"Culture Against Triviality," The Moroccan Campaign to Promote Reading

Here is an article from al-Ahram about an event  called "Culture Against Triviality" that took place recently in Morocco to promote reading in the country.
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"Culture Against Triviality," Moroccans ampaign to promote reading

Cultural activists launch literary flashmob outside Moroccan parliament on World Book Day to encourage reading, as citizens spend 24 times less money than the world average on books

 

Ahram Online, Monday 23 Apr 2012

Civilian activists in Morocco launched a campaign entitled  "Culture Against Triviality" calling people to read a book for an hour in front of the Moroccan Parliament as a part of their participation in 23 April's  World Book Day.
This symbolic initiative aims to spread awareness of the importance of books and reading in the life of the Moroccan citizens. According to a report published by the Saudi News Network AlArabiya.net, the literary flash mob aims to promote what it calls “real culture” working against cultural stereotypes based on destructive values that the group feels debases Moroccan public taste.

Reading percentages are poor in Morocco. According to recent statistics, a Moroccan citizen spends an average of just one Moroccan dirham (MD) per year on buying books (around 11 cents) at a time when the world average is MD25 ($3). In addition Morocco publishes only 2,000 titles per year while in France, for example, 60,000 new releases hit the shelves annually.

Cultural movements in Morocco recently called for halting the country's “Mawazeen World Singing Festival” via videos posted on the internet. The clips included statements by academics, musicians, and intellectuals who criticised spending so much money on such festivals while neglecting books and reading activities.
The activists called for a boycott of all the "trivial" recreational activities.  Moroccan thinker, Idrissi Abu-Zaid said in an excerpt of one of the videos that "reading is a nation, shaped like a pyramid, its basis is the readers, and its middle is the intellectuals, while its top is scientists."

 Abu-Zaid, who is a leading member of the ruling Justice and Development party,  warned against marginalising books and not encouraging reading, stressing that the long term impact on society will jeopardise Morocco's place in the international arena.

My Makhzen and Me - The Film - أنا ومخزني

I attended a showing of the film My Makhzen and Me by Nadir Bouhmouch today. There hasn't been much written up on it in English. The film is a respectable attempt to start an honest discussion about political and social issues in Morocco; and its good that Bouhmouch is honest about his own privileged background.

Here is an earlier article about the film from Al-Akhbar English. There is also a recent article about the film in French from SlateAfrique "Nadir Bouhmouch, la bête noire des dirigeants :Réalisateur de My Makhzen & Me, Nadir Bouhmouch dénonce dans son œuvre, la "corruption des «élites»"
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February 20th Movement in Retrospect: The Treacherous Path of Reform

By: Samia Errazzouki

Published Thursday, January 5, 2012

Morocco, like its North African neighbors, has recently seen the rise of a leaderless pro-democracy movement. The February 20th Movement drew on inspirations from movements in Tunisia and Egypt, while adapting its message to the political context of Morocco.

But the path of change took on a more moderate tone. Unlike neighboring pro-democracy movements, the February 20th Movement called for political reforms, not the ousting of the regime. Every Sunday for about eleven months, members of the movement have marched on the streets to put pressure on the Moroccan regime, resulting in a new constitution and parliamentary elections in which the Islamist Party of Justice and Development came to power. The movement’s inclusive nature has drawn a wide array of activists who contribute in different ways to the growth and maturity of a campaign that initially began as a call for protests on Sunday, February 20.

As they look back at their experience, Moroccan activists are proud of their achievements despite the need for continued struggle. One of the most familiar faces of the February 20th Movement is Zineb Belmkaddem, a single mother based in Rabat who can often be seen as the face of the movement on international news networks or the figure holding the megaphone in a march leading chants. Her role in the movement, like many other activists, grew out of accumulated frustration over a combination of living conditions and the political system in Morocco.

“When I saw what happened in the other Arab countries, I wanted to express all these feelings, and after I watched the first call for protests on Youtube, I had tears in my eyes and decided the journey would start there, and it did,” explains Zineb.

When asked about her role in the movement, Zineb responds, “I can't think of something I haven’t done.” With her multi-lingual background, she found herself speaking on behalf of the movement on major media outlets, including France24, Al Jazeera, and PBS. Within the movement, she has worked with logistics in addition to coming up with slogans that have since been chanted throughout the country. Online, she also regularly provides coverage on the protests.

