Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
May 2, 2009

King's Advisor in favour of a legal framework to protect Argan Trees.
Sorèze

King's Advisor and chairman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Research and the Protection of Argan Trees, André Azoulay, has recently called for an ethical and legal framework guaranteeing the protection of this tree and the quality of its derived products. The growing fame of the Argan tree and its proven scientific benefits, requires that we be vigilant and rigorous to make sure these gains will be improved within an ethical and regulatory framework, Azoulay said at the opening of the 4th Science Day on Argan Trees, held in Torèze, southern France.

He also called on all the parties concerned to adopt a united and responsible approach to improve the Argan tree ecosystem while being alert about any malfunction, abuse or fraud that would endanger the supply chain which provides direct or indirect revenues for nearly 3 million people in Morocco. Besides discussing the Argan oil health benefits, participants in this meeting reviewed the different partnerships launched by Morocco and other bodies to protect the Argan tree and supervise the development of derived products.

The event, attended by renowned experts, was held by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Research and the Protection of Argan Trees and Pierre Fabre Laboratories
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/king_s_advisor_in_fa/view
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Moroccan public in outcry over soaring prices of food.
By Hassan Benmehdi 2009-04-22

The spiking cost of basic food items is eroding Moroccans' purchasing power and forcing many to accuse the government of doing little to help. The cost of vegetables, fish, and white meat continues to rise in Morocco. With inflation starting to bite, citizens see the price spike as incomprehensible and exorbitant. The price of some items has almost doubled within one month. These include chicken and sardines, which are very popular with Moroccans. The market price of chicken and sardines has risen from 14 and 10 dirhams respectively at the beginning of March, to 20 and 19 dirhams respectively.

A similar situation now affects vegetables, including potatoes, carrots and onions, which two months ago cost around 4-5 dirhams per kilogram but now cost more than 9 dirhams per kilogram. The only vegetable that has seen no significant price increase is the tomato, which can still be bought for 4 dirhams per kilogram.

The High Commission for Planning (HCP) has confirmed these price rises in a report showing that the price of vegetables and fresh fish increased by 18% and 11% respectively between January and February of this year. With potatoes and onions costing 9 dirhams per kilo and carrots selling for 8 dirhams a kilo, Moroccan families – especially those on low incomes who rely on vegetables as a staple due to the high cost of meat – are suffering from the current price hikes.

The cost of food has made a serious dent in the budgets of housewives."I’ve had to buy less and unfortunately also cook less food, because with these prices it’s really unbearable," Naima, a cleaner who works for a communications firm, told Magharebia.

Nazha, a social worker based at a clinic in Casablanca, cannot understand the real reasons underlying the extraordinary rises in the prices of vegetables and meat. "First they said it was because of the low rainfall, and now they’re trying to tell us it rained too much," she said. "It’s not true. Everyone wants to squeeze money out of the poor, who are the victims of a woeful lack of authorities to monitor prices and regulate the market."

Under fire from consumers, vegetable-sellers insist they are not to blame. They claim to have suffered themselves by whittling down their margins to stop their customers from abandoning them. Abdelali, who sells vegetables in the old medina of Casablanca, believes that the reasons for the hikes lie in distribution chains. "We’re also the victims of speculation by various people."

Observers point to other causes."First of all, there is the impact of the heavy rain that Morocco has had this year. This caused devastation in some farming regions that supply us with produce, such as Gharb, where orchards were hit, crops were ruined, and access to farms was impeded," explained Said Daaouf, a member of the Consumer Protection Association. "Exports, rising transportation costs, and the transport strike are some of the reasons for the rises we have seen over the past few weeks."

A number of other reasons have been put forward. However, it is widely believed that although climate conditions have had some effect, the real problem is the large number of intermediaries, commonly known as samsara, along the distribution chain between producers and retailers. The public believe that the authorities should step in by minimising the number of intermediaries who complicate the distribution chain.

In the meantime, the Moroccan government announced that it would do everything in its power to protect the public’s purchasing power. In a statement issued to weekly newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune, Minister of Economic and General Affairs Nizar Baraka underlined that "the government decided back in 2008 to raise people’s incomes in order to boost consumption by increasing salaries and cutting income tax".

