Changing the Moroccan Mentality

 

As I was crossing the Boulevard Des FAR in Casablanca, not far from Bab Marrakech, heading toward El Glaoui Passage, I heard a strung out voice coming over a loud speaker. It was around six PM and the streets overflowed with shoppers and wanderers, the cafe terraces brimmed with patrons leisurely sipping on a sweet mint tea or qahwa mharssa while reading their daily newspapers or chin-wagging, the roads were saturated with vehicles rushing through traffic. Drivers zoomed past people without commiseration. The flow of pedestrians jaywalking across the boulevard was uninterrupted even when the traffic light was green; few were those who used the designated crossing areas, and fewer waited patiently for the traffic light to turn red and for the cars to stop before crossing.

“People, use the designated crossing areas,” the voice over the loudspeaker yelled. “Do not jaywalk. Safety is everybody’s responsibility.”

In one corner of the Boulevard Des FAR, standing by a traffic light, there they were, wearing green and yellow reflective vests, one shouting through a loudspeaker, the other handing out fliers to callous passersby. A few people drawn by curiosity stood at a distance contemplating them, surely wondering why these youths are wasting their time. But Karaouane Amine and Assadi Imane stood there by dint of determination to see things change for the better in Morocco. They figured that for Morocco to develop, the mentality of its people needs to transmute into a law abiding, justice seeking, and respect inducing functionality. Their positive attitude was heartwarming, but hardly enough to inspire the herds of pedestrians, some with children in tow, still crossing the boulevard whichever way, dodging taxies and buses.

One shout at a time, the frail voice over the loudspeaker will be the inner voice that will convince people to respect traffic laws, to cross from the designated areas, to wait in a line instead of cutting it; the inner voice that will dissuade from corruption; the inner drive to simply do the right thing.

Ahmed T. B. Copyright © 2008