A Government by the Poor, for the Rich Noureddine Boutahar

The new government in Morocco seems to be trigger-happy these days. The sharpest ever increase in fuel price has loosened the members of government's tongues to say illogical and dogmatic things to explain the hike. They said the decision was 'bold', 'timely', and 'beneficial' to social groups in need!
A member of government, Mr. Boulif, said that the rise will not affect the poor because the poor don't have cars! When I heard the man, I congratulated myself, in petto, on belonging to the wealthy upper class. Another one, Mr. Khalfi, said that the increase is in favor of the needy!! Aristotle and Descartes would turn in their graves if they heard that logic; as if the needy don't use the means of transport and don't buy foodstuffs. A third, Mr. Prime Minister, advised people to use public transport because he wouldn't pay for their gas!! What a responsible speech this is!
These guys are dead wrong by all means. It stands to reason that the effects of any increase in the price of oil are automatically reflected on the prices of other staples. Raising fuel prices by about 20 percent for gasoline and 10 percent for diesel will cause food prices, transportation charges, accommodation costs and all other costs to soar. Also, the above laughable explanations show that the people's expectations and the rulers’ objectives are poles apart.
The decision to raise gas prices also came a week after the "Dignity Protest" in Casablanca. This means one of two things: either the government has lost focus because of its inability to score a single point since its appointment six months ago and has started to flounder, or that the government is sending out a message to the proletariat that any challenge will be met with an even tougher challenge. However, the consequences of this obstinate response have not been well assessed. Worsening the already weak purchasing ability of the people is fanning the flames of an already fragile social stability caused by mass unemployment and social, economic and political inequalities. The PJD must have forgotten that it is thanks to these popular protests that this government came to power before turning its back on those who gave it the piggyback ride.
People who voted for PJD have pinned so much hope on this party after years of suffering and neglect. However, the party seems bold against the poor and meek with the influential - the "demons" and "crocodiles" as Mr. Benkirane himself called them. This policy will certainly make the PJD party lose its stronghold and electorate capital. After its failure to net the "big fish," the government turned against the weakest link in the chain - the poor. For example, a few days after the government's failure to impose a modest wealth tax on the wealthiest, Benkirane's team announced this unpopular, shocking, and surprising rise in the gas prices; the highest in the history of Morocco.
One might wonder if the government has no other options. It can be countered that the government could have made a lot of money if it had put its heart in fighting corruption as it had promised during the election campaign. Billions of dirhames are lost through tax evasions; exorbitant salaries and exorbitant privileges like free housing, fuel and phone compensations - ministers and Gerets included ; ghost workers (90000 employee); The multi-million dollar music festival Mawazine which gobbles and squanders billions of Moroccan money; bailouts of companies which provide no benefit to the public, and so on.
As Thomas Freedman said, "Deep holes and weak leaders are a bad combination." This is a weak government - so far - and it should take advantage of whatever credibility it still has left to dig itself out of the scrape it has put itself in, or forfeit and join the USFP who also came in on the shoulders of the poor only to serve the interests of the rich.

Summer Ordeal Noureddine Boutahar

As we count down to summer vacation, my adrenaline gets pumping up. The mere thought of summer makes me shudder. It reminds me of the sleepless, horrible, all-night parties ahead when I will be spending the nights watching the clock ticking the seconds away. These parties, be they wedding ceremonies, birthdays, male circumcisions or whatever, are a systematic torture and a nightmarish moment for Moroccan poor and middle-class neighborhoods.
The parties begin at 00ish and finish after dawn. The music played over the loudspeakers, swells and swells progressively until it reaches its unnecessary maximum intensity and loudness, shaking the whole neighborhood. The so-called singers keep belting out their amplified soit-disant songs that pierce people's ears and hearts. They turn people's homes into harsh prisons and torture chambers. They deprive everyone - babies, old people, sick people - of sleep, keep their hearts quivering and make them suffer ear ringing the whole following day or tinnitus all their life.
It is a 'compulsory insomnia', in Abdellah Damouns words, that almost everyone in this country has gone through. I say 'almost' because our Makhzen (ruling elite) is well-known for its selective application of the law. The elite districts are often safe, peaceful and so calm that you could hear a pin drop at night. When it comes to the plebs, the authorities adopt the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" policy.
Disturbing the peace is a crime in every jurisdiction. However, like many rules in this country, this one is also drawn but not followed. Morocco does not lack laws but the rule of law. Many things here are preached but not practiced or they are practiced selectively.
I have been a little bit around the world, but I have never come across a case where one parties until dawn and the rest of the district stays up writhing in agony in their beds. I have never witnessed a situation when people have to listen, unwillingly in the dead of night, to drums that damage their ear drums. I have never heard cars honk their horns anywhere else in the streets at dawn except in this country where rules are made to be broken.
This situation compromises the future of younger people who are growing up in this lawlessness. Their version of right and wrong will certainly be not only completely different but dangerous too. Adding this lawlessness to the deliberate chaos that is given free rein in our streets after the Arab Spring is adding fuel to the fire. Our future generation is being taught to flout the law, to scoff the rules, and to grow up careless and indifferent of their responsibilities and duties. That's ultra danger.
There is no better way to end this post than pray to God − in the absence of law enforcement − and ask Him to grant us all patience this summer and help us keep strong through the usual summery ordeal. Amen.

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