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

Moroccan Makhzen plays chicken (Noureddine Boutahar)

"Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law." (Oliver Goldsmith)
It’s really disappointing and frustrating how those against the new constitution are treated and fought by the ruling elite (Makhzen). To my mind, people who seem to be against the constitution or who have reservations about it have adopted such an attitude as a reaction against the rotten mentalities in the ruling elite who claim they own absolute truth and exclude dissenting opinion and prevent others from voicing their opinion. It is also a reaction against the ruling elite's attempts to contain and hijack what I call the Moroccan Spring Movement.
Soon after the king’s speech on 06/17/2011, the Makhzen resorted to its antiquated practices of provocation against opposing activists in the streets and public squares using goon squads, repudiation and exclusion of different opinions, and biasing the rules of the campaigning game. Practices like these have disturbed and interfered with all attempts to build and reform this dear country for more than half a century. No harm in letting things go their normal course and pace instead of acting like a crow that picked its baby’s eye trying to kiss it – look how they are tarnishing the image of the country on the Internet. Be reassured, though, the constitution will be voted by a comfortable majority for the reasons we all know (illiteracy is the first in the list, and that’s why there has never been a real educational reform in this country).
I personally have no problem with the constitutions (old or new one). The problem is with these rotten mentalities, as I said earlier, which will not do any good to the country even if you provide them with the American Constitution (7 articles and 27 amendments that took two years to be debated and voted on). This ruling elite will never let go their powers, mindsets and prerogatives and privileges unless under duress. They will never be willing to apply and enforce the law and make EVERYONE obey the rules and be accountable. So, the new constitution will have no authority if it is put (and it seem it will be put) in the hands of the same people and antiquated institutions and organizations that abused the old ones. These include the political parties which had the opportunity to rule the country and gave bad account of themselves; the unions which have run out of steam and members and alienated all the working classes because they have sold out the employees to the politicians; and the associations and organizations whose interest is only fame and filling their coffers.
The constitutional debate has excluded the real change seekers of Morocco and included only unrepresentative political elite. These elite have not been part of the movement that led to the March 9th speech and eventually to the drafting of the new constitution. So why should they be trusted with it? They are up there ready to parrot whatever gets them some (political) favor and to applaud in expectation of something in return (though they haven’t lived up to their constituencies’ expectations)
Leftists, Islamists, and all Feb. 20th Movement young citizens who constitute a growing proportion of Moroccan population are a result of rejection and exclusion by the country’s political parties and structure. These political parties have not implemented democratic practices within their own structures let alone ask for its implementation in a country they view as a cash cow that enables them to live lavishly at the expense of development, transparency, and democracy. Oppression, wealth gaps and social inequality issues etc are election gimmicks produced and sold only during election period to more than 60% helpless illiterate Moroccans. Election period is the time of political theater and grandstanding. It is always time to throw accusations right and left and to fight the "Don Quixote battle" against the windmills: They eat fat tail with the wolf and cry with the shepherd.
It is almost impossible to imagine the executioners of yesterday – used to operating with impunity – to simply stand up and watch democracy move its pace and fashion forward. They are scared of democracy as bats are scared of light. They are afraid they might lose the lap of luxury and wastage as well as their uncontrolled and unfettered abuse of power. This morbid attachment to power and alienation of all sides is a chicken play because the wind of change has begun to blow and has turned irreversible tides.
"Nothing endures but change," said Heraclitus. So, our ruling elites should be prepared for the certainly coming change and make necessary concessions to save their face and hide. The old game of betting on time to heal the old large and deep wounds is an illusion at this time and age. They should show concrete signs of commitment and willingness to engage in genuine political reforms. They should release whistle-blowers, journalists and all political and opinion prisoners and detainees. Journalist Nini and his Almassae is an example of a model of free and committed press which will play a role in the passage to real democracy. Also, the state should be a real role model and abide by the law if it wants the citizens to do so and not allow itself “in the sins it condemns in others”. The Makhzen should also know that committed, visionary, and competent young leaderships and officials, as well as true and correct institutions, will get the best out of this constitution while waiting for a better and improved one. Hopefully, in Geoffrey Chaucer words,“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.” Last but not least, they should not try to abusively change the history and ethnicity of the country: Amazigh language hasn't been given its due place, attention, and importance yet. It's still lagging behind.

