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.
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Morocco Makes Face Masks Compulsory; Morocco Looks to Foreign Debt to Deal with Coronavirus; Morocco’s Literacy Program Serves 290,000 Remote Learners
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 CoronavirusSource: 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
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-19Source: 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.
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
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.
“Have you experienced any shortness of breath recently?”: Reflections on a COVID-19 departure
Photo and writing by Jessica Blough
I had a dream about running just a few days before everything changed. I’m not a big runner — my chest usually tightens up long before I want to stop, and I have to slow to catch my breath. But in that dream, we were all there, and I was running laps on this small track, and I kept waiting for the pain in my chest to pull me down — but it never came, and I kept going and circling and running, even long after everyone else had stopped.
News Roundup: Homeless Protection; Western Sahara Consulates; COVID-19 Stage 2 in Morocco
Photo Credit: Morocco World News
April 1, 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.
Safi Authorities Launch Initiative to Shield Homeless From COVID-19Source: Moroccan World News
Lede: Two centers in the city of Safi, 157 kilometers from Marrakech, have welcomed over 78 homeless people to defend them from the rapid spread of COVID-19.
Key background: The local authorities of Safi launched the initiative with the Provincial Delegation for National Assistance and the Al Bir Wal Ihssan Association after Morocco declared a state of health emergency.
News Roundup: New COVID-19 cases; Prayers amid crisis; Aid from the EU
Photo credit: Morocco World News.
March 31, 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 18 New COVID-19 Cases, Total Stands at 534Source: Morocco World News
Lede: Morocco’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 18 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 534 as of 6 p.m. on March 30.
The ministry also reported that seven COVID-19 patients have died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths related to the epidemic in Morocco to 33.
News Roundup: Morocco Buys COVID-19 Test Kits; Increase in Coronavirus Cases; Fossils Discovered in Sahara
March 30, 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 Buys 100,000 COVID-19 Test Kits From South KoreaSource: Morocco World News
Lede: “Osang Healthcare, a South Korean manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, is set to provide 100,000 COVID-19 test kits to Morocco.”
Key Background: “The kits detect the virus through DNA testing, providing a fast and easily accessible way to identify the clusters of infection promptly, as a result contributing to containing the spreading of COVID-19.
News Roundup: Pipeline Approved; Supplies Initiative Began; Hundreds Still Stranded
Photo credit: World Pipelines.
March 27, 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 Grants Rights to Sound Energy for Tendrara Gas Export PipelineSource: Morocco World News
Lede: British industrial company Sound Energy announced on March 20 that it received full rights to carry out its Tendrara Export Pipeline project in Morocco.
Key Background: The British company wants to build and operate a 120-kilometer 20-inch gas pipeline to connect the upcoming gas treatment plant and compression station (CPF) with the Gazoduc Maghreb Europe pipeline (GME).
