Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
January 21, 2006

US embassy organizes solidarity day with orphans.
Moroccan foundation grabs WB's merit award.
Morocco allocates USD 770,000 for water management agencies in 2006, Minister.
Cost of living index rises 1% in 2005.
American Express to donate USD 75.000 to revamp madrasas in Fès city
Dams for agricultural use filled at 41.6%
Morocco's Volubilia picked world best olive oil.
Nearly 50 Moroccans join American universities.
ICT : Essaouira to receive 10,000 computers.
Morocco jobless rate 10.9%
A second New Year's celebration for North Africa.
Thermal imaging camera in Casablanca airport to prevent bird flu.
Television is the favourite pastime of Maghreb households.
U.S. WELCOMES MOROCCO HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT.
US welcomes IER report on human rights violations.
Interview with Najat M'jid, president of Moroccan NGO Bayti.

US embassy organizes solidarity day with orphans.
By Karima Rhanem Rabat

The US embassy in Rabat organized on Saturday a solidarity day with orphans on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, celebrated in Morocco last Wednesday. A total of 700 orphans, from different cities of Morocco (Rabat, Salé, Temara, and Meknes), gathered in Palais Tazi in Rabat for a day of solidarity and sharing organized by the US embassy in cooperation with other embassies including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia.

Nancy Riley, spouse of the American ambassador to Morocco told Morocco Times that "on the occasion of Eid al-Adha we want to make these children feel happy and know they are not abandoned" "We have already organized a similar event with 60 orphans during the performance of the New Orleans band in Morocco, and we were touched to see two sisters recognize their two brothers who are residing in another orphanage. So we thought it would be great to organize this day and make them feel happy, and serve them food and beverage by ourselves without any protocol," Riley added.

Moumen Lahcen, director of Salé Orphanage told Morocco Times that "this kind of events has a great impact on the children who will have the opportunity to meet other children and get out of their daily routine at the orphanage." "We are trying our best to make these deprived children live as if they were in a family," he added.

Figures from the world of arts and cinema attended the event. Naima Lamcharki, Aziz Maouhoub, Rachid al-Wali, Abdelkabir Ragagna, Naima Ilyas, Haj Youness, Mohammed Khiyari, among others, all came to share with the children their happiness. A number of activities were scheduled during the day for the children. These included animation, music and entertainment, dancing and clowns. This event is the third of its kind that Palais Tazi hosts for the benefit of orphans. The owners of the palace are intending to invest in the health field through the creation of a foundation called "Attasahol Foundation" to manage activities related to orphans and children's health. The owners of the palace are also to build a healthcare centre in Casablanca to manage the "Operation Smile" for children.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=12162 
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Moroccan foundation grabs WB's merit award.
Rabat, Jan.19

World Bank (WB) extended to Moroccan FONDEP Micro-credit Foundation, specialized in financing revenue-generating micro-projects, its merit award 2005 in recognition of its financial transparency. Thanks to the prize awarded by WB's branch Consultive Group To Assist the Poorest (CGAP), FONDEP became the first Moroccan micro-credit institution to obtain such an international distinction, a foundation communiqué said.
The Rabat-based foundation, is among 63 institutions based in East Asia/Pacific, East Europe/Central Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East/North Africa as well as Sub Saharan Africa, which were awarded the merit distinction this year.

The five top award winners for 2005 are BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), ACLEDA (Association of Cambodian Local Economic Development Agencies), AMK (Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea and PRASAC (PRASAC MFI Ltd.) both from Cambodia, and Pakistani FMFB (The First MicroFinance Bank). Top award winners will receive a trophy, while merit award winners a plaque.

