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French

Il est des fois où l’on ne sait plus où donner de la tête face à un flot d’informations. Il est des fois où l’on ne sait quoi penser quand le choquant le dispute au sordide.

Ce matin, je consultais ma revue de presse habituelle quand je suis tombé sur un de ces articles qui ne permet qu’une seule première réaction: pousser une bonne gueulante !

Sur le site internet du journal arabophone Akhbar Al-Youm est rapportée l’information selon laquelle une jeune fille de la localité de Boudnib, province d’Errachidia, a été la victime (je reviens sur ce terme un peu plus tard) d’un viol collectif de la part de sept individus, dont l’age va de 17 à 30 ans. Ne s’arrêtant pas en si bon chemin, ceux-ci ont même filmé la scène sur téléphone portable selon le même journal.

Quatre des sept suspects ont été appréhendés par la police en fin de semaine dernière et déférés à la justice sous l’accusation de Rapt, Viol, Enregistrement et partage d’une vidéo contenant des images impudiques. Les services de police cherchent encore les trois autres suspects.

Ce qui est surprenant dans l’histoire est que la jeune fille n’a pas porté plainte dès le départ de peur de la honte et du discrédit qu’un tel viol peut porter sur elle et sur sa famille. La police n’a en fait réagi qu’une fois l’enregistrement du viol partagé et retiré du site de partage de vidéo Youtube et après que les suspects l’aient partagé avec un grand ombre de personnes sur leurs portables via Bluetooth.

Je vous passe les détails de la vidéo rapportés dans l’article et que vous pouvez toujours lire directement sur le site du journal. Des détails, certes sordides et choquants mais d’où transpirent la violence de la scène. On ne peut qu’être « mal à l’aise », excusez l’euphémisme, quand on lit la description faite de la vidéo. Cela est déchirant, cela a un goût âpre qui paralyse l’échine. La description terrifiante d’un mécanisme déréglé où tout fout le camp, où l’humain, en dernier ressort, se retranche derrière ses instincts primaires. Un sentiment d’une perte irrémédiable de valeurs et de repères.

Mais le plus choquant reste la chose suivante: la jeune fille, ie la victime est poursuivie pour « Non dénonciation ». Oui, vous avez bien lu. Elle est également poursuivie. Cela ne s’invente pas !

Histoire d’être sûr de mon français, je me suis précipité vers le premier dictionnaire et j’y ai consulté le terme victime. Le Larousse donne la définitions suivante:

adjectif et nom féminin. Qui a subi un mal, un dommage : Victime d’un vol. Qui pâtit, qui subit les effets d’une situation, d’événements, de choses néfastes.

Je me serais attendu à une réaction de désapprobation de notre société étant donné son conservatisme et son ignorance. En effet, Le viol demeure encore un sujet tabou au sein de la société marocaine. Loin de recevoir le soutien moral et les encouragements de leurs familles, les victimes sont souvent rejetées. Les parents considèrent le viol d’une fille comme un déshonneur qu’il faut cacher à tout prix.
D’ailleurs, le nombre exact de femmes victimes de viols au Maroc reste inconnu, pour la simple raison que peu d’entre elles en parlent, elles subissent la loi du silence.

Au lieu de s’attendre à un soutien légitime et qui de plus est normal de la part de ceux qui sont censés protéger les victimes, bien au contraire ils la poursuivent pour non dénonciation.

Je me doutais que Kafka avait du sang marocain, là j’en suis sûr.

English (translation)

There are times when we do not know where to head against a flood of information. There are times when we do not know what to think when the disputes turn shockingly sordid.

This morning, I looked at my press reviews when I came across one of those items which allows only one first reaction: throwing up!

On the website of the Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm there was information about a young girl from the town of Boudnib, Errachidia province, who was the victim (I return to this term later) of a gang rape from seven individuals, whose ages range from 17 to 30 years. As if that isn’t enough, they have even filmed the scene on mobile phone.

Four of the seven suspects were apprehended by the police last weekend and brought to justice on charges of Kidnapping, Rape, recording and sharing video containing indecent images. The police are still seeking three other suspects.

What is surprising in the story is that the girl did not complain at the outset for fear of shame and stigma that such a rape can carry on her and her family. The police have in fact reacted only after recording of rape and removed from the shared sharing site YouTube and video after the suspects had shared with a large number of people on their phones via Bluetooth.

