SEASON'S GREETINGS ~ 2012

أعياد ميلاد سعيدة

Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noel

Hyvää joulua

From the team @ The View from Fez

SHARE THIS!

Photography: Invisible Fes

One of the participants in Omar Chennafi's outdoor exhibition

Fez is fortunate to have a month focusing on photography. As part of the Saison Culturelle France-Morocco 2012, during December the French Institute is presenting the 6th edition of the Rencontres Internationales de la Photo Fez.

One of the three photographers participating is Fez based Omar Chennafi, with his unusual exhibition Invisible Fes.

Chennafi's exhibition fits well with the theme of the event, Morocco: in and out, which explores the idea of the photographers revealing what is hidden behind usually closed doors.

To gather material for Invisible Fes, Chennafi photographed the interiors of more than a dozen houses in the Fez Medina, capturing scenes he considered to represent the lives of the residents. When he showed his photographs to the householders,"some of them started to see their places differently," he says. "I started to realise how connected we are to where we live and how our home gives us a (unique) sense of place."

Chennafi says that, "photographing these houses in the Medina is to remind people to recognise the beauty from times of the past and to be proud of where we come from."

The chosen shots have been printed and displayed on the exteriors of the participants' houses until the end of December. They can be seen in the quartiers of La'ayoune, Ziat and around the Tala S'ghira.

You may even be fortunate enough to get the photographer himself to take you on a guided tour of the locations.

Given the positive feedback for the project, Chennafi hopes to extend this project to other Moroccan cities.

Invisible Fes, part of Rencontres Internationales de la Photo Fez, until December 31. 
Contact: Omar Chennafi on 0659661502

SHARE THIS!

Morocco - the view from abroad

A recent article in an Australian weekend newspaper is a reminder of how enduring cliches about Morocco can be. Moroccan tourism authorities have a vested interest in maintaining an Orientalist view of the country, however, the truth is far richer and may appeal even more to travellers.

If you were a reader of the Sun Herald newspaper in Australia, you could be forgiven for thinking that the only place worth visiting in Morocco is Marrakech. Of its last eighteen travel stories, all were about Marrakech.

"PART CIRCUS, PART HISTORY LESSON... MOROCCO IS A SOUL-STEALING PLACE" - Sunday Life 

A recent list of the "Top Ten Exotic Locations" for 2013 had Morocco at number nine. But what consitutes exotic?

ex·ot·ic [ig-zot-ik]
adjective
1. of foreign origin or character; not native; introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized: exotic foods; exotic plants.
2. strikingly unusual or strange in effect or appearance: an exotic hairstyle.

A family of Moroccans from Errachidia, finding themselves in Australia on Sydney's Bondi Beach would certainly find it exotic. It is also certain they would find the Mardi Gras, Aboriginal cultural performances and countless other Australian attractions extremely exotic. Yet a search through Australian tourism websites shows that the word "exotic" is not a selling point.

"Set in a luxurious private compound, overflowing with whimsical sculptures, on the outskirts of Marrakesh, Harem is not your usual spa retreat. Sure, it evokes Moroccan exotica and, of course, it offers healthy food, foot baths and facials, but it is primarily a place of discovery, of surprise."

And there is a new "exotic" Morocco - that of the glamours world of the Palmeraie, a twenty minute drive from Marrakech. This high-end destination is getting a lot of media attention because many of the hotel and spa owners can afford to sponsor trips for journalists. But, is it a "Moroccan experience"?

On the plus side is the growth of boutique tourism where small companies arrange holidays and tours that have specific interests at their heart. This is a growing area in Morocco with tours based on music, art and architecture, culinary adventures, design, photography and painting all now available.

Overseas bookings are up 20 per cent on last year. 'Hawaii and Thailand are completely booked out due to the strength of the Aussie dollar and the recent events in Fiji. And I've never seen Bali so busy. - David Goldman of Goldman Travel in Bondi Junction

AdvertisementApart from the strong dollar, he said many high-end travellers were finding better value for money overseas. ''We're finding that people want a bit of a culture fix,'' he said. ''

So, with the exchange rates so good, Australians are travelling more. But when asking a bunch of friends about destinations, they almost all opt for "safe choices"...nothing exotic. Ironically, they are more likely to be mugged in Rome, ripped off in Paris or encounter bomb threats in London than have negative experiences in Morocco.

The fact that Morocco is usually a safe destination and one suitable for solo women travellers is being recognised and there are now dozens of "retreats", "surf workshops", "yoga weeks" and "spa holidays" being advertised.


SHARE THIS!

Hot News From the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

It's official -  The updated Fes Festival of World Sacred Music website is now online and from next week the 2013 concert program will be on the site.

Whether you're an old friend of the Sacred Music Festival or a newcomer, you can now buy a pass for the Festival from 7-15 June 2013 that has the theme Fes: Reflections of Andalusia.

At present the website is in French but will soon be available in Arabic, This will be followed by the English and Spanish versions!

You can find all the practical information you'll need for your visit to Fes with just one click on 'Manage your Festival'.

Visit the Festival website now! www.fesfestival.com


SHARE THIS!

A Price of a Helicopter Ride ~ humour

Jallaluddin and his wife Maasshalah went to the village fair every year, and every year Jallaluddin would say,” Maasshalah, I’d like to ride in that helicopter."

Maasshalah always replied, "I know Jallaluddin, but that helicopter ride is 50 dollars and 50 dollars is 50 dollars."

One year Maasshalah and Jallaluddin went to the fair, and Jallaluddin said "Maasshalah I’m 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another chance.”

Maasshalah replied, "Jallaluddin that helicopter is 50 dollars and 50 dollars is 50 dollars."