Secondary School Textbook Evaluation Meetings (Noureddine Boutahar)

Mr Hamid Angoud, the Inspector of English in the region of Khemisset, held some meetings about Moroccan English textbooks used in secondary schools (9th grade). I attended a couple of them as a teacher-adviser and I sometimes felt the books were subject to violent criticism by some teachers. As a veteran teacher I have to make a few comments – or say thoughts – about these books and try to render to Caesar what is Caesar's.
However, I should first thank Si Hamid Angoud for the opportunity he gave me to meet those blooming and ambitious young teachers and have honest constructive discussions. It was an opportunity to share our thoughts, experiences, as well as our grievances and aspirations for better and quality education for future generations in Morocco. Heartfelt thanks to teacher-presenters for their well thought-out presentations. Special thanks to the teacher-participants for their valuable contributions and whose criticism mostly comes out of genuine love and admiration for their profession and out of aspiration for a better system of education in general.
I am a veteran teacher but I am not claiming expertise, however. I am veteran in terms of the number of years I spent in teaching. I started teaching in the late eighties and lived both periods: before the home-made textbook and while implementing and using the Moroccan textbook. At that time, in the eighties, we had only the syllabus –an outline of the points and topics to be taught – and we had to prepare everything from scratch: reading texts, listening texts, lesson plans, activities, homework assignments, quizzes, tests, VAs and all. It was so strenuous and exhausting and we sweated a lot because it was very hard – in the absence of the Internet – to find handy material and because we were inexperienced novice teachers groping our way through the labyrinth of the teaching profession. Now, we have our homemade Moroccan textbooks, but they are not perfect books, I have to admit. However, they have made things easier for teachers, and have made their job less demanding at least because they don’t have to start everything from the ground up. They give us all somewhere -a common ground- to start from. However, these books need good teachers because good teachers know how to evaluate and adapt textbooks. Good teachers don’t throw bad textbooks under the bus; they are troubleshooters who try to improve school textbooks using their experience, their knowledge, their know-how, and their creativity. Also, with the Internet services the sky is the limit for finding material to supplement these books and make them cater for the needs of students.
As a reminder, textbooks have, among other things, the following advantages: They serve as a scaffolding for novice teachers and offer them practical help; they provide practical guidance for both novice and seasoned teachers about what to teach and how to teach it; they make it possible for absentees to catch up; they allow class to prepare in advance and good students to work independently of the teacher or even ahead of class; and they permit external legitimate parties (parents, inspectors, principals etc) to have an eye on what is going on in class.
The bottom line is, "a textbook is just one tool, perhaps a very important tool, in your teaching arsenal." They are necessary but some adaptation and improvisation is needed to keep them afloat. That is, teachers should use them wisely and not overuse them blindly.

Moroccan Parties About-face (Noureddine Boutahar)

