Global Voices » Morocco

Opening the Black Box of Governance: Alleviating Poverty With Data

Rayna St. — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:19:23 +0000

Global Voices bloggers have been commissioned to liveblog the OECD Global Forum on Development in Paris on April 4-5, 2013. Leading up to the meeting, our team is submitting posts about development issues that help serve as weekly online discussion topics on their website (#OECDgfd)

The constant rise of Internet and mobile phone use is an opportunity to enable more citizens to engage with governance. Technology can help improve citizen participation in decision-making and can re-energise participation in public life. Transparency and accountability is becoming a diverse and dynamic field for exploration worldwide.

Opening the data produced by public administrations is part of an effective approach to poverty alleviation. Incredible amounts of data are produced every day, by a wide range of stakeholders: governments, media, mobile operators, citizens themselves. Despite the huge potential for using data about a society or government for the public good, it is rarely released and shared for public use. Additionally, reliable statistics can be hard to come by or are still the exclusive property of government or corporate officials.

The benefits of citizen engagement are numerous, wide-ranging and significant for all stakeholders, as Striking Poverty, a World Bank initiative, illustrates:

For the marginalized poor, participation mechanisms can provide channels for shaping solutions and holding governments accountable for policies and services delivered. For organizations, governments, and funders, engagement with communities is beneficial in that citizens will support, adopt, champion, and eventually share in the ownership and success of programs.

Does Open Data work in developing countries?

Open Data endeavours in both rich and poor countries often come up against a shortage of technical and political skills that prevent citizens from actively engaging with them. There can easily be a gap between the goals of data advocates and citizens’ understanding of the data. Still, a huge number of creative approaches to collect and make sense of data related to public life show promise that this is the most straightforward way into civic engagement.

The Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI), the first national Open Data project in Sub-Saharan Africa, was launched in 2011. The released data sets (over 400) provide data for socially-relevant domains from education to sanitation. Kenya is in fact the first developing country to have an Open Data portal. In greater Africa, Morocco was first to launch an Open Data platform. Tunisia followed in 2011 with Open Data Tunisia.

Open Government Data by Justin Grimes on flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Seizing the potential of Open Data for developing countries and the growing number of national ventures, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched the Open Data for Africa portal, as a part of the Africa Information Highway initiative. It encompasses Open Data platforms for the following 20 African countries:

Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Although the challenges are numerous, multiple success stories show that the key to using technology for transparency and accountability efforts is to employ a collaborative approach and ensure that tools are user-friendly and quick to offer results.

A report by the Global Voices ‘Technology for Transparency’ initiative looking at citizen initiatives for transparency and accountability across the globe found that:

Data visualization and navigation tools are a key feature in more than half of the projects we documented, as are diverse forms of data collection from citizens. Approximately one third of the projects use mobile phones in some way, most commonly by allowing citizens to submit or receive information via text messages.

These observations illustrate that citizen initiatives are not only directed towards gathering data but also towards making sense of it for the wider community. The projects show great opportunity for well-managed data and related statistics released through open government data programs. The next milestone for governments in developing countries is to solve the problems of data quality and availability, as well as the technical and statistical capacity of staff and institutions.

Opening the governance

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) was launched back in September 2011 when the governments of Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States took stance in favour of more transparent governance by signing the Open Government Declaration:

The Open Government Partnership is a global effort to make governments better. We all want more transparent, effective and accountable governments — with institutions that empower citizens and are responsive to their aspirations. But this work is never easy.

It takes political leadership. It takes technical knowledge. It takes sustained effort and investment. It takes collaboration between governments and civil society.

Shortly after, the World Bank recognized the importance of the foundational principles of the Partnership and declared its support to the initiative “by facilitating knowledge exchanges and helping to build the capacity of OGP member countries to elaborate and implement their plans to become more open and responsive.”

The OGP already has 50 members. Although several African countries have presented their action plans and three of them — South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya — have already delivered their commitments, Africa is still trailing in involvement.

The most recent OGP Africa meeting indicates that slow progress is being made, with Ghana and Liberia developing their respective ‘Action Plans’ in order to apply for membership at the Open Government Partnership.

