[published: February 28, 2011]
A Rock, A Revolution, and a Hard Place
On the Ground in Morocco, Part Two.
Hassan, a 20-something Moroccan communications major nailed it. “There is a phrase I heard—in between a rock and a hard place. Well, this is where we are in Morocco. We are in between a rock and a hard place.”
He was right. Morocco’s wannabe revolution was stuck in between the populations immense love for the king and their realization that real political reforms would only come through an evolution of the current monarchial system. No matter how hard the protesters rocked the Casbah, they wouldn’t budge the power held by the 47-year-old “King of Cool,” a descendant of the prophet Muhammad. His power is, in part, a result of his status as Commander of the Faithful and these Muslim youth weren’t willing to topple their revered religious leader, no matter the alleged corruptness of his “entourage.”
As unfortunate as it may be, the Arab revolutions of 2011 haven’t come peacefully. The historic change that has swept through Tunisia, Egypt, and now Libya, are instead, the result of much bloodletting and willpower. Without calling for the monarch’s ouster, or forcefully demanding that their requests be answered, the days of increased political participation and a squeaky clean government will remain as hazy as a distant desert oasis. The king’s top-down approach doesn’t exactly spell democracy and for now, the “improvisers” and “demagogues” in this westernmost Arab country just aren’t ready for a radical transformation.
Part of that uneasiness, I gathered, stems from the fact that Morocco is booming with development. “The king has done so much, really,” Hamza told me. “Everywhere you turn, there are new buildings, new projects, new partnerships.” He had a point. Despite the occasional shanty-towns next to shopping centers and a police force that will swear you didn’t run the red light if your price is right, Morocco seems to have it better than its North African neighbors. In January, the government invested an unprecedented $6 billion in a program aimed to develop rural areas with social housing projects. The king also pledged to build 500 additional youth centers (450 already exist) throughout the country to target extremism by providing positive after-school environments for youth. Then, it was announced that five years after the inauguration of the National Initiative for Human Development (NIHD), Morocco had created more than 40,000 job opportunities for its citizens, placing its unemployment rate on par with the United States at 9%.
I asked for a quick show of hands—“How many of you are jobless?”
No one spoke up. The youth I talked to all worked or were in school, but protesting nonetheless.“But we are the exception,” Laila told me.“And we march because our brothers and sisters can’t afford to go to the doctor, or buy their groceries. And we also want a better quality of life.”
“But you love the king,” I asked, smiling. I knew her answer. She didn’t have to tell me.
Monday the streets were calm. The hoopla of Morocco’s “day of dignity” faded into the regular hustle and bustle of downtown Rabat. The scheduled sit-ins at the Parliament building eventually became a handful of teenage radicals smoking cigarettes and pushing their luck with amused cops.
To paraphrase a line from the great T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Hollow Men: This is the way the protest ends, this is the way the protest ends, this is the way the protest ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.
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