Since it started activities in March 2000 and up to August 2005, FONDEP, has granted micro-credits amounting to over Euro 800,000, 64% of whose recipients are women. CGAP is a consortium of 31 public and private development agencies working together to expand access to financial services for the poor in developing countries. First launched in 2004, the CGAP Financial Transparency Award promotes transparency by recognizing audited financial statements compliance with international and industry specific disclosure requirements for financial reporting.
Last November, Morocco won the UN Prize of national committees of "International Year of Microcredit" in tribute to the country's efforts and actions to develop microfinance. Morocco, which is the only country from the North Africa and Middle East region to be granted this honor, boasts 12 micro-credit associations that serve almost 600,000 people handling nearly USD 810 million.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/moroccan_foundation/view 
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Morocco allocates USD 770,000 for water management agencies in 2006, Minister.
Kenitra, Jan. 19

Morocco earmarked MAD 70Mn, USD 770,000, in 2006 for its water management policy to namely ensure protection from floods, treatment of used and sparing water, said here on Wednesday Moroccan Minister of territory development, Water and Environment, Mohamed El Yazghi.
El Yazghi said the money is meant to support Water Management Agencies (Agences des Bassins Hysdauliques) that were allotted another MAD 150Mn for the treatment of liquid waste.

The same department is endeavoring to secure stable funds to the agencies in 2007, said the minister at a meeting in Kenitra, 40 km north of Rabat, of the governing board of the Sebou Water Management Agency in charge of the north-west region. The Sebou River flows from the north-center of Morocco into the Atlantic ocean. The Sebou agency, set up in 2002, has been considering means to tackle problems of the Saiss plain, central Morocco, which is facing depletion of water resources drawn from underground tables only and the rise of some chemicals in the tables, the Minister said.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_allocates_us_1/view 
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Cost of living index rises 1% in 2005.
Rabat, Jan. 18

The average cost of living index for the year 2005 has registered a 1% rise, said a communiqué of the Higher Commissioner for Planning (HCP).
The increase is ascribed, according to HCP, to the rise of the prices of food products (+0.3%) and of non-food products (+1.5%). The document said the rise was higher in the south-western city of Agadir (+1.5%), and central-south city of Marrakech (+1.4%), while Meknès and Fès
(centre) and Kénitra (west) registered the lowest increases.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_social/cost_of_living_index/view 
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American Express to donate USD 75.000 to revamp madrasas in Fès city
Casablanca, Jan. 19

American Express announced here on Wednesday it is donating USD 75.000 for the rehabilitation of the Sahrij and Sbaiyin Madrasas complex in the central town of Fès. This first part of a bigger financial assistance was given to the World Monuments Funds to safeguard and revamp the architectural heritage of the two Madrasas, dating back to the Merinid era. The emergency aid was made to preserve the two historical Koranic schools which were listed in the 2004 World Monument Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

The rehabilitation works are to be made by the Moroccan Commission in charge of historical sites of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a world professional association working for the protection of monuments and cultural heritage. Madrasas or Islamic schools were established throughout the Arab world. They were inspired by the schools established in Baghdad. The first Madrasas in Morocco were founded by the Merinid sultans. They were Islamic colleges with boarding facilities. The syllabi was heavily based on the study of Islamic thought and the Koran, but also included the Arabic language, astronomy, mathematics and medicine.

There are many Madrasas in Fès, the most important is Bou Inania, built in the mid 14th century by Sultan Abu Inan, the first ruler of the Marinid Dynasty. The El Attarine Madrasa was built in the 14th century by the Marinid Sultan Abu Said. Sahrij Madrasa is another Koranic school in Fès. It was built in 1321 and named after its ablution pool (or sahrij in Arabic). Madrasa Sbaiyin was built in 1323. The World Monument Watch was set up in 1995 at the Initiative of American Express with a USD 10Mn budget for ten years.

