Tag Archives: Casablanca

 
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Feeling safe


How difficult is it to feel safe when fundamentalism is on the rise so close to home? Pretty easy, actually.

In late March, a man entered an Internet cafe, allegedly to view "jihadist" websites. The cafe owner's son asked the man to leave, prompting the man to detonate a bomb he had hidden under his clothing. The perpetrator, Abdelfattah Raydi, died and a few others were injured.

Then, on Tuesday, April 10, police approached an apartment in Casablanca's impoverished Hay Farah district. One man, Mohamed Rachidi, fled to the roof and detonated a bomb inside his shirt. Another man inside the apartment started to detonate his own bomb, but a policeman shot him first. He was identified as Mohamed Mentala. A third man, later identified as Ayyoub Raydi, the brother of Abdelfattah Raydi, detonated a bomb as well, killing himself and a police officer and wounding several, including a seven-year-old boy.

Over the past two days, news sources and experts have speculated whether or not the bombings were related to those in Algiers, or if the Moroccan perpetrators were linked, perhaps with Al-Qaeda. Enough speculation to scare my friends back home anyway.

Meanwhile, tourist boards are teeming with questions about the safety of Morocco. "Are Moroccans targeting Americans?" "Is it safe to visit Marrakech?"

I certainly can't say for sure, but in the two years I've lived in this country, I have never once been the target of any anti-American sentiment whatsoever. Nor have I been a target for anything else, except a bit of obnoxious sexual harrassment (which I am not playing down, of course, but compared to actual danger, a few whistles or catcalls seems extremely minor, even to my sensitive American psyche).

Look, the point is, Moroccans are not against America. Perhaps it's government (but I can count on one hand my American friends who aren't against the government!), sure, but America or Americans? Moroccans line up at Internet cafes every autumn to fill out Diversity Lottery visa applications. They watch American movies and American TV, listen to American music. That is not to say that there isn't some trepidation when it comes to American behaviors, but on the whole, this is not an anti-Western society. This is a country whose border is only eight miles from Europe — a country which has had so much French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Roman influence over the centuries that, aside from its religion, is more Western than Eastern.

So although I can't say I'll be visiting the slums of Casablanca anytime soon, I certainly feel safe and right at home for now.

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Suicide bomber in Morocco kills one — himself


This morning I was informed of a suicide attack here in Morocco — Casablanca (the financial capital), to be precise.

As it turns out, only the bomber himself was killed, and the rest of the story was pretty straightforward.  The BBC reported this morning that prior to the attack, a patron of a cyber café had been told by the owner that he was no longer permitted to view "jihadist" (BBC's term, not mine) websites and that the bombing was perhaps in retaliation, although there is question as to whether or not the bombing was intentional.  A friend accompanying the bomber managed to escape and has not yet been questioned.

The bomber hailed from Sidi Moumen, as did the perpetrators of 2003 bombings in Casablanca which killed 45 people and targeted a five-star hotel and some Jewish cultural buildings.

Whether or not this will affect tourism remains to be seen.  Morocco has basically been on terror alert since 2003, but tourism has only increased, particularly in Fez and Marrakesh, both major historical centers.  Casablanca, on the other hand, has very little of interest to tourists; most go only to see the giant Hassan II mosque — funded entirely by donations — then move on to the former imperial capitals, the Sahara, or the Mediterranean coast.

Personally, I'm not concerned.  As a co-worker reminded me this morning, "you could be hit by a bus at any time."  Morocco has far less crime, even "terrorist" or "religion-related" crime, than my home country and less than most developed countries.  I'll stick it out. 

 

 

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