Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
October 10, 2009

Economic Opportunity & Prosperity
The 2009 Index of Economic Freedom /Morocco Sheet
http://www.heritage.org/index/Country/Morocco
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Nine Things That Shock An American in Morocco
Tweet me!  DUNCAN DE LAFELD
Morocco is a land quite unlike the United States, and therefore it should go without saying that there are many instances when the American visitor will be shocked with what he or she observes, whether they be major cultural assumptions or minor idiosyncrasies. This list is an attempt to document some of those instances for the purposes of cultural understanding. I should say that none of these are rules, nor do they happen all the time. They do, however, occur with enough frequency as to be significant. I have striven to be an advocate for the people of Morocco, and I will continue to do so, and. At the same time, however, it would be wrong to assume that all aspects of my host culture are wonderful. I find a lot of the following to be offensive and I’m not going to pretend that they aren’t. Consider this – like everything else I have written here – as merely a record of my observations on some of the more delicate issues. 1 - Moroccan culture puts great emphasis on the separation of sexes and their private areas. As is well documented, Islamic tradition frowns on the interaction between unrelated men and women, and even in places such as hammams where there is strict gender segregation, people still wear their last line of clothing. This is why it comes as such a shock to see so many people (nearly universally men) relieving themselves in public. Granted, this is just as shameful of an act here as it is in the States, but that doesn’t stop it from happening all the time. You’ll see men walk around a corner, behind a rock, or next to a tree and just let loose. That’s the way guys do it in America, but the biggest difference is that men here really don’t block off the visual path to what they’re doing. In fact, it’s so common that there are many street corners and external walls that have “urination forbidden” spray painted across them.

2 - Perhaps the majority of visitors will pass through completely oblivious to this, but it’s one of the most uncomfortable of situations for a volunteer or anyone else who submerges themselves in Moroccan culture. There is absolutely no hesitation when it comes to hitting children. It’s supposedly disallowed, but the guardians and teachers at school all carry a special hard rubber tube for keeping students in line, and families keep a special reserve of shoes, belts, and backhands for their children. Hitting in general is a lot more common here. A friend will often grab another – with much more aggression and zeal than we’re usually comfortable with – slapping and mock (or not) throttling each other. This carries over to children. A common game (similar to Peek-a-Boo in its mundaneness) is Slap-the-Young-Child-Upside-the-Head. It’s never done with any great force, but often enough that you can’t feel good about it. The real downside, though, to all this corporal punishment (aside from the child abuse) is that when not enforced, children often run amok. A good half of my Dar Shebab classes and school visits are spent in telling the students to pay attention. A Moroccan teacher would just put the beating stick on the table, and it wouldn’t be an idle threat.

3 - A PETA activist might have a conflicting time in Morocco. Unlike animals in the massive industrial farms of America, Moroccan livestock is pretty universally free-range. Herds of sheep and goats roam through town and the surrounding countryside, chickens run freely through streets and parks. There really aren’t enough resources to permanently keep any significant head of anything in one place. This doesn’t necessarily mean, though, that Moroccans have any great respect or love for animals. Dogs and cats also roam the town with impunity, but they are in no way welcome guests. A favorite game of children is throwing rocks at them as they scurry from trash pile to trash pile looking for food – as almost none are house pets, and even fewer are fed by the houses where they live. The children who live in my apartment community are fascinated by my cat, and run after her whenever she comes out of the house. Sometimes they’ll run inside to get her. And I don’t think they want to hurt her, but they tend to swat at her in the same way that people might dare each other to touch a snake. Some people want to like animals, and some even do take care of the ones that live in and around their houses. There are a few references to the prophet Mohammad’s fondness for cats, though dogs are generally considered dirty and it’s said that they scare off angels that would otherwise enter your house. In reality, they just don’t have much exposure to animal friends – even the idea is laughable to most people that I talk to about my kitten – and so they don’t have any idea what to do with them. I don’t know what to do with babies, but then again, I don’t throw rocks at them, either.

4 - We eat a lot in Morocco, and often. And when we eat, we eat fast. I mean, lunch is over in about fifteen minutes and that’s the biggest meal of the day. You can imagine, then, that we’re sucking down quite a lot air in this race to the bottom of the plate, and you’d be right. That’s my hypothesis for why Moroccans burp so much. And perhaps because they burp so much they don’t seem to think too very much about it. Some people will say “hamdullah” (“thank God”) afterwards. More often than not, you’ll just hear a massive explosion of stomach gas and then everyone continues whatever they were doing without much notice, kind of as though someone had just coughed. I was once close to teaching some young kids about burping the alphabet when one of them let loose a pretty big one, but something – good sense, probably – held me back.

5 - George Costanza once remarked: “I guarantee you Moses was a picker. You wander through the desert for 40 years with that dry air. You tell me you're not going to have an occasion to clean house a little?” He was talking, of course, about picking one’s nose, and he couldn’t have been more right about either the effects of desert dust storms, or the sociological tendencies of the people who suffer them. There is dust absolutely everywhere in Morocco – even in places like Freedonia that are about as un-desert as possible – and everywhere you look, you’ll find someone digging for nose gold. Snot rocketing, too. It’s startling for us, being so prudish about nasal penetration, but there’s no shame associated here. It’s about as ordinary as wiping your eyes.

6 -The biggest reverse culture shock I’ve suffered so far has been from care packages and the packaging. Everything is vacuum packed and double-sealed for freshness. It’s so unnecessary, and it’s one of the major contributors to America’s garbage problem. We’re working on it, though, through education and public trash disposal. Packaging really isn’t an issue here, but littering is epidemic. Opening a candy bar? Just drop the wrapper where it is. Finished your Coke? Toss the can in the bushes. No one’s even going to think about it, let alone say anything to you. The most common foliage in Morocco is black plastic bags. I once had a kid who tossed the little piece of saran wrap that came with his peanut brittle no the ground. I told him to pick it up. He looked at me with such incredulity you’d have thought I told him to eat it. I repeated myself and he actually ran away. I had to just about beat this child into putting his trash in a trashcan, all the while, Moroccans were watching me and helping, but more out of a sense of compassion. You could tell that they didn’t care, either. Unless it’s for complaining. Freedonians love to talk about how ugly their home is because of trash, but I’ve never seen anyone do anything about it. I pity the environment volunteers.

7 - Most people don’t have showering facilities in their homes, and most people don’t take showers anyway, they go to the hammam. It costs money, though, and there is a very strong dislike for spending money in the poor regions of this country. Consequently, it’s not rare to find someone who only goes to the hammam once a week, usually in conjunction with ablutions of their Friday prayers. The rest of the time, they just make do. This, combined with the fact that people have both relatively much smaller wardrobes and a much more labor-intensive process for cleaning their clothes, means that there is a general funkiness in the Moroccan air. You can’t get away from it, especially in the summer, especially in taxis. Added to this is the most unfortunate byproduct of Ramadan: “fasting breath.” Most Moroccans don’t brush their teeth any time of the year, but it’s so much worse when they don’t eat breakfast and have something to cover it up.