Established in 1850 in New York City, American Express Company was among the first express delivery businesses to arise during the rapid westward expansion of the United States. American Express operates in over 130 countries around the globe http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_culture/american_express_to/view 
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Dams for agricultural use filled at 41.6%
Rabat, Jan. 18

Up to this January 16, the average filling rate of dams for agricultural use reached 41.6%, against 52% the same period of last year. A communiqué of the Ministry of Agriculture says that the dams irrigating the west region were the most filled. Dams for agricultural use have a global filling capacity of 12.9 billions sq meters 
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/general/dams_for_agricultura/view 
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Morocco's Volubilia picked world best olive oil.
Meknès, Jan. 18

"Volubilia" Olive oil of Meknès-Tafilalet region has been picked "The World Best Olive Oil Extra-virgin of the Year", said a communiqué of the National School of Agriculture in Meknès (138Km east of Rabat). The prize is given by the Italian Guide Extravergine 2006, which awards the world best certified quality olive oils, said the document, noting that the tasting panel had selected 459 olive oils among 3,000 samples from Europe, North Africa, East of the Mediterranean, South Africa and Latin America. The Guide also set up a top 15 of world olive oils.

Volubilia olive carries more than 200 years of tradition, as can be testified still today by Historical landmark "Volubilis" a few miles away from where this oil is produced. Volubilis was a Roman settlement constructed on what was probably a Carthaginian city, dating from 3rd century BC. Volubilis was a central administrative city for this part of Roman Africa, responsible for the grain producing in this fertile region, and exports to Rome. The historical site include remains of the olive oil presses that made Volubilis wealthy. Olive trees grow in the nearby hills - and in profusion throughout much of Morocco - and olives and olive oil are important to the Moroccan diet and the country's economy.

Located at the steps of Middle Atlas -800 meters high-, the olive trees benefit from pure air, rich soil and a temperate and mild climate which confer to Moroccan oil its typical taste. The oil is obtained from best selection of the olives, hand-picked and pressed immediately by a modern temperature controlled system 
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/general/morocco_s_volubilia/view 
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Nearly 50 Moroccans join American universities.
By Oumnia Guedda. 1/19/2006

The Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE) said that 49 Moroccan students have joined American universities within the PLUS (Partnership for Learning Undergraduates Studies) Programme since it started. The programme was created and financed by the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It allows Moroccan students, having a baccalaureate (School-leaving certificate) and a diploma of general studies (DEUG two years university study) with the grade B or with a total grade of 14/20 and a very good level of English, to get Bachelor degrees in US universities.

The PLUS Candidates, pursuing a university degree in the faculties of literature, law and sciences, are to spend two years completing their undergraduate degrees in the social sciences and humanities at selected US institutions. In a release issued today, the MACECE said that the Moroccan candidates were granted many advantages, including travel and study expenses, medical insurance and monthly allocations during their academic stay.

The aim of the PLUS Programme, which covers the Islamic and Arab world only, is to create a human contact between people with different cultures, by facilitating cultural and academic exchanges. Many Arab countries have participated in the contest, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine and Yemen. Only Morocco benefited from an important number of selected candidates. In 2004, from the 70 selected candidates, 28 were Moroccan. In 2005, 21 candidates were Moroccan among a total of 96 selected students.

Among these participants, six candidates from the 2004 and 2005 group returned to Morocco to share their experiences.

Nabila Marzouk, Fatima Lbida, Fatima Ghailan, Youness Tihm, Zoubida Ziani and Mhamed Bigantane affirmed having made it there priority to present Morocco, Islam and the Arab World to their academic surroundings and the American community. Both have shown great interest in discovering the Arab culture. Nabila, trainee in AMIDEAST, is a pioneer of the programme. She has forgotten the first difficulties she faced at her arrival in the US, but still remembers the kindness of a Kennedy airport officer who helped her while she stopped over in New York.

Youness, Trainee at MACECE, said that he had so much luck at having found such a nice foster parent. As for Fatima, she found that being a foreign student is an advantage in academic life. The candidates appreciated the American system of education. Youness liked the idea of taking one of his final exams in a café. They figured out the importance of the relation between students and professors in the American system. They noticed that professors are always available at whatever hour students arrange.

The six Moroccan participants successfully integrated the new academic life. They also joined many associations within their universities, including Amnesty International, the Foreign Students Club and the Muslim Students Association.