The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Brother and sister I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take the both of you for a ride; if you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say a word I won't charge you! but if you say one word, it's 50 dollars."

Jallaluddin and Maasshalah agreed and up they went.

The pilot did all kinds of fancy manoeuvres, but not a word was heard.

He did his dare devil tricks over and over again, but still not a word.

When they landed, the pilot turned to Jallaluddin and said, "Ajeeb! Ajeeb!, I did everything I could to get you to yell out, but you didn't. I’m very, very impressed!"

Jallaluddin replied, "Well I almost said something when the old lady fell out, but, you know, 50 dollars is 50 dollars!"

SHARE THIS!

A New Documentary About Illegitimate Children in Morocco

Over the last few months The View from Fez has published a number of stories about the crisis in the orphanages in Morocco (see story here) and attempts to improve the situation. We have also reported on a proclamation by the government that seems set to hinder progress - the stopping of foreign adoptions (see story here). But this is an issue that will not go away until concrete steps are taken to bring Morocco into the modern world where adoption is seen as an act of compassion, not a problem to be eradicated. Assisting this process are activists, some more enlightened politicians and hundreds of thousands of Moroccan women. And now a new film will add weight to the calls for change.

The documentary, BASTARDS, is about illegitimate children and the fathers who abandon them. By following single mothers fighting for justice, the documentary addresses big social issues through small human stories….heart-warming and heart-breaking stories captured in the raw, as Moroccan men and women clash about sex, children, marriage and money. It's a surprising contemporary documentary that touches anyone who has loved or been betrayed. The filmmaker is Deborah Perkin


THE OUTCASTS

In the West, a documentary about single mothers, and children abandoned by their fathers is no big deal, but in Muslim countries, where unmarried sex is illegal, the stakes are incredibly high. This timely film captures stories from the cutting edge of Islam.

Illegitimate children in Morocco are outcasts, non people, bastards ... but recent legal reforms give single mothers the right to register their children, either alone, or by persuading the father to recognise the child in court. Registration on the state birth register means access to education and health care, and a respectable position in society. BASTARDS follows single mothers battling for these rights for their children.

THE ACCESS

The radical Casablanca charity L'Association Solidarite Feminine opened its case files to us, and the Moroccan Ministry of Justice granted unprecedented access to film in the Agadir courts. The production team Deborah Perkin (former BBC Senior Producer) and Nora Fakim (former BBC Morocco Correspondent) lived in a Casablanca slum for two months to be amongst the single mothers they were filming. This is a rare glimpse into a hidden world.

In most Muslim countries a documentary like BASTARDS would be unthinkable....but thanks to brave campaigners and a socially tolerant king, Morocco has led the way in social and legal reforms that help single mothers and their illegitimate children to secure a future.

Rabha El Haymar with her daughter Salma and lawyer Lamia Faridi, and
Producer/Director Deborah Perkin, at the Appeal Court in Agadir

THE STORIES AND  CHARACTERS

Rabha El Haymar’s story is the spine of the film. She is a single mother and her daughter is illegitimate because under Morocco's family law reforms, her traditional marriage as a child bride was not legal. She battles through the courts to legalise the marriage, to register her daughter and to force the father to accept his child. We witness extraordinary scenes.… the courtroom lies of her child’s father, verbal abuse from her child's grandfather, Rabha's confrontation with her mother asking why she married her off so young, and finally her triumph in the courts.

Along the way, we also meet larger-than-life Fatiha, tirelessly pressing the father of her child for maintenance, law student Naim, a young man who is distressed about growing up with the shame of illegitimacy, Saida who was rejected by her family and almost gave birth at a police station, and Kultum who is too young to be a mother following her rape, and is struggling with the responsibility.

L'Association Solidarite Feminine's founder Aicha Chenna has given her working life to supporting single mothers to bring up their children with dignity. Her tireless campaigning has gradually changed social and legal attitudes. In BASTARDS we meet her and her equally feisty female colleagues, the social workers and lawyers who work on the frontline with single mothers.

From left: Loubaba El Imlahi, Hafida Elbaz and Aicha Chenna with Researcher and Assistant Producer Nora Fakim 

THE ISSUES

Sex outside marriage may be illegal in Muslim countries but that doesn’t stop it happening. Inevitably, without sex education, or easy access to contraception or to legal abortion, unwanted illegitimate babies are born. With 6500 babies abandoned every year, Morocco faces a crisis, but instead of taking a punitive approach, it encourages single parents to be reconciled and their children to be legitimised. Radical reforms in 2004 to its family law code, the Moudawana, put Morocco at the forefront of developing human rights for single mothers and their illegitimate children. You can read an English translation of the Moudawana here.

WHY DID I MAKE THIS DOCUMENTARY?

Deborah Perkin explains:  I wouldn't pretend that I predicted the Arab Spring, but in 2009 I did work out that Morocco was pushing ahead with democratic reforms and that something interesting was happening in Muslim North Africa. It all started with a holiday with my mum. We had a tour of Morocco and found that everywhere we went women wanted to talk to us, take photos with us, ask us what we thought of their country. This was a completely different experience from traveling in the other Muslim countries we had visited, where women were much less visible in the workforce and on the streets. And so began my passion for Morocco and its people, which led to me putting my all into making this documentary.

When I got home I searched the internet and discovered that Morocco had many women's rights and human rights organisations. They had campaigned for legal reforms which eventually became law in 2004, amending the Family Code, the Moudawana. Child marriages were outlawed with the age of sexual consent for men and women set at 18, polygamy was virtually outlawed, and women's child custody rights improved. Single mothers could register their children alone, choosing a father's surname from a state list if the father refused to give the child his name - and once registered, children are entitled to education and healthcare.

