Violence against Saharawis growing in Morocco
A first-year student at Moulay Ismail University at Toulal in Meknes was attacked Tuesday afternoon and died while being transported to the hospital. TelQuel reported that the incident in which the boy was killed was between Amazigh students and leftists, “pour des divergences idéologiques et le contrôle de l’université.” (for ideological divergences and control of the university).
Additionally, a Saharawi student named Soltana Khaya lost an eye last week during a clash between Moroccan police and Saharawi students, according to an Algerian paper.
Reuters AlertNet reports that violence against Saharawi students in Morocco has grown this year, with police involvement in recent skirmishes crossing the line.
May 27th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Sahrawi students are no angels either. Every time there is trouble in universities every one who is unlucky enough to be in the wrong place in wrong moment gets the same treatment. They are also unpopular amongst other university students, reputed being arrogant and aggressive, at least here in Marrakech. Even people who used to hide them from police no more want to help if all they are awarded is their cars burned the next day.
La violence engendre la violence. That’s sad but what can you do when leftists, adlists, amazigh, sahrawi and other factions think and act like gangs?!
this is a gangs war, to control university, with police involved too. and of course there are victims, innocent or not.
anyway let’s hope it’s the last time things like that happens…
May 27th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
soyez prudent sur ce sujet très sensible
la propagande est le seul moyen de communication des deux coté
il y a des actions montées exprès juste pour la photo et le cliché
May 27th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Oh I know, and neither are Amazigh. But it’s ridiculous that students even have a semblance of control of the universities! Why aren’t the universities controlled by authority and professors? This could never happen in the US, I suppose that’s why I find it so shocking (and by that, of course the violence could happen, but students have far less control there).
May 27th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
It might be a sensitive subject, Moroccan, but I feel compelled to share it. I don’t sway in either direction, to be honest, though I do feel that it’s ridiculous that students are allowed so much control of the universities here.
May 28th, 2007 at 4:24 am
[…] info - post from Morocco […]
May 28th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Do you know anything about this blog? I think it has your entries (and mine) published in full with no accreditation…
http://samyyang.blogspot.com/2007/05/morocco-travel-guide.html
May 28th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I saw that as well - it also re-posts Everything Morocco and Moroccan Vocab…I’m not sure what’s going on there.
May 28th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
well, my theory is that all this is because of a tradition of non-free speech. until recent years, the only place where politically engaged youth could express it self was university. but not all the time, once you start (illegally)a manifestation, student’s had more or less 20 min to make as much noise and burden they can, and of course to release all their frustration. after that, police gets into the campus and do “do the job”.
violence, violence and violence..
now that there is a relatively better climax for free speech, students are widely uninterested in politics. groups never learned to coexist and how to use the little liberty that they have. they continue to act like they ever did.
In my first year, islamists owned the faculty. In short, they ruled it. Any activity that didn’t matches there political and moral standards were forbidden with intimidation, even force if needed. One day they even mobilized students from other cities and non students to physically censor a play and a conference. Other groups had there own territories and did the same.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Out of topic:
@ Maryam in Marrakech + taamarbuuta:
I had seen that blog, I couldn’t recognize where did all those posts come from. The person contacted me as she/he needed to learn Darija (A Chinese living in Rabat?).
The next thing I see is an entry of mine posted there, I just contacted the blogger and asked him/her NOT to publish any post of mine but partially, linking back to my blog.. No use, she/he just posted a link to my blog under that entry.
All of the posts are taken from Moroccan/Moroccan related blogs?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Back to the topic. That wasn’t “violence growing against sahraouis”, that was “more violence between Amazigh and Sahraouis”. I have read the full story on http://www.amazighblog.net/, and that makes me feel sorry to know what kind of “ideologies” grow in Moroccan faculties. We are all Moroccans, no need to separate Amazigh from “arabists”!
Moroccan higher education needs some boost.
June 6th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
it’s more ethnic than ideological, and that’s worst!
June 7th, 2007 at 10:24 am
What I can’t believe is how Moroccan universities are run by students! Another American and I were discussing this - in the US we pay an arm and a leg for school and as students, have no control. Here, students study mostly for free, but practically run the universities…how does that make sense?
June 10th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I can’t tell about that. But it’s not like they run them, it just feels like there is no administrations to stop them. That’s because there are SO many students. In other Moroccan schools, things are way too different.
In my school, we were always bothered by those strikes in the university next door.