Morocco: A curious country in the international scene

by Tiago Silva.

Moroccos is a place of a large cultural disparity with multiple communities living under one same flag, but not always peacefully. Throughout the years, Morocco has taken a singular place in international diplomacy due to three main points. First, its relation with the Arabic world, through religion and cultural, second its geographic position close to Europe, and its economic position very closely with the United States and China. During two weeks, LIU Global Class of 2022 had the chance to visit Rabat, Morocco’s capital, Fes, an important Moroccan city, and the small village of Boukashmer, an Amazir community located in the countryside. We had the chance to explore, interpret and learn about Morocco’s culture, international and national politics. During our time in Rabat, we lived with host families in order to be more emersed in the cultural setting of the country. Communication was a big barrier for most of us because we did not speak any Arabic or French, while only a few families spoke English. We also struggled with adaptations regarding the time of each meal and the amount of meal because the Moroccan culture has six o seven meals throughout the day. Nevertheless, all the families were very receptive and made everything in their power to made us feel welcomed and home. Rabat was also a place where we studied a lot about religion and how it related Morocco with the Arabic world, besides the linguistic aspects. Further, we also looked up points such as how the colonization process affected Morocco and the current situation with the Western Sahara sovereignty. A recurrent topic during our discussion in Morocco was the economic status of the country. In Fes, a city known for its strong tourist activity, we had the opportunity to talk with Rachid Azami, Vice- President of the Tourism Committee formed by people related to tourism as hotel owners, taxi drivers, and tour guides. He shared with us the main actions and strategies used by the Committee to increase tourism in Fes but also in Morocco in general. He also shared data about the number of tourists, the common nationality of them, and how now it can be perceived an increase of Chinese tourists due to the narrowing of the relation between the two countries. In Boukashmer our discussion was mainly focused on the understanding of what is development. Points like what is the influence of cultural values in the understanding of development were raised during conversations with key members of the community. Another important topic was the agriculture procedures done by the community due to environmental perspectives. The experience in the Amazir village was a challenging experience for the group because it had little or no electricity, signal or connection to the internet. An interesting interaction happened during the talk between us and some integrants of the community, on the occasion, they were surprised by the incredible amount of women and the short amount of men in our class. The class of 2020 is composed of four men and thirteen women. Overall, I believe that the experience in Morocco was an amazing time that served us to see from an African countries perspective. It also allowed us to understand the influence of the religion aspect in people’s daily routine. Further, it contributed to understanding Moroccan international position, with current agreements between China and Morocco and Chinese infrastructure development in Morocco, economic relationship with the United States and the political impasse with Spain regarding two cities in the north of the country.

Camila Gomide, a student from the Class of 2022 defends that the experience was interesting and good to get to know a developing Arabic country. According to her, it was especially interesting to stay in host families for cultural emersion. She highlights how she perceived a big lack of freedom of speech and how it affects the political and economic sphere. Moreover, Morocco was an interesting experience and a great opportunity for knowledge. According to Fisher Ilijasic, another student of the Class of 2022, African countries have different perspectives from Western countries and how it is very important to be in contact with other views. He also stated how the experience in the Amazir village was a reminder of our privilege. He wishes we had explored more the linguistic aspect of the country and that he wanted to learn more Arabic than Shukran. Further, he argues that Islamophobia is a big problem and having visited a Muslin country he has understood better the routine and the relation between people and religion. Moreover, Morocco was an interesting experience and a great opportunity for knowledge and develop more cultural sensibility.