I didn't want to make an issue-based report on legal reform but a moving documentary showing personal stories of women using the new law. Eventually I found Aicha Chenna and L'Association Solidarite Feminine. She and her staff welcomed me in to their radical charity, set up in the face of death threats from conservative Islamists, but working all the time to reintegrate single mothers into society, and make sure their illegitimate children have the best possible start in life. Their work became my obsession. I had to make a documentary with them and the women they support.



The documentary has been shot, and now needs funds to edit it and share it with audiences around the world. To assist please go to kickstarter

See also: 
Adoption Protest Gains Momentum
Unmarried Mothers Cry For Help


SHARE THIS!

New German Cinema in Fez - courtesy of French Institute.

Summer, 1980. Barbara, a doctor, has applied for an exit visa from the GDR (East Germany). Now, as punishment, she has been transferred from Berlin to a small hospital out in the country, far from everything. Jörg, her lover from the West, is already planning her escape.
Barbara waits, keeping to herself. The new apartment, the neighbors, summertime, the countryside – none of that means anything to her. Working as a pediatric surgeon under her new boss Andre, she is attentive when it comes to the patients, but quite distanced toward her colleagues. Her future, she feels, will begin later.
But Andre confuses her. His confidence in her professional abilities, his caring attitude, his smile. Why does he cover for her when she helps the young runaway Sarah? Does he have an assignment to keep track of her? Is he in love? But as the day of her planned escape quickly approaches, Barbara starts to lose control. Over herself, her plans, over love.

Christian Petzold is one of the leading directors in New German cinema. The German Film Critics Association has twice awarded him Best Film awards, for the urban drama GHOSTS and THE STATE I AM IN. He was twice named Best Director at the German Film Awards, for the psychological drama WOLFSBURG and THE STATE I AM IN. His first fiction feature, 2000's political drama THE STATE I AM IN, also won Best Screenplay at Thessaloniki (Greece) and the Grand Prize at Valenciennes (France).
Petzold has also received much acclaim for the made- for-TV features SOMETHING TO REMIND ME (TOTER MANN, 2002), Die Beischlafdiebin (1998) and CUBA LIBRE (1995).
Born in 1960, Petzold studied German and Theater Studies at the Free University in Berlin, then graduated from the German Film & Television Academy (DFFB) in 1994

Details:

Wednesday, December 19, 19h, Cinema Rex
Members and students: 10 dh - Non members: 20 dh

Directed by Christian Petzold
With Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock
Genre Drama
Duration 1h 45mn
Year 2012

Contact: French Institute: 33, Rue Loukili, BP 2277, Fez. Tel: 0 5 35 62 39 21/62 35 40 / Fax: 0 5 35 62 52 03 Space Languages: 12, Rue Serghini, BP 2277, Fez. Tel: 0 5 35 62 41 49 / Fax: 0 5 35 62 56 65 Dar Batha: 15, Salaj, Fes Medina. Tel: 0 5 35 63 67 13

SHARE THIS!

Fez Festival of Sufi Culture Dates Announced

Fez for the Festival of Sufi Culture 13-20 April 2013

To enjoy the concerts held each evening during the Festival all you need to do is simply let your emotions join in and express yourself in your own way, but it can also help if you understand the philosophy behind the performance.

To find out more about previous festivals... follow this link: Fez Sufi Festival

MAKE SURE YOU BOOK YOU ACCOMMODATION EARLY! 

SHARE THIS!

Let’s hope Morocco DOESN’T get a Grand Prix

Bernie Ecclestone cuts a mean deal, which Valencia City’s residents found to their cost. Hopefully Morocco won’t get caught. Derek Workman reports from pit lane

According to Pitpass.com, Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he has spoken to the King of Morocco about hosting a Grand Prix in the country, though he stresses that this is unlikely to take place – and as a resident of Valencia City in Spain, where Ecclestone’s Formula 1 has been an unmitigated disaster and been one of the contributing elements in bringing the city to its knees financially, Morocco’s residents certainly want to hope it goes no further than talks.

 Ecclestone turning on the charm for the cameras

The last Grand Prix held in Morocco was in 1958, in Casablanca, when British driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, who happened to be managed by Ecclestone, died when his car careered into a barrier and burst into flames. International motor racing returned to Morocco for the first time in 2009, when the World Touring Car Championship took place on a street circuit in Marrakech, (where, according to Pitpass.com, who reported on the talks, the world’s fifth largest shopping mall opened last year. Yes, it is easy to confuse the names ‘Marrakech’ with ‘Casablanca’, isn’t it.)

His Royal Highness Mohammed VI, Morocco’s King, is said to have set a target of doubling the number of tourists visiting the country to 20 million by 2020, a highly laudable intention. But a Grand Prix won’t do much to help, despite Ecclestone apparently saying it will, as Valencia found to its cost.

The agreement to hold the first F1 in Valencia was signed on June 1, 2007, with the local and regional government saying that it wouldn’t cost the citizens a penny, as the agreement was with the Valmor Sport group. This went back on Ecclestone’s word that no country would hold more than one Grand Prix, which made Barcelona a bit fed up because they already held olne. The whole event was overshadowed by accusations that Ecclestone had tried to influence the regional elections that were about to take place at the time because he refused to put his moniker on the contract unless the People’s Party won, a party so exemplary in their dealings that they now have twenty per cent of their councillors indicted for corruption, and whose regional President, Francisco Camps was hauled before the courts as part of the biggest fraud case in Spanish history. It came as no surprise that he slithered his way to freedom (although, thankfully, now consigned to complete oblivion) but not before signing an extension to the F1 contract, despite being fully aware of the Grand Prix’s cascade into a financial bottomless black pit. Needless to say, more back-peddling took place on Ecclestone’s part when he said that he’d been misquoted.

