Taroudant, Morocco- Anas Boulif son of Mohamed Najib Boulif, Minister Delegate in charge of Transport and Logistics, is on strike with his fellow students in the University of Abdelmalek Essaadi in Tangier, according to the Arabic news website Alyaoum24.

“Despite his father's ministerial position, Anas Boulif did not hesitate to join his fellow students in the protest staged by students of Tanager’s school of Science and Technology,” said the same source.

The PJD minister’s son, Anas, along with his fellow students are protesting against what they call “the failing conditions of education in their school.” They call on the head of the university “to open new Master programs in their branch”

Being on strike for more than five days, the students threaten to escalate their protest in the near future if the administration doesn’t meet their demands.

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Rabat- The Parliamentary deputy for the Justice and Development Party (PJD) Mustafa Ebrahimi accused ministers of taking bribes from pharmaceutical lobbies to block any proposals to reduce medicine prices.

Ebrahimi announced this shocking news on Tuesday before the House of Representatives without naming the ministers accused.

According to Akhbar Al Yaoum, this announcement caused such a stir among parliamentarians that a group of parliamentary deputies demanded to open an investigation into Ebrahimi’s “dangerous statements”.

On the other hand, Minister of Health, Houssaine Louardi stated that Mustafa Ebrahimi’s statements don’t concern him. “Everyone should bear the responsibility for what he said,” Louardi explained.

Ebrahimi explained during a Social Affairs Committee meeting that “some pharmaceutical companies are encouraging doctors to advertise their products… These companies do the same with some ministers to maintain the medicines’ high prices,” reported Akhbar Al Yaoum.

Ebrahimi compared the high price of medicine in Morocco to some developed countries, such as France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, where medical care is available for all citizens. He called on the Minister of Health “not to bow to the pharmaceutical companies’ pressure and to move forward in order to reduce the price of medicine.”

During the same meeting, Louardi announced that “medicine prices are to be reduced by June 19^th.”  “The new prices will be published in the Official Journal as well as on the ministry’s official website in Arabic and French so that citizens will be informed, “ he added.

Louardi concluded: “these cuts will include 34% of the medicine sold in pharmacies, in particular the most-sold medicines.”

Edited by Jessica Rohan

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Casablanca- The most reasonable answer that comes to my mind when people ask me the question "Why Morocco?" is definitely "The best things in life happen unexpectedly."

I must admit, I was expecting people to ask me this question. It's so simple and at the same time too hard. As I mentioned, the best things come to us unexpectedly, but I know this is not the explanation you want to hear. The answer is not so obvious since there are many factors that contribute to my stay in this bewitching country. I once sat down and asked myself why. Well, I couldn't come up with the perfect answer. Let me point out the main reasons that made me come to Morocco and the ones that made me stay here.

How I made it to stay in Morocco and afford living here?

I first came to Agadir and Marrakesh in 2010 and I loved the country. A week wasn't enough to understand the citizens of this warm, welcoming country and fully indulge in its culture. I promised myself to come back. One day, for longer.

An opportunity came by itself so I seized it. I just got my BA degree in English Language Teacher Training and wanted to go abroad for a 3-month internship. I had everything ready for my trip to Algeria and to my horror (or luck ?) it didn't work out. A friend from AIESEC Casablanca said they were looking for an English teacher in a language school in Casablanca. I sent my CV and didn't expect much. 2 days later I was booking my flight to Casablanca. 2 months later I was in Morocco's economic capital.

I was supposed to come for 3 months only. As you see, my plans have changed. It's been over half a year! Ok, so now more or less you know how I came here.

Let me elaborate more on what I found so attractive about this country.

This is the perfect occasion to get out of your comfort zone. Morocco is a very challenging country. Moroccans may not notice that, but yeah it is. Big up to Moroccans! It is challenging in both; positive and negative way. I'm not going to dwell upon the reasons, give you details.

In short, it is an ambiguous, developing country which is still somewhere between the modern Europe and the traditional Africa. It's somehow like a teenager who still doesn't know where he belongs to. Every day in Morocco is a challenge for me; nasty men on the street, slower rhythm of life, the language barrier, different attitude to life, the food, the society which sticks their nose into others' life and many more. 

The climate and the food

I was totally fed up with the -25'c in winter and lack of fresh fruits. Moroccan winter is not this harsh, the temperature decreases to +7'c in Casablanca and around 0'c in Ifran, which is very nice comparing to Poland. The fresh fruits and vegetables are available throughout the year.

