Happy International Women's Day 2012 Noureddine Boutahar

March 8 is a time to pause and think about the lives of our moms, wives, sisters, daughters, female colleagues, gal pals and all the females who have touched our lives. It’s a time to stand to attention and salute all women, especially those brave ladies in poor countries like Morocco who fought and are still fighting for a better world for themselves and their offspring.

Happy International Women’s Day, then, to my illiterate stay-at-home Mom. A strong-minded and caring woman who attended to the needs of her ten boys and girls, and the needs of my Dad and other dependents for no pay but with stoic resignation and calm, and never thought of saying "Goodbye to Daddy"

Happy IWD to my five sisters who took Mom for a role model and devote their time and energy to the comfort, well-being and welfare of their respective families. I wish them a happy IWD and I congratulate them on being great moms and wonderful first teachers who taught and are still teaching their kids good manners and appropriate social behavior.

Happy IWD to my wife who works more than sixteen hours a day at home (with little help from me, I admit) so I can work less than eight hours outside. A heartfelt salute to my wife who attends to the needs of our kids so I can take care of other people's kids. Sincere gratitude to this great woman who, time and again, stays up all night so one of the kids can sleep or feel better under the warmth of her hand.

Happy IWD to my daughters to whom I wish a better fate and a far better world than present-day women’s where they can live free of discrimination and of man’s dictatorship, and where they can compete on a level playing field. My daughters’ future is the only thing, in these sclerotic patriarchal regimes, societies and world, which keeps me up at night and gives me the severest headaches.

Happy IWD to all the women in the MENA region who took to the streets and took part in The Arab Spring, side by side with men, to overthrow dictatorships but came back home empty-handed. Happy IWD and good luck to Karman Tawakul and her sisters in their fight for real ”democratic rights” because it seems they piggybacked ungrateful men who took advantage of them and then put speed bumpers in their way and arrogated more power to themselves.

Having said that, here is a piece of advice to you, dear ladies: after almost 100 International Women’s Days, gender equality is still a pipe dream, which should put you on your mettle because there is still a lot of work to do and a long way to go.

