his arrows, to prepare his guns, to train his body and mind. He often celebrates his victories and learns from his defeats. He takes time to reflect on his personal mistakes and on the victories of his enemies. He always revises his strategies. In his moments of peace, the fighter thinks about the coming battle and learns from his previous defeats. This is because his essence and existence are questions of, "to be or not to be."

The true warrior believes in the ability of his sword to achieve the impossible. He wins all his future battles in his mind and heart before he wins them on the battlefield. He respects his enemies and studies their tactics. He watches how they learn, what they do, and what they avoid. He listens to their speeches, takes seriously their threats, and tries to understand what they say and what they hide.

A true fighter is like the cat when he confronts the dog. The cat knows that he is smaller and weaker, but he believes in his power. So he collects his energy, stands in front of the dog, and meows. His motto is, "Just meow, God will fight."

Edited by Katrina Bushko

Chefchaouen- When TV channels demolish the bridge that links our present to our past, can they be called national?  When we lose sight of our tradition, will we remain Moroccans?

I still remember those unforgettably precious moments with my grandmother. I was a child, and her stories were a great source of amusement and delight—a  world of fantasy and imagination where even the animals and plants were kings and lovers. I often dozed off during the conflict of these stories, but the protagonists usually traveled with me to my childish dreams. Putting the hero in complex situations where his or her cleverness gets them off the hook (in a manner which I least expected) was the prominent technique of her narratives. Now that I am acquainted with the art of fiction to some extent, I can perceive how proficient my grandmother was in plotting stories, even though she had never attended school.  It is an art that has deeply rooted origins in our culture, a tradition that tends to bridge the gap not only between the young generations and the old, but also between the present and the past.

This tradition, unfortunately, has been lost inside our Moroccan houses. With the overwhelming presence of Mexican, Indian, and Turkish soap operas translated into our mother tongue on our national TVs, our grandmothers ceased their tales and succumbed to the nearest seats in front of that box of wonders. This is not to say that they should not watch television. On the contrary, what I want to say is that national TV channels should respect our elder generation, their personality, their expectations, and above all, the traditions they stand for—especially if they want to be called national.  Since after all, those like my grandmother are the only audience that these channels could keep.

I might appear very conservative and traditional so far, but this is justified when one takes into consideration the shocking number of foreign soap operas contrasted with the rarity of Moroccan ones. It is a worldwide custom that any given nation should have television stations that are owned, controlled, or strictly regulated by its respective government, which uses them to promote a national cultural agenda. But Morocco, in this regard, is another exception. Instead of urging the national soap opera production industry to develop, to reflect the people’s concerns, and more importantly to preserve and publicize those great social and cultural markings for which Moroccans are well known, those who manage the public TV channels remain indifferent. They only care about making money as easy as possible, even at the expense of jeopardizing Moroccans’ identity.  Here, one might question these people’s patriotism.

Oftentimes, one’s public TV channels play an important role in the enrichment of national culture. Thus, the performance of those who are in charge of the Moroccan public TVs is shameful, since one can only distinguish our TV channels from Turkish ones when it’s time for news programs. How can we give a voice to our culture, then, since there is a clear and unjustifiable absence of Moroccan soap operas? One might easily presume indifference to the Moroccan cultural and historical body, and in time, a visual frame’s effect can be more devastating than that of a chemical weapon.

So it’s no wonder that national TV channels have lost almost the entire young Moroccan generations. The absence of programs that might attract juvenile Moroccans who roam in the maze of the new media is another dilemma that I will address somewhere else. But I believe that there must be a strategic approach to preserve and protect the Moroccan body from cultural imperialism—the signs of which become crystal clear in Moroccan society.

I would like to sum up with a very important statement by Bernard Shaw, “If you can’t justify your existence, if you’re not pulling your weight, and since you won't, if you’re not producing as much as you consume or perhaps a little more, then, clearly, we cannot use the organizations of our society for the purpose of keeping you alive, because your life does not benefit us and it can’t be of very much use to yourself.” The same can be said to my fellow Moroccans. In a world characterized by the survival of the fittest, if we continue to consume other cultures’ products more than we produce for ourselves, we will not be able to justify ourselves as Moroccan.

