You would not visit Morocco’s major cities without noticing young mendicants, men and women, old and young, all around you. You would not stop at a traffic light in Casablanca without noticing a kid trying to get few Dirhams from you. You would not go for a night walk in Casablanca without noticing someone sleeping in the streets, taking the whole sky as his roof of an imaginary big house, yet with few flat boxes as his mobile bed. You would not visit Morocco without me shooting “Welcome to the world of homeless people. Welcome to the world of social exclusion.”
I would have preferred to entitle my article “Welcome to Tomorrow’s land” or “welcome to “the best country in the world”. It would have been a prank.
My country is full of kids like Hafsa, Brahim, Bachkou and El Jene. Do not ask me who those kids are, I can’t tell you yet. My country is safe but might be harmful. My country is beautiful but might be distasteful. My country is rich but might be inhospitable. Well, let me tell you now who Hafsa, Brahim and Bachkou are.
Hafsa, Brahim, Bachkou and El Jene are among those heroes living in the Moroccan streets day and night, summer and winter. I can’t find a better way than this video to introduce them.
If you did not watch the video yet, stop reading the article and click on the video, watch and then keep reading when you see it.
Hafsa and Bachkou are among the 30.000 children living in Morocco’s streets. I did not invent this number. It was stated by sociologist Chakib Jasous in his 2002 study entitled “The phenomenon of homeless children in Morocco”
Stating problems is not enough. Part of a person’s humanistic values is to help solve problems. How would you help? Well, there is an NGO called “Samu Social Casablanca” which was inaugurated, thanks to the INDH, by his Majesty King Mohamed VI. The NGO is fully dedicated to helping homeless kids and women.
You may say NGOs are not the only thing those kids need. Yes, there are plenty of NGOs and they do find difficulties fulfilling their missions as they are frequently in need of human and financial resources.
So it is time for you to help. If it happens that you are a well-to-do person, get in contact with them either by visiting their office or via internet. We always find a way to watch a new movie online. Yet, we always find excuses when it comes to helping people in need.
On the other hand, If you are not quite rich, then, maybe, you may help with your management skills? IT Skills? Business skills? Volunteering skills? Smiling skills? Pulling up All-nighters skills? In fact, All skills are welcome, just get ready to unfold them with the association and remember, now that you know this, the next time you see a homeless teenager, blame it on you, not on them.