Morocco's Spring Blows out its First Candle Noureddine Boutahar

Morocco's February 20th Movement (F20M) will blow out its first candle tomorrow. The movement is spearheaded by young people with no particular political allegiance and is inspired by other protests in the MENA region, and is triggered by social, economic, and political frustrations that have plagued the country for decades. It has been a year now that people are shouting out loud for real democracy, dignity, justice, and transparency, but their demands seem to fall on the deaf ears of a stubborn Makhzen (ruling elite) which has used every trick in the book to circumvent these demands, fight the movement, and muddy its image.
It has been a year now and Morocco is still at a point where two roads diverge in spite of much ado about change and reform. The centuries old Makhzen mentality still persists and there are no indications that it will change soon. The Makhzen has not made any concessions but only fidgeted in its seat to make itself more comfortable and tighten the grip. The decisions are still made behind the curtains by a mysterious Makhzen that has always hidden its face from the gaze of public accountability. The Moroccan soccer coach's salary case exemplifies the Makhzen institution's modus operandi. This refusal to disclose the coach's salary and all the tergiversations is a message from behind the scenes that the Makhzen has the final say in every nook and cranny and will not pander to all the wishes of the people lest they ask for more. Keeping things in the dark often serves the vested interest of that Makhzen either directly or indirectly.
It has been a year now and the Makhzen is loath to admit its mistakes and make amends. It has placed the country at a crossroad where it is neither a dictatorship nor a real democracy. The country still has opinion and pen prisoners and persecutees. The country still suffers from lack of transparency, embezzlement, nepotism, red tape bureaucracy, tax evasions, income divide, successive price rises, and rentier economy to mention only a few problems which need no more than strong will and determination to be solved or alleviated. The country is still at the mercy of a perversely unyielding Makhzen, lurking in the shadows and operating there. The country is still at the mercy of corruption which is “the real maestro in this country”, to use Abdellah Damoun’s words in today’s Almassae newspaper.
It has been a year now and I still have a misgiving that the Makhzen has its heart and soul in the reform. There are inside the Makhzen institution many who put spokes in the wheel of change because their interests conflict with the reform aspirations of the people. By so doing, however, they ironically fan the flames of anger and perpetuate frustration and instability. Frequent country-wide protests and self-immolations bear witness to the frustration and dissatisfaction of people with the pace, quality and quantity of change that is taking place. On the other side, F20M does not trust the Makhzen's intentions on tackling the pressing issues and does not seem to be leaving the scene anytime soon, which will keep both sides in a kind of "prisoner's dilemma" for a long time.
It might be argued, however, that the movement has not achieved any breakthrough of any significance, which calls the value of the movement into question. But looking at it from a larger perspective, one may find notable positive achievements: For example, the Movement's protests have pulled down the decades-long wall of fear of the Makhzen (one of the classic triads of fear in Morocco: Makhzen, floods, and fire). It has also exposed the magnitude of corruption in this illiteracy-stricken country as well as its main figures. Besides, the movement has precipitated the release of some 'opinion' prisoners and brought Islamists into power - a dream come true for a party with a religious reference. Last but not least, it has been able to "awaken the political consciousness of Moroccans" as Ahmed Benshemssi said.
It might be said, also, that Morocco has a new 'democratically' elected government, which strips F20M protests of their legitimacy and value. However, this can be countered that the current government has limited power to resolve the country's multiple and age-old issues. USFP is still there to confirm that the Makhzen is adept at burning political parties’ fingers, and at using them as shock absorbers in times of need to weather the storms and deflect pressure. Also, because democracy is taken and not given, F20M can act as the rightful custodian of the promised change that's dripping instead of moving normal speed.
The way the reforms are being carried out reminds me of a Moroccan bon mot which had its origin in the following anecdote:
Once, a knight led his men off to fight with a neighboring tribe. It was not long before news came that the knight had been the first to be killed. Upon hearing this, everyone in the tribe was surprised. Everyone, that is, except the town fool. "That guy was riding lopsided when they set out," he exclaimed. Ever since, this statement has been used to describe any endeavor that starts off on the wrong foot.
I sincerely hope to be wrong on this; that is, I hope the new government is not "riding lopsided". I also hope this new government will be given enough power, authority and jurisdiction to deal with the long-standing issues that rile the public most in order to restore people's trust and confidence in its institutions. I finally hope the government pushes the pedal to the metal because we have wasted too much time and because, in Ahmed Al Hafnaoui’s terms, “We have aged” waiting for Godot.