Most political parties, unions, associations, and all the profiteers who have been riding the Moroccan gravy train for almost a century disparaged February 20th Movement and gave it a stinkeye at the beginning. They all repudiated these youth and avoided them as if they were scabby with mange. They used the media to mock the movement and demonize it by portraying and spreading an untrue image about its members. But as soon as the king announced "to undertake a comprehensive constitutional reform" everybody did an about-face and changed their speech. What had been criticism became praise, and blame changed into acclamation. They did so 'under duress and not willingly' (Mokrahun akhaka la batal), of course.
What is worse, though, is the attitude of many associations and most political parties which now want to appropriate the movement and hijack the 'revolution'. They have appointed themselves chief negotiators on behalf of the youth and on behalf of the Moroccan people as a whole on constitutional reform. The political parties, for example, which do not represent the people mathematically in view of the low turnout of the last elections and low membership are forcing themselves into the movement's seat to steer the country into a darker and uncertain future.
The Moroccan people have abandoned these political parties as a result of their attitudes towards the people's demands and because of their involvement in the distortion of the political life in Morocco. These political parties, associations and unions are responsible for most of the political, economic, and social problems of the country. The greatest crime they committed against the Moroccan people is that the had no vision and no aspirations beyond the interests of the big heads and the few infamous elite.
It is really disappointing to see vociferous and acerbic 'heros'and 'militants' of yesterday become tamed with money, positions and jobs. It is depressing and disheartening to see yesterday's 'symbolic figures of militancy' turn now into "paper tigers" - to use Mao Tse Tung's words.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe once said, “A great revolution is never the fault of the people, but of the government.” In our case, it's the fault of both because the people too have long believed the honeyed promises and speeches of these guys who want to, in Rachid Nini's terms, "abort the revolution of the people and the king". They will do their best to abort the revolution because they don't represent the people, they are far from the people, they are not interested in the people, they have no practical political agenda, and they do nothing but swim with the tide. But because they have grown older, frail and weak, they will undoubtedly be carried away by the tide of time.
Change is coming, though, beyond any shadow of doubt and tomorrow will definitely not be like yesterday because the people and the king want change, and because times have changed. All we have to do now is offer funeral prayers for the political parties, associations, and unions of yesterday. Let's also cross our fingers and hope a new and young generation of leaders will rise up from the multi-ethnic streets of Morocco to lead the country to a better future and to a democracy based on equality regardless of family name or origin.

My Thoughts about Access Program (Noureddine Boutahar)

I am writing these thoughts at the request of Khemisset Access program students.
MATE ACCESS program is almost over and I am sad, but I am actually profoundly grateful for the opportunity given to me to teach these students because I learnt a lot from the students and from the program itself. It is my utmost delight to see these young people grow, in less than two years, from students struggling to communicate with English to students who can hold a long conversation and write long essays in English using a wider variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures.
The program allowed me to meet and make new friends (teachers, students, guest speakers, parents and others)
The program allowed me to use my ICT skills and put to practice things I learnt by my own and during my stay in the USA.
The program allowed me to improve and hone some of my teaching skills because this is a special group.
The program allowed me to widen my knowledge of American culture via the books (MEGA), the CDS, and the American guest speakers.
I learned that working with a small group is much better than working with a large group because you can tend to the needs of each individual student.
I learned that introducing Internet services in the classroom like youtube, google, blogs, and so on enhances learning, and makes teaching fun and enjoyable.
I learned that good students – like this group -- make a good teacher. It’s the serious, smart, interested, curious students who push teacher to do better and work harder.
I learned to budget my time even more efficiently. I had to juggle my school work, my Access work, my TV work, and my family chores and responsibilities.
Also, my students have repeatedly been teachers to me.For example, time and again, I prepared and planed topics for discussion, read enough about them, then I got surprised at the richness and variety of my students ideas in the classroom.
I'm sad, though, that the program is almost over because I had so much fun with these students. I hope to meet with them sometime later, to see them grow, develop, begin a career, and actively participate in and contribute to the development, welfare, and betterment of this nation.

Congrats to Egypt (Noureddine Boutahar)