"These increases, which ranged between 10% and 22%, far exceeded the rise in the rate of inflation," added Baraka. "The Caisse de Compensation disbursed 36 billion dirhams in 2008 and will spend 29 billion in 2009" with the aim of putting more money into Moroccans’ pockets, he said. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/04/22/feature-01
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Moroccan entrepreneurship initiative shows success.
2009-04-22

Morocco has financed 1,492 projects, created 1,125 businesses, and generated 5,224 jobs since the 2006 launch of the Moukawalati (My Enterprise) programme, Moroccan Employment Minister Jamal Rhmani said Tuesday (April 21st) in Rabat. To further assist young aspiring entrepreneurs, 180 offices have been set up at the regional level, MAP reported.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2009/04/22/newsbrief-05
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IMF lauds good performance of Morocco's economy.
Washington

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the Moroccan economy's good performance and "resilience" amid global economic turmoil. This came during meetings in Washington with a Moroccan delegation, held on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank (WB) and the IMF (April 25-26). Officials of the Fund said they remain confident of the Moroccan economy's potentials, voicing will to work with the kingdom in the fields where the IMF's involvement is deemed necessary.

The Moroccan delegation, led by the governor of Morocco's central bank (Bank Al Maghrib), Abdellatif Jouahri, held meetings mainly with the vice-president of the World Bank for the MENA region, Daniela Gressani, and IMF's mission chief, Mark Lewis. During these meetings, WB officials expressed satisfaction at the results of co-operation with Morocco and the smooth running of preparations for the new strategic framework of partnership.

They also voiced the Bank's readiness to continue supporting Morocco with its reform and development process.
During this meeting, director of treasury and external finance at the Moroccan ministry of economy and finance, Zouhair Chorfi, presented the evolution of Morocco’s economy in 2008 and forecasts for 2009. He said the kingdom’s economy has shown resilience thanks to sectoral diversification of growth sources.

He noted that Morocco achieved a 5.4% economic growth, a budgetary surplus of about 0.4% of GDP for the second year successively, along a significant drop of 47.8% of GDP in public debts. Regarding prospects for 2009, he said the economic growth is forecast to stand between 5 and 6%, while inflation is expected at 2.5%.

The delegation also participated in a series of other meetings. In a statement distributed to the joint WB-IMF ministerial development committee, Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance underlined the need to maintain trade openness and “resist to protectionist temptations that continue to exacerbate” following the global economic crisis.

Mezouar also stressed the importance of trade in growth, poverty reduction an achieving MDGs.
The minister, who is represented in this 79th session by Zouhair Chorfi, said the fulfillment by donor countries of commitments to reinforce public debts to development is a requisite for growth, the fight against poverty and pursuing MDGs.

The session examined the implications of the economic downturn on developing countries and the role of international financial institutions.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/imf_lauds_good_perfo/view
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Human development at the heart of Morocco's national concerns, says king's advisor.
Fez

Morocco has put human development, along with economic dynamism, at the heart of national concerns, said, here Friday, king's advisor Zoulikha Nasri. Speaking at the opening of the 25th conference of Rotary International, held under the patronage of king Mohammed VI on the theme "Feed their Dreams", Nasri said that by launching the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) in 2005, the kingdom engaged in a community-based project centered on well-being.

She deplored that human development has long been ignored, on the assumption that well-being is a strictly personal matter, noting that states and people alike have grown more and more aware of the need to develop a partnership-based approach.

This is because the public authorities and their institutions cannot, on their own, meet the population's needs and address challenges. Hence, she went on, everybody is required to contribute, particularly when they have intellectual and material means that enable them to act and provide help to those who suffer from marginalisaton and poverty. In this regard, she insisted that every citizen who can contribute to his country’s development is required to do so, stressing the importance of associations, which play an important role in improving the population’s living conditions.

Nasri called for encouraging the creation of Maghreb clubs to enable the youth to be acquainted with their region.
The conference seeks to achieve global mobilization to reduce the rate of infant mortality in the world by focusing on Rotary’s priorities in the area of water, health, hunger and literacy, representative of the director of Rotary International, Catherine Noyer-Riveau, said. She recalled that Rotary International seeks to mobilise all means required to eradicate poliomyelitis in the world.

