One of the heroes of the Moroccan people: Ittihadi (the socialist) Mohamed Jendali (I)

"... He walks alone..."

"Khalid Muhammad Khalid" in his book "Men around the Prophet."

Do not be hasty, the militant of whom I speak is part of the first generations of young socialists of the USFP (Socialist Union of Popular Forces) in the late sixties. It is said, according to what I heard, that the first meeting of USFP students took place in the house of the family of Driss Lachguar (currently the first secretary of the USFP), in the presence of the latter and the militant Mohamed Sassi. Mohamed Jendali was appointed head of the cell. He passed away in recent years, precisely in July 2021.

As for the student sector, he read the famous text announcing the withdrawal of the USFP students from the 17th congress of the UNEM (National Union of Moroccan Students). Don't rush again, I myself discussed several times with him on this specific point. He told me what happened among senior USFP leaders and how the idea of "grassroots work of USFP students" was diverted. 

I asked him to issue a statement explaining the circumstances, as well as to record his life rich in struggles, but he refused both. He would tell me that organizational matters are only discussed within the party. As for his life trajectory, he would say, "Let the elders write in all "honesty"." And when I told him that he was among the "elders", he smiled without answering.

Such was the man, humble, living for those who know Rabat, in the Ocean neighborhood, not far from his birthplace in El Akkari. He was extremely simple, boasting neither money nor power. He remained Ittihadi -socialist- (unaffiliated in his last days) until his death. I think he was against all partisan divisions. He said that the first mistake was the division within the Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) in 1959, three years after the independence of Morocco.

I told them, don't be hasty. The man had a lot to tell. In this small article, I will realize, from my memory, only a minimum percentage of what I know about this man, leaving to his comrades of the USFP and to the trade unionists of the CDT (Democratic Confederation of Labor) the care to talk about him, as well as his companion (his wife) of struggle, who suffered a lot, with 17 years of dismissal (in total) because of his trade union activity; as well as his children.

I will tell you, in the second part, and perhaps in the third, about my meetings with this man, which began in 1978/1979 at the association of the Faculty of Law of Rabat-Agdal. I will tell you how he was going to be "massacred" by a certain emerging student tendency and I will explain how the person in charge of this tendency, who became one of the important cogs of the Moroccan State in the last years, intervened at the last minute.

As well as other aspects such as my meetings with him, in the youth of the party in Rabat, in the CDT, in the government of Alternation of Abderrahmane Youssoufi, and how he became a client in the bank agency that I manage.

His attitude towards me, even though I sailed through all parties, from right to left. He, who never wavered in his party, the USFP, although he was no longer active within that party for a long time. 

However, the ideas of his party never left his thinking from his membership in the late sixties until his death in 2021.

His readings, his miscellaneous writings that I discovered recently, as well as his many pieces of advice when, after my retirement in 2018, I obtained a law degree in French and intended to enroll in a master's degree and then do a state doctorate.

I will also talk about his past relationships with all the USFP militants and others, some of whom became leaders of right-wing parties, some of whom became ministers, and some of whom hold decision-making positions in various administrative institutions in Morocco.

I would ask him which current he was close to or which one he belonged to: was it the current of Fqih Basri, or that of Noubir Amaoui, or that of Abderrahim Bouabid, or that of Omar Benjelloun, or that of his brother Ahmed Benjelloun? The man never answered, claiming that these questions and many others are discussed within the party organization, not in the cafés.

But over time, I was able to form an idea of the current to which he belonged. I knew many leaders and expressed great respect for a socialist personality who currently holds a prominent position in the Moroccan administration.
 
I will tell many things I know about the man. I have already said that I will talk about him one percent. Many know him better than I do, and I always say that those who really know us from our birth to our death are the various intelligence agencies; the question is: when can we access the various archives?
 
May the soul of Mohamed Jendali rest in peace, a hero among heroes.