Gafait

Quote of the week

"It is not growing like a tree
in bulk, doth make man better be,
or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
to fall a log at last, dry, bald and sere:
a lily of a day,
is fairer far in May,
although it fall and die that night;
it was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see,
and in short measures, life may perfect be."

-poet Benjamin Jonson

Quote of the week

“Without realizing it, the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress.”

-Czech author Milan Kundera, who is too easy to quote. Some more:

“Happiness is the longing for repetition.”
“The sound of laughter is like the vaulted dome of a temple of happiness.”
“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
“Metaphors are dangerous. Love begins with a metaphor. Which is to say, love begins at the point when a woman enters her first word into our poetic memory.”

Kundera's metaphors are beautiful and his existentialism shines throughout his writing.

(Note: New photos under "my photos.")

Another Strike

We're stuck in Figuig as of this moment following the language camp because of another transit strike brought on by the introduction of a traffic bill in parliament. Of note from the papers:

"The bill, which introduces a point-record driving license system, breath analyzing tests and fines up to USD 350, in addition to the incrimination of some infractions especially in serious injuries and death cases, has sparked off much debate in parliament circles as well as the uproar of several transport trade unions, who started, on Monday, a 48-hour strike."

And that strike still continues; the bill's future unresolved. If implemented, the point system would allow authorities to take away the license of poor drivers who have been in accidents, fined, etc in rank order. Critics say it will lead to corruption and that it threatens large single income families where the lone breadwinner is a transit driver. From another source,

"Faced with the unavailability of taxis and buses, travellers in both urban and rural areas have been paying exorbitant prices for non approved carriers. According to managers in the key ports of Casablanca and Kenitra, the lack of lorries is delaying the delivery of goods. The prices of vegetables, fruit and basic foodstuffs have risen steadily and many observers feel the situation could worsen over the next few days...

El Bouzid Khallouf, who is in his fifties and owns a lorry, thinks this new law will have to be revised before it can be adopted. "This move to take away drivers’ licences is only likely to encourage even more corruption. We don’t want to be bribing the police and traffic officers to be able to drive around in peace." Yassine, a Casablanca taxi driver, feels that confiscating driving licences poses a real threat to the profession. "Given the mediocre earnings we receive each month, we refuse to be deprived of our licences every now and then for mistakes we rarely, if ever, make...

While waiting for a solution to the conflict, unionists say they are prepared to continue the strike until they get their message across. In their view, the fight against road traffic accidents should be directed not at repressing drivers, but at raising traffic control standards and improving the social and pay conditions for those working in the transport sector.

Transport Minister Karim Ghellab insisted that he will not give in to what he termed as blackmail. He stated that his aim is to make the roads safer by reducing the "slaughter" taking place on Morocco’s highways."

By slaughter, he's referring to this

"Morocco is among the worst countries in terms of road safety, as 10 people are killed every day and USD 1.3 billion lost every year.

Last year, road accidents claimed 3,622 lives, i.e. a 4.17% increase compared to 2005. Some 56,426 accidents were recorded during the same period, that is a 5.22% increase compared to the previous year."

I've always thought the greatest security risk in Morocco is transportation. It seems like the government is trying to reduce that risk, but I can understand where transit workers are coming from. They're stubborn because of the risk associated with change.

The Prophet's Birthday

We came upon this scene last Sunday evening in Figuig after our first day of class. To celebrate the birthday of Mohammed, local tradition in Figuig is for a man to dress up and march through the streets. As far as know, he represents a bad spirit of sorts. Children were walking with him, taunting him, and throwing firecrackers throughout the city, but not in his direction. This same event happens in the Middle Atlas Mountains and other places with Berbers during Eid Kabir. However, unlike there, this man was not chasing after scared children with a stick. Additionally, I've been told that the Tamazirt language is different here.

Figuig's a very intriguing place to say the least. Camp has been a great experience and has just concluded today, hamdullah. It's nice to meet and greet campers and have them be thankful for the experience, but a week with 100 high school aged students is a long week. I have a few stories to tell and like the postponed writings of last months Sahara trip, I'll put them up soon.