Reflections... in the morning
It is said that there is no strength, no wealth, no stability and no creativity without freedom...
Extract from the book: "Political article - Spinoza 1677".
Translated into Arabic by Abdellah Laroui
This title does not belong to me, but to the great Arab and Moroccan thinker Abdellah Laroui. I was playing sports in the morning and the idea of these reflections came to my mind. I apologise to Mr Abdellah Laroui, to whom God grant a long life, but since we are talking about him, I reflected on his courageous stance one day and wanted, as a result, to write an article entitled "The intellectual is dead... long live the intellectual".
The subject was related to a meeting organised in Casablanca some years ago, attended by all the Ministers of National Education and other personalities, including a notorious figure. The subject of the meeting was the introduction of the Moroccan dialect into the education system, starting with primary school.
Everyone thought, wrongly, that the matter was resolved, as higher orders allowed the meeting to take place. The meeting took place on a Friday, if I remember correctly, and "suddenly", on the following Saturday and Sunday, Mr. Abdellah Laroui published an article in a Casablanca newspaper, saying no to teaching the dialect and stating his point of view.
It was enough to bury that project, and you know the rest. For young people, look for this topic on social networks. Why did I think of publishing an article entitled "The intellectual is dead... long live the intellectual"? Because no one dared to speak out, except a few, believing that the matter was decided from above. Our "organic intellectuals" only spoke out weeks after they realised that Abdellah Laroui had dismantled the argument of the meeting.
In fact, I was part of the old school of the USFP (Moroccan Socialist Party), and the party's intellectuals, of which there were many, did not let such things pass easily. But, in fact, it was the beginning of a sign that the "intellectual cadres of the party" had been contained. So I thought of this title.
On the one hand, and on the other hand, my reflections this morning were related to a set of articles that had been going around in my head for some time. I will tell you about it in this article, but before that, I want to talk about sport. I am 66 years old and I play sports three times a week. Some of the doctors say that this is not enough, you have to do an hour's walk every day.
As of 31 December 2023, I had three operations and the doctor said that without sport, your body would not have been able to cope with it. So sport is necessary, for women and men, from childhood to the age of 99. It is essential for life. But in our country, Morocco, we do not take a permanent interest in this subject, neither in your writings, nor in your television, nor in your public and private radio, nor in your series or in your films.
I speak from time to time in the public space on this subject, and the reasonable justification presented by men and women is time. I always say that people should find the time that suits them, according to their family and individual circumstances. But I recommend sport. As for the budget of the sport sector, look it up, it will inform you about its annual rate and its method of spending.
Why this statement? Because in most Moroccan towns and villages, there are plenty of sports facilities, but there are very few players, even on Saturdays and Sundays. I know that many people are interested in football, but this practice requires perseverance. I am stopping here because you know the subject and it is the subject of discussion among you, some of you even know the subject better than I do. But let me recommend sport, then sport and finally sport.
However, in my reflections this morning, there are also old and new articles, for example, I promised you a continuation of my previous article on "The heroes of the Moroccan people", talking about two heroes of the Moroccan people, according to my point of view, the first one was a former member of the USFP, the first president of the students' cell with Mohamed Sassi and Driss Lachgar, and the second one was part of the radical left. I also plan to write about Mr Abdelilah Benkirane, the former Prime Minister, and his role in what was then called the "government blockade" and the Muslim Brotherhood issue in Egypt.
I will also write about Palestine, an article entitled "Me and Palestine", I will tell you where I get my information from and about Marwan Al Barghouti, among other things.
I will also address the question of the education strike and how it has evolved, as well as most of the trade unions that are going through what the left-wing parties went through in the past. The "suicide" of what is left of the "middle class" will also be discussed (I hope to write all these articles next week).
The other articles are about the press, in particular the absence of a real and free press, and the topics covered in these days by the most important newspapers. Also, the absence of "unity" in terms of books and intellectuals between the regions of Morocco. In other words, it is "necessary" to be on the "Rabat-Casablanca" axis in order to be talked about.
I want to clarify something essential, I am not against the axis I spoke about before, but I ask for an opening to many regional and local publications.
And when practising sports this morning, I decided in the opinion articles not to exceed 400 words, and this article exceeds 1,000 words. I remember, in the 70s of the last century, how we read two books of 500 pages each in a single night, so that others could read those books, as photocopies were not yet available. Today, we stock books on shelves in our homes and browse social media without delving deeper, preferring images to reading. My journalist friend always says that we should go into prison to read books. That's enough...
And as Spinoza said in 1677, freedom is the basis of everything...
By: Abdelhak Riki