Bienvenue au Maroc!

"Welcome to Africa!" said the man seated next to me on the plane from Madrid to Rabat as we spotted the Moroccan coast from above. Earlier, when he had asked me why I was traveling to his country, I had mentioned my years long desire to immerse myself in life on the continent and he was excited to be the first to welcome me.

Why Morocco? I am fascinated by people and the variety of ways in which lives are lead. Despite our differences, people share many similarities and rely on each other to thrive; thus social and political institutions emerge. Of course there is always a disparity between the success of these institutions; certain governments enable countries to flourish fairly quickly while others only stagnate and can never escape the categorization of developing country. What conditions are necessary for a nation's successful development?

This question and others lead me to study two of the most successful societies the world has seen, the "democracies" of ancient Rome and Athens. I spent this past semester in Athens (see blog posts signed by Veronica Jean at: http://davidspiropoulos.blogspot.com/) at a turning point in its modern history. I was able to gather a wealth of information about both ancient and modern Greece, which I hope to apply in a study of Morocco's development.

I've always been interested in studying the development of francophone African countries because their experiences with French colonialism has had a major, and unique, impact on their development. Morocco, although colonized by the French, is not the best example because French influence is just one of many factors that has shaped it. The Middle Eastern bloc, European bloc, and Muslim religion are the major factors, among other influences, that have had an impact on Morocco. In fact, Barnaby Rogerson, author of the Cadogan guide to Marrakesh, Fez, and Rabat, says that "Morocco has been likened to both an island and a palm tree. For it is all but surrounded by three seas...and like the desert palm, though rooted in Africa, it is watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe".

Morocco is still developing and has been for quite a while, but it is better off than many other developing nations. Currently a constitutional monarchy, Morocco becomes more democratized every year. In this period of Arab Spring, many people feel that the Moroccans' tipping point will be any day now. It is an ideal time to be here.

Yet there is another feature that drew me to Morocco. As I came to learn more about the development of democracy, I came to realize a very interesting necessity of democracies. When a government is in the hands of its people, those people must remain informed so they can make good decisions for the benefit of their country and themselves. Therefore, journalists have immense influence on democracy and I'd like to learn more about their impact, while learning to become one. The School for International Training (SIT) is piloting the first ever journalism abroad program: Field Studies in Journalism and New Media. This program is perfect for me! I'll be able to study journalism from both a scholarly and more vocational angle as Morocco, currently a constitutional monarchy, undergoes democratization in the Arab Spring.

I am often without internet, but I'll try to keep this blog updated fairly often, sometimes offering a more serious, scholarly look at my experiences and at other times, a lighter description of my adventures and personal growth. Maybe I'll even be able to post some of the reporting work that I will do.

A bientôt,

VJ