They also organised many festivals during Ramadan and religious feasts. They have even taught French in the lycées of the area where they were living. Moroccan students in USA had the opportunity to undergo many training experiences, which allowed them to enrich their knowledge and know-how.

MACECE administers a wide range of research, study and teaching grants, mainly within the context of the worldwide Fulbright Educational Exchange Programme. The organization enjoys financial, managerial and administrative autonomy. It is managed by a bi-national board of commissioners and receives its primary funding from the governments of the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America, as well as from the private sector.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=12259 
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ICT : Essaouira to receive 10,000 computers.
By Amine Faraj

The city of Essaouira hosted this Friday the signature of a cooperation agreement, aiming the implementation of '½BipBip Essaouiraá' project. This latter seeks to provide the poor population of the city with 10,000 computers over a period of 5 years (2,000 each year), said Map news agency.
This project, initiated by the Ministry of Social Development, Family and Solidarity and the Spanish foundation ½ Bip Bip (Bits inspiring People), is made with the cooperation of the district council of the city of Essaouira and the Essaouira-Mogador Association. The whole project aims at making information and communication technologies a factor of social integration and labour.

The pilot project will concern only 50 families and 5 training centres, each of which will be provided with 20 computers. The training syllabus, the concerned families and centres will all be selected by a special committee. It will be composed of a number of executives and professors. Special software programmes will be provided by ½BipBip association for free. The pilot project is to be operative from January to June of this year. The success of this operation will allow the nationalisation of the project and the settling of similar infrastructures in other cities.

According to the signatory parties, technology marginalisation is a main factor of social exclusion. They also assure that communication technologies determine competitiveness among nations; therefore, lack of access of these technologies accentuates the divide between developed and undeveloped countries. The cooperation agreement was signed by Abderrahim Harouchi, Minister of the Social Development, Family and Solidarity, André Azoulay, HM Mohamed VI's Counsellor and President of Essaouira-Mogador association , Luis Cifuentes, President of Bip Bip foundation, Abdeslam Bikrat, Governor of Essaouira Province and Asmae Chaabi, President of the Municipal Council of the city of Essaouira.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=12178 
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Morocco jobless rate 10.9%
RABAT (AFP)

Hundreds of university graduates have held weekly protests for the past 15 years on the streets of the Moroccan capital, demanding safe government jobs because they fear the demands of private business. Mostly holders of degrees in the humanities and social sciences, some of the demonstrators say they would rather die than work for a private company. So they demand to be put on the public payroll even though the government has little use for them.

"In the private sector there is no security. You could work for years and one day or the next they will show you the door," said Driss El Hassnaoui, a member of a 7,000-strong organisation of unemployed graduates. Hassnaoui believes the government is obligated to give him a job.
"We are ready to be integrated in any public position," he said, as protestors waved a banner reading "work or death".

Last month a young woman ate rat poison during one of the demonstrations but did not die. In another incident several other demonstrators suffered severe burns when their Molotov cocktails accidentally exploded on them. Morocco's official unemployment rate is 10.9 per cent. Some 13 per cent of the workforce is employed in the public sector, or about 700,000 people.

This year some 12,000 people are expected to get government jobs. "Recruitment in Morocoo is not equitable," said Mohamed El Boukili of the Moroccan Human Rights Association. "Those who are part of a certain social class or family are favoured although the unemployed graduates, who often come from poor backgrounds, are the most in need of work," he said.