New approaches, new challenges ahead

Is technology the panacea for developing countries? Definitely not. But it definitely paves the way for addressing open, socially and politically relevant questions. Even though the KODI has not had much impact on Kenyans, and very few African states rush to join the OGP, these dynamics are irreversible. The very existence of the endeavours described above is a solid step in the right direction.

A Platform for Middle East's Indie Musicians

Rayna St. — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:16:28 +0000

Music for a better future. Screenshot from Mideast Tunes’ Indiego campaign video.

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The State of Torture in the World in 2013

Theodora Rowlands — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:52:59 +0000

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:

“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.

MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012

Eman AbdElRahman — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 20:40:05 +0000

M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].

Moroccans Beaten Up for Protesting the King's Budget

Amira Al Hussaini — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 21:33:26 +0000

Moroccans protested in the capital Rabat against the royal budget on November 18, 2012. Their protest was violently repressed by police, who beat up activists as well as the journalists who turned up to cover the demonstration.

Reports claim that the royal palaces of Morocco cost the kingdom's coffers 700,000 Euros a day, in a country where the number of poor people has increased dramatically over the past few years.

According to a study published by the World Bank, the number of poor people is on the rise in Morocco:

… the total number of poor increased from 13.1% of the population in 1990/91 to 19% in 1998/99 (or, from 3.4 to 5.3 million). The number of “economically vulnerable”, i.e. those who are at or below 50% above the poverty line, increased from 35 to 44% (or, from 9 to 12 million).

In response to the protest, Mamfakinch says activists, human rights defenders and even journalists were attacked at the protest. The award-winning collective blog reports:

Several human rights defenders were violently repressed by forces during a protest in Rabat against the royal budget.

[...]

Journalists who came to cover the protest were not spared either. Omar Radi, Hind Bennani, and a journalist from a Spanish news agency were beaten as well. Souhail Karam from Reuters was insulted.

Samia Errazzouki anticipates a strong reaction even before the protest started:

@charquaouia: Protesters in Morocco are directly protesting against the king's budget. But will this also be swept under the rug as illegitimate dissent?

She continues:

@charquaouia: Regardless of the percentage the palace's budget figures into the overall budget, the king's role in economic sphere can't be discounted.

And Omar Radi, who was at the protest, spells out why Moroccans are protesting the royal budget [fr]:

@OmarRADI: Rappel: Le roi vit à 700000 Euros/jour au frais du contribuable. ##BudgetPalais

Reminder: The king lives on 700,000 Euros per day – at the taxpayer's expense #BudgetPalais

Soon after the protest started, Moroccan blogger Hisham Almiraat reports:

@__Hisham: #Morocco, now: police violently disrupts protest against royal palace budget – activists

In a follow up tweet, he explains:

@__Hisham: #Morocco: activists beaten, threatened in protest agst palace share of public money in a country that struggles w/ abysmal budget deficit

And a third tweet provides context:

@__Hisham: #Morocco protest (context): King pays no taxes. salary, paid for by taxpayers money > Obama's > Holland's. #Budgetpalais

Errazzouki further explains:

@charquaoia: Beyond the fact that state allocates a budget to sustain king's palaces & courts, he pays no taxes, and is the wealthiest businessman.

Rue Zanka shares a video of the repression on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/_KRq_sjRI4I

The video is aptly entitled [ar]:

الهراوات في تفريق الاحتجاج على ميزانية القصر

Batons used in breaking up the protest against the palace budget

On Twitter, Montasser Drissi shares this photograph from a protest against the king's budget in Marrakech:

Protesting the King's Budget in Marrakech. Photograph shared on Twitter by @montasserdrissi

For more reactions, check out the hashtag #BudgetPalais. Many of the tweets are in French and Arabic.

The “Black Peril” According to One Moroccan Weekly

Rakotomalala — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:41:00 +0000

The cover of Moroccan Weekly “Maroc Hebdo” lists the peril of black immigration in Morocco – posted on twitter by @atourabi -Public Domain

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Maghreb, France: The Arc of Revolution is Long but It Bends towards Freedom

Rakotomalala — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:25:49 +0000

Had humanity obsessed itself with the potential pitfalls of every fight for emancipation and always analyze the events under the prism of one segment of society, we all will still be living under the old regime of monarchy.

