Showing posts with label Walking outside. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walking outside. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Flash back





A plane. My second for that day had just set off. From my window seat, I saw beautiful Amsterdam. A river, lakes, green areas and well structured building blocks… then the huge open ocean. The water was seemingly calm, but intimidating. A whole world of mysteries and endless untold stories lying beneath that glittering blue surface, whose uniformity was disturbed by a few dark dots scattered here and there.

That day, I experienced the longest sunset of my life. It literally lasted for hours. My flight which set off at sunset was traveling west, and so was the end of the day. As the arrival of nighttime slowly worked its way westward above the Atlantic, so did our flight. As if we were earning bonus hours on that day. As if the deepest wish of permanently busy people had just materialized. The day lingered beyond the twenty-four hours.

Layers and layers of comfy-looking clouds appeared outside my window. Amazing nuances of pink and purple marked the horizon, an imaginary yet universally referential line somewhere in the air.

From my thousands-of-meters altitude, I thought of how drastically perspective differences can change the way we see things. Just as the usually remote clouds looked fluffy and almost inviting when seen from above. Just like heavy, colossal, roaring ships can turn into mere dark dots scattered here and there on the surface of a blue ocean.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Got some space in your fridge? Oh it's for my nerves!!

Now excuse me. How on earth can I keep my temper while almost every time I have to take a plane I have to go through additional screening!!! Why is it that most people go straight through ordinary security check and I am one of those very few who have to be double checked? Oh, the piece of cloth I’m wearing on my head?? When are these security people going to understand that terrorists are a bit more intelligent than showing up in an airport with one, a passport that shows that they are Arabs or Muslims, and two wearing Hijab or a beard!!! Hijab or a beard should be enough evidence that we’re hiding nothing, because it’s become a habit now that any Muslim woman with hijab or any Muslim man with a beard would be suspected.

Yeah “this is done for all the passengers’ security, including me”!. Yeah, whatever! Don’t worry about MY security, thank you. And if it were threatened, be sure that the threat is not coming from ME!

I’m mad at this system, but more at terrorists or whatever we can call them! Why do I have to pay for the mistakes of others?! And since when destruction was a way to change things, except if they will change for the worse.

Anyway if anything can be confirmed now, it must be the fact that writing can help you feel better sometimes. I’m still in that airport and am not looking forward to another double check during the remaining flights I have over the coming few days. But still. It took me a colossal effort to hide my anger. Tip number one: avoid eye contact as much as you can after being double checked, because you’ll have to show that you are calm and YOU ARE NOT! Tip number two, don’t talk about it with another suspect after the screening; it will only magnify the feeling of injustice you have. Tip number three: WRITE about it if you can.

OK, boarding will start in a few seconds, so I have to go. Oh and just for the record: I’m NOT a terrorist!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Could Cupid explain that??

Scene 1:

She: Why do you complain about such occasions? We are the ones who have trouble finding good presents for you. It’s never been an easy task for me to find a present even to my father.

He: On the contrary, it’s men who find it difficult to t
hink about suitable presents for women.

She: Come on, there's plenty of things you could buy to a woman and make her happy.

He: Like what?

She: Well anything! A jewel, a cosmetics product, flowers, or something practical she needs… You could also invite her for dinner in a nice place, make a good surprise... But what about men?!

He: You could buy something traditional, a belgha (Turkish slippers), material for djellaba, this is the kind of things your father would like to receive.

She: (Stops short of asking what a man –other than a father- would like to receive for a present).


Question 1: Will that mystery about “what women want” and “what men want” ever be solved?





Scene 2:

He: Has the woman on the radio said that they’ve been talking about love for an entire week? Weird choice! What’s going on?

She: Yes! Well it’s Velentine’s day!

She2: Don’t you know about it?!

He: (A bit surprised, laughs) Lucky you!

She: What do you mean "lucky you"? Valentine’s day is everybody's business!

He: No... We celebrated our Valentine's Day a long time ago. Now it’s your turn.

She: Love has no age! (Playfully) Come on! Why do you men keep coming up with pretexts to ignore this kind of occasions? Just to avoid buying presents? :p Why don’t buy a present to your wife after work. She’d be happy about it.

He: (Laughs, addressing He 2): We have women’s movements here.


Question 2: Why are men too proud to admit that they do care about such things as love!?

Friday, January 18, 2008

DABATEATR is back!