The movement has struggled in gaining popularity within Moroccan society, which remains predominately apolitical. Zineb counters the widespread criticism, “Our role is to steer this movement and our society, as individual citizens and groups, towards positive change and democracy.” Sure enough, within less than three weeks of the movement’s first protest, King Mohammad VI announced constitutional reforms on March 9.

But the biggest accomplishment was the movement’s ability to act on its dissent independently of the Moroccan government. Zineb emphasizes, “Moroccan people deserve to do positive things for Morocco without having to get blessings, guidance, and orders from the king.”

Without limiting themselves to the February 20th Movement, Zineb, along with other pro-democracy activists are working together to form a political party, the Moroccan Pirate Party, whose three goals are education, transparency, and rule of law. The party channels the spirit of the pro-democracy movement with the aim of working within existing political institutions. The Pirate Party hosts members throughout the world.

One of the members of the Pirate Party, a Moroccan blogger based in France, is also an active figure in Morocco’s pro-democracy movement. Hisham Almiraat, has been on the media front of the February 20th Movement through his role in co-founding Mamfakinch, a citizen media platform which provides consistent coverage on the movement. Hisham explains how the idea for Mamfakinch emerged out of frustration over the Moroccan government’s hold on mainstream media outlets and the need to provide an outlet for the movement to reach an audience.

“We found ourselves as an extension of what was going on on the ground,” reflects Hisham. Within just weeks of the movement’s start, Mamfakinch became a major source for footage, images, and accounts of the movement’s developments. Their weekly liveblog and mapping of protests in Morocco draws a regular online audience throughout the world. Mamfakinch maintains an international audience by publishing in Arabic, English, and French, powered by a volunteer based network of activists, writers, and professionals.

The project has not been without challenges. Hisham admits that one of the major obstacles has been competing against print media in a country where the internet is not a key source for information, an issue tied to a 56 percent literacy rate. However, what sets Mamfakinch apart is its uncensored material, which Hisham highlights as an advantage to its audience, given the tools to interpret the content on their own.

Nadir Bouhmouch is another Moroccan activist who is working on propelling the movement’s message to a greater audience, both within Morocco and throughout the world. Nadir is currently studying Film and International Security/Conflict Resolution at San Diego State University and is also the president of his local chapter of Amnesty International. He has spent the last several months in Morocco pairing his fields of study working on a film project titled, My Makhzen and Me, which chronicles the February 20th Movement and the tactics used against the movement by the regime.

After attending multiple protests and meetings with members of the movement, Nadir noted a general failure to use art to further the movement. “Art is a great way to expand the numbers beyond those protesters who have become regulars at every demonstration,” says Nadir. He mentions detained Moroccan rapper, L7a9ed, whose music has been critical of the Moroccan regime, while his detainment has been a major rallying point for the movement.

Nadir stresses the need for arts in addition to the weekly protests, “Going out to the street is the most direct and effective way to get a government to its knees, but the streets have to be complimented by the arts.” His film, My Makhzen and Me, is due for release on 20 February 2012, the one year anniversary of the movement.

A Food(ie) Video Tour of the Fez Medina

For those of us who have been there, this video from the Guardian brings back bitter-sweet memories. Gail Leonard takes a tour of food stalls in the old city of Fez. Its worth a watch.
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27 Moroccan Political Prisoners on Weeks Long Hunger Strike

Here is an article from Reuters by way of the Chicago Tribune on a group of political prisoners ( jailed for different reasons) who are protesting long detentions without trial.
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Twenty-Seven Moroccan Political Inmates on Hunger Strike

10:09 a.m. CDT, April 10, 2012

By Souhail Karam

RABAT, April 10 (Reuters) - Twenty-seven Moroccan political
prisoners are in deteriorating health as they stage hunger
strikes over alleged violations including solitary confinement
and torture, the country's main rights groups said on Tuesday.

The prisoners are protesting against "long detentions
without trial...repeated provocations accompanied by threats and
beatings and inhumane treatment including solitary confinement,"
the Network of Human Rights Organizations said.

They also want investigation of torture they said they had
suffered, and the right to medical treatment, it added.

The network, which groups 18 independent Moroccan right
groups, published a list of 27 political prisoners, whom it said
had been on hunger strike for several weeks or more after they
were sentenced to jail or arrested for involvement in protests.