Its diversity! Everyone says that England and France are multicultural countries. Yes they are, so is Morocco. There is a wrong stereotype that Moroccan are narrow-minded and everybody is the same. I swear that it is the opposite: Moroccan society is very diversified: Amazighs, Arabs, expats, Jewish, Muslims, mixed marriages and immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, from narrow-minded people with no life to very educated and open people. I love the view of veiled women walking down the street with their unveiled friends. Living diversity and tolerance.

Last but not least, the people surrounding me. I've met really awesome people here (most of them are foreigners but I've got a couple of Moroccan friends too). I got used to them, me and my roommates are like a little, multicultural family.

That's mostly it. I explained the best I could. I hope you're satisfied with my answer.

I am curious to know the reasons of other foreigners living or planning to move here. Share your opinion with me.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

Casablanca- Another young student commits suicide in Morocco. A student at Rabat’s Mohamedia Engineering School committed suicide in the afternoon of Saturday, March 22.

The victim was a senior-year engineering student at the engineering school, according to daily Al Massae.

The student waited until his roommates left to hang himself in his room. One of his colleagues subsequently found his dead body in the room and rushed to inform the administration, which in turn called the police.

Rumors in the school suggested that psychological instability was perhaps the reason that pushed the student to commit suicide. Others rumored that the cause was perhaps an emotional failure.

Police investigations, however, are ongoing to inquire into the real cause of the victim’s suicide. The police interrogated some of the victim’s closest friends and colleagues to figure out what pushed the young man to put an end to his life abruptly.

Last month, a 17-year-old student committed suicide in Khouribga the night before Valentine’s Day. The young boy jumped off the top of Assa Bridge located in the El Massira Neighborhood of Khouribga.

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Rabat- Habiba Zerouani, a Moroccan living in Belgium, says she was unfairly dismissed for praying at her workplace and speaking Arabic.

After spending fourteen years at the Saint-Josse Public Centre for Social Work (CPAS) in Belgium, 56-year-old Habiba Zerouani was fired after her employer accused her of speaking Arabic and praying during working hours.

Talking to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Habiba said that she had been working for fourteen years at the company, and  was promoted to the “Head of Service” in charge of technicians. “Now, I found myself forced into so-called "compulsory retirement," she told the paper.

According to Habiba, she was dismissed after her employer reproached her “for praying at work, banning senior citizens from drinking alcohol, insulting my colleagues, and speaking Arabic with some colleagues.”  Habiba strongly denied these charges, explaining ”all of this is completely untrue!”.

Zeouni explained, “It’s true that I am a Muslim. But I dress like you, I don’t wear headscarves. I practice my religion in my private life, not in the workplace.”

Habiba confirmed speaking Arabic with some Moroccan colleagues who can’t speak French; “Some cleaners hardly speak French, how do you think I would communicate with them?” she says.

To Habiba, the dismissal is unfair. "Prayer does not take more than five minutes;  Not more time for some to smoke a cigarette, but But I've never done simply because it is forbidden!"  Habiba Zerouani, mother of a 21-year-old daughter and a son aged 22, relies on her job as her sole source of income. Now, she is wondering “who will employ a 56-year-old woman?”

On the other hand, a CPAS official told Le Soir that Habiba Zerouani was dismissed for “speaking Arabic with some senior citizens and her behavior with her colleagues.

Edited by Jessica Rohan

Fez - It seems that the relations between Morocco and France are going to go through another period of tensions.

After the diplomatic row that estranged the two allies earlier this month following a complaint lodged by a French NGO against the head of the Moroccan Intelligence Services and the degrading statement attributed to the French Ambassador to the United Nations, in which he allegedly described Morocco a mistress, it is French custom officers' turn to cause a new diplomatic tension between the two countries.

According to the Moroccan newspaper Assabah in its edition of Friday, the French custom services subjected Salaheddine Mezouar, Morocco’s Foreign Minister, to what it described as a “humiliating” search while he was on transit at Paris Charles De Gaulle airport on his way to Morocco.

According to the same source, the inspection procedure, described as "degrading" was long, while the head of Moroccan diplomacy was forced to remove his coat, belt and other footwear.

The diplomatic passport did not spare the Moroccan official to be searched like any other passenger. Mezouar was on his way back to Morocco from the Hague where he took part in the second Nuclear Security Summit.

