My experience with languages Tamazight, Arabic, French, English

Whenever I hear the debate rose about languages in Morocco and which one should be the official one in the country, I just think about my experience with languages. My parents and ancestors are Amazigh, and speak only one language Tamazight, and what they know in Arabic is some verses of Coran, they learned by heart in mosques to use in pray. So when I was born, the language that my mother fed me and that I hear everywhere in my surrounding was Tamazight. And then I started to learn classic Arabic, first in the mosque and later when I attended the school where I started to hear also some dialect Arabic, which was a little used by teachers. So up till that stage, I was introduced to three languages. And in the third year in school, another language was added, French.

Before the age of 10, I had to deal with four languages. My mother tongue comes in the first position because it’s the one I use frequently, and my only communication link with my family and surrounding, and then classic Arabic in which school programs were written. And the dialectal Arabic, though it was not much necessary in daily use in rural towns, such where I lived in, as mostly all people are Amazighs, but we tried as children of the town to learn it because we felt embarrassed when we fail to communicate with family members coming from the city, or some foreigners we meet in the surroundings, and also because our older brothers and sisters who attended school learned it.

And when I moved to high school at the age of 16, a 5th language was added to all that mixture, English. And the use of the other languages had become more essential than before. The classic Arabic use was very vital, as it’s required to succeed in school and almost the whole program is in classic Arabic. And dialectal Arabic was necessary to communicate with my peers, some of them who speak only dialect Arabic as it is their mother tongue. French too, had a significant importance in studies.

When I moved to seek a job, I found that the classic Arabic that we used to study for long years, and that is the official language in constitution is incapable to feed me, and unable to secure a job. Most of the jobs require French, as it is the language of economy, and of course this is related to colonization, and the forced link to the colonizer- France.

Learning all that number of languages was exhausting, and certainly has taken much time and strength, but probably it was preventing me from mastering them all. But, shall we see this combination of languages as positive, or negative? I don’t know.

Learning languages is certainly positive, but not all at once.

Osama died, Obama born!

The release of Barack Obama’s birth certificate two weeks ago, showing that he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961, ends the assumption and discussion about his birth place. This certificate is a pre-declaration of a political rebirth of Obama and a funeral to that debate, but actually it was a certificate of a real birth that will come a week later, after the death of Osama Bin Laden. Worldwide, the announcement of Osama’s death is related to Obama as he was the announcer, and without doubt, this has renewed Obama’s popularity and will strengthen his position in the presidential elections on the doors. And though the release of his birth certificate has come a week earlier, but, it’s only a week to name the new born. Osama died, Obama born. But, if Osama is not shrouded and buried in the sea, isn’t there a probability that the opposition will take off Obama’s political clothes?

Explosion at "Argana" Café in Marrakech

We all received, with sadness and grief, news of devastating explosion in the “Argana” café in Jamaa Lefna square in Marrakech. News talks about 15 deaths among them 11 foreigners the majority of them are of French nationality, and many others injured. The first thing that came to my mind when heard the news is my brother who lives there. Even, this probability was a little far, as I knew he would be at work at such time, but anything was expected. And, as I thought of my brother, everyone whose relative or family is in Marrakech today April 28th would have the same worries after hearing this sad news. But, what if the presence of his relatives in the place of the attacks is a reality, or what if the suppositions worsen, and his relative got injured or, unfortunately, died. It’s a bad case; no one would like it, for himself or his relatives. For that, we present our condolences and feeling of solidarity to all the victims of these barbaric attacks, that touch the security and serenity of this city and the country as a whole, but who’s responsible? Days will reveal more details.

At this link, you can see some photos of the place of the explosion: http://www.marocroom.com/vb/t2814.html

Revolution in Lybia

After the successive fall down of authoritative systems of Ben Ali in Tunisia and of Husni Mubarak in Egypt, the whole world have been waiting confidently to see the same scenario in Lybia with Muaamar Quadafi after the start of manifestations in the country. After days of peaceful manifestations, “the prophecy” hasn’t come true and Quaddafi didn’t resign or toppled from his position, and the worst even come when the conflict turned to bee an armed fight and Quaddafi started the slaughter against his opponents.

In the first days of the fight, “the rebels” were, or seemed to be, winning the fight and they were moving forward Tripoli, where Quaddafi take refuge. However, now the balance of strength has completely changed, and the rebels forced out of many cities they have controlled earlier, and now Quaddafi has regained his confidence and reorganized his legions and moves eastward, and now he’s in the doors of Benghazi, the last stronghold of rebels.

But where is the west from all this?

Perhaps, the events that boomed suddenly in the Arab world has come in a rush way and the west didn’t have enough time to study all the probabilities of any decision it could make, and western countries don’t want to lose their interests and benefits, even they took a decision against Quaddafi later, especially when the rebels seemed to be moving confidently to win the fight. But now, the rebels are losing, and perhaps, as Quadafi’s son Sayf Al Islam has said, we’ll gain control over Benghazi after two days, and he even said that “the no-fly zone is too late”, that may mean that the west would have helped the rebels before we arrived to that advanced stage and regained control of the country and we’ll crash every one that comes in front of us as Quddafi didn’t stop to repeat.

And what about Russia and China?

Now, Russia and China are against Lybian people, and they fought against the decision of no-fly zone in UN, and they took a promise from Quaddafi to be rewarded for that, and he Quaddafi even declared it. It’s a shame on Russia and China, because they want to take petrol from Lybia, but they forget that it’s mingled with Libyan blood.

And the Arab world?

The Arabs are powerless, and systems of the Arab countries are very sick, and if they are not, nothing of all this would have happened, and now they are being treated clinically, and we have just to wish their cure as quickly as possible. And it’s known that the Arab’s voice is no important in the international policies. What are we waiting, a word from a dead body!