The conference brings together rotarians representing the Arab Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia), the United States, Belgium, France, Spain, Egypt, Turkey and Greece. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/human_development_at/view
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Youth should be encouraged to build peaceful, prosperous Euro-Mediterranean, Minister .
Rabat

Morocco's State Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, Latifa Akharbach, underlined here on Friday, the need to encourage youth participation in the building of a prosperous and peaceful Euro-Mediterranean. Speaking at the opening of the 2nd Morocco-EU young decision makers forum, held under the theme "The Union for the Mediterranean, Perceptions, Expectations and Prospects," Akharbach said that the youth participations ensures the continuation of the Euro-Mediterranean.

"We can't talk about a good or new governance if young people are reduced to silence, passivity or immobility," in a region of interactivity and dialog, she said , adding that Morocco is committed to seek all available synergies to promote exchange between the youth in Morocco and the northern Mediterranean.

The two-day event , co-held by the Rabat-based Ribat Al-Fath Association and German Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, aims to raise the awareness of young decision-makers about the development of a Union for the Mediterranean based on the shared values of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/youth_should_be_enco/view
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Sufi festival in Fez promotes religious tolerance with music, dance.
By Sarah Touahri 2009-04-24

Buoyed by past successes, the Fez Festival of Sufi Culture offers visitors to Morocco's spiritual capital a positive look at Islam through art and discussion. The third annual Fez Festival of Sufi Culture, running through Saturday (April 25th), brings together artists and researchers from across the Maghreb and beyond. The organisers, encouraged by successful events in the past two years, say the week-long event provides a platform for expression by artists committed to the spiritual pursuit of artistic and intellectual creativity.

Artists pay homage to Sufism through poetry, music, and dance. Participants also demonstrate new art forms and cultural projects that foster intercultural dialogue and enhance human lives. The primary objective of the event is to spread a positive image of Islam internationally, using the universal language of openness and peace advocated by Sufism. Organisers hope that the festival confirms Morocco's place in building a bridge between the East and the West.

"Every day gives us a chance to explore a particular country, its spiritual practices, the masters who have lived there, the words which have nurtured it and the arts and culture which express the very essence of its being," said event director Faouzi Skelli, "So we shall go on a journey through Egypt, Syria, Palestine, France, Turkey, the countries of Africa and Spain."

As the years go by, the festival attracts more and more visitors, both national and international, keen to experience and learn more about Sufi culture first-hand. In one unique feature, public forums allow young people to discover a new world vision based on values of tolerance and community. Discussion revolve around the interactions between spiritual values and society or, more broadly, spiritual values and globalisation.

Audiences also enjoy performances of Sufi chant at the religious soirées. Hamida Nidal, a teacher, said that music lovers are drawn into a universe of spirituality and calm, where peace and serenity reign. "Our world needs such a culture to reject all the obscurantist ideas and to teach our young people about the benefits of tolerance and openness towards other people's cultures. We need a rebirth of this culture which once flourished in Morocco," she said.

Kaddour Kamini, a teacher of Islamic education, says that this kind of event enables Morocco to establish itself internationally as a place for dialogue between cultures and home to a rich Islam which is open to other religions. "It is impossible to engage in dialogue with others unless one is at peace,' said French singer Abdel Malik. Spirituality has the resources needed to change things in a world which is becoming more and more dehumanised, he added.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/04/24/feature-01
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Jewish life in Morocco: Once a lively marketplace, now an abandoned synagogue.
by Michel Hoebink* 27-04-2009

Unique photographs of Jewish life in southern Morocco in the 1950s are on display at the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam. Today, only dilapidated synagogues and empty cemeteries are the reminders of what was once a vibrant community. The photographer Elias Harrus (1919-2008) took pictures portraying Jewish life in southern Morocco in the 1950s, before most of the country's Jews migrated en masse to Israel. The Dutch photographer Pauline Prior travelled to the same locations last year to photograph what remains of this heritage. Her photos provide a dramatic contrast.

"My grandmother told me that Jewish and Berber women used to work the land together," says the secretary of Amsterdam's district council of Zeeburg, Fatima Elatik, at the opening of the exhibition. "They spoke the same language, had the same culture and sang the same songs. I always found it a very special story."

The Jews lived around 2,000 years in Morocco, usually in harmony with their Berber neighbours. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948 most of the 270,000 Moroccan Jews have emigrated to the Jewish state. Only a small community remains. Today most Jews live in the large cities in the north of the country. The first wave of migration was underway when Elias Harrus took his photographs.

Intimate
Harrus worked for much of his life for schools founded by the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Jewish educational organisation dedicated to the emancipation of Jews in Muslim countries by advocating a modern, secular education. As an insider his photographs document the daily life of the Jews of southern Morocco in intimate detail.