But the protesters have little sympathy from the government, which says it simply does not need more public servants with humanities degrees.
Driss Guerraoui, an advisor to the prime minister, said the graduates could not afford to turn their backs on the private sector.
"They demand jobs in the public sector but they don't have the qualifications for those positions where we need workers," explained the advisor, who is supposed to be dealing with the problem.
"We're looking for economists, telecommunications engineers, people with expertise in languages. We've suggested in vain that they get retrained. "These unemployed graduates have made a profession of demonstrating," he said, adding that they needed to change their mentality "especially toward the private sector". Hassnaoui said he was prepared to keep protesting for many more years. "We will continue our sit-in, even if it gets us nowhere for years to come," he said.
Last update on: 15-1-2006
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/newsfeed/?search=Morocco&x=9&y=6 
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A second New Year's celebration for North Africa.
11/01/2006
N o sooner had the lanterns to welcome the universal New Year gone out that certain regions of the Maghreb began to prepare for Amazigh New Year on 12 January. In Morocco and Algeria in particular, the event is celebrated with all the splendour of a tradition anchored in morality.
By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers - 11/01/06

On 12 January, the Amazigh people of North Africa will celebrate their own New Year for the 2,956th time. The festivities are strictly a family affair involving specific dishes. Couscous with chicken is the predominant dish, which embodies the whole symbolism of the event. Families buy male chickens, preferably corn-fed and cut their throats in an ancestral practice dating back centuries. According to researchers, 12 January corresponds to the end of armed conflict between the Imazighen and the Egyptian pharaohs.

The Imazighen then had their own ancient calendar based on the changing seasons, the various cycles of vegetation and the position of celestial bodies such as the moon and the sun. With the arrival of the Romans, the Julian calendar came to replace the native one, which could no longer keep up with the new seasons as a result of agricultural innovations. According to historians, 12 January on the Julian calendar (instituted in 45 BC by Emperor Julius Caesar) corresponds to 1 January on the present Gregorian calendar (instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582).
Given how deep-rooted the celebration is among the people, Algerian authorities are quite close to legally recognising Amazigh New Year as a public holiday under pressure from cultural associations working to restore cultural identity. Such recognition is part of negotiations currently taking place between the Movement for Arouch People (Kabylian tribes) and the government. In the Kabylia region, schools and universities did not await the official decision to close for the day.

The New Year should be one of prosperity, opulence and abundance The celebration comes at the end of the season of seeding, with the event being celebrated to seek a blessing for a good harvest in the future. The rich, copious meal of several dishes brings together all members of the family on a day of optimism to wish that the New Year should be one of prosperity, opulence and abundance. On this occasion, everyone sits down around a large traditional couscous meal seasoned with olive oil and full of chicken pieces. For some Amazigh, it is essential not to eat spicy or bitter food so those will not be the flavours for the year ahead. The Yennayer meal is most influenced by the crops grown in the region and a family's material means. However, the food served must symbolise richness, fertility and abundance. Examples of dishes include irecman (a corn and bean mash) and hearts of palm.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/01/11/feature-02 
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Thermal imaging camera in Casablanca airport to prevent bird flu.
Rabat, Jan. 19

Thermal imaging cameras have been installed at Casablanca's Mohammed V International airport (over 100 km south of Rabat) to "detect bird flu among passengers and prevent the disease entry" to Morocco, Health Minister, Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah announced. "face to the geographical spread of the virus, Morocco has taken additional drastic measures," the minister told the French-speaking daily "L'Economiste," underlining that the epidemiological situation in Morocco is "normal both for avifauna and husbandry as well as for humans." He reassured that the "virus does not transmit, up to now, between humans," noting that Morocco, which has already chosen the vaccine prototype against the virus in case it mutates, "has ordered 1 million doses from Pasteur Institute."

On Tuesday, a meeting gathered the inter-ministry committee to fight bird flue chaired by Prime Minister, Driss Jettou. In a statement to the press, Biadillah had said that "the check up of poultry and migratory birds raises no concerns," ensuring that there is a "pre-emption for vaccination and hygiene measures." For his part, the high commissioner for water and forest, Abdelaadim El Hafi, affirmed that "up to now, there is no indication as to the possible presence of bird flue (in Morocco)," as attested by analyses and samplings, he said. Internationally, the disease has claimed, since it was first documented in 2003, 79 lives around the world, and some 148 cases tested positive to H5N1 virus. The Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Influenza is convening, as of Tuesday, in a two-day meeting in Beijing to secure funding for avian and pandemic influenza control and preparedness.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box1/thermal_imaging_came/view 
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Television is the favourite pastime of Maghreb households.
By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers - 19/01/06

Television watching habits in the Maghreb vary greatly. While private channels are now a reality in Tunisia and Morocco, radio and television in Algeria have resisted private sector competition despite loud calls from opposition parties. Nonetheless, television is still the favourite pastime of families.