8 - Moroccan men and women don’t have much opportunity to interact with each other – an obvious byproduct of gender segregation – and yet they still suffer from the same biological need to procreate as the rest of us. Consequently, you’ve got a country full of horny guys who don’t know how to talk to women. This problem is compounded by (a) horniness can be resolved legally and morally only through marriage (read: neither frequently nor expediently), (b) prostitutes are more socially acceptable than self-love, and (c) it is generally accepted that men are incapable of controlling their sexual impulses. This last point is accepted not only by women but by the men themselves, and thus they often feel no shame in voicing responses to their baser instincts. Take, for example, an attractive woman walking down the street. (“An attractive woman” could be “a woman with a pleasing physique,” “a woman with an unpleasing physique but wearing pleasingly revealing clothing,” or “a woman.”) The frequent response will be for the man to express his approval of her physique, choice of dress, or chromosomal fortune with the intention of this leading to her having sex with him. He will most often hiss, but sometimes whistle, call out to her, gape, or even give her a little pinch. The general philosophy is that if any of these succeed in getting her attention – “turning her around” in the local parlance – and he’s well on his way to enjoying all the pleasures he can imagine (a reason for him to be severely surprised and disappointed if she walks away). This is especially true of Western women, who are generally perceived as dynamos of sexuality. If she doesn’t turn around and provide instant gratification, she must be having a bad day. Try again tomorrow.

9 - Moroccans are famous for their hospitality, and in no way is this more shockinly clear than in their giving of invitations. It's not uncommon for you to be riding in a taxi or talking with some vendor in the souk and for him to invite you back to his place. Where we come from, there's usually only one reason for this, and no matter what people tell you, it's usually not coffee. In Morocco, this is just a normal part of the equation. This is partly because we're visitors in their country, partly because they're interested in learning more about us, partly because they may want to show off their new friend or ask for help in getting a visa, but mostly because their social code requires it. It doesn't matter if they're rich or poor, or if they've known you a while or you've just met. If I accepted every invitation, I'd probably never cook again for my entire service. And this grates on a lot of volunteers, who usually want a little peace and quiet after a long day of servin. For the most part, people you've just met don't expect you to call them up (they'd take you in if you did, though), and people you already knew are understanding if you don't take them up on it. But if you don't come around from time to time, you're going to have some 'splaining to do.
http://www.moroccoboard.com/viewpoint/60-ahmed-tb/690-nine-things-that-shock-an-american-in-morocco
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Moroccans assess Moudawana progress.
By Siham Ali 2009-10-09

As Moroccans celebrate both the second National Women's Day and the six-year anniversary of the Moudawana this week-end, citizens, activists and government officials talk about the family law's successes and shortcomings. King Mohammed VI last year declared October 10th National Women's Day to mark the anniversary of the modernised Civil Status Code. But five years after the introduction of the Moudawana, opinions are mixed as to whether it has yet achieved its lofty intentions.

When Morocco first unveiled the Moudawana on October 10th, 2003, a year before it became law, citizens were hopeful. The Family Law aimed at lifting the injustices imposed on women, protecting children’s rights and safeguarding men’s dignity.

MP and lawyer Fatima Moustaghfir includes a book about the Moudawana with every wedding present she gives, asking the couple to absorb its contents before starting married life together. Still, implementing its provisions has not been easy for the legal system. The family code, she argued, is suffering from misunderstandings on the part of lawyers, magistrates and the public alike.

"Our magistrates and lawyers have not accorded the Moudawana the importance it deserves, and so they have not gotten to the bottom of it," Moustaghfir added. "Furthermore, the public suffer from an ignorance of judicial matters, while the provisions of the code must be integrated into the secondary education syllabus."

One young woman told Magharebia that her husband married another woman, even though the law required her written consent. Three years passed before she learned that her husband had a second wife. "He submitted a false certificate of single status, said Halima, 28."What can I do now? Start proceedings against him, accusing him of falsifying an official document? I’m in a quandary, because I have two children and I cannot be the reason why their father goes to jail," she told Magharebia with tears in her eyes. Halima, having no financial resources, has been forced to keep silent.

Women also criticise the way in which the law is enforced by the courts, particularly the length of the proceedings. Fatimazohra Bahri has suffered years of separation from her children. Even though she is not divorced, her husband "stole" her three daughters, aged 6, 8 and 11, and settled in another town. She instituted custody proceedings against him but could not get the court to rule in her favour. "My solicitor explained that my case was very difficult because there is a loophole in the law. In fact, the law talks of custody, but only in the case of divorce," she said.

To resolve the many legal loopholes in the Moudawana, charitable associations are calling for reform. Fatima Maghnaoui, director of the Annajda Centre in Rabat, told Magharebia that while the family code is still a considerable achievement for Morocco, it has encountered many problems. She said that despite great efforts to train judges and civil servants working in this sphere, the law is often applied in a "patriarchal" manner, "to the benefit of the men". "You can change laws, but to implement them you need to be open-minded. You have to organise awareness-raising campaigns targeting all sectors of society, starting with the judges."

One sign that the legislation needs further modification is that child marriage has increased, despite attempts made by the new law to limit the phenomenon. "Judges are supposed to give permission in exceptional cases. But exceptions have now turned into thousands of cases," Maghnaoui said.

Legal guardianship is another point raised by the association activist. She says that while the Moudawana was supposed to create equality between spouses, women still do not have the right to give their under-age children permission to fill in official documents such as passport applications. The nafaqa also needs to be implemented, she argued. The fund would pay a food stipend to women who cannot obtain spousal support. "The government keeps asking how this fund would be financed," said Maghnaoui. "They just need to look at a few solutions such as zakat or levying symbolic taxes on marriage contracts."

Magistrate Zhor El Hor agreed that a family support fund would end the suffering of many women who have no financial resources. "When the husband does not have the money for the food allowance, he risks going to prison. In that case, the women and children will derive no benefit at all from his imprisonment. The fund could pay the allowance to women through the social security," she explained.

El Hor is keen to stress the importance of communication and awareness-raising so that everyone will know their rights and responsibilities. "Sometimes people complain that the law is not being enforced, when the procedure has not been properly followed due to ignorance on the part of the plaintiffs," she said.

Not all the loopholes in the family code are in the man's favour. There are times when a man too can find himself a victim of legal failures. Salim, 32, has been struggling for months to get the right to visit his child, even though he is not yet divorced from his wife. "She has taken my son away from me and moved in with her parents, demanding I divorce her. I still want her. But there’s nothing I can do in terms of the law," he told Magharebia.