Le metteur en scène Jaouad Essounani nous revient avec une nouvelle création : « D’HOMMAGES! » La tournée commence aujourd'hui même à Bruxelles. Je n'y serai pas malheureusement, mais j'attendrai que DABATEATR arrivent en tournée au Maroc... notre première à nous débutera le 19 Mars 2008 au Théatre Mohammed V à Rabat.

Bon courage les artistes! You're the best!



"Devant le grand Miroir des grandes toilettes de la grande villa, quelques heures avant l'enterrement du grand General qui a marqué l'Histoire de notre grande Nation. Des personnages défilent : des histoires, des images, des musiques des chants et des gestes reviennent de loin pour célébrer le présent, le passé et l'espoir d'un petit peuple de notre histoire commune et peut être ce qui reste ancré dans notre Mémoire après un Départ. De quoi demain ?

« D'hommages ! » est un essai de mise en mosaïque d'un ensemble de clins d'œil aux petits sentiers de notre Mémoire, d'une certaine Mémoire toujours incertaine, fort heureusement.

« D'hommages ! » le clin d'œil est aussi une expérimentation de « l'effet miroir » dans une société en transition, en croisé de chemin où le non dit fait toujours toile de fond."
Jaouad Essounani.


Friday, October 26, 2007

Binatkoum a bidaoua!!


Le derby casablancais et le hooliganisme...
Vidéo envoyée par maghrebb

I never could understand the strange tendency of football supporters in Morocco to break everything around every time they get into a stadium!! If this is how supporters express their love for their football teams, they got it all wrong – with excellence. As a recent case, vandalism acts of Raja and Wydad "supporters" caused much dammage in Casablanca's Mohammed V stadium and outside it, but also caused the death of a 17-year-old supporter!!


Now it has become a custom: every time a match is announced, we hear team staff and journalists "remind” the supporters that they are welcome to stadiums as supporters, not destructors! A real pity!!

It’s a pity also because, for the first time in Morocco, bigger attention was drawn to the national championship, and the means deployed to announce it (including a good TV spot), gave the impression that the Botola was getting more… hmmm modern! (By the way the TV spot ironically associated the championship with passion and fair play.)

Morocco 2010?? HUH??

P.S/ You might say that this kind of problems happens everywhere in the world. True. But this is not an excuse. And it can turn very bad.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Here it starts again...



After the collective “Aie!” (ouch) heard in Morocco after the appointment of Abbas El Fassi as Prime Minister, the members of the new government which was appointed on October15th are holding today their first official meeting.

When the list of the new government members was announced, some names were disappointing, others were expected, and some were quite surprising. One of the positive surprises, for me, was the appointment of Latifa Akherbach as a Secretary of State to the Minster of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. A brilliant woman who, only a few months ago, moved from the position of Director of the High Institute of Journalism (ISIC) to that of the director of the Moroccan national radio.

Another surprising name was that of actress Touriya Jebrane, who is now the Moroccan Minister of Culture. Quite a surprise from a rather discreet artist and apparently politician! But I hope that her being an artist originally will make her decisions closer to the expectations and needs of her fellow artists; because they definitely need decision-makers and politicians who know what it is to be an artist in Morocco.

And then there was the appointment of Ahmed Akhchichine at the head of the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education, Staff Training, and Scientific Research. Akhchichine, who has been the General Director of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication since its creation in 2002, was never cited (as far as I know) among the expected candidates for this Ministry – quite a problematic department.

The decision to put Ahmed Taoufiq Hejira (Minister of Housing, Town Planning and Development) and Karim Ghellab (Minister of Equipment and Transport) in charge of the same departments they had in the previous government was wise in my opinion. No matter how problematic the situation of these sectors might be, the elections came at a time where Hejira and Guellab were engaged in huge projects, and where changing ministers would inevitably block or at least delay some projects. And then, we must say it, Hejira, Ghuellab and Adil Douiri (Minster of Tourim in the previous government) have been the Istiqlal Party’s “golden trio” which probably played a role in the success of their party in September’s elections.

Anyway, to all the 34 members of the new government: my wishes of good luck… and hard work!!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

N'importe quoi


An AFP news article said on September 29 that a Saudi man divorced his wife for the simple reason that he found her alone watching a TV program presented by a man, a situation which he considered as an illegitimate khulwa!!!

Maybe we should also stop watching wildlife documentaries lest we get attacked by a lion or something!!

Real nonsense.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Umbrellas out?