The organiser of the exhibition, Julie-Marthe Cohen, says Eliat Harrus' photographs form a unique testimony.
"They recorded the life of a community just before it disappeared."

Silver ornaments The photographs testify to the good relations between the Jews and the Berbers. They had daily contact and depended on one another financially. You see Jews working in the trades in which they specialised, such as tanning leather and jewellery making. They fashioned the famous silver ornaments which Berber women in southern Morocco would wear on their wedding day.

Merchants There are also portraits of Sunday markets where Jews and Muslims would work side by side. Julie-Marthe Cohen:"The Jews often worked as merchants who would travel through the mountains from market to market.This would have been very dangerous for the Berbers, since the different clans were often at odds. However the Jews enjoyed protection from everyone due to their important economic function."

Cohen points to comments made by a Berber merchant in southern Morocco which were cited by English writer John Waterbury: "Before the arrival of the French we were always fighting one another. However there were two rules which everyone abided by. We did not tolerate prostitution among our women. And whatever we did to one another, we would never touch a hair on a Jew's head." Abandoned cemetery

What is left of the Jewish presence in southern Morocco? In 2008 the Jewish Historical Museum sent the Dutch photographer Pauline Prior to the Atlas mountain range and the Sahara to look for traces. Her photographs are on display alongside those of Harrus. Harrus' portraits are full of people, while those of Prior are silent and empty. You see dilapidated synagogues, a desolate Jewish neighbourhood and an unused cemetery.

However the cemeteries - especially the graves of holy rabbis - are the most lively places photographed by Prior. Moroccan Jews revere holy men who worked wonders during their lives the same as Moroccan Muslims do. The graves of holy men are scattered across Moroccow, many of them Jewish. Moroccan Jews who live in Israel frequently visit some of them.

Amsterdam district council secretary Fatima Elatik says most young people of Moroccan origin in the Netherlands have little knowledge of the close contact which Jews and Muslims once had in Morocco. She hopes that many children of Moroccan origin will visit the exhibition. * RNW translation (fs)
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/africa/090427-jewish-life-morocco
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Moulay Idriss: the secret city of Morocco. The ancient spiritual heart of the kingdom, is unwelcoming to tourists, says Tahir Shah. But change is afoot
A man with a heavily scarred face sidled up and asked me to follow him. I was standing in the central square of Moulay Idriss, Morocco's most sacred and sinister town, peering at a map. ….
(More by clicking on this URL):
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/morocco/article6148463.ece
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Just back: Morocco's hippie trail.
The latest winner in our weekly travel writing competition is Joan Bruhier, for her account of a carefree journey through Seventies Morocco.
Check it here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-writing-competition/5249331/Just-back-Moroccos-hippie-trail.html
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Shanty by shanty, Morocco works to remove slums.
ALFRED DE MONTESQUIOU THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. May 2, 2009 CASABLANCA, Morocco

This seaside city is known as a rich stockpile of art deco architecture, the hub of Morocco's economic growth and the setting of an all-time classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. But Casablanca is also the capital of a bleaker aspect of modern Morocco -- sprawling slums, where huge families are packed into shanties with tin roofs rusted by the ocean winds, and goats and donkeys munch stray garbage.

"It's as if we're eating straight from the gutter," said Mina Abujaman, 48, describing the squalor. Yet the slum of Sidi Moumen, one of dozens around Casablanca where a third of the country's worst urban housing lies, is expected to disappear soon. In fact, Abujaman's quarter of breeze-block houses and twisting alleys is one of the last still standing in the area, and dozens more shanties are being pulled down each month…………...
More here:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/lifestyles/health_med_fit/article/I-MORO0414_20090430-193024/264919/
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Women in Morocco blend tradition and fashion. May 1, 2009
Worldfocus producerRebecca Haggerty is currently reporting from Morocco and explores the meaning behind the country’s clothing, from tight jeans to heavy headscarves.

Everywhere I travel, I check out what people wear.
Goth kids in Mexico City, in solidarity with mopey teenagers worldwide, stick to a uniform of skinny pencil leg jeans and abundant black eyeliner. French Canadians of a certain age protect their footwear from wintery slush with sensible rubber galoshes, whose design hasn’t changed since I was a child. Young Finnish women, bucking the global trend of revering blondeness, have a marked affinity for dark brown hair dye.