Despite the advances made in terms of equality between men and women as a result of the Moudawana, Justice Minister Abdelouahed Radi still sees room for further reform. Last March, on the fifth anniversary of its introduction, Radi called for overhauling the family justice system and improving service for those coming before the courts.

The Ministry is doing all it can to ensure proper application of the Moudawana, he confirmed, citing the role of social workers who evaluate families involved in litigation and present their findings to the courts. Further studies will focus on food allowances, the benefit of mediation during family break-ups, marital asset division and training for those working in the family justice system.

"A fair implementation of the law requires awareness from administrative authorities and courts in order to inform people of their rights when they are affected by the family code," said Fatna Serhane, a law professor at Hassan II University in Casablanca and a member of the Moroccan Human Rights Association. "Basically, I feel very optimistic and think that things will evolve positively," she added.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2009/10/09/reportage-01
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A Legislated Victory for Women.
Maati Monjib October, 2009

In the June 2009 local elections, women entered the municipal councils in force for the first time in Moroccan history. Some 3,406 women were elected, making up over 12 percent of the total winning candidates, compared to less than 1 percent in 2003. Women made up 16 percent of the overall candidates, compared to less than 5 percent in the last elections in 2003.

These results reflect a strong desire on the part of the political elite to correct the huge gender imbalance within elected institutions more than a social and cultural development in Moroccan society at large. Nearly all (98 percent) of the women elected won within the districts set aside for women, in accordance with a change in law that took effect in January 2009. The number of women elected in the regular districts was a mere 71, or only 0.3 percent of the total number of winning candidates. Women still occupy a low status in the realm of Moroccan mass politics, as shown by objective measurements by international institutions; the UN Development Program Gender-related Development Index for 2008 placed Morocco in the unenviable position of 146 out of 158 countries.

Does this mean that the government decision to strengthen women’s presence in the Council of Deputies in 2002, and in municipal councils in 2009, is insignificant? Certainly not. Women’s visible presence in politics may well have a long-term modernizing and democratizing impact, as citizens gradually grow accustomed to seeing women managing public affairs.

Uneven Progress
Moroccans who want to change gender relations are turning to politics partly because other strategies have not worked so far. Despite the prominent role of women in pushing for Moroccan independence, whether in the nationalist movement (such as Malika al-Fassi, who struggled for Moroccan self-rule and signed the independence charter in 1944) or in the ranks of the resistance (such as Fatma al-Sakim, who played a pivotal role in the Moroccan resistance movement after the French colonial power forced Sultan Mohammed V into exile in 1953), women disappeared from political life during the first four decades after independence. Though educational and economic factors also can have a positive effect on women’s status, this impact appears to be slow-acting and limited. In any case, Moroccan women’s economic independence remains difficult to achieve, with their rate of integration into the labor market remains among the lowest in the world

Morocco has seen gradual improvement in the legal status of women, but that has been inadequate to make a real difference so far. Thus, despite the crucial steps realized on the level of social rights and reforms in recent years--including the reformed Family Law (2003), the granting of citizenship to children of Moroccan mothers and foreign fathers (2005), the appointment of several female ministers in the government or as governors, the launch of a national initiative incorporating the gender issue as part of its strategy (2005), and the lifting of most reservations about the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (2008)--still Morocco falls in the lowest third of countries on the level of human development and gender equality. It is clear that economic, social, and political conditions for women in Morocco are pulling the country towards the bottom of the pile.

The Moroccan elite appear to be wagering now on politics as a means to improve gender relations and equality. The idea is that a systemic approach has a higher likelihood of success, because the various elements governing women’s social status (political marginalization, social dependency and submissiveness, economic discrimination, and the symbolic belittling of their value) overlap to form an integral whole. This means that if one of these elements changes noticeably, a crisis will take place within the overall system and it will accommodate and raise women’s status. That is the theory, but it is also to be expected that there will be attempts to stifle change and preserve the dominant status quo.

Maati Monjib is a lecturer and researcher at the Institute for African Studies at the University of Mohammed V, in Sousi-Rabat, Morocco. Paul Wulfsberg translated this article from Arabic.
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/arb/?fa=show&article=23950#
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Sheikha Fatima donates second mobile eye clinic to Morocco's MSS.
Oct 4, 2009 Rabat, 4 Oct. 2009 (WAM)

A kind gesture by H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Nahyan, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation has enabled the Moroccan Medical Society for Solidarity (MSS) to receive a fully-equipped mobile eye clinic to perform eye surgeries for children with special needs.

A ceremony was held today to hand over the mobile clinic to the MSS in presence of Saeed Humaid Al Jari Al Kutbi, UAE Ambassador to Morocco, Hassan Al Omrani, Governor of Rabat '&' Under Secretary of the Moroccan Health Ministry. The mobile clinic features state-of-the-art eye surgery and sterilisation for patients with special needs, specially in remote areas of Morocco. Al Kutbi said that the initiative came within the framework of "special relations between the UAE and Morocco." He praised the gesture of Sheikha Fatima which was highly appreciated by the Moroccan people.

Professor Mustapha Al Azouzi, Head of the MSS, said the clinic was the second to be presented to the Society by Sheikha Fatima as part of a grant valued at 1.5 million Moroccan Dirhams. "Some 4,000 people have so far benefitted from the services of the first mobile clinic, launched in March 2007," he added. Al Omrani expressed gratitude to Sheikha Fatima for the kind gesture and her continuous support to the MSS.
The ceremony was attended by the UAE embassy staff members, Moroccan officials and citizens.WAM/MAB
http://www.wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1248235844463&p=1135099400124&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews
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Renewable energy to represent 18% of Morocco's electricity production by 2012.
Brussels

Morocco intends to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity production to 18% by 2012, with the aim of reaching 15% of energy saving by 2030, Secretary General to the Ministry of Energy, Mohamed Yahya Zniber, said on Friday. The north African country' current production of renewable energy-based electricity is about 5% and should be brought to 25% in 2030, Zniber said at a conference on renewable energy organized by the European Commission with the participation of countries from the EU, the Mediterranean and the Gulf.

