Morocco watches without dreaming too much
31 January 2011
Read by 2150 persons
Job hunting worries Moroccan youth, who are not inclined to take to the streets
At the counter of his grocery store, Rachid glances at the morning newspapers: "Have you seen Tunisia? That won't happen to us. With the monarchy, we have stability."
The Moroccan authorities have been maintaining stability since the Tunisian revolution. The Prime Minister recently announced a 10% quota for the recruitment of unemployed graduates into the Moroccan administration in 2011 and 2012. The unemployment rate in Morocco is around 10%, but paradoxically reaches almost 18% among university graduates and 27% among graduates from universities.
"The only thing that interests me is finding a job. What's happening in Tunisia is none of my business," adds Yassin, 20. This second-year economics student juggles odd jobs, working as a satellite dish repairman, phone salesman, and call center operator. His uncertain future obsesses him.
"Similar conditions"
"Tunisia and Morocco have similar conditions: concentration of power, lack of wealth sharing, widespread poverty, and high youth unemployment. The difference is that in Tunisia, the population is more educated, and education has remained a vehicle for transmitting human values and solidarity. These things no longer exist in Morocco. University graduates are not ready to play a role in societal change as they once did," analyzes Khadija Ryadi, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).
Few Moroccans envy the freedom of expression now claimed by Tunisians, as the famous red lines are deeply ingrained in their minds: Islam, the homeland, and the king (Allah, al Watan, al Malik).
A "artificial, superficial" freedom
"Moroccans know very well that freedom here is artificial, superficial," continues Khadija Ryadi, for whom "Morocco has been backtracking lately": "Just look at the treatment of the press, human rights associations, and bloggers."
Asma, in her thirties, from Casablanca's bourgeoisie, agrees: "A country like ours, with its culture, needs to be guided. We must be ready for freedom. And we are not."
"In buses, taxis, and grocery stores, people talk, they are not happy, prices have increased a lot, as has the electricity bill," admits Malika, who has been working since she was seven. "But it's difficult to take to the streets. We don't want to get arrested."
Published January 23, 2011
Posted online January 30, 2011
la-croix.com
At the counter of his grocery store, Rachid glances at the morning newspapers: "Have you seen Tunisia? That won't happen to us. With the monarchy, we have stability."
The Moroccan authorities have been maintaining stability since the Tunisian revolution. The Prime Minister recently announced a 10% quota for the recruitment of unemployed graduates into the Moroccan administration in 2011 and 2012. The unemployment rate in Morocco is around 10%, but paradoxically reaches almost 18% among university graduates and 27% among graduates from universities.
"The only thing that interests me is finding a job. What's happening in Tunisia is none of my business," adds Yassin, 20. This second-year economics student juggles odd jobs, working as a satellite dish repairman, phone salesman, and call center operator. His uncertain future obsesses him.
"Similar conditions"
"Tunisia and Morocco have similar conditions: concentration of power, lack of wealth sharing, widespread poverty, and high youth unemployment. The difference is that in Tunisia, the population is more educated, and education has remained a vehicle for transmitting human values and solidarity. These things no longer exist in Morocco. University graduates are not ready to play a role in societal change as they once did," analyzes Khadija Ryadi, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).
Few Moroccans envy the freedom of expression now claimed by Tunisians, as the famous red lines are deeply ingrained in their minds: Islam, the homeland, and the king (Allah, al Watan, al Malik).
A "artificial, superficial" freedom
"Moroccans know very well that freedom here is artificial, superficial," continues Khadija Ryadi, for whom "Morocco has been backtracking lately": "Just look at the treatment of the press, human rights associations, and bloggers."
Asma, in her thirties, from Casablanca's bourgeoisie, agrees: "A country like ours, with its culture, needs to be guided. We must be ready for freedom. And we are not."
"In buses, taxis, and grocery stores, people talk, they are not happy, prices have increased a lot, as has the electricity bill," admits Malika, who has been working since she was seven. "But it's difficult to take to the streets. We don't want to get arrested."
Published January 23, 2011
Posted online January 30, 2011
la-croix.com