I’ll spare you the details reported in the video section and you can always read directly on the journal’s web site. Details admittedly sordid and shocking because of the violence of the scene. One can only be “uncomfortable”, excuse the euphemism, when one reads the description of the video. This is heartbreaking, it has a bitter taste that has crippled the spine. The terrifying description of a disordered mechanism where humans, ultimately, were hiding behind primary instincts. A sense of irretrievable loss of values.

But the most shocking thing is the following: the girl, ie the victim is being sued for “not reporting”. Yes, you read correctly. It is also continued. This can not be invented!

History to be sure of my French, I rushed to the first dictionary and I viewed the term victim. The Larousse gives the following definitions:

adjective and noun. Who has suffered a bad injury: Victim of a robbery. Who suffers, who suffers the effects of a situation, events, things adverse.

I would have expected a reaction of disapproval since Morocco is still steeped in conservatism and ignorance. Indeed, rape is still taboo in Moroccan society. Far from receiving moral support and encouragement of their families, victims are often rejected. Parents consider rape a girl as a disgrace that should be hidden at all costs.
Moreover, the exact number of women victims of rape in Morocco is still unknown for the simple reason that few of them speak, they suffer the silence.

Instead of the expected support which is more normal from those who are supposed to protect victims, on the contrary they continue to denunce them.

I suspect that Kafka was by blood, a Moroccan.

Almost immediately after Dad departed Morocco, I was once again on my way to Casablanca to meet a visitor- This time, it was my significant other, Krister. Unlike my previous trip, which had a detailed itinerary and hotel rooms booked for each night, Krister and I had decided to play it by ear and, after hitting the major tourist cities with my dad, I was ready for something low-key. On the recommendation of fellow Fulbrighter Sam, we decided to visit Moulay Bousselham, a small coastal town south of Tangier.

We left my apartment in Rabat mid-morning and made our way to the train station, where we got on a fast train to Kenitra, about 45 minutes away. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of Moroccan trains, there are two options: old and new. Old trains, while fairly reliable, are sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. The smell isn’t particularly pleasant, and they seem to make stops every 15 minutes. New trains, on the other hand, are extremely punctual, make limited stops, and are a joy to ride in. I highly recommend them.

We got off at the wrong stop (there are two Kenitra stops, and it turns out we choose poorly), but we made it to the grande taxi stand with high spirits. Again, for those of you who have never traveled to Morocco, grande taxis are a common and convenient mode of transportation throughout the country. They generally have fixed routes and travel just about anywhere. The catch is that you need to wait for the taxi (usually an old, white Mercedes) to fill up- The capacity is six, plus the driver.

When we arrived to the taxi stand, we were the first ones heading to Moulay Bousselham, and so we waited for our taxi to fill up, which gave us some time to observe an impromptu chess game on the street.

A Moroccan Kitchen Teaching and Tasting wonderful food in Fez is, at first glance, just a simple and run of the mill blog, but when you take a moment to consider it, you realize that it has a lot to offer.

The blog is run by two Moroccan women from Fès Medina who work in a Riad kitchen. Consider this great post about Moroccan Snails.

SNAILS

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Moroccan snails are small, with cream and white striped shells.
I give you method for washing snails.
Wash them 6 times in plenty of fresh water and the 7th time in salted water,
2 handfuls of salt to 10 pints water. This last wash should be clear of any slime.
Mix in large pan:
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp thyme
1tbsp wild mint
2 tbsp caraway
2tbsp Spanish aniseed
2 fresh bitter orange peels
4 whole hot peppers
1 sprig fresh mint
6 pint water
Boil for 10 or 15 min over medium heat before dropping in 4 lbs snails.
There is no old cook in Morocco, who would drop in the snails without sticking out her tongue and plunging a knife into the water, in accordance with an old superstition.
This incantation, it seems, is supposed to stop the snails curling up in the bottom of their shells thus making it very difficult to get them out.
Leave to cook for two hours over medium heat. Reduce the sauce and eat hot or cold.
Samira

This beautiful blog is part travel, part food, part cooking, and part personal reflections and experience. In addition it has photographs that are worthy of a National Geographic, and no shortage of great recipes.

Just one part of a recent post should suffice to show why you should add this to your blog reader or favorites bar.

I have longed to go to Essaouira since we arrived in Morocco almost two years ago. So as you may know we finally got to go down that way on New Year’s Day. Well, it was everything people said it was and more! What a gorgeous place, not even the debris on the beach from floods the previous week or the nip in the air could spoil the charm of the place.

Essaouira has a long and colourful history dating back thousands of years. It is a chilled, relaxed place on the coast with a very “bohemian” feel to it. It is very popular with surfers, artists and musicians and to me is the perfect place to have a gentle introduction to Morocco! Over the next few posts I will share some images of our time there.