Faysal Riad argues that the revolution in France took almost a century [fr] to reach its current democratic format. It is premature to assert that the arab spring has lost its way.

Morocco: Sexual Abuse to Cry Long Live the King

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:25:47 +0000

Once we got to the police station, they stripped us of all of our clothing and stuck hard objects into our anuses. They also ripped out our eyelashes, reports Nour Essalam Kartachi, in order to force us to cry, “long live the king.”

reports Moroccan site Mamfakinch on the plight of a young prisoner.

Morocco: Jail Sentence for Ramadan's Public Eater

Hisham Almiraat — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:15:09 +0000

A court in Rabat has sentenced a young man to serve three months in jail for failing to fast in public during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. “[Individual freedom,] a right we are not likely to see protected anytime soon,” laments Yabiladi [fr], who reports the news.

Morocco: Is the ‘Allegiance Ceremony’ a Thing of the Past?

Hisham Almiraat — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:08:51 +0000

The bay'a is the name of the annual “loyalty” ceremony where dignitaries from across Morocco pledge allegiance to King Mohammed VI. Critics [fr] of the ceremony decry a “shameful show of servility and a display of archaism,” whilst proponents contend it establishes a symbolic contract between the ruler and the Moroccan people.

Originally, the bay'a is an act of allegiance to the successors of Prophet Mohammed. The Moroccan King claims to be descendant from the Prophet and derives part of his authority from his supposedly sacred genealogy.

Abdelilah Benkirane is the serving prime minister. In a statement he made while he was still part of the opposition, he described the bay'a as “shameful ritual” and “a thing of the past,” fueling speculation as to whether the King will decide to cancel this year's ceremony.

But much to the chagrin of bay'a‘s opponents, on Tuesday, August 21, the ceremony did take place (video posted by hespresslive):

The bay'a follows a strict protocol whereby notables and elected representatives present themselves before the King. The monarch, cloaked in a golden robe, parades on horseback, protected by his personal guard, all whilst being covered by an umbrella which, according to commentators [fr], conveys the cosmic symbol of the monarchy. Dignitaries then bow before him, loudly praising his status as “Commander of the Faithful,” before retreating deferentially.

Many followed the event on Twitter like OnlyZineb who tweets:

There's a degrading allegiance ceremony going on right now in morocco where officials bow to the king like slaves to a master #TwittoBayaa

On Facebook, over 1,000 people pledged to gather on Wednesday, the day after the bay'a, at a “public celebration of loyalty to freedom and dignity”.

One member of the group writes:

I am getting ready for another celebration in Morocco, an alternative celebration in which I will declare my full allegiance to the Moroccan people. I will do so with an unshakable sense of honor, with the heightened consciousness of my full Moroccan citizenship and with my irreducible human dignity; I will do it as would any free citizen, standing up tall, proud and dignified

The ritual is also a matter of concern for blogger Larbi, who writes [fr]:

Mardi [...] lorsque les images des prosternations feront le tour du monde, beaucoup de Marocains vivront l’instant comme un moment d’humiliation nationale.

On Tuesday, when images of the prostrations will travel around the world, many Moroccans will live the moment as one of national humiliation.

Reda disagrees. He writes [fr]:

je [me prosterne] a chaque fois que je rencontre mes parents [...] sans que cela ne soit accompagne d’aucune dégradation a ma personne [certains esprits trop occidentalisés y verront de l'humiliation pas moi]

I bow before my parents each time I see them, without it being accompanied by any feeling of self-degradation. Some minds, too Westernized, will see in this humiliation. Not me.

The bay'a is a ritual rife with political symbols. It establishes a relationship of hierarchical power at the center of which sits the monarch. Ahmed thinks the ceremony is a reminder of the power relations between the people and an all-powerful, unaccountable monarch. He writes [ar]:

أعتقد أن محمد السادس أضاع على نفسه فرصة عند توليه “العرش” عند مشارف القرن الواحد والعشرين، أن يكون “ملكا مواطنا”، بقطع تلك العادات المشينة بكرامة الإنسان من ركوع وتقبيل اليد وأيضا ألقاب التعظيم والتمجيد..