The agreement was to host five Grand Prix. As expected, the first year was a great success, and was so successful the next two years that Valmor Sport Group went bust and said they couldn’t stand the losses they were haemorrhaging because of lack of ticket sales.

Ecclestone might be short on stature but he is incredibly big on clout, and controls the F1 business with an iron fist that he doesn’t even try to hide in a velvet glove. To quote from an article by Caroline Reid and Christian Sylt in espnf1.com, an online racing mag,

Unlike most other major sports, F1 race promoters don’t generally get to keep any of the revenue from trackside advertising or corporate hospitality which is sold during the Grand Prix. Neither do they get a share of the revenue from broadcasting the event. Money from these sources all flows to the sport’s rights-holder the F1 Group.

The race promoters’ sole source of income from a Grand Prix is ticket sales and this usually barely covers the hosting fee paid to the F1 Group. Most promoters would then be pushed into loss by the costs of running the race itself and obviously no one would be prepared to do it on this basis. This is where the governments step in.

And step in the local and regional governments did, despite their promises, losing enormous amounts of money at a time when the city already has the greatest debt of any in Spain and is on the verge of bankruptcy. They tried to wriggle out of their contract – although they prefer the term ‘re-negotiating’ – but the Formula 1 boss is well known for his vicious negotiation skills that seep every cent from a contract, so the best Valencia has been able to get is to share the hosting of the Gran Prix with Barcelona, also crippled financially, on alternate years.

It’s nice to know that dear old daddy Bernard Charles could help his daughter, Petra, buy the most expensive house in the US, a bargain at a fistful over $100million, and a fitting States-side pied-à-terre to balance off her cosy $91million six-storey hutch in London. But it slightly makes the eyes water for the pharmacists of Valencia who haven’t been paid by the city and regional government for six months, the centres for disabled people which have had to close, the unemployed people who are losing their homes because the Town Hall isn’t paying their bills, and aren’t likely to for the foreseeable future, the money for which went, in part, to help line Bernie Ecclestone’s already silver-lined pockets and will do so until the contract ends.

But it’s equally nice to know that mini-Bern might soon lose the clout he has at F1 after allegedly bribing an official of the German state-owned bank BayernLB to sell their stake to CVC, who own F1 and where Ecclestone is chief executive of CVCs grand prix business, at bargain-basement prices.

Despite Bernie saying loud and often, “It weren’t nuffin’ to do wiv me, guv”, the banker who took the bung of £27m, Gerhard Gribkowsky, was sent down for eight-and-a-half-years in June this year. And as if that wasn’t enough, in October various newspapers in Australia reported that poor old Bern was about to be indicted on corruption charges in relation to the Melbourne Grand Prix.

So Moroccans, be very, very thankful that the chats with Ecclestone have got no further than that, because even though you may have no interest at all personally in motor racing and will certainly never be able to afford the extortionate prices demanded for the tickets, you will eventually pay one way or another. Just ask the people of Valencia.

You will find more stories from our correspondent Derek Workman visit

www.spainuncovered.net

SHARE THIS!

UNE CHAMBRE ROUGE ~ Musée Batha - Fès

I am in light. I am made of light. The light of others.

I am all the light. I am all these others.

Light; the transparent obstacle that disturbs my sight.

The Queen of all colours.

- Megumi Matsubara

UNE CHAMBRE ROUGE | 8-31 Dec | Musée Batha - Fès

UNE CHAMBRE ROUGE (A RED BEDROOM) is a work by Megumi Matsubara inspired by and dedicated to the Fès Medina. It comprises photography, text and music. The exhibition takes place as part of the 6th Rencontres International de La Photo de Fès. The project is  produced with the support of Institut Francais de Maroc.

Megumi Matsubara is a delightfully complex individual whose art, in all its forms is both stimulating and challenging. From her larger architectural works to he small works of poetry, she never fails to move, challenge and inspire.

Megumi Matsubara works individually as an artist and collectively as an architect through Assistant, an international and interdisciplinary design practice that she co-founded with Hiroi Ariyama in 2002. Based on an architectural approach and inspired by urban environments, she composes spatial narratives combining the use of diverse media such as installation, sound, photography and texts. Through constantly rearranging the existing environments, her works challenge the balance between presence/absence.


Red Bedroom Dreaming...

In autumn 2012, Matsubara spent one night in an empty ruined palace where she had a dream of a red bedroom. Searching for the meaning of the colour in the dream, she asked the blind and visually-impaired students in Fès to describe how they imagined the colour red. In the meanwhile, she stayed overnight in the red salon of Palais Mokri to document the varied states of red in constant change by photography.

The students at the blind school have been on strike to claim their rights during the months that Matsubara was conducting conversations. Based on the theory of Andalusian oud  that relates colours to the tones of music, the collected voices and essays about red written in Arabic Braille were translated into music.

The photographic installation at Musée Batha will be accompanied by an oud concert at the blind school - Institut Mohamed 5, as well as an artist talk and sound intervention at Le Cube - independent artspace in Rabat. The project is a reversed sequel to the artist's solo exhibition RÊVEURS RÊVE RÊVES (DREAMERS DREAM DREAMS) at La Maison de La Photographie de Marrakech in June 2012.

