Somewhere between walking out of the Nedi Neswi this afternoon (women's center) and walking to go buy some lemons, I dropped my purse- which is just a small blue clutch. I didn't realize it until I was buying the lemons. Most of what was in there was not too important-- my carte se jour (residency card), which would be a pain to replace, but still possible. 100 Dirhams- which is a solid amount, but nothing worth losing my mind over. But I was very worried because my house keys were in there.
So I went frantically back to the Nedi Neswi, back to the lemon vendor, walked the streets... It turns out I'd dropped it on the sidewalk outside the Nedi Neswi. Some kids had picked it up and given it to some adults who were working construction by the Nedi Neswi.
When the construction workers saw me on the street, my eyes scanning the pavement, They approached me and pulled out my purse. They emptied all the contents and said "we found it- it's all still here, we didn't take anything!"
I was immediately so relieved. I showered them with a million "Thank You"s and "God Bless Your Parents" plus some other common phrases and I gave the kids a little reward.
As I was walking away, the main guy who'd been explaining that nothing had been taken just kept saying "You see, we didn't take anything- we are good people. We fear God. We are true Muslims- NOT terrorists. A true Muslim wouldn't take anything- we are not terrorists." And I acknowledged that I knew that, and I love Moroccans, etc. etc. he continued that if he hadn't seen me on the street, he would have taken it to the police and turned it in.
What is worthy of note is that everywhere I go in Morocco, people feel the need to explain/prove/swear by the fact that true Muslims are NOT terrorists. It's like they have collective guilt for the things that terrorists do. I hope that one day there will be no more violent Islamic extremism and Muslims will not feel they need constantly defend their religion- which, in my experience has been nothing but peaceful.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
"guidance regarding recent events"
This is a piece of an email I received from a Peace Corps staff member:
In light of the bombing and the killing of Osama Bin Laden, here is some guidance for you:
· You may receive questions and/or pressure from members of your community to discuss the circumstances of Bin Laden’s death or your reaction to it. Please avoid engaging in discussing this issue. Appropriate responses include: “I don’t have enough information to discuss this issue.” and/or “I am never happy to hear of anyone’s death.” If you experience pressure from your community or are otherwise concerned please contact me immediately.
The bombing s/he's talking about are the bombs that were detonated by a tourist cafe in Marrakech last week.
Personally, in regards to this request by Peace Corps, it's a little unachievable since it's the only thing people want to talk about and they are genuinely curious as to what I think about it. I mean, if you think about it- I am the one and only foreigner in this small Moroccan town near the Algerian border, the only foreigners most of them interact with are Peace Corps volunteers (so that's one new one every two years). They see all this chaos on T.V. "caused" by this far away nation called America and here's their chance to know what a real live American thinks of it all.
Goal 2 of Peace Corps is: "Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people s served." Goal 3 is "helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."
But at the same time, there exists a blanket rule that we are not to talk about religion and politics.
One of the most common questions I'm asked by people of all age groups is "What do Americans think of Muslims?" which is generally followed by the request that I tell Americans that Islam is a peaceful religion and to make sure I tell them that "we're not terrorists. Terrorism isn't Islam." Serving in a country that is a Islamic monarchy where the vast majority of Moroccans are Muslim presents a new dynamic to goals 2 and 3- that, unfortunately, Peace Corps wants us to ignore. (for your own security. which I can understand.) America may be able to ignore religion most of the time through political correctness but it's impossible here.
So.... I'd like to talk about the Marrakech bombings and Osama Bin Laden's death but....I don't have enough information to discuss this issue?
In light of the bombing and the killing of Osama Bin Laden, here is some guidance for you:
· You may receive questions and/or pressure from members of your community to discuss the circumstances of Bin Laden’s death or your reaction to it. Please avoid engaging in discussing this issue. Appropriate responses include: “I don’t have enough information to discuss this issue.” and/or “I am never happy to hear of anyone’s death.” If you experience pressure from your community or are otherwise concerned please contact me immediately.
The bombing s/he's talking about are the bombs that were detonated by a tourist cafe in Marrakech last week.
Personally, in regards to this request by Peace Corps, it's a little unachievable since it's the only thing people want to talk about and they are genuinely curious as to what I think about it. I mean, if you think about it- I am the one and only foreigner in this small Moroccan town near the Algerian border, the only foreigners most of them interact with are Peace Corps volunteers (so that's one new one every two years). They see all this chaos on T.V. "caused" by this far away nation called America and here's their chance to know what a real live American thinks of it all.
Goal 2 of Peace Corps is: "Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people s served." Goal 3 is "helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."
But at the same time, there exists a blanket rule that we are not to talk about religion and politics.
One of the most common questions I'm asked by people of all age groups is "What do Americans think of Muslims?" which is generally followed by the request that I tell Americans that Islam is a peaceful religion and to make sure I tell them that "we're not terrorists. Terrorism isn't Islam." Serving in a country that is a Islamic monarchy where the vast majority of Moroccans are Muslim presents a new dynamic to goals 2 and 3- that, unfortunately, Peace Corps wants us to ignore. (for your own security. which I can understand.) America may be able to ignore religion most of the time through political correctness but it's impossible here.
So.... I'd like to talk about the Marrakech bombings and Osama Bin Laden's death but....I don't have enough information to discuss this issue?
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