Considering its potential of wind, solar and hydroelectric energies, Morocco undertook major initiatives at the institutional, legislative, organizational levels, part of the implementation of an energy efficiency policy, he said.
In this regard, Zniber underscored the setting up of innovative funding mechanisms through the Energy evelopment Fund worth 1 billion dollars. He recalled that this Fund seeks to boost and preserve the production capacity relying on local energy sources, provide financial support to energy efficiency projects and assist energy service companies. Thanks to its geographical position, Morocco has all assets to become a crossroads of energy exchanges between Africa, the Middle-East and Europe, he said. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/renewable_energy_to/view
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Targeting root causes of extremism in Morocco
By Mohsine El Ahmadi Wednesday, 30 September 2009

After 9/11 and the 2003 Casablanca bombing, Morocco began to rethink its counterterrorism approach. Not only were they facing threats from within, but as a key ally to the United States in the war against Al Qaeda, external threats also became a very real concern. Parallel to furthering its cooperation with other states in the region through the exchange of information, a new social policy was developed by the Moroccan government to target the factors –living conditions, despair and religious influences –that were propelling high-risk youth toward extremist ideologies,

As part of a new ambitious long-term National Human Development Initiative (INDH), launched by King Mohammed VI in 2005 to improve the conditions of poor and vulnerable groups in Morocco, there has been a focus on improving the economy and infrastructure in Morocco. Distribution of water and electricity, the development of schools and the improvement of slums like Sidi Moumen, from where the Casablanca bombers came, have been priorities for the government.

Another government-funded effort to help youth build confidence and succeed socially and economically is Mukawalaty, a project that began in 2006 and provides youth with the professional training and loans necessary to become small business owners. Since 2006, 1,114 projects have been approved, with recent state university graduates being the primary recipients.

Additionally, since some young people are indoctrinated in mosques by sheikhs with narrow and hateful interpretations of the Qur'an, a new policy, “The Reformation of the Religious Field”, was crafted in 2004 to educate new imams and spiritual guides, some of whom work in the most at-risk communities in the country, and to provide them with a more mainstream religious and cultural framework.

Alongside this programme, which started in 2004, the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs has trained, qualified and certified about 520 imams and spiritual guides while enrolling them as government officials with a salary. They have been placed in up to 40,000 mosques throughout the country to provide religious counselling and other such services to Moroccans.

Since 2003, there have been no successful terrorist incidents in Morocco, which suggests that this multi-pronged policy has thus far helped the government to reduce popular support for extremists and prevent radicalism from spreading. Hopefully, with continued emphasis on the roots of terrorism, even the motivation for such attacks will cease to exist.
Global Arab Network
* Dr. Mohsine El Ahmadi is a visiting scholar at Georgetown University in Washington. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200909302953/Morocco-Politics/targeting-root-causes-of-extremism-in-morocco.html
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Morocco, World Bank sign agreement on solid waste management.
Istanbul

Morocco's municipal equipment fund (FEC) and the World Bank (WB) signed, here on Sunday, a partnership agreement on solid waste management. The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) annual meetings, is an opportunity for Morocco to benefit from environmental and financial advantages within the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), under the Kyoto Protocol.

By signing the agreement, Morocco reiterates its commitment to protect environment, through developing its solid waste management sector. The agreement was signed by FEC Director General, Karim Mansouri, and the WB's Sustainable Development vice President, Katherine Sierra.

The IMF and WB annual meetings, held on October 3-6, bring together some 15.000 participants from 185 countries, including Finance Ministers, heads of central banks in addition to NGO's and financial institutions’ representatives. http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/fec_world_bank_sign2372/view&ct=ga&cd=0_XC85B3gj4&usg=AFQjCNGsSjziQa-ggid6BrztzSU35kZBtg
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Morocco music festival to unite Muslims, Jews. Festival to focus on Moroccan Jewish musical tradition

This year's festival of the Atlantic Andalusias, held in the Moroccan port of Essaouira, will focus on a Moroccan Jewish musical tradition known as Matrouz, organisers announced Thursday. During the festival, to be held from October 29 to November 1, there will be concerts to gather together "our poets, our musicians and our singers, Muslims and Jews, to sing and dance together," Andre Azoulay, festival chairman and an advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI, told AFP.

The north African country's Jewish art is a "major component of the cultural wealth and identity in Morocco," Azoulay said. "It shouldn't just be reduced to folklore (...). It gives the best example of how to make mentalities evolve by going out to meet other people."

Matrouz is a tradition that dates back several centuries. One example of the art form will be a concert in which the rabbi Haim Louk will sing accompanied by the Zyriab orchestra from Oudja in east Morocco. Azoulay said that the Franco-Algerian pianist Maurice El Medioni, "one of the great masters of the Jewish Arab tradition," will perform with the Jewish Moroccan singer, Raymonde El Bedaouia. In the future, there will be a prize for the preservation and performance of Matrouz music, Azoulay added.

The festival will pay a posthumous tribute to 1950s singer Zohra Fassia, who was a militant for the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Muslims in Morocco. Evenings of Spanish flamenco and music from India are also on the programme for the festival, which is the sixth of its kind.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/10/08/87367.html
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Morocco to fund overhaul of universities.
By Sarah Touahri 2009-10-09

As part of a sweeping plan for reform, Morocco has signed agreements to fund nearly 12.6 billion dirhams' worth of improvements to higher education. The Moroccan government will provide universities with resources to boost reforms under a far-reaching 2009-20012 education emergency plan.

The government and universities signed 17 agreements to promote higher education at a ceremony on Tuesday (October 6th) presided over by King Mohammed VI. With nearly 12.6 billion dirhams earmarked for the improvements, the plan will enlarge and improve infrastructure, revamp facilities and instruction, increase universities' intake capacity and promote scientific research.

"These contracts will commit the universities to taking the necessary steps to improve performance, promote high-quality teaching and develop scientific research, with a view to enabling Moroccan universities to take their rightful place on the international stage," the president of Cadi Ayyad University, Mohamed Marzak, said at the event.

"Universities owe it to themselves to have the necessary resources to compete in a world of globalisation and a multiplicity of educational choices," said Education Minister Ahmed Akhchichine. "Universities must be funded and have a clear vision to overcome their internal and external problems, particularly in terms of profitability and competitiveness."

The minister said these goals would be achieved by having qualified research lecturers and through promoting scientific research under the 2009-2012 emergency plan. The plan's objectives include a doubling, or even trebling, of the numbers of students signed up for engineering, technology, business, management and scientific technical courses. It also aims at doubling the current take-up rate for baccalaureate holders and encouraging students to emulate their highest-achieving peers by awarding prizes for excellence to top performers.

The backdrop for the recent agreements is a 2007 World Bank report on education in the Arab world that sharply criticised Morocco for failing to implement widespread reforms. The report cited a lack of systematic evaluation of students, an alarming rise in dropout rates, the small budgets allocated to schools, and the inability of educational institutions to prepare students for the workforce. Following these findings, King Mohammed VI urged the government to create the emergency education plan.

"This plan will allow universities to have a clear vision for the next four years, undertaking projects, diversifying the range of courses for students and developing scientific research," said President Rehma Bourkia of the Hassan II University in Mohammedia.