Here it comes again! Looking out the window as I usually do from time to time while working, I saw tiny drops of rain racing each other to the ground.

The view is pleasant, although the ideal moment for me to contemplate it would be when I’m home, warm, and with no work plans bothering me. (A big dream!!)


Today's drops are silent but hasty. Seems like they know how bad the earth needs them...


Mabrouk Ramadan and mabrouk shta :)

Thursday, September 6, 2007

It's in the air


I smelt it this morning : school time has come. This is the same smell the air always brought in this period of the year. That humid but pleasant smell of wet earth. Pleasant but always mixed with worries of some sort. The end of vacation, the beginning of a new year at school. New faces, new teachers, new programs, new struggles, new “not-to-be-kept” resolutions, new meetings inevitably followed by goodbyes.

Here comes the rain (plainly not the Beatles' way) and unpredictable temperature shifts start. It’s sometimes too fresh outside, too warm at work. Suddenly I realise that I don’t have enough clothes for winter. I should start putting on warmer clothes. I should watch out for flu? It’s already there, so no worries :)

I leave home early in the morning and the signs of winter start showing up. It’s Automn in fact, but for me Automn is just the threshold of winter. This is the season. Colours have started migrating. Grey is conquering the world instead. The sky is grey, the sea is grey. Just like the asphalt road near my home which has just started to dry after a few drops of rain that must have hit early in the morning. Good for the plants, I usually think. You know that plants here are not always lucky enough to get special care from human beings.
At least another color will be there outside my window besides grey!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Attention, bébé va postuler !

On en parlait il y a quelques jours sur le blog de Najlae. Quelque chose de grave arrive à notre système éducatif et les chiffres en témoignent: seulement 39% des candidats au baccalauréat en session normale cette année ont réussi leurs examens. Un chiffre rapporté avec fierté en plus par les médias (du moins officiels) marocains, puisque l’année dernière le taux de réussite était de 38% seulement.

Ce qui m’a rappelé ce sujet ? C’est une offre d’emploi que j’ai vue hier. L’offre avait l’air normale, avec description du profile recherché, des pièces à envoyer et des coordonnées de l’employeur. Sauf que le cadre recherché doit avoir entre 25 et 35 ans, avoir un bac + 5 et avoir une expérience professionnelle d’au moins 4 ans.

Réveillez moi si je rêve mais ce profile est quasiment impossible au Maroc ! Je parle ici du gars de 25 ans. Le candidat doit avoir décroché son bac à 16 ans, doit avoir fait après 5 ans d’études supérieures sans fautes et acquis (au moins) un diplôme et des compétences qui lui garantiraient un premier boulot (« intéressant » selon l’annonce) avant même de se rendre compte qu’il a fini ses études. Et à 25 ans, il doit avoir accumulé au moins 4 ans « d’expérience professionnelle réussie », bien sur avec un super CV qui lui permettrait de se démarquer des autres candidats.

Possible à réaliser? Je ne dirais pas non. Presque impossible à réaliser avec notre système éducatif et l’état du marché d’emploi au Maroc?? Ooooh que oui!

Friday, May 4, 2007

Kan yama kan…


And then there was the sand
Never keeping memory

And then there was the wind
Blowing with joy and misery

And then there were my steps
Phantoms rejecting eternity

And then there was the storm
Heavy leading to maturity

And then there was a mirror
And there on it my face
And like the sand I see
Centuries going by me
But never keeping memory.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Merci la concurrence!!



Je n’en reviens pas ! Ittisalat al Maghrib, se soucie de la satisfaction de ses clients.....Et comment?! Au point d’envoyer des agents faire du porte à porte pour vérifier si tout allait bien avec le téléphone fixe et la connexion Internet !

Eh oui, comme quoi tout peut arriver dans la vie!!!

En fait, c’est ce qui est arrivé hier quand deux jeunes représentantes ont fait le tour des maisons du quartier à la recherche de clients NON satisfaits (elle ne vont pas être déçues je pense). En plus, ce matin ( de bonheur svp), une femme d’Ittissalat Al Maghrib nous a appelé sur le fixe. J'ai répondu... Elle demandait avec une voix d'ange si nous avions des problèmes avec notre téléphone... La dame parlait tellement bien que j'ai répondu sans hésiter " tout va bien" . C'est après avoir raccroché que je me suis rappelée mes déceptions... : le nombre de fois ou j'avais un coup de fil urgent à passer, alors qu'il n'y avait pas de tonalité, le soir quand j'allume mon PC et je me met sur Internet alors qu' il n'y a pas de connexion... et quand la connexion est la... koulla nhar ouréz9ou... il faut surtout pas être pressé !!