The Moroccan authorities have still not released any communiqué in this regard.

By by Zouhair Yata- Rabat

[Editor’s note: To put this piece into context, after the launch of a media campaign against racism in Morocco, Moroccan blogger Zhor Baki, known for her alternative views, criticized those who had launched the campaign. She opined that the campaign was led by bourgeois people who merely sought publicity rather than to express their concern for immigrants or opposition to racism. However, she said that Moroccans should fight against linguistic, regional and other forms of racism from which the country suffers.  This is a translation of a response by Zouhair Yata.]

The anti-racism campaign, “My name is not Azzi," sparked numerous reactions, but some of which are particularly alarming as they become the vehicle for misleading and populist ideas.

Under cover of a “journalistic approach,” one can read in a certain press specializing in a systematic critique of anything that can bring about positive change: “If a guy is black, I call him ‘the Black,’ what is the problem with that and why is he offended? But if he is upset, then he is the one with the problem, not I. It means that he rejects himself before I reject him.”   

For the journalist who wrote these words [Zhor Baki], the victims of racism are too easily offended. Thus, if I whistle at a girl in the street and she takes offense, or if I treat the journalist like a piece of meat when she crosses the road, she must ask herself why she merits such treatment, because I have nothing to be ashamed of.

According to [Baki], "the fight against racism ended with Nelson Mandela,” and the fact that the United States has a President who is black is surely the proof. “To be racist is to refuse, for example, to shake someone's hand, to sit next to him, to work or study with him, or to walk next to him in the street, to refuse to look at him, or to talk with him.”

Why not say clearly that since we allow these "Azzis" to live with us, our indifference towards them is proof of our tolerance?  Is it really necessary to remind this journalist that designating someone a "Negro" directly takes us back to the darkest hours of humanity? With whippings and eunuchs?

The journalist [Baki], obviously inspired, concludes even that the racism experienced by North Africans in Europe is in reality well deserved because, "Let’s admit it, we are the underdeveloped, one or more generations behind the others.”  This is precisely the problem in our country: the attitude that tends to exclude others, i.e., “Gaouri” (Westerners), “Fassi” (people from Fez), “Chleuh" (Amazigh), “Azzi" (Sub-Saharan African), while advocating introspection.

No diversity, no mixing of people, but a discourse of hate under the pretense of activism, writing an article attacking one of the few initiatives against racism in Morocco, and desperately attempting to deny the undeniable reality, in order to suggest subtly that it is better to fight against the “Lahlou, Bennis, Benchekroun, Bennani” families, is simply and purely irresponsible.  No Madam, the existence of racism in the language, the religion, or the family in Morocco does not clear us of the charge of being racist towards our African brothers.

And pretending that this campaign is “bourgeois” or conservative, merely serves to reinforce our fellow countrymen in their hatred of one other. Would it be so bad if we lived in a country where Africans are not solely associated with the color of their skin, where women are not constantly harassed, where children are able to speak Arabic, French, Berber, Spanish, English or Chinese, cultivating rather than stigmatizing their differences?

To pander to what Moroccans want to hear, while at the same time systematically playing the anti-establishment tune and trying to appeal to practicing Muslims and affirmed Arabic speaker, will not change the mentalities and will continue to make of us “wild savages, backward, underdeveloped, and unruly.”

Translated by Nahla Landoulsi. Edited by Elisabeth Myers

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

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Rabat- “Marche Contre L'insécurité Ambiante à Casa” or March Against urban crime in Casablanca, is the name of a new Facebook page calling for a march to show citizens’ displeasure toward the growing insecurity in Casablanca.

Shocked and afraid of the growing crime rate in Casablanca, youths created a page on Facebook that calls for citizens to take to the streets city for a march against crime.

Though neither the place nor the date of the march have been announced, the page has over 10,500 “likes”.

L’Economiste, one of the newspapers reporting on this initiative, wrote that the crime rate in Casablanca has become “scary”.

Giving examples of horrid crimes committed in the city, L’economiste recounted stories of some victims which garnered public attention, such as the case of Azzedine Berrada, Chief Executive Officer of Laboratories Bottu Morocco, who just lost his wife on March 24^th, after she was stoned in his car near Sidi Maarouf, Casablanca. Miloud El Mokharek, SG of  the Moroccan Union of Workers (UMT) , was also stoned and injured on the highway between Casablanca and Rabat last month.