In terms of scientific research, the emphasis will be on improving governance and performance within the relevant frameworks, with the hope that 92% of all university research structures will have received accreditation by 2012, compared with 69% in 2008. "The new strategy will enable better restructuring of scientific research, along with better integration of research into solving the country's development problems," said the director of the National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research, Said Belkadi.

Students have hailed the plan and hope the agreements will be put into action as soon as possible.
"The emergency plan is supposed to improve the competitiveness of universities and restore them to their former glory," said political science student Aicha M. "At the moment, students go to university as a last resort, after trying a number of other options. We need university degrees to be shown greater respect, and we can't wait for these reforms to achieve that."

"Moroccan universities really need financial support," said biology student Hicham B. "Equipment is often defective, and students have to muddle through to complete their courses. [But now] you feel there is a desire to boost the image of Moroccan universities. So much the better; we need our degrees to carry greater weight on the job market."
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/10/09/feature-03
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WHO Director General lauds Morocco's commitment to promote health sector.
Fez

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, lauded, here on Tuesday, Morocco's commitment to promote the health sector and achieve the Millennium development goals. "The government is committed to the large-scale projects of promoting the health sector and medical staff training," Chan said in a press briefing following her visit to Hassan II university hospital center in Fez.

Chan, who is in Morocco to take part in the 56th session of the WHO regional committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, also commended the government's efforts in terms of promoting maternal and child health in order to improve the health of Moroccan citizens. Touching on Morocco's health policy, she said Morocco is moving in the right direction, despite the fact that changing the health sector takes longer than other sectors. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/who_director_general/view
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Morocco's government must put an end to abuses of power that prevent associations from functioning properly and compel civil servants to follow the law, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. In a report, the New York-based Human Rights Watch noted that, in defiance of the law, "local representatives of the ministry of the interior often turn down the registration of an association if its aims or its members displease the authorities."

Moroccan law specifies that civil servants should register new associations without putting administrative barriers in their way. "When it comes to freedom of association, it's the same as with many other questions of human rights: Morocco passes progressive legislation, but afterwards, the administration does what it likes," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the director of the Middle East/North Africa division of HRW.

The watchdog body gave several examples of non-governmental organisations that have been refused the official receipt attesting to their registration as associations. Without this receipt, they cannot exercise their activities, receive grants, open bank accounts, rent property and organise public events.

They included associations to fight corruption, to defend the right of university graduates to unemployment benefit, and to represent the Amazigh (local Berber) population, the Sahrawi people of the Western Sahara, and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, according to HRW.

"The administration has also undermined the activities of many charities and educational associations, apparently because of the presence in their leadership of members of Justice and Spirituality, one of the most active Islamist movements in Morocco," the report said. In conclusion, HRW "strongly recommends" that the government "revise the law on associations in a fashion that restricts the criteria under which an association can be banned."

Currently, the legislation allows civil servants to ban associations that threaten the Islamic faith, the monarchical regime and the territorial integrity of Morocco. HRW said these conditions are "too general and open the way to repression for political motives."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=34796
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Battered men in Morocco shy away from shame .
Monday 5 October 2009 / by Habibou Bangré

Battered men often choose to hide their agony so as not to be rejected by society. In Morocco, an association and a retired social worker are helping the victims and trying to break the cycle of violence. Their initiative has been scorned by... women.

Rabat, Morocco, in the early 80s. A wife accuses her husband of battering her, in court. When the judge asks why he beat her, the accused replies saying that his wife had previously hit him several times. Dumbfounded, the judge asks: "You a man have been beaten by a woman!?". The reaction of the judge who sentenced the dishonest husband sums up how battered men are regarded in the Moroccan society today. They are the subject of ridicule, while their masculinity is questioned. It must be said that beating up a husband was practically unheard of in the past.

"In the past, women could in no way raise their hands or even their voices against their husbands. They were beaten and made to stay with their children, especially in the south. Whenever they reported the case, the man was simply reprimanded and fined," said Jamila Arsalan, a social worker and retired civil activist.

Moroccan women have changed
Times have changed. Although civil society partners believe that male victims of domestic violence are far less compared to the number of female victims, they have noted an upward trend. According to Jamila Arsalane, "it is a small problem that could grow." Young couples are particularly vulnerable. "The educated woman enjoys economic independence,” says the social worker. “She argues that both her husband and herself share household burdens on equal terms. This is crucial to the power struggle”. The report tends to lean in favour of women.

"Men are finding themselves unemployed more often than not. Moreover, some women do not really understand the Mudawana (the Moroccan family code, editor’s note) and use it to put pressure on men," notes Bahjaji Abdelfattah, president of the Moroccan Network for the rights of men (RMDDH), created in February 29, 2009. The first of its kind in the Moroccan kingdom.

The ensuing result now is that Moroccan women won’t go down without a fight. And surprisingly men are now talking about their experiences. "Early in our marriage, I slapped my wife thinking I would go scot-free,” Ali told the daily Aujourd’hui le Maroc. “She responded with a much nastier slap. So I tried beating her up, but she fought back… As stubborn as I was, I always wanted to go beyond the limits of my strength, but each time I did she won the fight. This has now aroused a certain level of fear in me".

"The man will always be guilty” M’Hamed, is married to a "sort of muscular tomboy". His ordeal began on their wedding night. "She asked me to prove my love to her. I then asked what she meant. In fact, she wanted to give me a slap. I agreed, thinking that a woman’s slap was nothing to write home about. Since then, whenever we disagree on something, she asks me the same thing and I agree. Over the years, it has become a habit," the trader told Aujourd’hui le Maroc.

Many are those who do not retaliate like the man who was sentenced at the Rabat court. The attacker who gets attacked could go to the police. The danger here is twofold. On one hand, "not only will society never forgive a man who beats his wife but in addition, he could be found of mitigating circumstances. No matter the man’s explanation, he will always be guilty," said Mr. Abderrahim Bouhmidi, from the Rabat Bar Association. On the other hand, reporting the matter to the police followed by a complaint, could lead the battered man’s dark secret to be made public... It is an unbearable idea. Petrified at the thought of losing their children, many refuse to hit back. And the few who decide to seek redress lack the courage to follow up their cases.

"I have only had one battered man as a client," says Mr. Mourad Bekkouri, also from the Rabat Bar association. “The man was often insulted and hit by his wife, who even once slit his face with a knife. Each time he came into my office, he had a new scar and fuming with anger he would ask me to begin legal proceedings against his wife. But he always retracted."