Here in Morocco, the traditional outfit for both men and women is a long-hooded caftan called a jelaba. Men pull up their hoods and stroll city streets with their hands clasped behind their backs. The deliberate pace, combined with the vaguely medieval silhouette, makes nearly all jelaba-wearing Moroccan men look like they’re contemplating weighty philosophical issues — even if they’re just headed to the store to buy milk.

After Worldfocus’ excellent story last year on women in Egypt choosing to wear the hijab –- the Islamic headscarf — I was looking forward to checking out Moroccan attire. I saw plenty of variety. On the streets of Casablanca, young women with tight jeans, hip sunglasses, and big hair jostled old-school grannies in jelabas and leteh, the traditional Moroccan veil that covers the mouth and cheeks.

Students wore the hijab along with form-fitting jeans and bright sweaters, and I spotted a very sharp pair of leopard-skin mules paired with an olive-green tunic and a black head scarf –- proof that stylish women can adapt to pretty much anything culture throws their way. Most chose a pretty embroidered jelaba in a range of colors and added a coordinating hijab, although plenty left off any head covering at all.

Occasionally, I came across women wearing outfits of flowing head-to-toe black drapes and heavy veils. A Moroccan journalist told me it was called a nakob, and was worn by followers of the fundamentalist Wahabist school of Islam from Saudi Arabia. The black-clad figures contrasted starkly with the vivid colors of Morocco, with its intricately tiled mosques and exuberant jumbles of red and yellow hibiscus blossoms.

They also served as a reminder that everywhere in the world, clothes carry a meaning far beyond their simple elements of thread and cloth.- Rebecca Haggerty
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/05/01/women-in-morocco-blend-tradition-and-fashion/5220/
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Morocco: On “Jewish Morocco” .Sunday, April19th,
Morocco has a long relationship with Judaism; during the spread of the Roman empire, a number of Jews settled in what is modern-day Morocco. Over time, relations between Morocco's majority Muslim population and its small Jewish population have ranged from very good to heavily strained. Following the creation of the state of Israel, the vast majority of Morocco's Jews emigrated (approximately 15% of Israeli Jews are in fact of Moroccan descent), however, approximately 7,000 Jews reside in Morocco today. Moroccans are often quick to point out that the king's top adviser, André Azoulay, is Jewish………………..

More here:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/04/19/morocco-on-jewish-morocco/
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Marrakesh, Morocco: A picture of the kasbah .
Camera in hand, Sara Evans rises at dawn to witness the ancient morning rituals of Marrakesh’s Djemma el-Fna square.
In the pre-dawn breeze palm tree leaves shiver. By the pool, last night’s still-burning tea lights make a soft golden halo above the water. Guests sleeping peacefully in the nearby rose-stained pavilions remain unaware of my presence as I tiptoe past the pool towards the terraced area of the Amanjena, a secluded resort widely held to be one of Marrakesh’s most beautiful places to stay…..
Read more here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsandculture/5157623/Marrakesh-Morocco-A-picture-of-the-kasbah.html
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Moroccan bloggers create first association.
Interview by Imane Belhaj 2009-04-30

Bloggers in Morocco have organised a new association to provide legal representation in case of trouble and to establish clear rules and ethics. Moroccan online writers formed the Association of Moroccan Bloggers early this month at a conference in Rabat. The goal of the Association, bloggers said, is to support digital media and to promote more involvement in training and education.

Said Benjebli, author of the blog Tahiya Nedaliya, was elected president of the new association. He said the fledgling group will serve to defend the rights of bloggers and internet users and promote the principles of public freedoms and human rights. Benjebli spoke to Magharebia recently about the motives and aims behind the establishment of the new association, and the future of blogging in Morocco.

Magharebia: This was your first conference; can you tell us more about how it went?
Said Benjebli: The conference was a complete success; more than 60 Moroccan bloggers from different intellectual and political backgrounds took part. They were young and old, males and females, and they submitted their proposals and nominations, and then voted in full transparency and democracy. Although the conference lacked the atmosphere of recreation due to our limited means, there was a consensus among the participants that it was a successful and distinguished event.