I think that Mohammed VI missed the opportunity, when he came to the throne at the dawn of the 21st century, to become a “citizen king”, to get rid of those degrading and shameful rituals including bowing, hand-kissing and the idolisation…

For the latest updates on the alternate “ceremony” activists are planning to stage in front of the Moroccan parliament today, follow the hashtag #TwittoBayaa on Twitter.

Morocco: Marriage Proposal During Twitter Meetup Caught On Tape

Hisham Almiraat — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:13:41 +0000

A video of a marriage proposal during a tweetup in Casablanca is buzzing in the Moroccan social media sphere. “So far The Geekiest marriage proposal in Morocco,” comments Amine Hachimoto, who first published the video on Youtube.

Morocco: Students Demand Education Reform

Hisham Almiraat — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:52:08 +0000

In July, a group of Moroccan students launched a Facebook page called “The Union of Moroccan Students to Change the Education System” (French acronym: UECSE). The group is a gathering of young Moroccans whose aim is to “act, and discuss concrete solutions to improve the education system”.

In less than a month, the Facebook page attracted well over 10,000 members and a lot of support on social media.

The momentum seems to have been fueled by news that the government may be planning to toughen the tuition policy at public universities.

The group called [Fr] for a nationwide demonstration on Monday, August 6, 2012, to “encourage civil society and the Moroccan political elite to open a national debate on measures to reform the system.”

The appeal was relayed on social media.

In a video, the group posted on YouTube prior to the protest, students called for radical changes in the education system. “The entire education system needs to be changed,” one student says on camera. “The system needs to be broken down completely and rebuilt from scratch,” says another. A lot of students appearing on the video also denounce what they consider “disincentive measures” imposed by prestigious Grandes Ecoles, in particular high thresholds required to compete in college entrance exams.

On the day of the protest, hundreds of students and their parents responded to the call as documented by pictures and videos posted and shared on the internet.

The following video is from a demonstration in Morocco's largest city, Casablanca (posted by The7Gladiator):

Pictures posted on Flickr by Hassan Ouazzani show a great diversity of slogans denouncing corruption, favoritism, poor infrastructure and tough conditions imposed on undergraduates to enter higher education:

Moroccan students call for a reform of the education system – Picture by Hassan Ouazzani – Used with permission

Moroccan students call for a reform of the education system – Photo used with kindly permission from Hassan Ouazzani

Moroccan students call for reform of the education system – Photo used with kindly permission from Hassan Ouazzani

The demonstrations went on peacefully. The group pledges to organize more sit-ins and roundtables across the country.

On its Tumblr, the UECSE writes:

Young STUDENTS are asking for a good education system they are the MOROCCAN STUDENTS, tired of the current situation they are willing to change their futur(e) and to achieve their dreams, (an) ambitious wave is showing up

MENA: Bridge Blog for Maghreb and Arab Gulf States

Tarek Amr — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 08:46:26 +0000

“While geography stands as the most obvious separation between the Arabian Peninsula and the Maghreb, skewed misconceptions of the other have made way for misunderstandings and stereotypes that have gone as far as shaping government policies.” With this statement, the new blog Bil3afya introduces itself to its readers.

The blog is created by two bloggers. They are Samia Errazzouki (@charquaouia), who is a Moroccan-American writer, whose research focuses on Morocco's political economy and reforms. She is also a co-editor of Jadaliyya's Maghreb Page and member of the Mamfakinch editorial team. The other founder is Mona Kareem (@monakareem), a stateless person of Kuwait. She is the founder of Bedoon [Stateless] Rights, and she writes for Alakhbar English and Global Voices Online, among others.

The aim of the blog is to discuss the stereotypes between the two regions, and start a conversation that points out the common grounds as well as offering their own readings for the differences between them.