Mediation
The Moroccan society will neither settle for a lawsuit nor support these men. While there exist several organizations and shelters for battered women, men are struggling to find help. The RMDDH is trying to deal with this injustice by providing "psychological help to victims, while informing them of their rights as citizens as well as advising them when they decide to take the case to court," says Abdelfattah Bahjaji. The RMDDH, however, prefers to invest most of its efforts in mediation. In many cases, couples have been sent back home reconciled.

Jamila Arsalan, who has met over fifty battered men, so far, and hopes to begin an association for them, also believes in mediation. "Although it has no legal value, I ask the husband and wife to put down what the other has no right to do on paper. Whenever they fight on one of the points noted, I tell them that I will back the victim against the aggressor in court ... and it works very well!”

Could this be the beginning of a revolution? Maybe. "Male victims could not speak out before the creation of the network, because it was shameful to say they had been beaten. Now they have started talking about it," says the chairman of RMDDH, whose small team has registered some "300" battered men.

An uncomfortable question
Still, this issue has raised some eyebrows. Women’s groups have complained that too much energy is being invested to fight a marginal issue, while much remains to be done for female victims of domestic violence, to enable them speak freely without being told that they deserve to be battered. Indeed, an Arab proverb says: "Beat your wife every morning, if you do not know why, she does."

Also, while some share the objectives of RMDDH or see it as a "tool for resolving domestic problems,” others have taken a strong dislike to the movement. "They think we are a group of men who want to ridicule women’s liberation movements,” says Abdelfattah Bahjaji. But we are here to defend the Moroccan family, not just the men"
http://en.afrik.com/article16241.html
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Tales from abroad: Morocco.
Bargaining in Rabat, touring Marrakesh, and crafting wood in Essaouira
Pillbox | Modoluwamu Fatukasi
Last summer, I traveled to Rabat, Morocco to take part in the SIT Morocco Intensive Language and Culture Program. The program consisted of several parts: cultural experiences, excursions, lectures, Arabic class, and home stay. The goal of the study abroad program was to provide an eight-week introduction to Moroccan culture and standard Arabic, and this was achieved through cultural immersion and weekend trips intended to explore Morocco’s vibrant culture. The language component of the program was rigorous and consisted of an introductory language class. The cultural component also had an introductory cultural class, and all these classes had a course load of nine to 13 units. Both classes included participatory roles and field trips to help enhance the learning experience. In addition to learning Arabic in the classrooms, the program also offered eight weeks of language and cultural practice in the city of Rabat...
More here: http://thetartan.org/2009/10/5/pillbox/abroad
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Wind Power in Morocco.
07 de octubre de 2009
The Saharan coast from Morocco to Senegal represents the most extensive, windiest and least populated region worldwide that is reached by the European electricity grid.

The "Abdelkhalek Torres" Wind farm is located on Morocco's northern coast, in the tip of Africa, across the Strait of Gibraltar 20 kilometers away from Europe's Spanish peninsula. With a rated capacity of 54 MW in operation since the year 2000, this Wind Park located next to the city of Tetouan, represents one of the oldest single production unit on the continent.

Over 200 000 MWh/year of wind generated electricity are currently being produced by some 90 Wind Turbines of the 600 kW range. If this production was to be supplied by a Coal fired power plant, some 230 000 Tons of Carbon Dioxide would have been released in the atmosphere. To sequestrate this amount of carbon, the planting of over 12 million trees would have been necessary.

As for the natural habitat, large corridors have been provided for migratory birds to pass through. Statistical surveys have now revealed that the impact of the wind turbines on the local environment has been negligible.

The more recent "Amogdoul" 60 MW wind farm started operation on April 13th 2007. Amogdoul is the ancient name of the city of Essaouira next to which this wind farm is located, some 400 Km South of Casablanca on the Atlantic coast.

Utilizing the most western capes of Morocco's central Atlantic coastline (cape Sim) where Trade Winds can be tapped on these Northern latitudes, the Amogdoul wind farm is expected to produce some 210 GWH of electricity, and enable the reduction of 156.000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Configured with 71 individual 850 MW Wind Turbines, the project also benefits from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) support sources associated to environmental agreements from the Kyoto protocol.

Spanish government has accorded Morocco a loan amounting to 100 million euros (135 million U.S. dollars) on the construction of the Tanger Wind-Energy Park. The funding came from the Development Assistance Fund ( FAD). The loan, which is repayable within a period of 20 years, has an eight-year grace period and will attract an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent.

The Tanger Wind-Energy Park, with a production capacity of 140 MW, will comprise 165 aero generators capable of producing 526.5 Giga Watt Hour (GWH) annually. The park will help meet Morocco's rising energy needs, which grow at a pace of about eight percent annually, and also help towards achieving Morocco's goal of producing 1,000 MW of clean energy by 2012.

Background on the Sahara Wind Project

If we take the growing need for electricity worldwide, its environmental impact and the current energy trends in Europe, wind power which represents an inexpensive source of renewable energy, seems to provide one of the best alternatives to supply one the world's largest electricity market. The development of wind power is a European success story, and its potential may be big enough to cover all of the continent’s electricity needs.

However, land based electricity production from wind is rather limited in Europe due to a relatively high population density and its corresponding intensive use of land . This leads to significant reductions of usable lands on which the wind resource can be exploited. In Germany for instance (one of the World’s leader in wind power), the wind energy potential is limited in comparison to the need of its large domestic power consumption, and would already imply the successive use of worse sites where annual wind productions are low, resulting into higher electricity costs. If the growth rates remained as high as they were a few years ago (they have since dropped significantly) most of the productive sites would have been already equipped. Such perspectives could leave a growing wind energy industry with a notable deadline that may prevent it from having any significant impact on a more sustainable European energy supply scheme.

While Germany and Denmark were pioneers, other European countries like Spain could be faced with the same difficulties. Thus, and in order to sustain the future of a promising energy technology, other alternatives are currently being sought such as to utilize offshore wind potentials. In Europe however, there are large industrial regions, if not entire countries, with high energy consumptions that don't even dispose of an access to the sea.

It is therefore conceivable that some countries would consider importing significant amounts of low-cost wind generated power from other windy regions. There are huge areas with excellent wind conditions around Europe where population densities are one hundredths that of Europe, and where the same can be said about electricity needs.

The Saharan coast from Morocco to Senegal represents the most extensive, windiest and least populated region worldwide that is reached by the European electricity grid. An expected yearly production of more than 4500 Full Load Hours can be derived at some sites, where recent wind measurements were made.

The size of the wind catchments area is huge as the sole coastline, just to mention, spreads for over 2000 Km (1250 miles)

Considerable amounts of wind generated electricity could be transferred using optimized grid infrastructures. In order to avoid unacceptably high losses, High Voltage DC techniques could be engaged as for large capacities exceeding 5 GW, existing technologies can limit transfer losses at full load, to less then 10% over 3000 Km (1800 miles). This distance is long enough to deliver wind generated electricity from the Saharan plateaus of Tarfaya to Germany.