Since the 1990s, the growth of satellite television viewing has been continuous. Satellite dishes adorn the roofs of houses everywhere, offering a selection of local, Arab and French programmes. Ironically, all studies of television viewing figures show that in spite of lower budgets, local programmes are still preferred by viewers. Pan-Arab channels are the next most-popular viewing choice. Special-interest programmes, films, news and music are the items of most interest to the public.

The success of local networks is due to the strict decency standards maintained in broadcasting, eliminating images that may be deemed unsuitable for family viewing. Viewing figures for local networks over the month of Ramadan were found to be around 80 per cent. Networks broadcast show mostly local programmes, sitcoms and soap operas. Television is particularly valued during Ramadan as Maghreb families gather around the television set as the period of fasting comes to an end.

The audience share of local networks in the Maghreb was 40 per cent in 2005, while pan-Arab channels accounted for 34 per cent (45 per cent in Tunisia and 41 per cent in Morocco) and French networks took a 26 per cent share (48 per cent in Algeria, five per cent in Tunisia and 11 per cent in Morocco. In terms of the penetration of pan-Arab networks, Al-Jazeera and Rotana Cinema were the leaders, each with a share of eight per cent in 2005 in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The Middle East Broadcasting Centre has a four per cent share, while the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation is being increasingly watched for its programme "Star Academy".

In an area of 75m television viewers, the programmes of choice are dramas, variety programmes and sport. Recently, reality shows and games produced by companies such as Endemol are capturing public attention. Analysts point to the apparent high cost of other family activities Analysts point to the apparent high cost of other family activities and the precipitous decline in reading as a pastime as the main reasons behind the growing success of television in Maghreb households. The growth in viewing habits has had a beneficial impact on the television set market, for which prices have fallen significantly since 2000. With digital television reception becoming as low as $100 per month, many people are able to obtain a satellite dish and digital receiver, or even a card for pirating encrypted channels from satellite packages
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/01/19/feature-01 
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U.S. WELCOMES MOROCCO HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT.

The United States has welcomed the findings and recommendations published by the Moroccan Equity and Reconciliation Commission (ERC), concerning human rights violations, reports the Morocco Times. "The commission's reporting and recommendations demonstrate the Kingdom of Morocco's willingness to contemplate serious reform," said Sean McCormack in a communiqué published on the U.S. State Department website.

McCormack urged Morocco to implement the reforms and to "enhance transparency, the rule of law, and respect for human rights across Morocco." The State Department's spokesperson expressed his country's willingness to "continue close cooperation with Morocco on these and other issues." Morocco's King Muhammad VI recently gave orders to make public the final report of the ERC, set up in 2004 to look into past human rights violations that occurred between 1956 and 1999 in Morocco.
By The Media Line Staff on Monday, January 16, 2006
http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=12423 
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US welcomes IER report on human rights violations.

The United States of America has welcomed the findings and recommendations published by Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER) and submitted to HM King Mohammed VI on Dec.16. "The Commission's reporting and recommendations demonstrate the Kingdom of Morocco's willingness to contemplate serious reform," said spokesperson Sean McCormack in a communiqué published in US State Department website.

McCormack also urged Morocco in his statement to implement the reforms to "enhance transparency, the rule of law, and respect for human rights across Morocco" and the regions. The department spokesperson expressed his country's willingness to "continue close cooperation with Morocco on these and other issues." HM King Mohammed VI lately gave orders to make public the final report of the IER, set up in 2004 to look into past human rights violations that occurred between 1956 and 1999 in Morocco.

