Morocco: A Young Blogger Greets the World

When Salma first started keeping a blog [Ar] in 2008, she was just 6 years old, probably the youngest Moroccan blogger. She greeted the world back then with these words:

مرحبا يا أصدقاء بكم في مدونتي
أنا اسمي سلمى
عمري ست سنوات ونصف
أدرس بالقسم الأول بمدرسة الجاحظ
أنشأ لي أبي مدونة هنا
لأكتب فيها اسمي والعنوان وأعرفكم بعمري
وأعرفكم باسم معلمي
وإذا كتبت كتابة ورسمت رسما
سوف أعملهم في المدونة

Hello my friends!
Welcome to my blog.
My name is Salma.
I am six-and-a-half years old.
I am in Grade One at “Al Jahed” school.
My father created this blog here for me, so that I can write my name, age and address, and introduce you to my teacher.
If I write or draw something, I will put it on the blog.

Salma is not a regular blogger though but every now and then, and under the supervision of her parents, she would post short stories and pictures of her school and teachers:

Salma receiving a prize at school

After a long interruption Salma finds inspiration again (back in April) and shares with her readers her daily hassles in the classroom. She writes:

زميلتي التي تجلس إلى جانبي في قسم اللغة العربية تحب نفسها كثيرا وتظن أنني ضعيفة وهي قوية لقد أصبحت أكره قسم اللغة العربية بسبب مضايقتها لي وهي تدفعني عند قراءة النص وتلدغني بأظافرها فلا أركز مع أستاذي الذي لايهتم بمشكلتي فأنا أشتكي له وهولا يعاقبها ولم ينقلها من قربي ولهذا قررت إذا لدغتني ألدغها و إذا دفعتني أدفعها ولن أسمح لها بمضايقتي مرة أخرى.

My colleague who sits next to me in the Arabic Language course has a high opinion of herself and thinks I am weak and she is strong. I started to hate the Arabic language course because she keeps harassing me. She pushes me and pinches me whenever I read a text. I cannot concentrate with my teacher who doesn't care about my problem. Even though I complained to him, he didn't punish her or ask her to go sit elsewhere. That's why I decided from now on, if she pinches me I'll pinch back and if she pushes, I'll push back and won't let her annoy me again.

It is not clear how many children bloggers are there in the Moroccan blogosphere and some might wonder how old should a child be before he/she can keep a blog, but something is for sure: Salma's sincere and straightforward writings makes her blog a unique and interesting read. She deserves to be encouraged and followed.

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