Program Details:
8-31 Dec: Photo installation at Musée Batha, Fès - 6th Rencontres International de La Photo de Fès
18 Dec 19h30: Une soirée avec Megumi Matsubara at Le Cube moderated by Colette Apelian (art historian) followed by 1-week intervention
21 Dec 15h00: Oud music workshop & concert at Institut Mohamed 5 for the blind and visually-impaired, Fès

The program is presented with the support of:
Institut Francais de Fès, Pola Art Foundation, Institut Mohamed 5 pour La sauvegarde des Aveugles, Palais Mokri, Le Cube

Photograph of Megumi Matsubara by Sandy McCutcheon. All other photos by the artist.

SHARE THIS!

Remembering Ravi Shankar - Faouzi Skali

The legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a major influence on Western musicians including The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died on Tuesday in a hospital in San Diego where he had travelled to undergo surgery. He was 92. Shankar collaborated with Harrison, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, as he worked to bridge the musical gap between the West and East. He pioneered the concept of the rock benefit with the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh. To later generations, he was known as the estranged father of popular American singer Norah Jones.

Ravi and daughter Anoushka

The most heart-felt tribute to Ravi Shankar was paid by the Director General of the Foundation Esprit de Fès, Faouzi Skali:

Ravi Shakar died last night. May his soul rest in peace.

We grow accustomed to the presence of some iconic figures that have the power to change our emotions and our memories, that is until we hear the words informing us of their disappearance and we realize that an entire chapter of our lives has come to an end.

I still remember this 78 rpm record sleeve that I had when I was twenty years old and in which we could see Ravi Shankar with his violinist Yehudi Menhuin. I still remember those moments when this great artist, who emerged from India, met the Beatles or when he took George Harrison as a disciple.

At that time, it was hard for me to imagine that a day will come when I will invite him to Fez - it was for the 11th edition of the World Sacred Music Festival, in 2005 - where he will give, with his daughter Anoushka, a concert with incredible power, power that transcended beyond space and time.

The concert made me dive into a deep meditative trance, before someone came to me while I was hardly opening my eyes, quietly tapping on my shoulder, announcing that my little girl was just born.

With this I recall the memory of the two most natural moments that conjoin the wheel of life; death and birth.

How could I forget such a man! How could I forget such a moment!

Un message de la part de Faouzi Skali, Directeur Général de la Fondation Esprit de Fès

Ravi Shankar est mort hier soir! Paix à son âme.
On s’habitue au voisinage de certaines figures emblématiques qui marquent nos émotions et nos mémoires jusqu’à ce que la nouvelle de leur disparition tombe et que l’on se rende compte qu’un chapitre entier de notre propre vie vient de se tourner.
Je me souviens encore autour de mes vingt ans de cette pochette de disque 78 tours où Ravi Shankar figure avec le fameux violoniste Yehudi Menhuin ou encore de ces moments où ce grand artiste du sitar, sorti de l’Inde millénaire, rencontre les Beatles ou prend comme disciple Georges Harrison.

Il m’était difficile d’imaginer à l’époque que viendrait un temps où je l’inviterai à Fès -c’était pour la 11ème édition du Festival des Musiques Sacrées du Monde, en 2005- où il donnerait avec sa fille Anoushka ce qui restera pour moi, et probablement pour tous ceux qui étaient présents à Bab Makina ce soir là, un concert d’une puissance inouïe, qui échappe à l’espace et au temps.
Un concert qui m’a plongé dans un état second, méditatif, profond, avant qu’une personne ne vienne discrètement me tapoter l’épaule alors que j’ouvrais difficilement les yeux, pour me murmurer à l’oreille : « votre petite fille vient de naître ! »
Ainsi se rejoignent dans ma mémoire la rencontre entre ces deux moments fondateurs qui constituent la roue de la vie ; la mort et la naissance.

Comment oublier un tel homme ! Comment oublier un tel instant!

SHARE THIS!

Moroccan News Briefs #81

A snapshot of the latest news from around Morocco

World leaders recognise Syrian opposition in Marrakech meeting

World leaders including Morocco's King Mohammed VI, US President Barack Obama, and French President François Hollande have now joined the global alliance in calling for a speedy transfer of power to end the violence in Syria that has taken more than 42,000 lives and caused thousands to flee to neighbouring countries.

In his address, King Mohammed urged members of the UN Security Council, over which Morocco currently presides, to adopt "a unified, resolute stance as quickly as possible to spare the Syrian people further tragedy and suffering, and to support the transfer of power in Syria for the establishment of a democratic, multi-party system."

King Mohammed applauded "the dynamism of the Syrian opposition for unifying the full spectrum of political opinion, at home and abroad," which he said "culminated in the Doha Declaration on the establishment of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, headed by Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib."

"This is a major political achievement for the Syrian opposition, which gives it legitimacy in the transition period," as it works to fulfil the hopes of the Syrian people in building a democratic Syrian state, said King Mohammed. He added that this should also facilitate efforts by the international community "to provide support to the coalition in a collective, efficient and orderly
manner, according to each one's capabilities and competencies."

Earlier this year, King Mohammed ordered the setting up of a Moroccan field hospital at the Zaatari camp in Jordan - which he visited in October - that has aided more than 40,000 Syrian refugees. As part of a broad international humanitarian aid effort, Morocco has also sent 2,000 winterised tents, tons of foodstuff, medicine, and blankets to benefit the refugees in both Jordan and Turkey.


Death of  Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine

The leader of Morocco's main opposition group, Islamist al-Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality) group, Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine (pictured left), died on Thursday. According to Hassan bin Najeh of the group's youth section, Yassine, who was born in 1928, had been suffering from influenza.

The group, which Yassine formed in 1981, is banned from formal politics but is believed by analysts and diplomats to be the only opposition organisation capable of mass mobilisation in Morocco.