Edited by Katrina Bushko

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

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

Taroudant, Morocco - A visit to a nearby cafe equipped with Wi-Fi, which most Moroccan cafes now offer, is just enough to stop on the huge change in people's social behavior and the transfiguring of what used to be called "social public places."

The cafes have become still and quiet. With earphones on, everyone is sitting alone with their laptops or tablets, and no features of social life can be spotted. All this change left me perplexed with the nagging question, what happened to our socialization and sense of humor?

In the past, you would find people sitting in groups over a table discussing the daily updates in a jubilant and friendly manner. This group was talking about politics, that group about the problems they encountered in their work, and still others were engaged in a very intimate talk about the secrets of their marriage lives. In all ways, cafes were a great place to socialize and make the best of one's free time with friends and colleagues.

This morning, I passed through a bookshop, got the morning paper, and headed to the cafe. I found some of my friends, with whom I frequently socialize and share interpersonal bond. We exchanged the conventional greetings and warmly shook hands. These social etiquettes took no more than five minutes, and afterwards, everyone turned again his face the screen of his laptop. One would think that they were working for the busiest company in the world, but in fact, they were just jabbering with virtual friends. I think there is something wrong with our new perception of friendship. It should not be understood that I am standing against digital friends; however, I strongly believe that we should not delude ourselves that digital relationships on Facebook and Twitter are a substitute for real ones.

Unfortunately, this decline in socialization is finding its way into our homes. A father locks himself in his home office, opening a window to the virtual world; a mother is lost in the cooking forums and "For Her" discussion platforms; and children are either trying to break new records on famous games installed on their tablets and smart phones, or playing with other virtual friends that can be anyone, but not necessarily their peers or classmates. The family then meets only during meal times, and, occasionally, when the Internet goes down.

The other day, I read a funny joke. "When the Internet went down, I joined my family, and, honestly, I realized that they are really nice people," an Internet addict said to his friend. This joke is a piece of wisdom that struck the right note.

The social media network is bliss when it is used wisely and with moderation. Yet when the digital world takes over our life, leaving us with no free time for real friends and relatives, it becomes a problem. Most of us demonstrate this obsession through different degrees to the virtual world, and our naïve fondness for virtual "friendship" has corrupted the way we communicate. When we substitute our real friends for virtual ones, it is a sign that something really wrong is going on.

I would love to see people meeting over a teapot, sharing jokes and smiles. I would love to see relatives visiting one another without a prearranged meeting and sitting around an authentic Moroccan dish with humor and love. I would love to see colleagues at work socializing during break times, exchanging conventional phrases of motivation and encouragement. Yes, I mostly would love to see children in the street playing cheerfully together without parental control.

So please, excuse my rudeness, if I say when you finish reading this piece, close that device and give some time to those who need your love, your smile, and your time.

Edited by Katrina Bushko

Rabat - Muhammad Alem is a 19-year-old Palestinian and Israeli citizen. Morocco World News asked him a few questions in order to better understand his life as a Palestinian living in Israel.   

MWN: Muhammad, you are a young Palestinian living in Israel, tell us more about your family. 

Muhammad Alem: All my family lives in Israel and my nationality is Israeli. I hold a blue identity card. I was born in Lod but I spent my childhood in Jaffa, a city in the center of Israel and in Tira, a city that is part of the Triangle, a concentration of Israeli-Arab towns and villages adjacent to the Green Line. Now I'm back to where I was born.

My family name is Alem; it’s my great  grandfather’s nickname. He was a religious Islamic scholar. As I am an Arab-Muslim living in the Middle East, the inheritance system is patrilineal. My [paternal] grandmother, Suaad Thoma Alem is a Christian citizen of Nazareth. She had two sisters but one of them died and the second became a Canadian-Jew’s wife. My mother's side is less complicated. Her mother is from Tira and her father is half Egyptian and half Palestinian.

MWN: What are you studying in Israel?

At my university, for example, many other Arab students and I definitely have a different mind to deal with. Although there are a few dialogue groups calling for coexistence, such cultural units aren't wide spread in the Israeli-Jewish collective voice.