Dear Egyptian friends,
Congratulations on your victory and success. You deserve your liberation and freedom. Your courage and perseverance have paid off. For Eighteen days you have been protesting peacefully, enduring weather conditions, standing thugs’ provocations, and bearing the regime’s hopeless prevarications. Now that you have pulled the regime out like a cat across the rug,enjoy your well-deserved victory.
There is a joke making the rounds here in Morocco that Husni Mubarak came out on the balcony one morning and saw the crowds shouting and screaming. He asked one of his advisers, “Who are these people? What do they want?” The guy responded, “They’ve come to say good bye, your Excellency.” “Why? Where are they going?” said Mubarak.
It is a joke reminiscent of France’s Marie Antoinette joke: “let them eat the cake”. A good joke does more than make you laugh. A good joke like this one tells a lot about the mentality of those tyrannical rulers in their ivory towers, wearing blinkers, and clinging on to their beloved chairs of leadership to the last shred of imaginary hope.
They never look back, they never make any self-criticism, and they never listen to the voice of the people. All they are interested in is how much filthy lucre they and their cohorts make. They listen only to those beating the drums for them in their tacky, hypocritical speeches, and in the media. They do the possible and the impossible to dig their heels in and their heads in the sand so as not to see the truth: poverty, sufferings, injustice, corruption, despotism and the list is dozens of problems long.
As I always say, the rulers at the top are not the only ones to blame. They are just the tip of the iceberg. There are other hands on the steering wheel who benefit (more) from the situation that you feel these rulers are helpless and dependent on those vultures feeding on their fellow citizens. These vultures are powerful individuals and families, companies, and corrupt army generals who take and never give anything to the nation.
Congratulations once again to all the Egyptians and May God help and guide you along the path to true democracy. Special congrats to my Egyptian friends: those I made in Boston, Washington, Kent State (Mohammed, Ashraf, Wael, and Ahmed); those I met in Spain; and those I know in Italy.

The chickens have come home to roost. (Noureddine Boutahar)

I am taking some time out of my busy schedule to write down my thoughts about what is taking place in the Arab World these days because it is really the Arab World's watershed moment.
There are frustrated people everywhere in the world, but the Arab World has the worst-ever kind of frustration. The people in these rich countries have been put in “a boiling pot with a tight lid” for so long. The pot, however, has blown up the kitchens of Tunisian and Egyptian leaders and it is shaking that of a few others. These poor people were put there by their rulers and the West and shadow governments have been blowing on the fire, and the result is what you see today in some of these countries.
The Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions’ message is clear and they are asking for something exclusively human, I guess: freedom, democracy and a better life. That’s what people are standing up for there in Egypt right now. They want their economic rights, their dignity, and the right to rule themselves. They want real reform because they’ve had enough of fake reforms and make-up. They’ve had enough of make-believe elections and parody institutions. They’ve had enough of committees “where investigations go to die”. They’ve had enough of unkept promises and eternal waiting-rooms (country) where their dreams fade and die.
People there are fed up to the back teeth with the fallacy that they are not ready for democracy yet. They are fed up of being considered under age, unsophisticated, and not mature enough for democracy.
The wind of change is blowing through the oil-rich Arab world because people are sick and tired of seeing the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Poverty, unemployment, corruption, embezzlement, inequalities and huge disparities in wages and salaries are all themes rumbling across countries awash with wealth and enormous potential. Unfortunately, the embezzlers, the corrupt, the money launderers and other criminals have no fear of the law because they are the law. You really have a lump in your throat to see these perpetrators run scot-free and go unpunished, and unquestioned.
The lull before the storm is over, and the dictators are getting only their come-uppance for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. They are reaping what they have sown. Even their patrons in the West are abandoning them and are asking them to leave. These rulers have missed out on many opportunities to make peace with their people. Now, here emerges a can-do generation which will not be satisfied with piecemeal, cosmetic reforms. Burnishing an image which has been tarnished by decades of autocracy and authoritarianism will not do the job this time. Rather, bold and far-reaching reforms are needed at all levels: political, economic, social, and judicial.
I have been talking about the tyrant rulers, but this does not mean the rulers at the top and their government officials only. There are those who aid and abet them in greedily exploiting the people and the natural resources of their countries. Sometimes you feel those rulers are helpless and are just carrying out agendas set by shadow governments, or the invisible government which in actual fact has the political and economic power. These are greedy, powerful individuals and companies both local and foreign working out plans behind the scenes to rob the people and to milk the country dry like leeches on a cow.
All freedom, peace, and democracy-loving people, let’s pray and hope that real democracy and peace come to the Arab World. Sooner the better, because chaos, anarchy, destruction, and all forms of violence are not in anyone’s interest and will not solve problems.
I also hope that life gets back to normal very soon in Egypt, that its cultural heritage will not suffer the same fate as that of Iraq, and that all my friends there (in Egypt) are safe and sound.