The group was a major player in protests last year that led the monarchy to institute constitutional reforms to dilute some of its extensive powers.  It was not clear who would succeed Yassine.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane accompanied by Minister of State and Minister of Justice Baja Mustafa Ramid in the house of the late Abdessalam Yassine to offer condolences

King inaugurates Casablanca tram route

The King, Mohammed VI, has inaugurated Casablanca’s first tramway. The new 31km line – the longest line to be built as part of one project – links the city’s east and south-west districts, calling at 48 stations.

In 2009, Casablanca’s transport authority awarded Alstom a 120 million euro contract to supply 74 Citadis trams. Subsequent agreements have also been made with Alstom to install signalling and power supply systems.

The Citadis trams, which were manufactured and assembled at Alstom’s Reichshoffen plant in France, are 65 metre-long double units and can accommodate up to 606 passengers.


Morocco’s Honorary Consul in Aleppo assassinated

Mohamed Aladine Kiyali, Morocco’s Honorary Consul in Aleppo, was assassinated on Tuesday, reported Morocco’s official news agency Maghreb Arab Press (MAP). According to MAP, Armed men riding a taxi mortally shot Mr. Kiyali as he came out of a hotel in Aleppo at 7:00 p.m. local time.

Some Moroccan observers are accusing the regime of Basharal-Assad of being behind this terrorist act. The Assad government has been critical of King Mohammed support of the Syrian rebels. Damascus is furious at Morocco’s decision to host the next Friends of Syria meeting scheduled for December

In the past, the Chabihet, Assad’s regime thugs, attacked the Moroccan Embassy in Damascus to protest Rabat’s decision to organize a pro-rebels special meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers.
Previously, the Syrian representative to the United Nations (UN) threatened to support the Algeria based Western Sahara Separatist Polisario guerrilla fighting Morocco. Assad’s ambassador the U.N. offered the Algerian government help and political support as a token of appreciation for Algiers pro-Assad positions and as a “warning” to King Mohammed VI.

Born in 1961, the late Kiyali, a Syrian national, served as Honorary Consul of Morocco in Aleppo since April 2001.

King Mohammed VI has sent a condolence message to the family of late Mohamed Alaeddine Kiyali. In the message, the sovereign expressed to the victim’s family members and through them to the Syrian people, deep sadness and strong condemnation of the “criminal and abject” attack.

The message condemned the killing as “going against the prescriptions of our noble religion, and against all heavenly religions, the values of humanity and the ideals of democracy,” reiterating firm support for the Syrian people in achieving its “legitimate aspirations for freedom, democracy and dignity,” within the “the sovereignty and national and territorial unity of Syria.”

The King hailed the lofty values of the victim, adding that his death is a “great loss for the Kingdom” taking account of the strong ties of friendship of loyalty to his second country, Morocco, and his efforts to consolidate the brotherly and solidarity ties between the two countries.


Female "human chain" denounces violence against women

Hundreds of people formed a human chain in Rabat on last weekend to denounce all forms of violence against women.

Women in Rabat form a human chain denouncing all forms of violence against women.

"We are here to denounce physical, verbal and moral violence, as well as the harassment of women," said a member of "Spring of Dignity," a coalition of 22 groups defending the rights of women. According to one AFP report, the chain, accompanied by street entertainment, ran from parliament to the justice ministry.

In a country of 32 million, around six million women are victims of violence, more than half of them within marriage, according to government figures.

"Morocco's laws should be adapted to the international conventions that Morocco has ratified, particularly those dealing with the rights of women," one organiser said.


Little progress on corruption in Morocco: NGO

The NGO, Transparency Morocco, this week accused the government of failing to achieve any major progress in its battle against corruption, despite the ruling Islamist party promising to do so on coming to power. Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Party of Justice and Development (PJD) won parliamentary elections in November 2011 pledging to tackle endemic corruption in Morocco, and insists it has made progress in doing so.

In its annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2012, which came out on Wednesday, Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International dropped Morocco eight places, to 88, out of 176 countries rated.

The Moroccan branch of TI also charged, in its open letter to Benkirane that the government's declarations and limited measures were the "best ally" of corruption, which it described as "systematic".

"Your government has not made any major progress in the desired direction, and it has not even presented ... its goals in the short or long term in the fight against this scourge that threatens our social cohesion and economic efficiency" - Transparency International Morocco.

The NGO said the government must take "concrete steps" to end the impunity of officials, to "activate" the judiciary and inspectors appointed to scrutinise public administration, and introduce laws to protect whistleblowers.

Government officials were not immediately available to respond to the NGO's claims.


Protestor who impersonated king arrested

A Moroccan anti-government protestor who dressed up as King Mohammed has been arrested and accused of possessing drugs, the man's lawyer and human rights activists said on Thursday.

Idris Boutarada, a member of the 'February 20' movement that led Arab Spring protests in Morocco last year, was detained by police on Monday after taking part in an anti-government protest near parliament in Rabat two days earlier.

Arab Spring protests spread to Morocco last year after uprisings in Egypt in Tunisia brought down veteran rulers. The protests faded after the king introduced some constitutional limits to his powers and allowed an Islamist party to form a cabinet after winning early elections.

But some small demonstrations have continued, mainly led by unemployed graduates. February 20 activists have also staged protests including one against the monarchy's share of the budget that police broke up last month.

Boutarada's lawyer Smail Amar said his client was dressed in a traditional Moroccan djellaba and red hat, which the king often wears. He also walked with a crutch. The king has appeared in public on several occasions with a walking stick. Photographs of Boutarada dressed in this way circulated on social media.


The rise and rise of Facebook in Morocco

With one of the highest internet speeds in Africa, Morocco has taken to the internet with enthusiasm. The latest figures available claim that there are more than 5 million Facebook users in the country. Looking at the statistics Facebook is undoubtedly the first web site visited  by users when they log in. That puts Facebook ahead of Youtube videos and the omnipresent Google search engine. The figure of more than five million Facebook users  places Morocco in 36th place worldwide.