So lets start in the spice souk. One of the spices often used in Moroccan cooking is Saffron. Morocco produces a small amount of saffron each year, mostly from an area in the South of Morocco called Taliouine. In Rabat the spice souks are mostly used by locals so English is not widely spoken, and my French/Arabic does not extend far enough to have a discussion about the quality of saffron with the shopkeepers, so I usually have to go with my gut feeling and the rule of thumb, if it’s too cheap, it’s no good!

I was very pleased to find an English speaking shopkeeper in Essaouira who showed me the quality difference between the real Moroccan Saffron and the cheaper stuff which was quite dry and powdery in comparison.

Dar El Menia lies in the heart of Fes (Fez) Medina, former imperial capital of Morocco and the world’s largest medieval medina. Fes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but it is not a museum it is a living, breathing city and Dar El Menia provides the perfect luxurious base to begin exploring the old and the new. This dar, or courtyard house, is at least 250 years old and has recently been completely restored using local craftsmen, techniques and materials.

Situated adjacent to Talaa Kebira, the main artery of the walled city, Dar El Menia offers easy access to all major sites of interest, the water clock, tanneries, hammams, mosques and medersas as well as being perfectly placed to begin roaming the medina’s narrow car free streets, which contain all manner of crafts, markets, restaurants, cafés and personality.

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/dar-el-menia-is-proud-to-sponsor-the-best-overall-blog-category/feed/ 0 http://moroccoblogs.com/maroc-mama/ http://moroccoblogs.com/maroc-mama/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:17:55 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=250 Frankly we love the new design and, dare we say, flavor of Maroc Mama. This site is visually appealing, fun to read, updated regularly, and as all great blogs should have, it contains the uniqueness of the blogger as well as great content.

Have a look at this post for a great example. It contains personal accounts, a great photo, a delicious recipe, and interesting cultural information too.

Before I met my husband fish and seafood was something that I ate on a very rare occasion and in small quantities. Not to mention it was usually the deep fried type. I didn’t really “like” it. But fish was something my husband had grown up with, especially sardines and anchovies (I’m not there yet!) So the first time a fish tajine graced the table in my presence I shuddered. I stepped back from the table and politely declined and munched on some bread. My husband kept coaxing me to just try it and I decided I had to not to offend the cook. Very gingerly I took a little bite and BAAM – can you believe I liked it? This did not taste like any fish I had ever tasted! Over the years I’ve adapted the traditional method a little because I don’t like fish skin, or bones or heads (usually this is made with a whole fish). This is pretty fast and very tasty – even for people who don’t “like” fish they might be surprised!

Ingredients:
1 lemon
2 fish fillets (I usually use salmon, or a white fish like cod or talapia but any fish will work)
4-5 small red potatoes (any potatoes work but red cook faster)
1 small onion
1/2 eggplant
2 zucchini
2 large tomatoes or several small
3 tbsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot paprika
handful of chopped cilantro
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tsp olive oil

Directions:
Wash and remove skin of all vegetables (you can leave it on the tomatoes and red potatoes if you’d like). Slice all of them very thinly, as thin as you can get them as this will aid in cooking time. Keep the tomatoes separate but add the remaining vegetables to a large mixing bowl. In another bowl combine all of the spices and mix together. Reserve 2-3 tsp of the spices, and pour 1 tsp of olive oil onto the vegetables – combine well and then sprinkle the rest of the spices onto the vegetables. Mix well so that they are covered.
In a flat baking pan arrange all of the vegetables – trying to keep them as flat as possible. Layering them will cause them to take longer to cook through.

Preheat the oven to 350 at this time.

Wash and dry off the fish. If using a fish with skin , you can choose to remove the skin or keep it on. I always remove it because I don’t like even looking at it! Once the fish is ready place it into the baking sheet on top of the vegetables. Take the tomatoes and arrange them on top of the fish and the other vegetables. The liquid will help cook them. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the fish and the vegetables, and top the fish and tomatoes with the reserved spices. Squeeze the lemon over the entire dish, being careful to remove the seeds.

Place into the preheated oven and bake until the fish starts to flake the vegetables are tender. If you have a fast cooking fish, you could pre-steam the vegetables before seasoning and adding to the oven so that the fish doesn’t cook too long, waiting for the veggies to catch up!

Eat while hot with crusty bread. I usually serve with a quartered lemon for guests to squeeze more lemon if they desire.

