Impressions of Morocco

The dominant visual impression in Morocco, on foot or from a bus, is walls. Everywhere. Walls to keep enemies out. Walls to keep women in, away from the gaze of men. Thus the vernacular architecture of the kasbah, the mountain village, and the medina exhibits a common denominator, either to keep strangers out or to decide who comes in. Yet on every occasion we got to enter a door, we were met with warmth, food, and generous hospitality.

The most memorable aural impression, dawn and dusk call to prayers, admittedly answered by only the most devout, symbolized the calming effect that the Moroccan version of Islam (Sunni, Malaki order) seems to provide. What a mind-opening opportunity to experience this remarkable country, people, and religion.

But….. why are so many of the brightest young people planning to leave? Our conversation with students from Mohammed Vth University unsettled me a bit. The issue that had most interested me as we prepared for our trip was Moroccan emigration to Europe. But I had noticed only the illiterate and the poorest of the poor, including sub-Saharan Africans using Morocco as an embarkation point. That a substantial number of the most educated believe they must leave, despite a general hopefulness about their progressive, development-savvy King Mohammed VI, raises troubling questions about Morocco’s future.
- Gary Williams, Department of History