OPINION - How Dangerous Are Morocco's Salafists?

When the Salafist group Ansar al-Sharia first appeared on the social networks, little was known about them. TelQuel magazine has done some digging...

What are some of the features of Ansar al-Sharia in Morocco? First is their flag, which is identical to that of their counterparts in Libya, Yemen and Tunisia. It is a black flag displaying the slogan “there is no God but God.” They claim to have no connections to foreign countries, but they do not hide their sympathy for extremist movements around the world, first among them al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Their leaders? Until a few days ago, nobody claimed to be their leader. But on Sunday, Oct. 21, police arrested a certain Younsi Hassan in Tetouan, when he was visiting a few “brothers.” Known among Salafists for his activism, the former inmate presented himself as one of the leaders of Ansar al-Sharia in Morocco. A local source said, “We suspect that this group is recruiting jihadists to fight in Syria, especially in Tetouan.”

Is there reason to fear the latest Salafist unrest? Mohamed Darif, a political scientist and expert on Islamist movements thinks not, at least with regard to Ansar al-Sharia in Morocco.
“I think the movement’s name scares people because it is associated with those movements that advocate violence and that emerged in the wake of the Arab Spring.” According to Darif, Ansar al-Sharia in Morocco revealed its program when it declared itself against secularism but not against the regime.

“Let us remember that in 2005, King Mohammed VI told El-Pais that Morocco is not a secular state,” said the researcher. But what about the violent acts by militants proclaiming Salafism? “I think what happened in Salé was an individual act. What we should fear is organized violence,” said Darif.

In conclusion, Darif believes that we should not exaggerate violent acts committed by “Allah’s madmen” because that may lead to other abuses. It is understood that some security organizations may benefit from the legitimization of human rights violations, as was the case after the May 16, 2003 attacks. Meanwhile, Salafists — be they jihadists or not — are not hiding anymore. Not a week goes by without them demonstrating in several Moroccan cities.

Read more: Al Monitor

SHARE THIS!

A New Player In Morocco's English Language Media

"There is a huge need for an English news source from Morocco, but mostly, there is a need for an international knowledge of Morocco" - Othman El Oumeir, president of Group Maroc Soir

Over the years The View from Fez has supported the call for more English language media in Morocco. Since we began in 2005 a number of online or print publications have started up and eventually fallen by the wayside. Now there is another brave player entering the scene.  

According to their publicity release, the news website Morocco Mirror was launched by a group of Moroccan anglophone journalists dedicated to writing about and covering mainly political, economic, social and sports events.

The history of English language media in Morocco is not a happy one as journalist Zakaria Rmidi reported back in 2009. The first attempt in print was in 1877, when a weekly newspaper written in the English language was launched in Morocco under the name of Maghreb Al Aksa.

Regular readers of The View from Fez will remember the rise and fall of The Casablanca Analyst. Touted as an independent weekly newspaper, it used to appear irregularly. The Casablanca Analyst launched its first issue in May 2007, and the last one to appear was the fifth issue, in May 2008. That is to say, five issues during one year. During that time The Casablanca Analyst wrote well on several serious issues, such as that of the Western Sahara conflict and the occupied Moroccan enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. This was in addition to tackling many other interesting topics in business, society and culture as well as showing a great interest in literature.

Before The Casablanca Analyst, there was already an English language newspaper in Morocco on the internet. The Morocco Times was started on November 22, 2004 as an internet based newspaper. The Morocco Times was under the ownership of Group Maroc Soir; one of the major publishing houses which owns several newspapers and online titles in Morocco. Unfortunately, The Morocco Times ceased publication at the end of October 2006, a few weeks before its second birthday. The reason behind this decision is still unknown. Group Maroc Soir is a strong publishing house which owns official and semi-official organs of the government, notably the pioneer French daily Le Matin and the Arabic title Assahraa Al Maghribia.

The new kid on the block, Morocco Mirror, claims that it was launched to fill the gap left by the closure of The Morocco Times and to compensate for the lack of professional Moroccan-English newspapers either online or printed.  In fact, a search of the internet shows that there are many professional players in the media market and in the social media sector.  Some are based in Morocco, while others are overseas with reporters in Morocco. Major players include the widely read Morocco World News,  and the Morocco News Board.

Covering the entire Maghreb are online publications such  as Magharebia . This is an AFRICOM sponsored online news web site dedicated to coverage of North Africa. Online since Oct 2004, it is the only regional website that publishes identical content in three languages; Arabic, English and French. Magharebia allows visitors to comment on its articles and translates visitor contributed comments into Arabic, English and French.

Surprisingly Morocco Times is not extinct - journalist Zakaria Rmidi still runs a blog by that name, although publishes intermittently. Another site, Morocco Newsline appears not to have published since May this year.

A more impressive online site is Yacout Info which has a fresher appearance and offers more original content.

Hardly none of those e-newspapers available, apart from the website of State press agency (MAP), report from inside Morocco. Actually, at present, Morocco Mirror is the only Morocco-based English Daily.- Morocco Mirror Press Release

The Morocco Mirror claim to be the only English daily is bold. The biggest problem they have is that their content is the usual  mix of AFP, AP and MAP stories with, unfortunately, very little original content. A quick check of their Opinion section shows only one story (published in September), which was written by Michael J Totten and previously published in the American World Affairs site. The Interview section has only two stories, both of which are from other sources - yabiladi.com and the Vancouver Observer. What is more disturbing is that, although credit is given to other sites, there are no links to the source of the material.