In the same vein, earlier this week MWN reported that the players of WAC of Casablanca were exposed to an armed attack during a training session by over 250 masked hooligans.

On Facebook, criminals also created new pages entitled "Tcharmil" ,where they post daily pictures of their loot such as watches, smart phones or cash, while holding swords in their hands or alcohol with uncovered faces.

The number of likes of the Facebook page “Marche Contre L'insécurité Ambiante à Casa” is increasing, which indicates that the march is likely to be organized in the coming days.

Edited by Jessica Rohan

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Rabat- The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM), Fathallah Sijilmassi, said Wednesday in Barcelona, that  ??25 percent of women in Mediterranean countries are unemployed, according to MAP.

Speaking at the international conference regarding the socioeconomic empowerment of women in the Euro-Mediterranean region, Sijilmassi said that despite progress, the annual growth rate of active women remained at less than one percent.

He further noted that Mediterranean women typically earn lower wages than men with rates ranging from 30 to 40 percent.

Sijilmassi stressed that improving the socioeconomic status of women is likely to help companies develop further and emphasized the need to strengthen the presence of women in the political scene and fight against all forms of discrimination.

Some 200 participants from 35 countries, including government representatives, international development agencies and international organizations specializing in women's empowerment and gender equality attended the meeting in Barcelona.

The conference adopted a program of vocational training for 1800 girls from the countries of the Mediterranean, whose ages varied between 15 and 20 years.

The program aims to help women and girls with high school diplomas gain access to employment opportunities by focusing their training on the field of English language teaching or information technology.

The conference was attended by about 20 researchers and experts, in addition to 86 NGOs and 20 economic institution leaders, including Morocco’s state-owned phosphates company, OCP.

Edited by Liz Yaslik

Amsterdam - New US ambassador to the Netherland, Timothy Broas, criticized anti-Moroccans remarks made by Dutch far right politician, Geert Wilders.

"This kind of remarks contradicts the shared values between the Netherland and the USA," the US diplomat told reporters, adding "It is not my business to say who can and who can't move to the Netherlands but it is my job to promote the shared values between the Netherlands and the US."

Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders faced an unprecedented storm of protest after he told supporters he would ensure there were "fewer Moroccans" in the country.

He was criticized by government members and politicians, including from his own party who distanced themselves from these remarks and the Dutch prime minister who said, during a meeting with Moroccan foreign minister, the remarks are "ignoramus", and expressed regrets.

Several MPs from Wilders' Populist Party resigned to protest the statement.

Madrid - The autonomous region of Galicia (northwestern Spain) takes a "special interest" in the Moroccan market as part of its Plan of Exports Promotion (Foexga).

This plan worth one million euros, adopted Thursday by the regional government, seeks the internationalization of companies's activities in this Spanish region and places Morocco among the most important countries in this strategy.

Among the objectives of this plan are the organization of trade missions to fifty countries, including Morocco, and the involvement of Galician companies in international trade events.

Rabat -  The deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni lauded government action plan on equality as well as the pioneering and consensual steps undertaken by Morocco for gender mainstreaming.

 Battaini, who was speaking, on Wednesday in Rabat, at a meeting with the Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development Bassima Hakkaoui, also paid tribute to Morocco's policy on immigration, calling for exerting more efforts by all stakeholders, particularly in the fight against human trafficking which affects women more than men, according to a statement from the Ministry.

 The top official of the pan-European organization expressed her admiration for the Moroccan approach to promote the access of children and women to justice, stressing the keenness of the Council of Europe to support Morocco in its policy of strengthening the culture of democracy and human rights within the framework of international cooperation with civil society.

 The Council of Europe is committed to supporting Morocco for the implementation of certain reforms as part of the future plan of cooperation between Morocco and the Council of Europe (2015-2017), she added.

Washington -  Governor of the American State of Maine (north-east the United States) Paul LePage hailed, on Friday, Morocco's strategic positioning as an important Free Trade Zone in the world and a bridge to the region of north Africa and Europe, thanks to the significant infrastructure developed by Morocco over the past fifteen years.

As one of the most important FTZs in the world, Morocco has developed solid infrastructure to become a bridge towards north Africa and the European Union, said LePage in a statement announcing his upcoming visit to the Kingdom to take part in the official inauguration, on April 22 in Tangiers, of the international campus of the University of New England (UNE).