I Will not Vote Tomorrow Noureddine Boutahar

I have no connections with the leftists or Islamists. I am just a simple and lawful Moroccan citizen who dreams of a real and sustainable democracy in this country. However, I will not go to the polls tomorrow for the following reasons.
First, I have washed my hands of the Moroccan political parties, from extreme left to extreme right and all points in between. Many of them have had the opportunity to ‘rule’ but gave poor account of themselves. They only served as a mouth for the Makhzen (Ruling Elite) to eat garlic with. For decades now, Moroccan people have been sending clear messages to this Makhzen and to these political parties by refusing to go to the polls, by taking to the streets, and by other means of protest. However, no one wanted to read the silent majority's messages. They, instead, have always thrown caution to the wind and chosen the salmon’s attitude and have swum upstream against the current.
Second, elections or no elections Morocco will not advance one iota as long as the same mentality which has led us here continues adamantly in our politics. Ask any Moroccan citizen about the motivation of our political parties and the odds are that they will answer: “self-interest rather than public interest.” This self-interest runs the gamut from immunity, to power to money, and positions. It’s also all about pushing small group and/or family agenda. So, for me, going to the election polls at the moment is a waste of everything; a waste of time, a waste of money, and a waste of energy, and only serves the Makhzen agenda of keeping the status quo intact.
Third, the murky old electoral practices of the past still persist and most of its practitioners refuse to admit that they have expired or outlived their times. Such methods include gerrymandering, disenfranchisement, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear, and other unfair and undemocratic electoral practices that we see, read about and hear people utter sotto voce and fortissimo all around. These practices favor certain individuals and parties.
Fourth, the rhetoric and the soi-disant programs have remained almost the same over the decades. Every electoral campaign is an opportunity for the ‘runners’ to condemn previous elections as rigged, unfair, and unjust though they ate the proverbial fat tail with the wolf. Every electoral campaign is the time to promise ‘jam tomorrow’ and a bunch of other promises they know they can’t keep. Every electoral campaign is the time for Moroccan people to get lost, baffled and confused by the number of political parties all looking the same like the eggs of one hen and Xeroxed programs with tissue-thin differences.
Fifth, there are opinion and pen prisoners and persecutees in this country. I do not agree with most of them one hundred per cent, but as Voltaire, the great French philosopher said, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” That has to be the motto of the democracy that I and many Moroccans aspire to build and hold to their hearts. There can be no real democracy without respect for free speech, acceptance of different opinions, and protection of minority right.
Sixth, the Makhzen, which holds the whip hand, is not serious about change and reform. The ruling elite and its think-tank have thrown people’s demands for real democracy into the trashcan and have satisfied themselves with cosmetic make-up. They have resorted to the wooden rhetoric of the past that tells people what they wish to hear - words and no deeds. They support the old political party dinosaurs and drumbeaters, while the youth who are behind all this movement and premature elections are totally ignored, intimidated, persecuted, vilified, and demonized.
I love my country with every fiber of my heart and being. I am a pacifist and I don’t recommend violence as a solution. However, I will not go to the election booths so as to have the right to complain when things don’t work out right. I am certain all the campaign promises being thrown right and left today will end up forgotten between elections as it has always been the case.

Back to School Noureddine Boutahar

Students across Morocco are headed back to school for another school year. Their backpacks full of heavy and expensive books weighing them down. Their heads and hearts are full of false hopes, empty aspirations and sunken dreams generated by the sky rocketing unemployment among graduates and sporadic attempts of reform that usually end up in limbo and confusion. Their school year ahead is made up of a series of challenges, hurdles, and multi-faceted complex problems whose solutions are not on the near horizon. However, a detailed and in-depth analysis of the sad state of education in Morocco is beyond the scope of this post which will primarily be addressing the small drops that swell the river such as large class sizes, long school days, lack of basic materials and facilities, poor textbooks, arbitrary top-down decisions, and rife corruption.

Moroccan classrooms are typically too crowded for learning. Sometimes class size is greater than fifty students which is detrimental to the learning and teaching process especially in the early years of schooling when kids require so much of teacher time and need individual attention. Large classes, also, mean behavior problems for kids and management challenges for teachers who turn into mere babysitters. This certainly causes many students to lag behind and eventually drop out at a young age. A former education minister said that he’d rather see the kids in a crowded class than on the street. However, because of this failed policy thousands of them soon drop out as they cannot keep up with the other kids. Because of this boomerang policy Morocco ranks 4th worst educational reformer worldwide.

School refusal and hate is, also, very common among Moroccan students for various reasons such as having to do loads of homework, memorize stuff they will never need, wake up early every school day and so on. However, I for one see school day length (08-18) as one of the major reasons why our students look down on school. Our students spent most of their time and daylight hours at school; usually from dawn to dusk, nine months a year. It’s a different kind of jail with no bars but no freedom. I have spent some time in a few American schools where most high schools start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. I heard in Canada, whose ranking in education is among the top ten, the school day is even shorter – 5.5 hours a day. In these countries students have the afternoon for themselves, for extra-curricular activities, for homework and assignment, for projects, and for other activities and interests that would prepare them for adult life. Our students, on the contrary, routinely go to school in the morning, come back from school in the evening until they get extremely tired of school.