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/maroc-mama/feed/ 0 http://moroccoblogs.com/from-my-moroccan-kitchen/ http://moroccoblogs.com/from-my-moroccan-kitchen/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:01:25 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=240 they say you should never go to the grocery store (or the souk) when you are hungry and we think that we might add that going to a Moroccan Food Blog is also a bad idea!

Today before lunch we visited …from my Moroccan Kitchen. Tastes, sights and virtual smells from my Moroccan kitchen. Highlights of cuisine, language and culture from an American wife in a Moroccan home. Now we are going to have to go to the souk to get all the ingredients for this delicious treat. This site was recently combined with the next blog we will review MarocMama. Stay tuned!

In Djem al Fna (a big public square chock-full of food stalls and vendors) in Marrakech there are small stores that sell shawarma. On my first visit to Morocco – a tour guide box tour mind you – we did not eat any street food. However thanks to my falling in love with my husband I returned and he introduced me to chicken shwarma. I will eternally love him for doing this! I’ve remade it several times but I think I hit the nail on the head with this last recipe. It’s so simple but good. It’s also really fast.

* Ingredients
* 2 Chicken Breasts
* 4 heaping teaspoons plain yogurt
* 1/2 tsp tumeric
* 1 tsp each salt, pepper, cumin
* 2 tsp chopped garlic
* vegetable oil
* Flat-Out Wraps or another flat bread

Directions

Very thinly slice the chicken breasts and place into a bowl. Mix in with the chicken the yogurt, cumin, salt, pepper, tumeric and garlic. Combine well so that all chicken is coated. Allow to marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

In a skillet heat some vegetable oil on medium heat. You do not want to fry the chicken but need the oil to give it some crispiness and to seal some of the flavor. Place 1/2 the chicken into the pan and move around with tongs so the pieces come apart and cook individually. This should not take long as the chicken is so thin. Remove from pan and cook the remaining chicken.

Warm the wraps or flatbread in the oven. Fill wrap with chicken and roll up! You can also add lettuce, tomatoes and sliced onions into the wrap as well. In Morocco shawarma comes with a good helping of french fries too!

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/from-my-moroccan-kitchen/feed/ 1 http://moroccoblogs.com/do-it-the-moroccan-way/ http://moroccoblogs.com/do-it-the-moroccan-way/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:54:29 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=238 Not surprisingly, the world loves Moroccan food. That’s why we are always happy to find blogs dedicated to Moroccan recipes, Moroccan food, and Moroccan cooking.

Recently a reader directed us to Do it the Moroccan Way .

This blog is filled with yummy recipes – both traditional and non-traditional. Have a look at this recent post and see how something as simple as an orange can make your mouth water…when you do it the Moroccan way!

Luckily the Moroccan oranges are one of the best in the world. They are juicy, and sweet and are widely consumed by Moroccans. They’re grown in the Haouz region in the south. And as one of the top producers of orange in the world, Morocco exports this sweet watery fruit to Europe as well. Anyway, if you need a vitamin C boost, try the Moroccan salad/dessert, (could be both) there’s no specific time to eat this. It’s yummy & good for you. Peel an orange, slice it up & dust it with cinnamon & enjoy.

Things you can add: (Powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almonds or dates)

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/do-it-the-moroccan-way/feed/ 2 http://moroccoblogs.com/joy-of-the-bombies-best-of-morocco-blog-awards/ http://moroccoblogs.com/joy-of-the-bombies-best-of-morocco-blog-awards/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:04:22 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=258 We knew this contest was going to be a lot of fun. What we didn’t know was that it was going to bring joy to a lot of people. Since the polling began a few days ago we have received dozens of emails from bloggers who have told us about the joy the BOMBies have brought to their lives.

- Two bloggers told us that they had stopped blogging because they felt that nobody cared. Since being nominated they have found renewed hope and reconnected with their readers.

- Another blogger had actually put up a notice just days before being nominated that their blog was done. Since being nominated he has removed the notice and now is polling quite well.

- Bloggers have emailed to tell us about how their traffic has increased since being listed as nominees or reviewed here at Moroccoblogs.com (in one case by nearly 300%!)

- Readers have written to tell us about how stoked they are at finding new blogs to read, new blog friends, and in one case being reconnected with a friend they had lost contact with through our website.

- We have been notified of blogs that we didn’t know about, blogs that have made an impact in the lives of readers, and even blogs that have helped them to understand their own situations better.

All we can say is that, we too are stoked. We love blogs, blogging, and Morocco. The main purpose of this site is to further the efforts of those who are blogging about Morocco and to connect readers with their work. It’s inspiring.

Thank you for letting us know. Keep blogging.

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