Thursday, August 13, 2020

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Parents Struggle to Advocate Education Rights for Autistic Children in Morocco

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Photo: Chama Bendaoud, 13, and her paraprofessional checking her math homework. Photo by Stella Shi.

As Moroccan government enforces new policy on education for autistic children, families are still struggling to access basic rights. 

By Stella Shi

Last updated December 2019

RABAT, Morocco — Aya Hajarabi’s curly hair is tied up in a bun with loose ends over her face. As her mother is talking to the psychiatrist, Aya observes them intently and repeatedly taps on her mom’s shoulder. Then she shouts the only word she knows: “Mama!” she screams in a piercing tone, hoping for attention.

Jewish schools in Morocco are alive and well—they’re just majority-Muslim

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Last updated February 2020

CASABLANCA, Morocco—Vanessa Mamane picks her way through a melee of toddlers in full recess mode in the courtyard of Narcisse Leven, the Jewish day school she directs in Casablanca. Once inside the relative quiet of her office, Mamane points to a poster on the wall with a collage of photos from last year’s reenactment of the Purim story. It would be the last school-wide Purim celebration at Narcisse Leven. Because of dwindling enrollment of Jewish families, this year is the first that the preschool has opened its doors to Muslim students.

Sex education in Morocco? There’s an app for that.

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Every Saturday, 20 young Moroccans meet in Rabat’s El Youssoufia neighborhood to learn about sex and sexuality. The meeting is organized by OPALS Maroc, a nonprofit fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS in Morocco. Photo by Ella Feldman.

Last updated December 2019.

RABAT, Morocco — Like many Moroccan teenagers might, 16-year-old Boutaina Gouzden and her friends spent a recent Saturday morning taking an online quiz. But rather than inquire about favorite colors and dream vacations, this quiz asked questions like, “Is it risky to kiss my partner lovingly if they are HIV-positive?”

When that question was projected on the white screen before her, Gouzden shot her hand up immediately, a proud smile spreading across her face.

How Fouzia Madhouni found her voice through American football

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Fouzia Madhouni practices with her recreational American football team, the Jaguars. Photo courtesy of Association Marocaine Jaguars du Football Americain.

Last updated December 2019.

RABAT, Morocco—As the sun sets over Rabat’s corner of the Atlantic Ocean every evening, the various athletic fields that line the city’s waterfront come to life. Young people, primarily men, flood the terrains to play sports, primarily soccer, for hours on end. Grunts and shouts in Moroccan Arabic can be heard along the coast all night. But on Thursday evenings, under the fluorescent lights of a particular field near Avenue Al Fath, the cacophony is interrupted.

Virginity Certificates Persist in Morocco Despite Calls to End a Discriminatory Practice

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Photo: Two Moroccan women walk in Oulad Teima, a small town in southern Morocco, where they work in the women’s club. Both obtained virginity certificates when they were younger. They asked to remain anonymous to protect their privacy. Photo by Naomi Miyamoto for Reporting Morocco.

By Lexi Reich

Bouchra, 20, took her “virginity test” when she was only 14, six months before her wedding night. Terrified of the result, tears fell down her cheeks when the doctor instructed her to spread open her legs at a hospital in Boujdour, southern Morocco.

Alumni Spotlight: Ben Bartenstein

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As a college student in 2015, Ben Bartenstein found himself 4,000 miles from home in Rabat, Morocco. Bartenstein went to Morocco to pursue a career in journalism, an offbeat choice compared to others from his Wisconsin hometown of only 500 people. Most of his childhood friends went into farming, teaching, or the family business. But Bartenstein, now living in New York City as a reporter for Bloomberg News, was always interested in a life outside of Wisconsin. “Growing up in a more insular place where there wasn’t much diversity just made me extra curious about the outside world,” Bartenstein said.

Morocco Makes Face Masks Compulsory; Morocco Looks to Foreign Debt to Deal with Coronavirus; Morocco’s Literacy Program Serves 290,000 Remote Learners

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Photo Credit: MAP.

April 6th, 2020.

Three stories you need to read today. Compiled and broken down for you by Reporting Morocco student journalists — every day. Brought to you from the School for International Training’s journalism program, Rabat.

Morocco Makes Face Masks Compulsory Due to Coronavirus

Source: New York Times

Lede: Morocco made wearing face masks mandatory starting on Tuesday for anyone allowed to go out during the coronavirus outbreak, the government said.

Key Background: The masks will be sold at a subsidized price of 0.8 dirhams ($0.08) per unit.

News Roundup: Casablanca Hospital Transforms Maternity, Pediatric Wards; Morocco to free over 5,000 prisoners; Why Morocco’s king is moving closer to Saudi Arabia’s MBS

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Photo Credit: Middle East Eye

April 6th, 2020

Three stories you need to read today. Compiled and broken down for you by Reporting Morocco student journalists — every day. Brought to you from the School for International Training’s journalism program, Rabat.

Casablanca Hospital Transforms Maternity, Pediatric Wards for COVID-19

Source: Morocco World News

Lede: Rabat – The Moulay Youssef Regional Hospital Center (CHR) in Casablanca has transformed its 20-bed maternity ward to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

The hospital is in the process of transitioning the pediatric ward for the same purpose, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) reports.

News Roundup: Morocco confirms 27 more cases of Covid-19; Coronavirus fuels domestic violence; EU makes a decision on products from the Sahara.

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Photo Credit: Morocco World News

April 3rd, 2020

Three stories you need to read today. Compiled and broken down for you by Reporting Morocco student journalists — every day. Brought to you from the School for International Training’s journalism program, Rabat.

Morocco Confirms 27 More Covid-19 Cases for Total of 735

Source: Morocco World News

Lede: Morocco’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 27 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 735 as of 8 a.m. this morning.

Key background: Overnight, three more people died of the virus for a total of 47 deaths in Morocco.

News Roundup: Real Estate Fraud, Isolation Difficulties for Poor, New Dinosaur Discovery

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Photo credit: Morocco is grappling with what is being described as its biggest-ever property scam. Fadel Senna AFP

April 2, 2020

Three stories you need to read today. Compiled and broken down for you by Reporting Morocco student journalists — every day. Brought to you from the School for International Training’s journalism program, Rabat.

 

Morocco’s ‘$65-million’ real-estate swindle

Source: France 24

Lede: “Give us our money!”, demands a group of home buyers, standing on land that should by now be finished condos — one of many fictitious projects that together comprise what is described as Morocco’s biggest-ever property scam.

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