Comment ai-je pu oublier tout ça?? C'est évident, nous ne sommes pas habitués qu'on nous demande notre avis. Le concept que "LE CLIENT EST ROI" je le lis dans les livres, je ne l'ai jamais vu en réalité. Alors rien à dire à part :

MERCI LA CONCURRENCE !! ;)

Il est clair que depuis l’entrée du nouvel opérateur de télécom Wana, avec des services novateurs et des tarifs compétitifs, les deux opérateurs déjà sur le marché se montrent de plus en plus «courtois» envers leurs clients. Courtois, mais pas très convaincants pour autant ! Au Maroc, on a toujours l’impression d’être punis pour la seule raison d’avoir des membres de famille, des amis ou des collègues qui n’ont pas le même opérateur de télécom!

Mais si la concurrence est capable de faire bouger les choses, alors j'aurai quand même une question à poser : A quand l’ONCF ???

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Misleading terror!


Blood, terror, mutilated bodies, young people blowing themselves up in public places!! It’s always difficult to believe that these things are happening in our country! In our country and in neighbouring ones. March 11 and April 10 in Morocco, April 11 in Algeria, and worries about possible similar attacks in Tunisia and Mauritania!! Those who commit this kind of crimes, whoever they are, and whatever their motives are, have set a new target now: what they call “the Islamic Maghreb”!! But which Islam are they talking about?? This utter horror can be done in the name of anything, except real Islam!

If they imagine they are waging a “holy” war, the Islam I know prohibits even the destruction of plants during war time!! Let alone innocent people!

The Islam I know prohibits killing women and children during war time!! So on what basis are they making random carnages?!

The Islam I know doesn’t give the right to anyone of us to question the faith of any other Muslim! So how dare they accuse normal citizens whom they don’t even know of being apostates and give themselves the right to judge them??!!!

The Islam I know prohibits suicide!!

The Islam I know orders us not to spread fear among people, even while joking!! So who gave them the right to spread terror in the whole world??!

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Away from the city's noise (2)


Three Tunisian and three American artists, merging American and Andalusian music notes, beautiful voices, perfectly played string and percussion instruments and a highly professional performance --- All these gathered and gave Kantara, an amazing group composing and playing fused Arab-Appalachian music.

Kantara enchanted us Monday evening in Rabat’s Mohammed V theatre where they gave a music show that didn’t last long, but just long enough to steal us away from our busy, stressful days.

A special present to Morocco: the band created a new work during their stay here. They titled it “Lalla Khadija” after our newly born princess.

Listen to them here:

http://www.kantaramusic.com/en/music.html


Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Kaoutar… à la maison qui rend fou!!

Avez vous déjà regardé “Les 12 Travaux d’Astérix” ?? J’ai toujours adoré ce fameux film de dessins animés où César, pour vérifier si les Gaulois sont de vrais demi-dieux, décide de passer à l’épreuve Astérix et Obélix en leur proposant d'affronter douze travaux redoutables. Alors il va falloir, entre autres, passer par une grande administration romaine sans perdre la tête... J’ai vu ce film des dizaines de fois, mais cette fois c’est devenu réalité.

Lieu de scène : mon bureau. Je suis concentrée sur une traduction casse-tête quand mon portable sonne. A l’autre bout du fil, mon boss qui me demande de me diriger d’urgence vers un ministère et assister à une réunion… qui avait commencé 30 minutes auparavant !!

Je prends un taxi en me demandant de quel «wjeh » je vais rejoindre la réunion en retard ! Mais ce qui m’a donné l’impression de jouer le rôle d’Astérix (pour ne pas me comparer à Obélix :p) n’était pas le retard, mais plutôt le manque terrible d’information au ministère !! Personne n’est informé; mais alors là, personne !

Les couloirs sont vides et calmes. Mille et un bureaux, mille et une secrétaires entrain de chuchoter de je ne sais quoi…

Après un pénible jeu de labyrinthe, j’arrive à la Direction concernée. J’entre et je demande de m’indiquer la salle où se tient la réunion. Leurs réactions me donnent l’impression que je viens d’un autre monde, et à chaque fois, ma question reste sans réponse !