Personally, I have had the chance to start my first semester at the university with a racist sign in front of my face calling for Jews to stand against the "shameful" phenomenon of Arab-Jewish unions. Moreover, in the Parliament, which is named "the house of Knesset." The Arab representative are being somehow the bridge between both radical sides with the Jewish political community. Furthermore, these Arab representatives are limited in their political activities. Some of them even get splashed in the face whenever they dare to speak out on specific matters like racism and when they utter a sentence starting with "as a Palestinian…".

Muhammad Alem: Yes, I do. I have a few Jewish friends from work and university. Most of them give me the pleasure of having tolerant, open-minded and objective people as friends. We spend our time talking about history and discussing Canaan, stuff that a typical Israeli-Jews would not be doing.

MWN: Have you ever been to Gaza or the West Bank?

Muhammad Alem: No I haven't. But I've visited the east side of Jerusalem to help rebuild vacant houses that families left because of the homes’ close location to a military base. I haven't been to Gaza because of my age and because of security problems. It's not easy to receive special permission to go through the barriers.

MWN: How do you see the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? 

Muhammad Alem: The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is very complicated. It combines a lot more than political matters and it's mainly a battle of memory against history, between both societies. The Israeli-Arabs are a minority in Israel and are paranoid by the Israeli-Jewish cultural hegemony. Israeli-Arabs not only have to adapt, but they also have to fit in and be a part of the collective community.

MWN: Do you have dreams? 

Muhammad Alem: I hope that someday there will at least be a real democratic country, free of radical political and religious ideologies. I wish that more Arabs will become aware of great people such as Tawfiq Canaan and Edward Saaid.

MWN: Are you happy in Israel?

Muhammad Alem: Happy? Not really. It is hard to be completely happy in a country that does not mention all its ethnic components, including Israeli-Arabs, in its national anthem, Hatikva, and that celebrates the pleasure of forming a Jewish and then democratic country upon another, allegedly after two thousand years of loss and loneliness away from the one and only Promised Land.

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By Abdelatif Ait Aazzi - Casablanca

Code switching is both a linguistic phenomenon and a common behavior that occurs in bilingual speech. Code switching is an everyday reality in every place where more than one language is spoken in everyday communication. Myers-Scotton (157) describes this contact phenomenon as “the use of two or more languages in the same conversation without a noticeable phonological assimilation from one variety to the other.”

One other definition is provided by Grosjeean (137) who considers code switching as “a complete shift from one language to another, either for a word, a phrase or a whole sentence.” Code switching is often associated with bilingual speech in which speakers switch forth and back using two languages or more unconsciously. This contact phenomenon is a natural product and a hallmark of bilingualism and bilingual education where students consistently receive information in two languages.

For a long time, code switching has been considered as a display of deficient language knowledge. Rather, its users express a range of meaning. Poplack (224) sees eye-to-eye with the previous linguists and defines code switching as “the alternation of two languages within a single discourse, sentence or constituent. Code switching has been carried out from two perspectives, a linguistic perspective and a social perspective.”

The linguistic perspective deals with a sentence, the attempt being to identify the linguistic principles and constraints that govern the production of code switched utterances (Winford 126). The social approach is concerned with the role of society in the occurrence of code switching. Code switching is among the outcomes of a situation in which two languages or more are used in a given community.

Functions of and reasons for code switching

The reasons that we code switch in social life is for a  referential reason, using code switching as a tool to exclude people from conversation and thus showing the linguistic skills of a person. In many situations, code switching is seen as the best way to facilitate communication and to overcome the lack of some lexical items or expressions in a language.

Properly utilizing code switching gives the speaker the chance to compensate for a linguistic deficiency and guarantees the continuity of the conversation. For example some topics are usually discussed in a particular language, and thus, their introduction may provoke a switch (Ennaji 142). This is the case when two Moroccan engineers switch from Moroccan Arabic to French in order to discuss a technical topic.

The second function of code switching is the directive function. The reason behind using the directive function is to exclude people from conversation. Here is an example from my own experience concerning the directive function. It happened to me one day when I was talking to a friend of mine in Moroccan Arabic about some personal issues. Then, another man came to us to join us in our conversation and we did not want him to know what we were dicussing, so we automatically switched to English, in order to exclude him from our conversation.

Additionally, code switching is used to display one’s linguistic skills. This reason, in my opinion, is the most common in Moroccan society. In my experience, people tend to switch using languages in order to impress others and show their mastery of languages.

I sometimes participate in a conversation with my friends at the university. During these conversations, I am often able to generate some examples of code switching that are commonly used. On one occasion, we were all talking about a holiday and we started exchanging greetings and one girl said, "…Aid mobrek said….3lik o la famille bssa7a."

We carried on our discussion hoping that my other friends would code switch in order to feed my curiosity and provide proof for my hypothesis. Then another friend said, "Tay3jabni l3id…. Surtout l’ambiance."Another statement that further proved the important and frequence of code switching was when another girl said: "Mais l’ambiance dial l3id a changé."

Code switching is the outcome of the multilingual composition of Morocco. It should not be seen as an unusual phenomenon, instead, it a natural product and a hallmark of multiculturalism and bilingualism.

Code switching has become an intrinsic part of our Moroccan identity. This fact motivated me to conduct a questionnaire to elicit the reasons behind the use of code switching. I conducted a survey with my classmates from the English department at Ben Msik University. I decided to center my research on attitudes toward code switching in social life. After explaining the concept of code switching, I asked the question, “do you code switch or not?” The results are as follows:

The percentage of using code switching among English students from Ben Msik University (2012)

As we can see in the figure, the majority of students tend to use code switching in their daily life. My classmates also gave me some reasons behind code switching which are included in the figure below.

By by Abderrahim Boualy - Casablanca

The U.S. Department of State will hold the MEPI Student Leaders Alumni Professional Development Conference for the alumni of the 2013 program in Morocco. 

The conference will take place in Casablanca, Morocco from February 21-25, 2014.

The MEPI program stands for Middle East Partnership Initiative. Student leaders from the Middle East and North Africa will attend the conference to increase professional skills and enrich leadership development in addition to exploring issues, challenges and strategies related to community projects and civil society with experts from a wide variety fields.

Most importantly, the conference will be a great forum of exchanging, discussing, and exploring new ideas with future leaders.

Future leaders will meet to discuss their service projects together with professionals. It will be chance for them to showcase their projects during a poster gallery session.

Every year the US department of state organizes the reunion meeting for MEPI alumni’s in different countries. This year, Morocco will be the destination for the most active 2013 alumni to showcase their ideas and put their plans into action.

MEPI offers assistance, training, and support to groups and individuals striving to create positive change in their societies. Every year since 2002, MEPI program train students from Middle East and North Africa and offers grants for their projects.

February 21st will be the date when Middle East and North Africa future leaders are going to meet once again to share, discuss and talk about their leadership experiences after MEPI program. The development conference will be a chance for MEPI 2013 alumni to develop their thought, projects and leadership skills.

Ashraf Bin Saeed Aden, 21 years old from Yemen, said, “MEPI program changed my vision about different aspects of life. I’m glad that I’m applying what I have learned from various classes, seminars and site visits to organizations in the US”, Ashraf added.

Ashraf showed his excitement about the Casablanca MEPI reunion meeting saying, “I will meet with my second family and, as always, I’m expecting the best when we have the chance to be under the supervision of great coordinators and the US Department of State.”

Subsequently, MEPI alumni have entered the implementation phase of their service projects. Thus, the conference will try to make plans into the reality. The conference is a tool to inspire and motivate future leaders how to positively contribute in their communities by taking actions.

From the first week after MEPI adventure, future leaders started to count the days left to the reunion conference. In fact, they have been waiting for six months to meet each other again.

Mutasem halawani, 22 years old from East Jerusalem also Georgetown university 2013 MEPI alumni said, “I learned that I have an impact on my society, and I can do a lot for it. I’m sure it would be breath having a reunion meeting with my old friends.”

Karim Gabrial from Syria expressed that MEPI program was an opportunity to have a wider sense of responsibility and take significant roles in our community. “It was one of the most wonderful experiences in my life, knowing people from all over the Arab world were an honor for me,” Karim said.

Belkhatir Djamila from Remchi, Tlemcen, Algeria, 21 years old said, “I gained a lot from the MEPI program including confidence, communication skills and higher abilities for tolerance.

The experience was very overwhelming to the extent that at the end of it, I felt like a new person, changed for the good. It was truly unforgettable. My expectation would be to have as much skills as possible about how to manage a big community project and how to organize myself to do so.”

Edited by Allison Kreamer

Rabat - In his essay “How to Write about Africa,” Binyavanga Wainaina argues that those who write the history of Africa are seldom African. Wainaina not only satirizes the manner in which the West tells the story of Africa, but also the way in which the West perceives the continent and manipulates stories to fit neatly into a conventional narrative.

With the exposure of each stereotype, Wainaina implores Africans to reclaim their past and subsequently their future. Artists like Emmanuel Jal and K’naan answer Wainaina’s call by complicating the Western-dominated narrative of African history by telling their own stories as well as the history of their continent through popular media. The use of popular media in storytelling provides African artists the opportunity to obtain agency in their method of expression, to express the diversity of African history and personal experience, and to disseminate their narratives to a broad international audience.

Sudanese artist, Emmanuel Jal, and Somali rapper, K’naan, obtain agency in their methods of expression by rooting their oral histories in different forms of delivery and by employing dissimilar manners of lyricism. Emmanuel Jal’s song “Emma,” uses a linear form of storytelling infused with poignant imagery. Jal invites listeners into his story by sharing the history of his relationship with an aid worker, Emma McCune, who rescued him from life in a Sudan People’s Liberation Army camp in Sudan. Jal fantasizes about what his life would be like without Emma, concluding, “You would have seen my face on the tele/pot, hungry belly/…another starving refugee.”

Though K’naan often employs a linear story line in order to organize his music and tell his personal story, in his song “Until the Lion Learns to Speak,” K’naan declares that he receives his manner of storytelling from “the tradition of the old poets, the nation of poets.” Drums throb in the background; each of K’naan’s words align with the birth of a beat, with the reclamation and redefinition of an African’s history. This is not uniquely Somali, Canadian, or American. It is inspired by the poets and artists who shared their stories before K’naan had the opportunity to share his own.

The stylistic differences in the dissemination of history through popular media demonstrate the diversity of the African experience. Wainaina indicates that the mainstream Western narrative of African history often “treat[s] Africa as if it were one country” as it is a continent full of “people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book” (Wainaina, 2005). Jal and K’naan invalidate the mainstream narrative by offering different interpretations of being raised in an atmosphere of war. In his song, “Forced to Sin,” Emmanuel Jal focuses on the difficult decisions he had to make in order to survive as a child of war. Jal describes the temptation to eat the body of one of his dead friends, but he pleads, “Never give up/never give in.”

Alternatively, K’naan amalgamates the memories of his childhood in warring Somalia with those of Somalis still stuck, Somalis who remain static. Jal’s optimistic tone is absent from K’naan’s song “Soobax,” replaced instead with anger and apathy. “We just don’t give a [f] no more,” exclaims K’naan as his lyrics indicate Somalis have lost agency and the right to make choices; “I gotta be a refugee, damn soobax (come on/let’s go).”

By reclaiming the narration of stories, determining the manner and mode of popular delivery, and highlighting the diversity of history within Africa, Emmanuel Jal and K’naan are able to share their personal versions of history with a broad international audience. These stories are sincere, transparent, and constructive. Jal stumbled into international fame when his first hit, a gospel song entitled “Praise the Lord,” hit number one on the Stomp charts in Nairobi. In the epilogue to his memoir, Jal expresses disbelief that “people a world away from mine started listening.”

Similarly, K’naan’s World Cup anthem, “Wavin’ Flag,” has over twenty million views on YouTube. The potential for international acclaim allows Jal and K’naan to “tell [their] stor[ies], to touch lives” (Jal, “Warchild”), in Sudan, Somalia, across Africa, and worldwide. Recognition through popular media gives African artists the opportunity to share their experiences with socioeconomically and culturally diverse audiences; popular mediums also have the potential to teach each person a different lesson, a different piece of African history. It is for these reasons that Emmanuel Jal and K’naan answer Wainaina’s call to narrate Africa responsibly, and to narrate the history of Africa like an African would, absent the stereotypes, judgments, and agendas of the Western-produced narrative.

Abdelatif Ait Aazzi

Casablanca - Bouzabal, the Moroccan animated comic series, has, surprisingly, enjoyed incredible success in Morocco.

The short episodes have succeeded in attracting millions of YouTube and Facebook followers due to a young man’s ability to reflect and comment on aspects of Moroccan daily life and youth culture.

The animated character, Bouzabal, addresses otherwise unaddressed social issues that are deeply rooted in Moroccan society by using street languages often employed by young people. Bouzabal criticizes reality in a comic and a sarcastic style and never takes the issues too seriously. The character is a young man with a “low profile” who doesn’t agree with Moroccan societal norms. One of the most recurring themes of Bouzabal’s commentary is his conflict with high class young men so- called “kelinimi” who regard lower class people, such as Bouzabal himself, with disgust.

Mohammed Nasib, the creator of Bouzabal, claims that his animated series aims to reflect the hidden side of some youth culture in Morocco. He argues that those who disapprove of Moroccan societal norms generally live in isolation and have been left out of the communal narrative.

Bouzabal exposes the widening gap between rich and poor as well as the disparities in the distribution of wealth and income in Morocco. While many viewers think of Bouzabal as a vicious, vulgar, impolite, and illiterate character that has been extracted from national patriotism, Mohammed Nasib disagrees and asserts that Bouzabal is not a series that makes positive change seem pessimistic. Nasib does not believe that Morocco is a maze of failure or pit of losers; rather Nasib argues that Morocco is a country of equality that embraces creative minds.

While it is undoubtedly true that Bouzabal speaks the often ignored truth about young people who are not satisfied with their situation, he is also not a harmless character. Young children often perceive Bouzbal as a role model, imitating his vulgar way of speaking, his way of dressing in sports clothing, his method of harassing girls, and his method of taking the bus without paying.

Though Nasib does not encourage people to imitate these outrageous behaviors, young children seem to fully incarnate this character by idealizing vandalism, harassing girls and generally repeating the actions of Bouzabal. Many young men perceive that by doing something normally forbidden,  they are able to prove their manhood and existence.

The Bouzabal series is meant to raise young people’s awareness and shed light on some of the problems in the Moroccan society using a sarcastic tone. Nonetheless, this phenomenon seems to have negatively affected some young people who have chosen Bouzabal as a role model. This character has been created in a way that encourages this people to follow suit, not only in his actions, but also in the way he perceives and exposes social injustice.

Unfortunately, the mindful intentions of this comical series was not able to prevent youth behavior from becoming increasingly vulgar. Should we only blame these young people for the wrong understanding of the essence of the character or has the creator of the series failed to shape adequate constraints for the character?

Rabat - It was not just a saying when they claimed, “March is the month of women.” Moroccan women seem to take this month seriously, making it a women’s month par excellence.

A few days after honoring Princess Lalla Salma as the most inspiring woman for Arabs, along with a number of significant women in different fields, Moroccan media proudly circulated the news of the selection of Mayor Fatima-Zahra Mansouri of Marrakech to join the 2014 Young Global Leaders Forum.

The forum, an initiative by World Economic Forum, will host around 214 candidates under the age of 40 from 66 countries, among which 109 are women. Seven regions will be represented by significant leaders, 18 of which were selected from the MENA region, including two from Morocco: the mayor of Marrakech Fatima-Zahra Mansouri and the reporter Souad Mekhennet.

Fatima Zahra Mansouri is a young Moroccan politician and lawyer. An active member of the Authenticity and Modernity party, she was elected Mayor of Marrakech in 2009 after she won her seat at the City Council. Her campaign was extraordinary in the sense that she opted for a participatory approach and held weekly meetings with citizens, enabling her to better understand their needs.

As the first young female Moroccan mayor, at age 33, she is an impressive example of Morocco’s determination to bring about change and guarantee equal opportunities for women in the political arena.

As a woman in charge of a touristic imperial city like Marrakech, where projects often go rampant, she has taken a stern stance, once halting the spread of golf fields due to the city’s water problems. This decision stirred scathing criticism but she was very determined to serve her city’s best interests.

Thanks to her well- planned policies, the city “inherited a $90 million budget deficit in 2009, now has a surplus of about $130 million. Many credit the turnaround to the mayor’s crackdown on graft,” TimeWorld reported on its website.

From a woman succeeding a corrupt mayor, Marrakechi people had little to expect. However, after her assertive attitude towards corruption, people seemed to be pleased with the situation. “We didn’t expect much of her, but we have definitely seen a big drop in corruption,” says Abdelrahim Jeddi, a local lawyer for the Moroccan Association of Human Rights. Additionally, Hamid Bentahar, chairman of the Marrakech Tourism Council said that, “To have a young woman who is mayor has been very attractive for tourism” (TimeWorld).

A young leader like Fatima-Zahra Mansouri never hesitated to show her jovial side, celebrating life through art. During the 5th Marrakech biennale 2014, she was featured dancing with other artists. An official in her position publicly showing the expressive and fun side of her personality is not very common in a conservative country like Morocco.

Though she might be lucky to share kinship with the King’s friend, she manifested the will of an ordinary person who understands the people’s needs. Moroccans can, without hesitation, appreciate the efforts that Mansouri has been making to prove that she earned her status in the Moroccan society.

Edited by Melissa Smyth

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

Fez - The Alif Riad, Batha in Fez hosted a musical concert on Saturday, co-organized by the Student Ambassadors for Peace Club and the American Language Center, where laughs and peace reigned in a joyful atmosphere.

The Riad, an old refurbished house, located at the heart of the Medina in the Batha Neighborhood, was packed with music lovers and ‘young ambassadors for peace’ of all ages. Moroccans and Americans rocked the house with chants and applause to show their love for the musical performances and support for this initiative to help Syrian families suffering from destitution and trauma.

Through smiles, handshakes, and hugs, simple gestures of appreciation, the concert took the audience into a different realm, a dimension of peace and serenity, away from stress and hectic routines. It was a refuge for residents to leave their daily problems and embrace a spirit of solidarity.

In her speech to thank the attendees of the event, Miss Rania Mjahed, the president of Student Ambassadors for Peace, highlighted the importance of volunteer work as a key element to rekindle the spirit of cohabitation in the city and strengthen the bonds among its residents.

The concert succeeded in gathering a large number of high school and university students who are relatively neglected in Fez due to the lack of youth activities designed to capture their curiosity, enrich their experiences, and offer them opportunities to grow, thrive, and discover the world. "We have decided to help them [the Syrians] through this musical concert rather than organizing a different charity event because music appeals to Moroccan youth," said Miss Mjahed.

Many people blame Moroccan youth for their lack of enthusiasm and readiness to participate in volunteer initiatives. "Nowadays, young Moroccans are more involved in social media, Facebook and YouTube, than in the real world. This is a threat to our future. They have to socialize and interact with reality and try to change this new unhealthy habit," a teenager told me.

However, small initiatives like musical concerts can change this lack of involvement and provide hope that teens are also ready to add value to their society. Miss Raniya Mjahed said that "To make the youth involved in civic initiatives and charity campaigns, we thought of initiating this cultural event to raise awareness and revive the concepts of volunteerism, philanthropy, sharing and caring for those who are vulnerable and collect a sum of money for some Syrian families in Fez."

The Student Ambassadors for Peace Club expressed their willingness to expand their activities and reach out to other immigrants, including the sub-Saharan immigrants who currently reside in Fez. "Why do we help Syrians in particular and not others like the sub-Saharan immigrants, because the latter come to Morocco by choice. They come here to either study, look for a better opportunity, do business or to cross to Europe. Whereas Syrians are forced to leave their country, we know a lot of Syrian refugees who were rich, but due to the Syrian civil war, they had to leave everything  behind to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones," they said.

Because soft skills and social entrepreneurship are widely lacking among students in the city, the club showed their determination to embark into new areas of civic activism. "In the next three months we will be organizing workshops in media awareness, music concerts and cultural lectures to give our youth an opportunity to learn and interact with others, showcase their talents and be involved in matters that concern us," The Student Ambassadors for Peace Club said.