Another reason why our schools are not doing well has to do with the fact that education has become a lucrative business in this country. The weight of students’ backpacks is a perfect example of how enticing this sector is for profit-motivated businessmen who see education as another horizon for making quick money. Students’ backpacks are full of expensive school books and other school items which do nothing but provide fast and easy money to ‘The Merchants of Books’. It’s a sad and known fact that when business comes in the door, education and learning flies out the window. Too many books don’t make good students when the business mentality takes control of most aspects of education; they only drive those who cannot afford them to drop out and fall into a life of poverty, drug abuse, violence, crimes, and so on.

As for corruption, the situation is even worse, and it has taken quite a toll on Moroccan education. There have been some good-intentioned attempts to correct the failures of education but were usually nipped in the bud by corruption. Corruption in this very sensitive sector runs the gamut from bribery to embezzlement and cronyism to paid tutoring lessons by greedy teachers. Cases of entrepreneurs who have been found guilty of embezzling funds allocated to building or renovating schools and purchasing teaching materials is the talk of every street and home. Cronyism whereby some teachers can get desirable appointments and other services is a common currency in the field of education, as well. Also, the issue of “ghost teachers” is a prime example of corruption and officials’ impotence. These parasite irregular and illegal civil servants drain the already strained budget of education and expose the government’s impotence against the ruling elite who make the rules and the ultimate decisions. Other teachers are accomplices in the destruction of our system of education through the notorious shameful ‘private lessons’. These paid tutorings which pick the pockets of many poverty-stricken and middle-class families , are a disease which has plagued not only private and public schools but higher institutions as well and has, thus, eroded the educational system as a whole.

Also, the lack of basic educational resources and school facilities is a major constraint our schools are facing. Chalk and board are the only teaching materials that most Moroccan classrooms have. There are attempts, now, to equip schools with technology such as computers, internet connections, interactive whiteboards, and so on. However, it seems this is done in a hasty foolhardy manner and without a well-designed and proper planning. A perfect example of such imprudent rush is the little training teachers get which is not sufficient or adequate enough to incorporate technology into their classroom instruction. These so-called trainings are never supported by follow-ups or updates or hands-on tests or whatever to ensure competency, mastery, and continuity. Even the best and hardest working teachers need congenial and wiser training to spur them on to give the best they can. Some see the whole process only as a cash cow that earns them hard cash and others see it as a waste of time and money –especially the technophobe educators.

Another obstacle that impedes real educational progress in Morocco is arbitrary top-down decision making by individual school officials or a minority group of the ruling elite. Arabization, for example, undertaken and implemented by the then minister of Education, Azzeddine Laraki, in 1977 stopped at the 12th grade (baccalaureate). This has caused many science students to avoid going to Science Colleges and other higher institutes or to drop out because of deficiencies in French, the language of instruction there and also the language par excellence for the ruling elite. In addition to arbitrariness, irresolution, bureaucracy, and individual decisions are the main defining features of this sector which has suffered many similar unfinished reforms and wrong choices for decades. The protests and demonstrations of 1965, 1981, 1984, 1990 and multiple nationwide strikes act as an authentic witness to the failure of cosmetic makeovers which have been performed by successive helpless and façade governments since independence.

One more hurdle on the way to quality education in Morocco is the imposed top-down curriculum that focuses on quantity rather than quality. The amount of books students are asked to buy each year is a clear evidence of this orientation. Also, external parties’ (parents, inspectors, principals, officials, etc) insistence on the number of lessons covered rather than the way they are covered bears witness to the emphasis on quantity, teaching, and rote learning. Besides, most teachers usually struggle with the curriculum and find it difficult to finish the number of lessons and units in due time. Some teachers work overtime to finish, others wrap up the lessons quickly at the expense of learning, critical thinking, skills development, promotion of social and universal values and so forth.

