Published/Broadcast Stories

Young extras get a brush with fame, but at what cost?

By Mackenzie Ritter 

OUARZAZATE, Morocco – Strolling this town on the western edge of the Sahara Desert, you might hear a man relating a conversation he had with Brad Pitt. Or a 20-something talking about how he saw Tom Hanks on the street. Or a girl gushing about how beautiful Emilia Clarke is in person.

Ouarzazate may be far from Hollywood, which hosts the Oscars this weekend, but it is a well-established location for international film shoots. It already was a tourist center when Atlas Studios, one of Morocco’s biggest movie makers, brought film work here decades ago.

By Molly Mulroy

This article was published in Global Health Hub on February 7, 2017. Find it HERE

CASABLANCA, Morocco — When Driss Joundy helped check his father into Casablanca’s Notre Dame Polyclinic, it was only to get a respite from the psychological problems that made it difficult for the older man to sleep. He didn’t know the horror that awaited.

The next morning, Driss was notified that his father, 77-year-old architect Rachid Joundy, had burned to death in an overnight fire in his room. Worse yet, he had been tied to his bed.

By Danielle Douglas

This article was published in Al Jazeera English on February 3, 2017. Read it HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ouarzazate, Morocco – The southern sun bakes down upon Morocco’s 580-megawatt solar plant, in line to be the largest in the world upon its completion in 2018.

This $9bn plant, known as Noor – “light” in Arabic – positions Morocco as a global leader in sustainable energy development. Situated in a dry, rocky, rust-coloured plain 13km outside the southern city of Ouarzazate, the plant has contributed energy to the country’s national power grid for the past year.

By Darren Spirk

This article was published in US News and World Report on July 5, 2016. Read it HERE. 

TANGIER, Morocco — At cafés on Tangier’s Mediterranean coast, rows of young Moroccans sit facing the hazy, yet ever present outline of Spain a mere 8.5 miles away. The idea of escaping to Spain is deep-set in Tangier. Stories often surface of overnight boats transporting Moroccan migrants. Some even attempt to swim the distance and drown. Driving this exodus is unemployment in Morocco which stands at close to 40 percent, according to the World Bank.

By Jennifer Kwon

This article was published in Aljazeera English on June 17, 2016. Read it HERE. 

Teaching in Arabic was appealing to many Moroccans, a sign of their independence from France. But Arabic never reached the university level, especially in math and science [Jennifer Kwon/Al Jazeera]

 

Rabat, Morocco – When Widad Houmaid, 20, earned good marks in high school, she decided to enrol in a biology class at Hassan II University in Casablanca.

There was only one problem; Moroccan university professors teach science in French. Houmaid, a graduate of Moroccan public schools where maths and science are taught in Arabic, does not speak French.

By Daria Etezadi

This article was published in Newsweek on March 20, 2016. Read it HERE 

The Moroccan woman was 21 when she first laid eyes on the man who would become her husband. She saw the handsome 24-year-old in a photograph presented by his parents. That was three years ago, when she was still a student. Within a year, S.S., who did not want her name used, had dropped out of her university classes, forced by her father to marry the man. Shortly after the wedding, S.S. says the beatings and rapes began.