The existing Euro-Mediterranean economic framework is likely to enable this vast wind energy source to become one of the main economic drivers of a sustainable development for the entire region. Taking advantage of the relative proximity of both continents to tap into a widely available clean and renewable power source serves two complementary objectives, namely to satisfy growing European energy needs while strengthening North Africa's integrated industrial, social and economic take-off.

The North Atlantic Trade Winds

In the equator large hot air masses rise to the upper layers of the atmosphere and move towards the Poles (Earth's higher latitudes) where the temperatures are colder. In the Northern Hemisphere, at around 30° latitude because of the rotation of the Earth (the Coriolis force), these air masses are deviated clockwise and begin sinking down creating a high pressure area (called Anticyclone) over the North Atlantic Ocean.

Hence, winds generated over the equator revolve clockwise around the North Atlantic Ocean's high pressure area. Since they are largely driven by the globe's temperature differences which translate into atmospheric pressure differences, these winds are considered global winds.

The "trade winds" as they are being called are not influenced by any topography nor surfaces on the earth. They result from the combined influence of the rotation of the earth and its temperature differences which are due to Solar radiation incidence angles that cannot be the same on the earth's equator versus its poles. It may be relevant to mention that these Astrophysical planetary fundamentals cannot change, regardless of any climate change considerations, so long that the earth is round, that it is spinning and that the sun exists.

Close to the African coast, the junction of the Sahara desert with the Atlantic Ocean creates a zone of global energy exchange were the climate is dominated by these steady winds. The thermal winds generated locally over the Sahara's hot surfaces are actually superimposed upon the larger wind system generated over the Atlantic. This creates one of the largest and steadiest wind systems available on earth.

The North to North East wind directions are the results of these global and local effects that are typical for a Trade Wind region. The Trade Winds are actually the main factor responsible for the Sahara's extreme dryness by moving away the clouds from the ocean. They have been known for centuries in transatlantic sailing routes.

The Trade Winds have shaped the vast majority of the Saharan coastline from Morocco through Mauritania into inert rocky plateaus, called "Hammadas". Wind speeds have been accurately monitored on different sites for several years.

Wind Energy Potential

The annual production that can be produced from wind force in good wind regions, with large wind parks can be as high as 0.1 to 0.15 TWhel/km². The establishment of wind turbines with a power density of 7 MW/km² could produce about 0.028 TWh/km² per year in good locations in South Morocco. Although close arrangements of wind turbines tends to weaken the global supply of energy of a Wind Park, wide space availability for large-scale wind installations enables an optimal wind turbine spacing ratio to be applied.

A wind turbine spacing of only 2.4 MW/km² on parts of the 2000 kilometers long coastline from Morocco to Senegal could potentially generate a production of more than 1000 TWh per year. This would be sufficient to cover close to half of the entire electricity needs of the European Union estimated at (2300 TWh).

This very large potential represents several dozen times the electrical requirements of the North African countries combined, and cannot be utilized locally. The distances of North African electric load centers are indeed quite remote from this region. The access to these renewable energy potentials requires the use of different technologies currently available only for much higher energy transfer capabilities, that the size of North African load centers simply cannot absorb.

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines for instance, would allow vast amounts of electricity (in the GW range) to be transported from North Africa into a Euro-Mediterranean electricity market at minimal losses. Hence, a significant share of Europe’s wind energy production would be complemented by the use of these large productive sites, making wind energy more affordable.

Comparative advantages rather than a mere displacement of European wind energy productions would be achieved, as the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission technologies used would contribute to stabilize surrounding grids on both ends, enabling them to integrate more wind energy locally. The advantages of integrating wind resources on a continental basis become even more obvious, as the seasonal distribution of winds in terms of peak power productions are quite complementary. While winter highs are characteristics of European wind energy generations, the Saharan Trade Winds have their peak production in the summer season. This is particularly relevant in Southern Europe where the tourism driven economy induces higher electricity consumptions at this time a year. These could be matched by a carbon-free renewable source of wind energy generated at competitive prices.

These perspectives highlighted by our 5000 MW Sahara Wind Energy Development Project Platform presented at the European Parliament in 2002, would also contribute to improve the economic prospects of marginal desert regions that currently dispose of very limited endogenous development possibilities.

The Sahara wind resource that spreads through thousands of kilometers of desert seacoasts, will take many years in order to be accurately evaluated. It represents probably one of the world's largest untapped sources of wind energy. The size of this territory, the availability of the wind, and the geographical proximity of this region to Europe as one of the world's largest integrated electricity market provides encouraging development perspectives for the future of renewables in this area and beyond.

High Voltage Direct Current technology (HVDC)

With the available transmission technology today, the prospect of importing renewable electricity from remote and thinly settled regions is economically viable and technically feasible. High Voltage Direct Current transmissions have a high availability and reliability rate, as shown by over 50 years of operation. For large electricity transfers, High Voltage Direct Current technology (HVDC) enables very fast control of power flows which implies stability improvements not only for the HVDC link but also for the entire surrounding AC system.

At present, more than 70 GW of electric capacity are being transmitted through High Voltage Direct Current transmission lines in over 95 projects world wide. Their main purpose is to actually transfer large amounts of hydro-power from remote sites to urban or industrial centers with high demands for electricity. Among these projects we could mention that of Itaipu in South America or the one linking the North Eastern United States (New England including New York City) that is currently fed with low-cost hydro-electricity generated out of Canada's large power dams located more than three thousand kilometers away (1900 miles). This distance actually represents a length of transmission lines that would be long enough to connect North Africa's Sahara desert wind resources to the middle of Europe.

The existing High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology enables large electricity transfers to limit cumulative line and AC-DC-AC converting losses, to less than 15% over a distance of 3500 km. Whereas the overall added costs per kilowatt/hour for such a long transmission line are lower then € 0.02/kWh. The integration of North Africa’s most suitable wind resources to gradually supply the European electricity grid with low costs wind-generated power is technically feasible and would enable significant economies of scale to be achieved.

Economics of Wind Power

Compared to Germany's 1900 hours of wind power production per year, a rather conservative average production figure in the coastal Saharan region would be in the range of 3400 Full Load Hours due to the exceptional quality of the Trade Winds. Taking a price of 1000 €/kW of rated Wind Turbine capacity, 5 % real interest rate, 20 years lifetime, 2% of total investment as annual Operation & Maintenance costs, the wind power generated there costs under 3.0 €cent/kWh. From the single wind measurements available within this territory, we would actually come to significantly better results, as at selected sites a yearly production of more than 4500 FLH can be derived.

