Morocco is a country known for many things: beautiful beaches, the Sahara and renowned cuisine. But in recent years, Morocco has also become known for its soccer team. During the 2022 World Cup, Morocco made headlines as it became the first African country to make it all the way to fourth place. National pride exploded and united Moroccans from all over the world. In a country where patriotism is heavily valued, it was not hard to get swept up in the moment.
As a Moroccan American in the diaspora, I watched every game with bated breath. In class, I proudly would boast about how my country was “the greatest in the world.” When Morocco qualified to host the 2030 World Cup in a collaboration with Portugal and Spain, I, along with the general Moroccan public, was overjoyed. It felt like a step forward towards greatness for Morocco.
In reality, it was anything but that. The Moroccan Government has invested approximately $5 billion into the infrastructure for the World Cup 2030. This includes renovating five existing stadiums and investing $500 million into the Hasan II stadium, which is set to be the biggest soccer stadium in the world after its completion. While this is sure to bring international attention and praise, it is at the cost of the average Moroccan citizen. Hospitals are underfunded with scarce equipment and low staffing. This crisis was only emphasized after the recent deaths of the eight young women at the Hasan II Regional Hospital in Agadir after receiving cesarean operations. In addition to this, there is also the case in Zagora where a young woman and her newborn died due to the lack of an anesthesiologist and an intensive care unit.
When I was five, my late grandmother was slowly dying from leukemia. The illness had already spread throughout her body, yet the hospitals insisted she was fine. My older cousin oversaw transporting her from the house to her frequent hospital trips. She told us about how the hospitals are cruel to patients. Nurses sat filing their nails while ignoring pleas for help, and doctors argued with sick patients and worried family members. There were expensive fees from a hospital that provided no care. It was not the illness that killed her, but the mental hardship from staying at a hospital that failed her.
When my grandfather fell sick last year, my mom took him to Yale New Haven Hospital. At the end of his visit, he looked at her and said, “I used to think you lived in a foreign place, but I have realized I have been the foreigner in my country all along.”
Schools are also underfunded, with only 36% of Moroccans who are enrolled in primary school going on to complete secondary education. With the lack of teachers, classes are often overcrowded, so students are unable to get the care and attention that they may individually need. Many are also unable to go to school due to how expensive necessities like books and uniforms are. Creativity is not encouraged in the average Moroccan public school, with curriculum being memorization-based. This leads to unemployment rates in Morocco nearly, with 40% of jobs being extremely hard to find without being connected.
Despite most of the Moroccan world living in near poverty and suffering, Aziz Akhannouch, the prime minister of Morocco, is reported to have a net worth of $1.6 billion. He went to school for business at the Université of Sherbrooke in Quebec. He was able to afford a school outside the country and experience high-quality education, helping him become a successful businessman, an opportunity many Moroccans do not have. Despite returning to Morocco and becoming the Prime Minister, he has done nothing but give out false promises. Moroccans living in poorer areas still do not have homes after the 2023 earthquake that destroyed thousands of houses. Many have taken to living in tents with horrible conditions, especially during the cold rain and sleet. These people are not taken seriously and instead, more money gets poured into making life better for tourists.
The Moroccan youth have had enough of this. Since Sept. 27, young Moroccans have organized protests across the country from Casablanca to Agadir. I am proud of the GenZ212 youth protests happening in my home country. They used social media such as Discord and TikTok to bring attention to these protests and emphasized that they want these protests to be peaceful. Despite the protests being peaceful, there were many arrests. Any sign of dissent is criminalized and speaking ill of the corrupt government could land you years in prison. How can you continue to be peaceful when your speech is being taken away? Are you expected to just take every blow? This is the reality of Morocco.
The Moroccan government is a government of false promises. They teach their youth to be patriotic, never question authority and stay silent no matter what. You should not love a country just because it is the one you were born in. True patriotism does not mean staying loyal to a government that never has your well-being in mind. Real patriotism is wanting the best for those who live in that country. They brainwash you by equating criticism with bringing shame to your country. Yet it is not I who is bringing shame, but rather a government that shuts its eyes as people beg for rights.
I love Morocco. I am not ashamed of where I am from, nor am I a traitor as many would like to believe. I do not criticize it out of malice but rather out of hope. To love your country is not to stay silent but to be the loudest in the room, crying for change.