Magharebia: What are your motives behind the establishment of this association?
Benjebli: Blogging has imposed itself in the media as a type of people's journalism, and in the field of literature as an independent genre of art. It has opened new horizons for political and human rights action in a remarkably fast way. It has also created a boom in spreading and exchanging knowledge. Therefore, we thought about forming a Moroccan association concerned with blogging, which now enjoys an outstanding place on the Arab level, so that it may be a tool that speaks for the bloggers and discusses their concerns and problems. We have been preparing for this event for two years, and the idea witnessed several developments. The aims, which were focused on representing the bloggers and defending their rights, were expanded. We now focus on the priority of training and qualifying bloggers. And in the meantime, we seek to integrate blogging into all fields of activities as a factor for development and progress that doesn't only serve politics and rights.

Magharebia: Do you think that blogging in Morocco is mature enough to be a tolerant platform, where all have the right to participate?

Benjebli: Blogging in general is qualified to play a leading role in Morocco. However, today we are faced with a major challenge. Given the diversity of cultures, inclinations and ideas of bloggers, who are a mix of intellectuals and semi-literate people, teachers and students, conservatives and progressives, politicians and adolescents, the challenge today is how to understand the freedom provided to us by blogging. It's a gain that we must keep and at the same time we must avoid any misuse of that tool and avoid using it to harm others. Therefore, we are about to write what we called "Code of Ethics of Blogging and Citizen Media." It addresses the rights and responsibilities of the blogger, and it adopts an approach aimed at preserving the freedom of opinion while shouldering the responsibility towards society and public opinion. We have postponed the ratification of such a document, pending the completion of an in-depth discussion involving all the parties concerned.

Magharebia: To what extent can blogging contribute to the creation of constructive dialogue, rejection of violence and extremism and spread of ideas of tolerance?

Benjebli: Above anything else, bloggers are people of culture. Blogging is a modern culture and industry that can achieve what the old means have failed to do in promoting the culture of dialogue, mutual respect and co-operation in common issues. This is because blogging is being practiced in a virtual sphere that crosses many of the influential barriers in the real world. It is also because blogging was created by independent people whose only concern is to find a space for expressing their ideas. Therefore, blogging has a human dimension that is more important than the ordinary means of expression that reflect opinions in a rough and inflexible language that no longer has an effect on the readers.

Magharebia: How many Moroccan bloggers are out there, and how many are members of your association?
Benjebli: There are more than 30,000 Arabic language bloggers, and a bigger number of French language bloggers, excluding the personal spaces in social networks, some of which fall under the category of blogging. As to our association, its membership today is 500 bloggers. However, I think that this number will grow after the success of the conference and after we receive legal recognition. Meanwhile, the beneficiaries of the activities we are organising will exceed the number of members.

Magharebia: What are the limits of your interventions to protect bloggers against legal proceedings?
Benjebli: We are working on two fronts: the first is prevention, through providing training on rights and training on the basics of journalism and publishing. In the event that bloggers are subjected to harassment because of their opinions, we will support and back them up against the authorities and in court. We provide them with the necessary legal assistance in co-ordination with the other rights associations and lawyers. We also try to contribute to the finalising of a law that organises the practice of blogging in a manner that would protect the freedom of expression and protection of bloggers against unjust penalties.

Magharebia: It seems that anyone who wants to create a blog can create it without any conditions. What are the criteria for accepting bloggers into your association?

Benjebli: The association is open to all bloggers. We don't exclude any bloggers based on their opinions or political, religious, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. However, we don't accept those who use their blogs for criminal or fraudulent activities, those who incite violence or racism, or those who deride any religions. We also don't accept "virtual bloggers" who want to hide their identities from everyone, including the office of our Association. This is because we are a legal association rather than a virtual network.

Magharebia: In your opinion, what are the red lines that the bloggers shouldn't cross?
Benjebli: A crime is a crime regardless of its means and its multiple forms: targeting minors, cheating, fraud, charlatanry, information theft, threats, extortion, publishing sensitive and personal information, publishing of false information for the purpose of hurting others, spreading rumours, and other electronic crimes. In addition, sectarian mobilisation, incitement of violence, terrorism, racism and hatred, and misuse of means of publishing are acts that contradict the true role of bloggers who are supposed to be responsible citizens.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/04/30/feature-02
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Day care's new frontier: Your baby at work!
By Nadia El Hachimi

At the Webhelp call center in Rabat, employees have a saying: A happy child makes a productive employee. The multinational that raked in over 140 million dollars in turnover last year, has created an on-site day care two years ago to allow parents bringing in their kids to work, a first in Morocco that proved to be very rewarding for both parents and the French franchise.

