Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Morocco

Marrakesh Mother’s Nonprofit Empowers Women

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by Rachel Berets

MARRAKESH, MOROCCO—While her own newborn baby slept soundly inside, Nora Fitzgerald found a baby girl, wrapped only in a blanket, abandoned on her doorstep. She brought the baby inside and called the authorities, who took the child away a few hours later. But the next day, Fitzgerald wondered if she had made the right decision. “What if I was supposed to take her?” she asked herself.

“I spent the next day looking in all the orphanages and I couldn’t find her,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t know what happened to her, I just prayed that she was OK.”

This innate sense of personal responsibility would ultimately lead Fitzgerald to found Amal, a nonprofit restaurant that teaches single mothers and other disadvantaged women practical skills so they can find jobs and provide for themselves, their children and their families. 

Alumni Spotlight: Jeanette Lam

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By Lexi Reich

Unsure of which study abroad program to choose, Jeanette Lam, 21, left the decision to a coin toss. Through that chance and the SIT journalism program in Morocco, she found herself in Paris last summer working as a cinematographer and editing assistant on a feature documentary.

“France’s Children,” directed by Aida Alami, advisor to the SIT program, follows the story of an immigration activist in France, and other activists who, fueled by the desire to empower their community, reject victimhood.

“This experience was one of the most unique opportunities I’ve ever had,” Lam said.

Sub-Saharan African migrants in Morocco find hope in art and performance

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By Robert Dozier

RABAT, Morocco – Jackie Zappa, is an artist from the Ivory Coast — one of an estimated 30 thousand migrants from Sub Saharan Africa. A painter and sculptor, Zappa says he lived in Tunisia and Algeria but his art was not appreciated in those countries.  Communities of migrant artists, musicians and performers are flourishing in Rabat and Casablanca.

“Morocco is the only place in Africa where I can improve my talent,” said Zappa.

Last year alone, more than one million people migrated to Europe, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, according to the International Organization for Migration. 

Local Human Rights Groups Feel Brunt of Morocco’s Crackdown

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By Simeon Lancaster

SALE, Morocco – Cracking a smile, Mohamed Chakhmane, 32, kicks a pebble into a muddy hole in an old concrete foundation next to his home in Sale’s Sehb El Kaid slum, as he recalls his participation in pro-democracy protests in 2011.  His demands included improved housing and an end to corruption a struggle that Chakhmane first got involved with 13 years ago.

At that time, he turned to the Moroccan Association of Human Rights for help.

But these days, Chakhmane prefers to stay away from the Association, which is facing a campaign of harassment and intimidation by the government such as blocked meetings and denied operating permits.

Moroccan media outlet launches amid press crackdown

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By Kayla Dwyer

CASABLANCA, Morocco – With less than a week before the launch of their news website, about a dozen journalists huddled around computers in a small, modern office, the sun streaming in glass windows that overlook the streets of Casablanca, as they put finishing touches on one of their stories involving government internet surveillance of Moroccan citizens.

“We are old new pioneers,” said Ali Amar, publisher and co-founder of Le Desk, which will go live online today. “We don’t know how the readers will react, but if we succeed, we think there is huge opportunity.”

In a country where independent press has nearly disappeared, this team of journalists is trying once more to bring reporting on hot button issues to Moroccans.

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