On Twitter, users welcomed the project. UAE national Saqer Al Marri writes:

@saqeram: Posts abt Maghreb-Gulf relations by @monakareem & @charquaouia on the @bil3afya blog are interesting. Check them out: http://bil3afya.blogspot.com/

And Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov adds:

@Elizrael: Interesting new blog that intends to expand the conversation between the Gulf & Maghreb http://bit.ly/NKH1TD by @MonaKareem & @charquaouia

Although the blog is still young, articles published so far discuss issues ranging from politics, to TV series, to mutual cultural perceptions between the two regions.

Discussing one of the stereotypes about people from Arabian Peninsula, including her home country, Kuwait, Mona wrote in a post:

When I traveled to Cairo, being someone who comes from the Gulf, the stereotype was that “I have an oil well in my backyard” and thus I should help find them a job or I should over-tip them. In the US, many Arabs I met, including people of the Maghreb, have depicted me as the spoiled rich girl from the Gulf coming, with no worries, to study and enjoy her time.

She then wrote about the living conditions the stateless people (Bedoon) face in Kuwait. She then moved to neighbouring states like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Qatar:

For a country as rich as Saudi Arabia with all its constant decisions to give away money here and there, one can't imagine how poor thousands of Saudis are. The issue of poverty in Saudi Arabia is very serious and it effects a lot of Saudis; not just migrant workers or stateless people.

Bu-Qutada: A controversial Kuwaiti cartoon depicting a Moroccan man

A couple of years ago, a cartoon, called Bu Qutada wa Bu Nabeel, portrayed Morocco as corrupt and its women as greedy whores, who try to entrap the Kuwaiti men into marrying them. And in one of the articles in Bil3fya, Mona Kareeem wrote about this cartoon series, and the stereotypes Gulf men have about Morocco, where it is portrayed as the place to fulfill their drugs/sex dreams.

She then wrote about similar incidents in neighbouring Gulf states:

Those stereotypes were inserted into humor and stereotypes in Kuwait in the past few years as young men fantasize about visiting Morocco. The controversy had Moroccan hackers take down some Kuwaiti websites, and it made the Kuwaiti government offer an apology for something that a private media establishment has committed. I believe that was, so far, the peak of the Maghreb-Gulf clash.
Something similar occurred lately on twitter, on a smaller scale, when some Saudis started a hashtag about Morocco speaking of Moroccans sexually; something that insulted Moroccans.
Basically, the tribal culture of the Gulf makes them believe they are the most protective of their women (their honor) and that Moroccans are the opposite of that since prostitution exists in Morocco. The idea of honor and morality for the typical gulf mentality can be best understood through guarding the freedom of females especially in appearance.

In another article, while discussing the growing ties between the monarchies in Morocco and the Arabian Peninsula, Samia wrote how those monarchies were strengthened with the common interest of staying in power at all costs. The Moroccan foreign policy towards Iran is said to be affected by these ties, and last but not least, there were also economic ties, seen through the free-trade agreement Morocco signed with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the proposal for Morocco to become a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, yet this inclusion into the GCC was never detailed, nor publicly mentioned much after the initial statement:

Despite Morocco’s geographic distance from the Gulf, Morocco’s foreign policy is heavily driven by its ties with the Gulf monarchies and its decision to embed itself in the geopolitics of the Gulf, even if it comes at the expense of cutting ties with other countries. This would be especially relevant in May 2011 when Morocco was proposed for membership for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

So far, five posts have been published in the blog, but I'm looking forward for more posts, and may be more contributors from those two Arab regions or other Arab countries too.

Morocco: Video Explores the Question of Racism

Hisham Almiraat — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:04:38 +0000

In Morocco, an ethnically diverse country and one that has seen a recent influx of sub-Saharan African migrants, racism is seldom discussed. A video [Ar] posted by Moroccan YouTube user ch3aldaw (Turn on the light) asks: Are Moroccans racists?

Morocco: Mc Donald's Won't Serve Muslim Adults During Ramadan

Hisham Almiraat — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 18:13:13 +0000

An image of a sign in a Mc Donald's restaurant in Casablanca has been circulating among Moroccan netizens today. The sign reads, “Notice to our customers. During Ramadan, only children and non-Muslims can be served in the restaurant. All other orders will be served strictly for carry-out.”