Other reactions

French Senator Josselin de Rohan has hailed the final report and described it as a "highly important document." In a letter he addressed to the Moroccan ambassador to France, Fathallah Sijilmassi, Rohan affirmed that "this report attests for an important initiative consolidating the democratic process in Morocco, to which we give our full support."

Suares Gil, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, industry and navigation of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, also hailed HM King Mohamed VI's initiative to publish the IER's report, describing it as courageous. He said that this decision is a real proof of the King's "democratic talent".

The President of the Moroccan-Britain friendship group, Derek Conway, for his part, said the British political class encourages Morocco's efforts to reinforce its democratic process and consolidate its economic growth prospects." "We hail speech by King Mohammed VI, the report on human development in Morocco during the last 50 years and the report of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission," said Conway, commenting on the speech of King Mohammed VI made on Friday marking the end of the work of the Justice and Reconciliation Commission (IER).

Manuel Marin, Speaker of the Spanish congress of deputies (lower chamber), has invited the Justice and Reconciliation Commission (IER) to present its experience in transitional justice at the Spanish parliament. Presenting the experience of the IER in public hearings of victims of human rights violations, will help correct some prejudices about Morocco, said Marin hailing the "important reforms" adopted in Morocco to consolidate democratic transition, such as the new family code, the IER inception and other economic reforms.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=12170 
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Interview with Najat M'jid, president of Moroccan NGO Bayti.
18/01/2006

Dr. Najat M'Jid is a paediatrician and founder of Moroccan association Bayti. She created the association to help the situation of street children in her country.
Magharebia: What are the main objectives of Bayti?
Najat M'Jid: The Bayti (My Home) association started ten years ago to work in the areas of family reintegration for street children, child labourers, child victims of cruelty, abandoned children, juvenile delinquents, and sexually exploited children.
Magharebia: How did your work as a paediatrician lead you to create this association?
M'Jid: First of all, I love children. On returning to Morocco after my studies in France, I was walking one day through the streets of Casablanca and I saw a kid who seemed to have spent several days on the streets. I asked him what he was doing there, and was shocked when he replied that he lived on the streets. I did not think that went on in Morocco. A lot of anger welled up inside me and I realised the situation needed to be put right.
Magharebia: Why Casablanca?
M'Jid: We started in Casablanca because it is the city that harbours the most street children. Our headquarters are in Casablanca, but we now have centres in Meknes and Essaouira as well.
Magharebia: What are Bayti's priorities in dealing with these street children?
M'Jid: Our priority is to reintegrate them into families, schools or work.
The association has a home and apartments for these children as well as several activities and workshops.
Magharebia: What are the basic causes of the phenomenon of street children in Morocco?
M'Jid: The basic cause is the family. The majority of these children come from poor and/or problem families. We realised that the role of the family in providing protection is almost nonexistent because the top priority is survival.
Magharebia: What draws these children to the streets?
M'Jid: The street offers a lot of freedom to these young people. Children who have been deprived of everything find each other in the streets. This gives them a strong feeling of solidarity and belonging to a family.
Magharebia: What are the dangers confronted by street children?
all of these children become dependent upon drugs
M'Jid: Firstly, all of these children become dependent upon drugs. Violence is another danger which preys upon these children every day. There is also the problem of sexually transmitted disease, tuberculosis and skin problems.
But, there are also behavioural problems.
Magharebia: How does Bayti get involved in responding to this problem?
M'Jid: The strategic approach and methodology adopted for implementing Bayti's activities is divided into four stages and a parallel activity:
First stage: Street-based contact and overall analysis of the situation (key stage for the whole integration process).
Second stage: Rehabilitation, socialisation: skills building, guidance, psychosocial approach, referral.
Third stage: Genuine social integration, empowerment of the young person.
Fourth stage: Follow-up: consolidation of the integration and prevention of any setbacks Parallel activity: Programme aimed at families through stages 1 to 4.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/01/18/feature-01 
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