20th February protests: Human Rights vs National security, make your choice.

20 February: Joining, boycotting, joining, boycotting…

Considered as one of the main events of the year, the expected demonstrations of the 20^th February scheduled to flood the streets of Morocco, once again rises the controversial issue of rights against national security.

One of the main points the advocators of the protests advance are the respect of humanity, the extermination of corruption and the right to employment among other claims. These calls are totally legitimate under the circumstances the Moroccan scene is witnessing, yet the timing and the consequences are inappropriate for the welfare of the country.

The constant threat Polisario and Algerian officials constitute to our territorial integrity is an important factor to take in account whenever planning for events of major concern and impact. The last protests in Lâayoun give us a clear and concise idea about the potential repercussions a deviated national demonstrations might have.

Legitimate calls for social reforms and human rights respect in Gdim Izik camps turned into a wave of destruction and anarchy, twisting a pure innocent rally into an awful perverted mobilization against one’s country and interests.

If history is an eternal resource of experiences and lessons, we have definitely the duty to seek knowledge from it and learn wisely how to initiate, control and predict events of national concern.

We’re not here talking about the rightness of a manifestation against a king or a family, but we’re discussing the wider concept of a Moroccan system of values and ethics under the threat of demise and chaos. The legacy of an entire nation, the fruits of an endless struggle for land and liberty, respect and dignity are now in the hands of people: The choice of participating in the protests or not is a personal decision, yet, the individual, as part of a broad social order should ponder the outcomes of a certain action and be ready to accept and be responsible of its consequences, consequences which might turn into a different prospect, way worse than the initial situation the demonstrations were meant to eradicate.       

Morocco, far from being neither a paradise nor a just country, has seen shit load of inequalities and unfairness, oppression and corruption, unemployment and social injustice and so on, and one of the simplest materialization of these evil concepts is the FFN: Fassi Family Network.

A quick glance to the family involvement in the government and major institutions gives us and insight in the sources of the anger of the people against the Fassis: 

Abbas Elfassi:  Prime Minister
Nizar Baraka: Husband of Abbas’s daughter, Minister of General Affairs  
Ali Fassi Fihri: President of the National Office of water and electricity, President of the Moroccan Royal Federation of Football  
Taïb Fassi Fihri: Minister of Cooperation and Foreign Affairs    
Othman Fassi Fihri: Director-General of the Highways National Company                
Ibrahim Fassi: President of Amadeus Institute which benefits from billions of governmental financial support
Yasmina Baddou: Minister of Health, wife of Ali Fassi Fihri                                    
Younes Elmechrafi: President of the Moroccan Games and Sports, husband of Abbas’s second daughter  
Son of Abbas ElFassi: Director of a National News channel at the age of 24           
Youngest son of Abbas: Third deputy of the mayor of Casablanca and Manager of Fassi political party
Lina ElFassi: 23 years old, Director of Cabinet of the Minister of State Yazghi
Ousama Oudghiri: Nephew of Abbas ElFassi , Director of the National Company of Transports and Logistics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

When the normal citizen notices the power this family had gathered and the way they play with the future of a whole nation, making from their interests a priority and throwing people’s rights in the garbage, he cannot shut up and let things be.

There is a point where the public says ENOUGH, as did Egyptians and Tunisians, and as long as the authorities do not intervene efficiently in order to stop the expansion of the Fassi Cancer, the people will intervene by themselves, making a violent revolution inevitable. 

Talking about Fassi is not just for the sake of criticizing this family, but since it is one of the most shocking discrimination, favoritism and corruption manifestations, I decided to spend some time on it. Nevertheless, there are numerous other manifestations of the social injustice, ranging from poverty, poor educational system, inexistent healthcare coverage, lack of unemployment allocutions, infrastructure falling apart, increasing crime rate, bribery, dying political scene, ignorance of youth role in society,… and the list continues.  

Basically, the idea is that the people have definitely a reason to go to the streets and protest, and as well as being a constitutional right guarded by law, it is becoming an urgent necessity to stop the propagation of the social diseases in a community which cannot take anymore.

People are fed up of paying bribes whenever they travel on their cares, citizen are fed up from swallowing officials empty promises for change, people can’t take being insulted and offended whenever they visit a governmental facility or office,… WE ARE FED UP!

In the other hand, every patriotic citizen should ponder the implications of any manifestation during this critical period of time and ask himself about the real causes and sources of the regressive situation we’re living in.

Aren’t we the first to blame about all the mess going on in our country? Would the bribe stop if we abstain from paying it to the filthy cowards in uniforms in the highways? If we go out in the morning to our jobs, thinking about the ways to improve our country and serve it instead of planning how to sneak out of the office hours, wouldn’t that make a significant difference in our lives? If, If …

That’s the problem: we’ve been always asking for our rights without giving a thought to our duties, or even while denying our commitment to this great nation which dies to let us live. It is time to stop shouting and talking just for the sake of saying: I am here! This never solved a single issue; it always added more problems to what we already have. We’re worth those politicians who talk more than they act; those same people we’re criticizing and asking for their head. We should judge our actions and think about what we gave to this country, because I doubt we gave it a lot!

Moroccans are living hard with the problems they have to deal with every day; there is no need to add an issue which might take away the only thing they still believe in: the integrity of their land. Maybe we are too faithful or too foolish, but the 20^th February demonstrations are a serious matter we need to deal with: with wisdom and responsibility, not because of an overdose of patriotism or for the sake of copying Tunisian and Egyptian revolution and saying “Yo, we are here!”.

