Casablanca- With the feeling of insecurity on the rise in some Moroccan cities, city residents have to be more vigilant than ever and to take all necessary precautions to avoid the potential perils such insecurity may brings. Below are four main tips that can keep you out of trouble in a Moroccan city.
Tip 1: Avoid empty, quiet places in a city!
Do you prefer to walk when heading somewhere? Fine, but don’t act like you know the city by heart and succumb to the temptation of using shortcuts. By “shortcuts” I refer to those narrow, noiseless streets that, albeit time-saving, may also cost you a lot more than arriving late for work. What you perceive as shortcuts are usually the favorite niches for criminals in the city.
Use crowded, public places—boulevards, squares, large streets—as your safe route to any destination you intend to reach. I prefer to spend ten more minutes looking for the safest way to get somewhere than using unsafe shortcuts in the city and ending up being someone else’s prey. You can avoid that.
Tip 2: Repeat after me…I’m not John Cena!
The streets of Casablanca, for instance, are full of WWE world Wrestling entertainment) moments, but you just want to steer away from undesirable action.
City residents are known for having a bad temper and losing their composure quickly. Some of those people you see every day in the street are ticking time bombs, just waiting for someone to cut the wrong wire for them to blow up—and there’s a fine line between anger and crime.
Other than premeditated crimes in Morocco, other types of wrongdoing may involve fights between two people or more who do not have any criminal intentions or profiles. It may start with a dispute over seats in a café, stadium or on a bus, but it ends with someone being hit on his head with a bottle or being stabbed by someone with a sore ego.
Calm down and keep your composure even when you’re insulted or mocked. It doesn’t’t mean you’re weak. It rather shows that you have control over your strongest impulses.
Tip 3: Carry only what you need…and intelligently!
Why would you go out with 1000 DH in your pockets when you’re sure to use only 20 % of the sum? If you happen to be unlucky enough to have your purse or wallet stolen, you will be sorryWe are more defensive when we carry valuable belongings, and resistance with armed robbers may sometimes translate into tragedies.
One tip is to have your money dispersedly placed—some in your bag, some in your front, side and back pockets, etc. Never place all your money or valuable belongings in one location. Most women carry their most important belongings in their bags, which risk being easily snatched out of their hands at any moment.
As to high-tech, unless you’re in a public area, don’t you pull out your laptop or tablet randomly anywhere you go. High-tech tools are usually trouble magnets in Morocco. Use them only when you know their use won’t jeopardize your safety.
Tip 4: No negotiations with armed robbers!
We sometimes unluckily run across a bunch of armed robbers who show up from nowhere in a quiet, unpopulated street. Many people in Casablanca, for instance, lose their lives or nearly after they refuse to give those thieves what they ask for.
Never negotiate with armed robbers! Yes, there are times when we just have to admit our vulnerability and the fact that resistance can be less wise, and more harmful.
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
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed