Happy Days

at the beach in Tan Tan Morocco.

Home again

Hello everyone.  I am home in KW now and it is very cold.  There is also a lot of snow.  I need to motivate myself to bundle up, shovel the driveway, start the car, and go out for groceries!!!! It may happen tomorrow.

For now, I am just assimilating all that I experienced since December 10th and enjoying each amazing memory.

The Last Night in Oz

It is 11 p.m. here.  Tonight I was at Houssaine's private school and taught his class.   I hope I did an OK job.

After school (9p.m.) we went back to his house and we all said our goodbyes.  I was in tears.  This family has really been a family to me. 

They presented me with gifts.  One that I will tell you about is a ring.  It is a silver Berber ring with a design on it.  The design means "one without borders" and that surely is me.I   will wear this ring always and it will always be, not only a reminder of my Berber family, but about who I am - a woman without borders - a woman who does not distinguish people by country, colour,  religion, or language.

Thank you for knowing who I really am.

Without whom this trip would not have been possible

Thank You  Thank you  Thank you

Houssaine and the entire Baali family for being such warm, welcoming, gracious hosts.

Nihat, Kam, and Tony  for looking after things at home and everything else that needed doing. 

Also, a thank you to Shirley and Aysel, neighbours,  who were ever so vigilant.

And, thank you my friends for sharing with me, both by email and commenting on the blog.

Winding down

It's Friday evening here and I have been staying pretty close to home this week.  I guess I am tripped out for now.  It is amazing to think back at all I have seen and experienced from the seashore to the mountains and the dunes of the desert.  From the north to the extreme east and south.   

There is complete peace and calm here and no Moroccans that I know have even heard about the media reports or expect any serious stuff in Morocco.  

I am going to be busy  for the next three days.  Tomorrow I am spending time with the family.   A friend from Hong Kong and his wife will be staying in Ouarzazate on Sunday night, while on tour here, and we will meet up.  On Monday, I will be going to Houssaine's private language academy to spend time in the classes.  I also need to do some last minute shopping.  Of course there is also the task of laundry (by hand) and trying to get everything into the suitcases.

I expect to go to Casa (a long trip) on Tuesday and spend two nights there before our early morning flight on Thursday which means that today is truly my last day of complete relaxation.

But, guess what?  My mind has been wandering to far off places today and I am wondering which one will be my next adventure!!!!  Right now it is cold and so am I which makes me tend to favour a really hot tropical climate for next time.

Hmmmmmm!!!!

Safe

I feel completely safe here in my home.  But, when I check the news I don't know how long that will  last.  I only hope  that Morocco will be saved  from such   devastion.

I just received a message from a friend in Cairo......

Gail,
...Things here are surreal. I live overlooking the Torah prison with 10,000 inmates. Some prisoners overpowered the guards and took their weapons but they could not get out of the prison. Paratroopers with heavy calibre fire power were sent to support the guards and a pitched battle raged for several days. Abour 30 cons escaped. Four were caught at the vigilante barriers just below my apartment.
Tanks and armoured personnel carriers are on the steets. Looting and fire fights are commonplace. People are panic buying food. Banks are closed and ATMs are out of cash or vandalised so people are running out of money. We are breaking curfew to socialise and not let this thing get to us. So, two evenings this week I was playing music with friends and on a third, we played cards and drank a few glasses of wine.
I believe that we will have a lot more problems before things get better. Hope that all is well with you.
Peter.

Oh Oh

I sure hope that the protest here in Ouarzazate, on Sunday,  is a peaceful one!

Morocco next? Protesters start organising

Anti-government protests in Tangier, Morocco, on 30 January

© Anónimo/afrol News

afrol News, 1 February - A growing number of Moroccan civil society groups are calling for large scale protest marches in the Kingdom. As the first protests are already being organised in Tangier and Rabat, the army is regrouping.

Following the developments in Tunisia and Egypt, Moroccan youth groups have started organising the first protest marches in the country to demand political reform and greater human rights in Morocco.

The first mass protests have already been organised in Morocco. On Sunday, the group ATTAC Morocco staged a larger demonstration in the northern city of Tangiers, with protesters focusing on "the deterioration of social conditions and high basic food prices."

The Tangier protest however was brutally stopped by security forces, according to eyewitnesses. Batons and tear gas were used to disperse demonstrators who had gathered in the Square of Nations in central Tangier. Protesters had chanted slogans of solidarity with the people of Tunisia and Egypt, demanding a "right to employment, housing and a decent life."

But Moroccan protesters have not given up, despite the brutal response by security forces. Today, there are reports from the capital, Rabat, about demonstrations in front of the Egyptian Embassy, with hundreds of protesters chanting slogans in solidarity of their counterparts in Egypt.

Further protests are now being prepared by a magnitude of groups in Morocco.

A group of young Moroccans is currently spreading the protest call through the social network Facebook, calling for demonstrations on 27 February "in front of the prefectures and the wilayas in all regions and central authorities in cities and villages, to demand the freedom of political organisation, the alternation of power and human rights." 

The so-called "Movement for Freedom and Democracy Now" in a statement specifies that this protest is "part of a spontaneous global transformation that aims at giving people their rightful place in society," further calling for democracy, freedom and the adherence to popular will.

According to the statement, there is a list of demands including "the abolition of the current constitution, dissolve parliament and government, parties who have contributed to the consolidation of political corruption and take immediate real action for a political transition."

The organisers further refer to "the terrible conditions of poverty, unemployment and human rights violations and restrictions on freedom of press" in Morocco. Morocco is known to be the poorest and least developed state in North Africa, facing enormous social problems.

Also other organisations are calling for protests. A grouping of the political opposition, trade unions, human rights organisations and an association of the unemployed has issued a statement calling for rallies and demonstrations to be held next Saturday, 5 February.

Also, the Labor Council of the Democratic Labour Confederation of Morocco has called for Sunday 6 February to be a day of protest. Marches are planned for in the south-eastern town of Ouarzazate "to protest the inhumane living conditions in Morocco."

As the calls for protests are widening in Morocco, the regime is increasingly insecure. King Mohammed VI has met with French government officials and his most trusted military leaders in his private chateau outside Paris to discuss the security situation.

Several unconfirmed reports from Morocco and occupied Western Sahara agree that security forces now are being pulled out from the occupied territory to be deployed in Morocco-proper in preparation of a possible popular revolt.

The reported regrouping of Moroccan troops may leave Western Sahara - a territory whose indigenous Saharawi population is always ready to revolt - open to rebellion. Security forces stationed in Western Sahara are famed for great brutality against civilians, which could bode unwell for protesters trying to organise marches in Morocco.

By staff writers

© afrol News