 The governor said he intends to explore, on the occasion of his visit, trade and investment opportunities between the State of Maine and Morocco, which is linked to the USA by a FTA in force since 2006.

 He lauded the opening in Tangiers of the first international campus of the University of New England which is one of the main academic institutions of the State of Maine, deeming that the Tangiers campus will lay the bases for an educational partnership that would broaden academic opportunities for the University's students and ensure Maine's presence in the world's economy.

Rabat- Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education Lahcen Daoudi announced that the government is moving to boost the position of English in Moroccan universities, stressing that English is the language of scientific research, and it is believed to be the solution in Morocco’s education system

After the Secretary General of the Independence Party Hamid Chabat called for the adoption of English instead of French as the second official language in Morocco, Daoudi announced that the government is to adopt English in Moroccan universities.

Talking to Al-Yaoum 24, Douadi declared that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will impose English in engineering and medical programs. The ministry is to make‘ “English proficiency a condition for obtaining a doctorate.’’

“Thus, students who want to have access to science departments at Moroccan universities must be proficient in English,’’ Daoudi explained.

Daoudi declared that the ministry’s policy of adopting French Baccalaureate in the country is “a dubious solution”, to Morocco’s ailing education system explaining that “French is no longer useful”.

According to Daoudi, Morocco should follow many countries, such as Spain, Portugal, and Romania, which adopt English as the main foreign language in their education systems.

He stated that “French is important in France and Africa. But Morocco must have educational frameworks for more languages.”

Adopting French as the second official language in Morocco after Arabic has always been viewed as the main problem in the country’s educational system. In this regard, Douadi said that “we master neither Arabic nor French...because most scientific references are in English.”

According to Daoudi, when Arabic was the language of science in the past, scientists were obliged to learn Arabic, like Pope Sylvester II, who used to study in Arabic in University of al-Karaouine in 996.

But nowadays, “English is the world language for scientific research,” Daoudi stressed.

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Training concluded, “Whoever wants to learn Arabic, must also learn English first.”

 Edited by Jessica Rohan

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Casablanca- A virtual war has erupted between criminals and Moroccan citizens.

A Moroccan has recently launched a petition on Avaaz calling on the Ministry of Interior to increase security and combat crimes in Casablanca. Meanwhile, those representing criminality in the city have started glamorizing crime on social media.

Pictures of uncovered individuals, carrying swords and knives or showing off what seem to be stolen possessions have swept Moroccan social media. This has further amplified the anxiety that Moroccans, particularly Casablanca residents, have started feeling recently because of the rise of criminality. 

The war on crime in Casablanca has already started on social media. Pages have been created to call on the Ministry of Interior to invest more efforts in combating crime in the economic capital.

Moroccan mobsters have also seemingly decided to retaliate. Many Facebook pages have been created with apparently one objective in common: to celebrate a collective sense of law-breaking.

"The streets of Casablanca suffer from real insecurity," reads the text of a petition recently launched on Avaaz, "and sword attacks are multiplying in a disturbing way."

The petition called on the Ministry of Health to improve the condition of public hospitals, which “are grossly under-equipped,” according to the petition text.

The said petition thus drew links between the lack of insecurity in Casablanca, the rise in armed assaults and robberies, the death of victims and the lamentable condition of public hospitals, where victims of crimes usually do not receive the emergency care they need.

At the time of writing, 4,070 people have signed the petition.

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Rabat- On Friday the Popular Movement Party (MP) strongly condemned the statements of Khadija Ryadi, former president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), after she called in an interview with Moroccan website Hespress for the inclusion of human rights in the prerogatives of MINURSO.

Mohand Laenser, Secretary of the Popular Movement (MP) denounced the statements issued by Riadi, stressing that “this dissonant position plays on the emotions of the Moroccan people.”

The MP noted that the attitudes and opinions of AMDH are "a confirmation of the association’s hatred of the sovereignty of Morocco."

According to the press release, MP stated that these statements are conclusive evidence that “this association is backed by a certain political agenda.”

Furthermore, the party accused the AMDH of “following those who unfortunately devote all their efforts and resources to attack and counter Morocco, and adopting separatist thesis”.

Talking to the news website Hespress, Khadija Ryadi stated that AMDH supports “the extension of the prerogatives of MINURSO to include controlling human rights in the Sahara and Tindouf.”