"Their health has been deteriorating while officials ignore
their cases," it said.

Justice and Public Freedoms Minister Mustafa Ramid and
government spokesman Mustafa El-Khalfi could not immediately be
reached for comment. The government says it is committed to
upholding human rights, including for inmates.

Morocco has managed to avoid some of the "Arab Spring"
turmoil after King Mohammed offered to trim his powers to
contain mass pro-democracy protests last year. But regular
protests continue to erupt against unemployment, poverty and
official corruption. Some have turned violent.

Among the hunger strikers is Azzedine Erroussi, a left-wing
activist and university student, who has been fasting since Dec.
12 in a prison in the impoverished northern city of Taza.
Authorities moved him in late March to a hospital in Rabat.

Erroussi was sentenced to five months in prison for
"insulting, abducting and beating" a police officer after he was
arrested in early December during protests by students in Taza
university. His supporters say the charges were concocted to
silence a leading figure of the student protest movement.

The network also cited Abdeljalil Akadil who was among 10
people sentenced in January to four years in prison for arson of
public property and attacking the police during riots over
unemployment in the Atlantic coast city of Safi in August.

Akadil, a human rights activist, has been on hunger strike
since Feb. 20, 2012, the network said. The country's main human
rights group AMDH says he had been tortured for three days after
his arrest to force him to admit to involvement in the riots.

Abdessamad Haidour has been on hunger strike since March 12
after he was sentenced to three years in jail for slandering
King Mohammed in an Internet video.

The network urged Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane to
"quickly respond to the legitimate demands of the detainees on
hunger strike" and "protect the right to life enshrined in
international and human rights conventions".

"We have witnessed in recent months a rise in the number of
hunger strikers inside Moroccan prisons," said Abdelilah
Benabdeslam of the main AMDH right group, which is part of the
network. "(This) is due to our law enforcement policy that too
often sees imprisonment as a solution to every problem".

Hafid Benhachem, head of Morocco's Penitentiary Authority,
could not be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Souhail Karam; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Copyright © 2012, Reuters

Moroccan Rapper "Al-Haqid" Charged for Anti-Police Song

Here is an Associated Press article about the charging of the Moroccan rapper known as "al7a9ed" (al-haqid) ostensibly for a song with anti-police lyrics.
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Moroccan rapper charged for anti-police song

By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A Moroccan court denied bail on Wednesday to a rapper charged with attacking the image of the security services in a song about police corruption.

Mouad Belghouat was arrested March 29 after Morocco's National Security agency filed a suit against him, and he is now being tried for insulting state employees and official institutions, a charge that could lead to a prison sentence.

The rapper, also known as El-Haqed, or "the enraged," writes songs about corruption and social injustice and is involved in the pro-democracy February 20 movement.

He also has written songs attacking King Mohammed VI for his vast wealth and high ranking on the Forbes magazine lists.

The police accused Belghouat of posting a song on the Internet accompanied by photos insulting to police, including one showing an officer with the head of a donkey.

The judge denied a defense request for bail after the prosecutor argued that the rapper presented a risk to the public order. The case was adjourned until April 16.

Belghouat's lawyer said the montage accompanying the song was posted by someone else and the whole case is just a political attack on a well known activist.

"In the song, Mouad accuses certain policemen of corruption. This isn't a scoop. Everyone says so and international organizations confirm it," Larbi Chentoufi told The Associated Press. "El-Haqed is in front of the judges for his opinions."

It is the second time the rapper, who comes from a sprawling slum in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city, has tangled with authorities.

Belghouat was jailed for four months last year for getting into a fight with a regime supporter in the gritty, low-income suburb of Casablanca where he now lives. His supporters say the charges were trumped up.

He was released on Jan. 12 in a case that mobilized the country's activist community.

Morocco was swept with pro-democracy demonstrations like many other countries in the Middle East last year, but the king managed to defuse popular anger with a series of reforms.

Belghouat has continued his activist work in poor neighborhoods. The song he is charged for, called "Dogs of the State," is addressed to the police.

"You are paid to protect the citizens, not to steal their money," says one lyric. "Did your commander order you to take money from the poor?" says another.

The song asks the police to arrest the wealthy businessmen who have divided the country up for themselves.

Morocco, a popular tourist destination for Europeans, has one of the highest discrepancies between rich and poor in the Arab world, according to international development agencies.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.