"The day care on-worksite benefits the employers who sponsor it by improving employee morale, reducing absenteeism, increasing productivity and contributing to the awakening of children," explains Asma Zarkih, a professional manager in charge of Webhelp's day care.

"Currently we take charge of 40 children, and new parents are already queuing up to enrol theirs," noted Zarkih, who added triumphantly: "at least ten more kids will join in soon".

“Creating this facility for Webhelp employees was motivated by the company’s working hours that match those in France”, she said.

"Starting work at 6 a.m. makes it very hard for parents to find a childcare facility that can meet their working hours," explained Zarkih who belongs to a renowned private day care centre in Rabat that subcontracts for webhelp.

Best solution for working moms?
“It’s obvious what working parents gain from on-site day care programs: reliable, safe, and convenient care for their children,” Webhelp Communication Director, Charlotte Tertrais told MAP.

“Having a daycare on-site has proven to be successful and other companies should follow the path and create similar facilities for their employees,” Tertrais went on to say.

“Funding such a facility is a plus for the company. It promise the best of both worlds: employees working away at maximum productivity while their children are safe and sound.”

Pampering bottoms even helped the company improve the bottom line, with happier, more productive and loyal employees.
Benhamed Hanane, a mom benefiting from day care services said “this facility as well as other social incentives have their say in the choice of a career.”

“Such incentives give the employees the opportunity to focus on their work, knowing that their child is just around the corner,” the Webhelp project manager explained.

From an extreme example of how employers are seeking more ways to help workers strike a balance between work and the rest of their lives, day care-on-worksite could be THE solution to the growing concerns of many working parents about where to leave their children when at work.

Limits of childcare
Despite a huge improvement in parents' views on the benefits of childcare, the impenetrability of the day care sector and its booming offer remain an important barrier to the use of childcare, especially for newborns.

There are very few state establishments that offer nursery classes.
According to a source at the ministry of education, this is mainly due to the fact that improving primary education is still a priority in the national charter of education and training. “Day-care facilities can only become coherent pedagogic bodies when the goals for primary education are achieved”.

The most common day care centres are run by the private sector. These centres are likely to be attended only by children over three and have shortfalls because of the large investment needed in buildings and equipment, according to Laila, who runs “on the job” a small-size day care in Salé city.

“The day care sector falls short of means and is a risky enterprise in Morocco,” she went on.
This branch, according to managers and owners of day-care establishments, is still brand new and requires a great deal of development and experience before it can reach its rightful place.

For Sanae, a worker at a renowned facility in Rabat, the day care activity shortfalls are due to “inexperienced staff” and to the rapid mushrooming “of institutions that have nothing to do with day care.”

The same assertion is common among parents who believe, like Aziz, that “this sector lacks well-trained staff and adequate infrastructure.”

East, west grandparents are best!
In Morocco, most parents do not believe in the benefits of either public or private day-care facilities and prefer to entrust their children to grandparents and aunties.

“I’d rather leave my child at my parents’ because I don’t trust day-care institutions. I believe that family can be more reliable than strangers especially when speaking about infants or toddlers,” Fadoua, a 27 year-old working mom says.

For Aziz, dad of one, day-care is “the last resort when no relatives are around”. “Not trusting day-care is a cultural thing in Morocco, a country giving great credit to family and relatives.”

“Nowadays parents are increasingly aware of the dangers and responsibilities related to leaving children in Kindergartens or nurseries. When no other alternative is available, parents should be very selective and choose the best for their kids.”

Sheer necessity
More city dwellers choose the day care option for their children. Even for parents from underprivileged milieus, cost is no longer a hindrance to childcare as a wide-range of facilities are available.

They are growing more aware of the importance of this facility in shaping the personality of their kids and try, despite their limited means, to enrol their children in private establishments.

The latest figures on day care, although scarce, revealed that 698,298 children under the age of six have joined day-care and pre-school establishments in 2007-2008, which represents a 9.5% increase as compared to a year before, and this number should grow in the coming ten years.

Given the growing economic needs of Moroccan households, especially in urban areas, several families have to rely on women’s work to meet those needs, and consequently they are facing unique challenges in their efforts to ensure the well-being of their children.

They will have to take into account strategies for childcare, a factor with major implications for the livelihoods of under six-year-olds residing in cities.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box5/day_care_s_new_front/view
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