To transfer the power from the region of Tarfaya, the northern part of this area, to the center of Germany for example, the length of a HVDC line would be 3500km (incl. 28km sea cable). For this case, the total costs of wind generated electricity from the Sahara desert delivered all the way to Germany are calculated to be 4.4 €cent /kWh. Thereof 0.4 €cent/kWh are due to the losses of 10% if done with a HVDC line of about 5 GW capacity. One would expect even greater production figures as the most productive sites would be utilized for such projects.

By their large-scale application inside the EU, the specific costs of wind turbines have been divided by 4 in the last 20 years. The price of the installed capacity will be probably lower than 1000 €/kW that has been assumed for the aforementioned project. Already in the year 2000 with less than 1 GW of capacity installed, Spain managed to drop its average installed wind power costs down to 850 €/kW. Due to the current frenzy in wind turbine demand these prices have come up significantly since, whereas availability is scarece and delivery schedules extremely long.

Also, the wind turbines used in the Sahara desert would not necessarily need to have the same costly design features such as low rotational speed to reduce noise and visual nuisance required for all wind turbines currently installed in the densely populated areas of Europe. On such large scale projects roughly equivalent to half of Spain's entire wind power capacity, local manufacturing of specific wind turbines would enable significant economies of scale to be made.

Wind Energy Market Developments

Instead of expanding into new markets in order to take advantage of better conditions available through wider regional synergies, the European wind power industry focuses its development on off-shore wind potentials. Even if not applicable to every EU country, this option enables wind developers to overcome most limitations hampering the expansion of wind power in Europe. Since this industry has thrived on subsidized premium prices paid for wind generated electricity available in Europe, the costly off-shore wind option reinforces further the justifications for sustaining higher prices.

Consequently, the current research trends in wind turbine design tend to favor the development of larger, sometimes gigantic machines aimed at reducing the costs of sea foundations for individual Off-Shore units. Its important to mention that neither export of wind turbines nor their integration in developing countries is achievable under these circumstances as 65% of the world's wind power market remained located within the EU.

The concept of utilizing the Saharan Trade Wind resource could provide an ideal development setting at a critical time for the wind energy industry to expand most comprehensively into developing countries. The levels of incertitude due to recent drops of wind turbine orders coming from Germany and Spain that are progressively shifting to the US and Asian markets tend to confirm these forecasts.

As it seem to spread geographically ever closer, the wind power industrial growth that was initiated in Denmark, Germany and most recently in Spain, demonstrated the importance that the Trade Wind resource will have for an integrated economic development of this region. In the Sahara desert coastline, large wind power generation facilities could provide ideal grounds for the wind industry to expand in a more sustainable way into the developing wold by reinforcing local industrial activities.

Indeed, the Spanish wind energy industry demonstrated that the transfer of manufacturing capabilities from Germany and Denmark enabled significant cost reductions on domestically installed wind power capacities. Building upon such experience, the price of wind power generated in exceptionally good wind regions through dedicated machines, manufactured and erected locally with lower labor wages are bound to become more competitive.

The integration of Wind energy in an economically competitive setting that would cover the transfer of industrial capacities in the region would contribute to enhance the energy security of Europe and North Africa quite significantly by diversifying their current supply sources by renewable energies that are more complementary and sustainable then any other alternatives.

Since wind turbines represent over 80% of investments of the Sahara Wind Project (20% remaining for the HVDC lines), these dedicated low-cost and reliable wind turbines could have a considerable price impact on the economics of the Project, enhancing thereby its competitiveness. Furthermore, a Project the size of Sahara Wind's is likely to enable the development and manufacturing of machines that will be much better suited to address the challenging electrification needs of most developing countries.
http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=1705
ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/gp/gp_events/wrec/wrec_2008_wind_khalid_benhamou_en.pdf
www.lse.ac.uk/collections/EWE/NATO%20presentations/NATO_LSE%20Zejli.pdf
www.webislam.com/
www.saharawind.com/index.php
www.ewec2007proceedings.info/allfiles2/11_Ewec2007fullpaper.pdf
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The magic of Morocco.
By Sheryl Julian September 30, 2009

The stretch of Albany Street where South End Pita sits is forlorn - until you walk inside the charming little restaurant. Warm mustard-colored walls hold a row of sconces, a mural of a Moroccan city is facing you above the counter, and the Arabic pop with a reggae beat is turned up.

In May, Fez native Rod Ouassaidi opened the 20-seat spot in the former Albany Sandwich Shop. His sister, Wasaa, works with him. One or the other is there every day, making almost everything from scratch. “We don’t believe in frozen or canned,’’ says Rod. “For hummus, we soak chickpeas.’’

That hummus, drizzled with spicy oil, is exceptionally creamy with tahini; it’s served on beautiful Moroccan pottery with warm homemade pita (the pair is serious about their from-scratch philosophy). Grape leaves with rice are tender little nuggets accompanied by an addictive garlicky tahini sauce.

The menu is limited: a few appetizers and a soup ($3.50), meats stuffed into pita and rolled up ($5.95-$7.50), subs ($6.50-$6.95), and kebab, which come with rice and salad ($6.95-$10.50). It’s beautiful rice, studded with vegetables, and a fine salad with feta.

Kafta, rolled in pita or on a plate, is delicious, spicy, charred ground meat. Moist chicken shawarma, sliced off a vertical rotisserie, is nicely seasoned, wrapped in pita with salad vegetables and tahini sauce. The roll-ups are warm and a little crisp outside from a panini press. Lamb kebab (below) is a winning dish, slightly chewy, flavorful morsels, perfectly cooked. Rod Ouassaidi uses as much halal meat as he can get.

The clientele, says Wasaa, comes from Boston Medical Center, Shawmut Design and Construction, artists, the flower market, and Boston Sports Club, “since the food is very healthy.’’

South End Pita is sending platters to the medical center; the pair want to expand this catering division. To draw in customers, they offer any roll-up except lamb for $5 on Mondays, and free meze with your beer or wine any weeknight in an early happy hour.

Crunchy baklava ($2.50 and $4.50), with a thick filling of walnuts, isn’t too sweet; even mint tea, which you can buy in a bottle, is available in a homemade version.

Rod and Wasaa Ouassaidi’s mother is coming to visit from Morocco, at which point the brother-sister team are expecting some culinary pointers. They want to start making entrees such as tagine and couscous.

When he and Wasaa are in the kitchen, Rod might say to her, “Let’s make this like our mom used to make.’’ Then he stops to consider: “Whatever we can cook, we can never cook better than our mom.’’

Spoken like a good son.
SOUTH END PITA, 473 Albany St., Boston, 617-556-2600, www.southendpita.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/ae/food/restaurants/articles/2009/09/30/the_magic_of_morocco_at_south_end_pita/
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