I am not saying Morocco is the paradise on earth nor am I defending certain regime or individual, the only thing I am advancing is that every Moroccan, whether he is intending to participate in the protests or not, should think carefully about the outcome of such demonstrations and ask himself whether this will bring any significant reform, and try to find out if this is the only way to unveil his discontentment and refusal of the current social system.

Moroccans, this is our land, our decision: But remember, it’s after all our country we’re talking about, are we ready to lose it for an ephemeral passion and an uncalculated outburst of patriotism?

The revolution must start from the inside of each one of us, and everyone is leading a revolution every day without being aware of it. Think, ponder and then act, that’s a favor I ask you personally.

Mohamed Amine  Belarbi

I will quote some interesting posts I've read about the subject: (Not in English)

From Facebook: Mőņsiiēùr Žàkãriïá' Ŷërroų

قـــآل الله تعالى : "إن الله لا يغير ما بقوم حتى يغيروا ما بأنفسهم"

إن الثورة الحقيقية هي تلك التي يقوم بها فرد منا ضد أنانيته ونرجسيته وكل القيم السلبية التي تنتصر داخلنا على القيم المثلى التي ينصحنا بها ديننا الحنيف.

ثورة الممرض والممرضة عل...ى نفسيهما واتخاذهما القرار النهائي بعدم مد يديهما مستقبلا لابتزاز المرضى البسطاء في المستشفيات العمومية من أجل إعطائهم موعدا لزيارة الطبيب.

ثورة الطبيب على نفسه وتخليه عن اعتبار المرضى مجرد دواب وقاعة العمليات مجرد مجزرة عمومية لسلخ عباد الله ونهب جيوبهم.

ثورة القاضي على نفسه وتخليه عن بيع ضميره كل يوم مقابل أموال وسخة ملطخة بدماء وعرق ودموع المظلومين.

ثورة المحامي على نفسه وتخليه عن سرقة أموال اليتامى والأرامل والمتاجرة مع القضاة في مصائر المتقاضين.

ثورة الأستاذ على نفسه وإعلانه التوبة عن ابتزاز آباء وأولياء التلاميذ بالدروس الخصوصية مقابل النقطة.

ثورة شرطي المرور على نفسه وإقلاعه عن رمي الناس في الطرقات بالباطل من أجل إجبارهم على مقايضة مخالفاتهم بالرشاوى.

ثورة الصحافي على نفسه برفضه تسلم الأموال الوسخة مقابل تجميل وجوه رجال الأعمال القذرين الذين يمتصون دماء البسطاء.

ثورة الجنرال على نفسه برفضه سرقة المحروقات وطعام الجنود من الثكنة وبيعه من أجل اقتناء الضيعات والعمارات.

ثورة المواطن ضد الغش الذي أصبح ماركة مسجلة باسمنا، وضد الأنانية التي وصلت عندنا إلى مستوى الجرعة المميتة.

ثورة ضد الكذب والنفاق الاجتماعي والرياء والانحطاط الأخلاقي والتسيب وقلة الأدب والذوق.

إن «دليل» هذه الثورة موجود في تعاليم الإسلام. وتكفي العودة إلى قيمنا الدينية الحقيقية لكي نفهم أنه بدون إنجاز هذه الثورة الفردية لتغيير أحوالنا السيئة والمنحطة نحو الرقي الأخلاقي والديني، سيستحيل الحديث عن ثورة جماعية لتغيير الأوضاع نحو الأحسن

From Facebook: Rabéa Talhimet

Nous ne sommes contre aucune manifestation, pour preuve chaque jour depuis plusieurs années, devant au moins un ou deux ministère nous voyons des groupes manifester sans que cela finisse en bastonade musclée à l'instar de certains pays!
La manif du 20, n'est pas une marche de revendications précises. Ce n'est qu'un pâle copycat de mouvements, de peuples ayant eu de VRAIES revendications, opprimés et muselés! Sommes nous un peuple interdit de liberté d'expression, surveillés 24/24 par Big Brother??? Les seuls à contester cela sont le clah Yassine du fin fond de leur luxueuse villa du souissi ou encore deux pelés et trois tondus de journaleux abonnés aux bans d'El Pais. Oui il y le chômage, certaines injustices, des disparités sociales... oui il y en a. Petite info, nous sommes un pays en voie de développement sans ressources telles que le pétrole ou le gaz! En dix ans pourtant le développement de notre pays a fait un bond incroyable par rapport à nos confrères arabes dont les caisses débordent de bénéf des barils vendus!


From the Blog http://www.bigbrother.ma/2011/02/pourquoi-je-suis-contre-la.html:

Non, je suis CONTRE CETTE MANIFESTATION.

Non, je ne suis pas prêt à croire à l'idée que tout va changer à travers une seule manifestation et tout le monde rentrera le soir faire son dodo bien au chaud.

Non, je ne suis pas prêt à copier des actions qui se sont passées dans les pays de la région, alors que notre contexte est différent : le droit à la manifestation est indéniable au Maroc, mais ce droit reste le dernier à utiliser quand toutes les autres portes sont fermées. 

Non, je ne suis pas prêt à garantir la réaction des services de sécuritéqui ont commis beaucoup d'erreurs dans le passé.

Non, je suis quasi sûr que : si la police réagit mal, que si des casseurs se greffent à cette manifestation, nous avons toutes les -mal-chances de payer cela et très cher.

Non, je ne suis pas prêt à laisser applaudir ceux qui nous attendent au quart de tour pour se lâcher sur le Maroc.