Algeria: Terrorist Threat In North Africa

HASSAN MASIKY

01/18/13

Washington / Morocco Board News--  A Mochtar Belmokhtar terror operation in the Sahel, especially after the intervention of French troops in Mali, should not come as a shock to experts following jihadist groups in the Sahara-Sahel region. However, the location of the attack on the BP oil base at Tiguentourine in southern Algeria and the number of assailants who took part in the operation took the most seasoned Sahel connoisseur by surprise.

Morocco: The Henna Suq In Fez

Colette Apelian

01/16/13

Berkeley, CA / Morocco Board News--  Walk into the Henna Suq in the old city of Fez and find a haven from the hustle and bustle of the streets outside its narrow courtyard. As you take a moment to breathe without being jostled by donkeys, you can also learn about the natural and handmade bath and beauty products of Morocco, and, if you linger, see a side of Fez non-Moroccan tourists do not normally encounter. 

Marrakech: Mopeds In the Alleys

DEREK WORKMAN

01/08/13

marrakech / Morocco Board News --   As much as I love the Marrakech Old City "Medina", walking around it has been getting worse these last few years. It’s not so much the crowds, that’s part and parcel of a busy shopping area, and the occasional donkey traffic-jam is just everyday life in action – it’s the only way you can get heavy things through the narrow streets, just as the hand-carts serve a very important role in keeping the shops and riads stocked up.

Morocco: At The Valley Of The Roses

NEWS

12/25/12

Candace Rose Rardon

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions,and the roots spring up and make new trees.”– Amelia Earhart
Roses aren’t supposed to let you down.
Neither are rose festivals, one of which had drawn my friend Liz and me to Morocco’s Valley of Roses this May. There wasn’t much written online about the festival, but what the guidebooks and websites lacked in details, my mind more than made up for in expectations.

Morocco: When babies Die Of Cold

DEREK WORKMAN

12/27/12

We recently heard the sad news of the death of Habiba Amelou, a baby little more than a month old, whose small body couldn’t cope with a winter freeze in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Many of the villages in the area are extremely remote, with sometimes little access to medical help.

A Spiritual Journey to Fez, Morocco

NEWS

12/24/12

Zainab Cheema

Journeys unfold over space and memory, composed of the greatest of distances and the most compressed moments of time. Just as we pack suitcases, we pack our memories into movable units that can expand into endless canvasses. This summer, I took a journey to Fes, one of Morocco’s oldest and most historic cities — a journey along multiple gradients, geographical, spiritual, and personal.

Morocco's Big Test In Africa's Competition

NEWS

01/08/13

Otman Affaya
Washington / Morocco Board News--     Rachid Taoussi, Morocco's footblall team coach, will be facing a big test on the African competition. I really do not know him personally but I could sense the type of coach he is and the changes did he brought to the national football team, honestly that what was needed for the team. Based on his work so far, He showed resilience, great team management skills, great motivator and articulate speaker and effective decision maker.

Orphans In Morocco, A Documentary

NEWS

12/18/12

Over the last few months a number of stories about the crisis in the orphanages in Morocco were published by international media. There were  also reports on a proclamation by the current Islamist government that seems set to hinder progress - the stopping of foreign adoptions, including Moroccans living abroad. But this is an issue that will not go away until concrete steps are taken to bring Morocco into the modern world where adoption is seen as an act of compassion, not a problem to be eradicated. Assisting this process are activists, some more enlightened politicians and hundreds of thousands of Moroccan women. And now a new film will add weight to the calls for change.

F1 Disastrous Deals In Spain, A Warning For Moroccan Officials

DEREK WORKMAN

12/17/12

The last Grand Prix held in Morocco was in 1958, in Casablanca, when British driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, who happened to be managed by Ecclestone, died when his car careered into a barrier and burst into flames.

Political Reform And The US-Moroccan Strategic Discussion

NEWS

12/14/12

Sarah Wade
While most attention was focused on the Friends of Syria meeting held in Marrakech this week, US officials also held meetings with the Moroccan government and should keep in mind that political reform will ultimately be essential to stability there. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns  attended the Syria meeting on December 12, in place of Secretary Clinton whose illness

Human Rights Pioneer, Mama Assia, Mourned

SAID TEMSAMANI

12/23/12

Morocco News Board - - - On Friday, November 2, 2012, Assia El Ouadie Known as Mama Assia passed away. A date that the Moroccan and human rights activists will remember for a long time.  They will commemorate the life of this exceptional Moroccan lady who devoted her life to fight injustice and to stand along victims of human rights.  On her deathbed, members of her family and close friends heard her saying in tears : "Oh if God gives me the opportunity to live a year or two, just to serve my children and all victims of social injustice. I have not yet finished the job. "

Morocco's Rita Saher's Night at Carnegie Hall

NORMAN L. GREENE

12/18/12

The High Atlas Foundation participated in a benefit concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening, December 15, 2012, given by virtuoso pianist Rita Saher. Rita, who is originally from Casablanca and began studying piano when she was ten, treated the large and appreciative audience to works by Mozart, Schubert, Poulenc, Albéniz, and Falla; and she responded with several encores.

Where is North Africa in US Foreign Policy?

MOHAMED DAADAOUI

12/11/12

Mohamed Daadaoui
The US elections and the monotonous presidential debates bear little to no substance on North Africa. In the much-anticipated third debate on foreign policy, there was scant mention of the countries of the Maghreb and their important strategic worth in US global fight against terrorism. Except for Libya (mentioned 12 times) in the context of the murder of US ambassador Chris Stevens, president Obama mentioned Tunisia once in passing.

A "Giant" At The Spain-Morocco Border

NEWS

12/11/12

Ignacio Cembrero
Spanish security forces deployed on the frontier of Melilla are breathing a sigh of relief. For a little while at least they will not have to cross paths with "The Giant," who taunts them from the no man's land between Spanish and Moroccan checkpoints. For now, they will not face hails of stones from youths incited by Said Chramti, which has at times forced the closure of the international border of Beni Enzar.

A Moroccan Defeat in Stockholm

HASSAN MASIKY

12/07/12

Spain's EU Residency For Real-Estate Investment Plan Worries Morocco

NEWS

12/06/12

Fernando Barciela
“Of course I’m interested if they give me a residence permit and one to my wife and two children,” says Ahmed, a small businessman in the northeast of Morocco who normally spends his summer vacation in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol. “Instead of renting, we would make the effort to buy an apartment and in that way the visa thing would be over. At last, we would be able to travel about Europe freely.”