The importance of quality education is well recognized. If you take care of education, it will take care of everything else including economic growth and prosperity as well as justice and equity. So, it’s high time those who rule from behind the curtains understand that low quality education is a weapon of mass destruction and a perennial security threat. They, also, have to stop dodging responsibility, pitting parents against teachers and teacher unions, and exhibiting a cavalier attitude towards the sufferings of kids of low and modest-income families. Hopefully, the coming government officials (under the new constitution) will have a broader outlook, a clearer vision, a stronger willingness, and more freedom to take educational reform seriously and expedite its process because it’s the best investment in the future of this country and a reliable guarantee of its durable social stability and economic progress. As Thomas Friedman said, "Countries that don’t invest in the future tend to not do well there."

Beware Citizens Dictatorship Noureddine Boutahar

Good Bye and Good Riddance to Gaddafi Noureddine Boutahar

دولة الباطل ساعة ودولة الحق إلى قيام الساعة * Ali Bnu Abi Talib

Congrats to the Libyan people for getting rid of the tinpot dictator who had held tight rein on them for more than four decades. Their success is an undeniable proof that any authoritarian regime is “more vulnerable than a spider’s web”[1] when people resolutely stand up for freedom.

Good riddance to the ruthless brutal dictator who had been sitting on his people’s shoulders for almost half a century depriving them of all freedoms and feeding them long shallow and ridiculous self-congratulatory speeches. Good to see the back of a recklessly stubborn and stupid dictator who has always refused to concede fault or listen to the voice of reason and act accordingly. Adieu paranoid, megalomaniac dictator who used his country’s money to fund terrorist groups all over the world instead of promoting infrastructure and building a productive economy at home, or offering his people quality education, and improving the Libyan population’s welfare.

Gaddafi is a prototype of ruthless and cruel dictators who see their people only as slaves, subjects, and a herd of sheep who should be led as they see fit with no right to protest or demonstrate against anything. Instead of coming down to talk to them and listen to their demands when people took to the streets on Feb 15th, he adamantly got on his high horse and began to insult them calling his own people “rats”, “cockroaches”, “stray dogs”, "traitors" and “terrorists” and murdered hundreds of them in an attempt to mistakenly scare them and silence the voice of freedom. He threatened to hunt them down “from house to house and from alley to alley”. It’s these terms that added fuel to the fire and provoked freedom loving sons and daughters of Omar Al Mukhtar to stand up and take arms to fight the dictator.

Gaddafi is an example of ignorant dictators who wouldn't listen or leave or step aside at the propitious time. They insist on holding on to their thrones waiting to get the torch of defeat from their predecessors. They put on blinkers and cling to power to the last shred of imaginary hope, selfishly and cruelly murdering, imprisoning, and torturing their own people. They have no place for democracy, freedom, justice, and dignity in their dictionaries in their countries which they have turned into family estate.

Gaddafi is a sample of adamant dictators who never learn lessons from other arrogant dictators who end up living a horrible life in exile or prison or hiding hole. Because of their morbid attachment to power, they end up being mass murders and then fugitives from justice or prisoners struggling with diseases in cold lonely cells.

The fall of the world's most ridiculous buffoon-dictator, who called himself “desert messenger”, “king of African kings” and a whole slew of other names, is a warning to other dictators - in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere - that tomorrow is just a day away. "An alert and learned man will take advice from any event," said Ali Bnu Abi Talib

* A state built on falsehood is [for] an hour,
A state built on truth is until the coming of the hour [of Judgement].

Rachid Nini’s Kangaroo Court (Noureddine Boutahar)

Dear Rachid,
As is my usual habit for years when I wake up early, I skimmed Almassae newspaper this morning waiting for my car to heat up. I looked at your op-ed column first, and there it was, all clad in black except for a short reminder message in white bold letters that you were behind bars to defend press freedom. I felt conscience-stricken because I hadn’t written about your detention, except for short comments here and there.