She added that the AMDH’s position is not new, but dates back to 2008. “This position was based on several reports by international NGOs which considered this mechanism capable of protecting human rights not only in Morocco, but also in Tindouf camps," she said.

Edited by Jessica Rohan

Tangiers - King Mohammed VI inaugurated on Saturday the business center of the Tangier-Med port compound and launched construction works for the development of a new export zone.

These major projects, worth 1.1 billion DH, are part of the Royal vision of comprehensive and integrated development of the Northern region. They will complete infrastructure of the Grand Tangiers-Med port compound (Port Tangiers Med I, Port Tangiers Med II, passenger port, logistics free zone, industrial and services free zones).

They also reflect the Monarch's firm will to set the Tangiers-Med Port as a high-profile port, industrial and logistical platform with an ideal connectivity enabling it to participate in consolidating the Moroccan economy's international competitiveness.

Located at the heart of the Tangiers-Med port compound, the new intermodal business center (800 million DH) features a ferry terminal with a borders check point, a pre-embarking waiting room, coffee shops, an arrival hall for passengers, shuttle services from and to boarding platforms and other services (ticket-selling, banks, medical center).

The Tangiers-Med Port Center also includes a railway station with two passenger docks, a coach station, an auditorium of 288 seats, a center with restaurants, a newspaper ship, banks, a pharmacy and shops and offices scheduled to host maritime companies, insurance companies and sailing companies.

The Tangiers-Med Port of Tangiers, conceived in an innovating architecture and high-tech facilities, combines several architectural styles respecting the site's physical and ecological environment.

The future export zone, to cost around 300 million DH, is destined to accompany the traffic evolution by 2025 and improve, therefore, the competitiveness of the port and of Moroccan exports.

The Freight traffic access and customs procedures zone will process around 2,100 freight units a day with waiting time not exceeding 2 hours. The nominal handling capacity will be increase to 750,000 units annually.

The export access and control zone will be operational in October 2015

Taroudant, Morocco- Following the release of a video posted by Laayoune TV on YouTube on March 14 showing members of “Youth for Change” describing the suffering of the Sahrawi people living in the Tindouf camps in Algeria, another video posted on YouTube now shows one of the young Sahrawi members denouncing a propaganda campaign allegedly being carried out against him by the Polisario leaders.

“They considered me an undercover agent and spy,” the young Sahrawi said, “but all people know that I am telling only the truth, and all the Sahrawis see what is going on here.”

The Sahrawi recounted the abuses of the leaders of the separatists, in particular the case of a woman who had asked for help after being sexually harassed by the Polisario’s Minister of Defense, Mohamed Lamine El Bouhali.  “Many other Saharawis have been subjected to such sexual harassment,” he said.

Based on such eye-witness accounts, Laayoune TV showed that the population is living under the oppression of a permanent military blockade, and humiliating and inhumane practices, which are targeting everybody in the camps.

“We are all subjected to hunger, ignorance and subjugation,” the Sahrawi added.

The young activist called on Sahrawis to break the gag of silence imposed on them for almost forty years by the Polisario leadership, and encouraged them to express fearlessly their problems to the world.

In the previous video, the young Sahrawi highlighted the miseries of the refugees in the camps calling on the international community to find an “urgent resolution” to their long-lasting sufferings inside the camps.

Edied by Elisabeth Myers

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Taroudant, Morocco-  In collaboration with Junior Chamber International (JCI) in Rabat, the Collective Autism Morocco (CAM) will organize a campaign “Light it up Blue” Wednesday, on April 2, in the headquarter of the National Library in Rabat to mobilize public opinion to recognize Autism.

This year, the Collective Autism & JCI Morocco in Rabat celebrate "Light It up Blue" in Morocco for the first time by lighting Morocco’s National Library in Blue.

“The Collective Autism Morocco (CAM) supported by the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) and in collaboration with Junior Chamber International (JCI) in Rabat, and the Collective for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Morocco, launched a national communication campaign about autism,” said Thursday a statement from the organizers, according to MAP.

Under the theme “I am different like you…” the organizers aim at raising awareness about Autism, an illness that affects children before the age of three years.

The event, which coincides with the World Day of Autism Awareness, will include activities that will focus on Autism, and information and trainings during the whole month on how to cope with Autism.

Light it up Blue is a unique global initiative that marks the month of autism and helps raise awareness about.

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