Secrétaire 1 : La réunion telle ? Wllah ma 3reft a khti. Wach galoulik la réunion se tiendra ici?

Je vérifie mon invitation pour la nième fois. Le lieu et la date sont corrects. Le nom du responsable que mon boss m’a communiqué est correct aussi. Les secrétaires le connaissent. Elles disent qu’il travaille dans une autre Direction, mais que c’est chez eux que se tiennent les réunions d’habitude.

Kaoutar : 3afak a khti, pourriez vous vérifier le calendrier des réunions.

Aucun calendrier du genre n’est disponible !!

Secrétaire 2 : Euuh, tout ce que je sais c’est que dans la salle à coté il y a « chi 7aja » dial ljama3at lma7alya, et à coté y a « chi haja » dial…. Dialach a Naima ?

… et Naima n’en sait rien non plus !

Comme ses collègues, elle se contente de me dire qu’il faudrait se renseigner auprès d’un autre bureau. Et le même scénario se répète…

Le temps passe, et je dois trouver cette salle introuvable !

Un coursier me dit qu’il y a une heure, il a vu le responsable, appelons le Benzekri, se diriger vers une salle avec un groupe de gens. Voila une lueur d’espoir ! Je vais trouver la salle. Mais en même temps je deviens de plus en plus convaincue qu’il vaut mieux trouver un autre moyen de faire le PV de la réunion. N’importe lequel sauf rejoindre la réunion 1 heure en retard !!!

Le coursier est très motivé. Il est sur qu’il sait où se trouve ce fameux M. Benzekri et ses compagnons.

Enfin arrivés à la salle, la salle que LUI disait être celle que je cherche, je découvre que la personne dont il parlait est un autre responsable du nom de BOUzekri et non pas BENzekri !!!

No comment.

Finalement le miracle arrive et je trouve la salle… trop tard bien sûr.

Déçus ?? Pas autant que moi !! Mais ce qui m’hallucinait n’était plus le retard, ni le fait que je devais m'expliquer auprès de mon boss. C’était plutôt la grande différence entre le rythme de travail qui nous emporte quotidiennement moi et des milliers de personnes, et celui que j’ai vu au ministère. La vie au ralenti !! J’avais quasiment oublié qu’un rythme pareil existait encore au Maroc… mais quel Maroc?

Vivons-nous dans le même pays ???

Monday, November 27, 2006

Appreciating routine

I had never seen a man cry. But that day on the train I saw him. A simple passenger who happened to sit in front of me. At first, I didn’t pay attention to him. He was just seated there, thoughtfully looking out of the window. He was upset, it was clear, but his mood looked very familiar. If you’re a daily commuter, you wouldn’t be surprised to start your daily human contacts with half-asleep people showing signs of bad temper.

But that man had another problem. A few minutes after the train set off, he started receiving phone calls, apparently not the first of his day. “Yes,” he confirmed every time someone called him. “We divorced yesterday. I was no longer able to put up with life with her. I’ve been away from my country for years in order to grant her the life she wants, but she’s never satisfied!”


Until now, the man’s emotions were still under control. But once he talked about his children, his voice trembled and tears started showing up.

At a certain moment I wished I were somewhere else; I wished I could disappear, but I was just there. All I could do was to pretend I didn’t see anything. I didn’t know what I could do. But anything except expressing compassion, or even asking how he felt. I had the impression the man was begging his eyes to stay dry. He was in that state (which I know very well) where a simple “are u OK?” would transform all what you have to say into warm abundant tears.

I was sorry for him. But forcing my gaze to stay fixed out of the window, I couldn’t help wondering how this story would sound if I heard it from the woman. “Déformation professionnelle,” I mockingly thought to myself. Aren’t journalists supposed to question any information they get? But a few months of journalism couldn’t have established in me that automatic kind of reasoning. It was probably just that feminist, or, more simply, female side of me.


The train arrived in Casablanca and I and hundreds of people prepared ourselves to start an ordinary, for some of us routine working day. But this man’s story made me think how we tend to take the beginning of “normal” days for granted. Sometimes we just feel bored and complain because our day was “normal”, and moan at the thought of starting a "normal" day tomorrow. I and many other passengers rushed out of the train to start the same day. The same sun was shining on all of us. But if that time our day resembled past ones, for some people it didn’t. Somewhere the day started with life-shaking changes. A broken family, shattered life plans, and destabilised children.