I also felt sad this morning because I remembered your informative, persuasive, and also inflammatory articles and I missed them. I really missed them and still miss them because they are engaging writings full of sharp comments, insightful criticism, and witty sarcasm all denouncing and decrying corruption, abuse of power, poor wages, exorbitant salaries that shear taxpayers, income divide, sky-high unemployment, lack of freedom of speech, the weakening of the public's purchasing power through successive price rises, bribery, embezzlement, kickbacks, cronyism, nepotism, red tape bureaucracy, lack of transparency, lack of accountability and punitive measures and so on.

I felt sad because after heavy fines, threats and attacks, they now resorted to the severest and worst punishment a journalist can suffer from: deprive you from pen and paper. They wanted to distance you from your readers who, like me, consider your Shouf Tshouf column their daily first dose of caffeine that brings them to life, as I once told a security guard at an embassy who wanted to ‘separate’ me from my copy of Almassae paper.

Yes, I miss your daily column, superior in both quality and quantity. I miss your style and approach. It is a lucid and clear style enjoyed by both the layman and the scholar as it mixes both high standard and colloquial Arabic, all wrapped up in Amazigh sarcasm and obstinacy, and swaddled in intense patriotism. It also “combines the simplicity of Glenn Beck, the combativeness of Bill O’Reilly, and the humor of Dennis Miller” [1]. The approach you keep is usually national but sometimes international when a situation presents itself.

Your knowledge of the Moroccan political system and landscape is so impressive which is the major reason behind your detention. They have shut you up at a time when the country needs you most to illuminate your readers about the present political turmoil and the forces shaking it up. So, instead of investigating the fraudulent practices you exposed and the corruption charges against those powerful guys you wrote about, they opted to swim against the tide and sanction the victim fighting for transparency and better governance. They deliberately behaved like the fool who looked at the finger when the wise man pointed at the moon.

They jailed you, dear Rachid, to deprive those who don’t have a say to express the injustices they face from their spokesman. But who are these guys who want to bring you to heel? They are a whole mafia that runs the gamut from the tax-evader tycoons to the 10 dirhames bribe-taker. They are the corrupt who are used to fishing (overfishing) in troubled waters and come up smelling like roses. Those who put you behind the bars are the ones who belong in prison for life, but they run scot-free because they have “moms in the kitchen” or because they are born with golden spoons in their mouths and rule and oppress those with wooden spoons (or no spoons at all).

They put you away because they knew you were and always are a brave journalist and a valorous opponent of the rampant corruption. They jailed you because you exposed them and they wanted to use you as a warning to those who dare approach their territory. They shut you up because you were doing your job to the utmost of your ability informing, illuminating, and educating the readers. Those “who made mischief in the land, and would not reform” [2] put you behind bars out of fear you would hunt them down from house to house and from alley to alley. They are afraid your voice would give additional strength to the pro-democracy protesters who take to the streets every Sunday to decry what you regularly condemned in your daily column. They are afraid your column would give a solid platform to reform advocates and democracy seekers.

I know whatever I say or write cannot do justice to a journalist of your caliber who devoted all his writings and risked his life to be the spokesperson of the man (and woman) in the street. So, all I can do now is pray for you to walk out of jail soon and go back home. Part of the message on your “detained” column says your “return is inevitable”. I strongly believe it because “every dark night has to come to an end”, because “the crazy kids have grown up”, in Benshemssi’s words, and will not accept anything less than democracy, freedom, and dignity before the winds calm down, and because your jailors don’t want you to be a free-speech martyr, a title you have already so worthily won.

Let me, in the end, shout out loud in the face of your jailors with Mostapha Khalal in today’s issue of Almassae, “Free Nini and free yourselves from the yoke of the past you still cherish and consider the golden age” [3].

[3] Khalal, Mosatapha. “The Case of Rachid Nini..Strange Paradoxes.” Almassae, 14th July, 2011, P.1-2