According to the press release, the Morocco Mirror team "constitutes of highly qualified journalists and translators who enjoy a long experience in this field. Some of them used to work with Morocco Times. They are scattered in different Moroccan cities to guarantee a broad coverage of events. The majority are based in Casablanca and Agadir."

The team at The View from Fez welcomes Morocco Mirror and wishes them well. We will be following their progress with interest. You will find them here: MOROCCO MIRROR

Editor's note: The View from Fez started in 2005 and has just passed 2,000,000 page views.

SHARE THIS!

Unmarried Mothers in Morocco - a Cry for Help

More than 210,000 pregnant Moroccan women are calling on the head of the Moroccan government, Abdlilah Benkirane, to legalize their pregnancies.   Omar Bihmidine writing for Morocco World News says that the phenomenon of babies being born outside marriage is growing and the mothers involved are making their voices heard: especially as the babies they give birth to usually end up becoming street children with no basic rights.

Such women bear different stories behind their illicit pregnancy. While some of them have fallen prey to empty promises of marriage from irresponsible men, others admit that they have been seduced into indulging in a sexual relationship. Whatever the story, the common denominator is that they continue to suffer day in and day out because of the merciless society where they live.

In spite of the sympathy and understanding evinced by some associations that defend the rights of women, these women still feel alienated in this society where they are looked upon as “impure and dirty”. Owing to lack of maternity centers in Morocco, a number of these women only have recourse to the street, the last resort, where they rear their babies and live by begging.

Feeling neglected, some of these women turn to prostitution to earn a living because they feel compelled to provide their babies with some basic needs, such as food, clothing, education, health. Others have chosen to work as maids, especially after their families have disowned them.

As sexual relationships outside of marriage are considered unacceptable in Moroccan society, some of these women seek assistance from associations that can claim their children’s biological father, recognize their rights of motherhood and help them overcome their problems. In the same vein, these women have recently called on the government to integrate them socially.

Rajae Elmaskouri, a social activist, attributes the frequent occurrence of unwanted pregnancies to the absence of sex education. Elmaskouri explains that these women “have not chosen illicit pregnancies of their own accord. They have rather fallen prey to the ignorance that still characterizes this ‘patriarchal’ society.”


SHARE THIS!

The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music - Ben Harper Flashback

A little nostalgia from the 2011 Sacred Music Festival. The performance by Ben Harper turned out to be one of the highlights. Here is a reminder of just how sweet that highlight was.

For information on the 2013 festival CLICK HERE
SHARE THIS!

Marrakech International Film Festival wrap up

The Marrakech International Film Festival wrapped up its twelfth year a couple of days ago.This year the main theme was a celebration of one hundred years of Hindi film making, and while it may seem a bit unusual to be celebrating Indian films in Morocco, it’s not that strange really because Bollywood blockbusters and Egyptian films have absolutely huge audiences here, far more than any other. Unfortunately, none of the all-dancing, all-singing Hindi films won the main prizes.

Dr. Amin Jafaari (Ali Suliman) in The Attack

The Gold Star went to a controversial Lebanese movie called ‘The Attack’ and two of the other main prizes were won by ‘The Hijacking’, a Danish film.

A Hijacking

But that didn’t mean that there wasn’t plenty of crowd pleasers for the audience in Jmaa el Fna, where the Festival erects an enormous screen for public viewings. Bollywood “demigod and prince charming”, Shah Rukh Khan, whipped thousands of people into a frenzy when he danced to the tunes of movie songs before a preview of his latest film, “Jab Tak Hain Jaan” (Till My Last Breath).

Morocco has had a film industry since the very earliest days of the hand-cranked camera, but despite having had scenes from films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Kundun and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen shot at Morocco’s ‘cine city’ at Ouarzaztae, I’m not sure you could say it has become ‘the world’s second film-making destination after Hollywood’, as French TV Channel France 3 has said. That probably won’t go down well in Mumbai, or Bombay as we used to call it, where most of the big Bollywood hits are made.

This story first appeared at Villa Dinari.


SHARE THIS!

Morocco in and out - Photography

As part of the Saison Culturelle France-Morocco 2012, the French Institute of Morocco presents: the 6th edition of the Rencontres Internationales de la Photo Fez with the title: 

Morocco: in and out

In a world where it is very rare to find even hidden or secret places, photography can play an important role. This year, the Rencontres Internationales de la Photo Fez reflects the need of the photographer to push open secret doors and to discover what is hidden behind. 


The Photographers

Scarlett Coten is an independent photographer based in Paris. After studying photography for three years at the ENSP in Arles, she moved to Barcelona where she spent several years pursuing personal projects focusing on an intimate and poetical universe. (See her photos above and below.)

In 1998 she set up in Paris as a full-time photographer, working on assignments for publications such as Elle, Marie-Claire, Libération, Le Monde Magazine, Le Figaro Magazine, Courrier International and Grands Reportages.

Jean-Christophe Ballot has a Graduate Degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and a graduate degree from the National School of Image and Sound:FEMIS.
In 1991, he was the president at the Villa Médicis (French Academy in Rome) in 1991. After years of photographic trips around the world, he sees the city of Fez with the eyes of a poet. His work penetrates the intimacy of the medieval town and offers us a reflection on the connections between image and  word.

Omar Chennafi, based in Morocco, offers us Hidden Fez - which reveals the double identity of this mysterious city; the colorful doors and the surprising interiors that lie behind.

Details:
From December 8 to 31 at the French Institute Gallery, Gallery Kacimi, Batha Museum, Dar Batha, Le Jardin des Biehn, Cultural Complex Sidi Mohammed Ben Youssef.

SHARE THIS!