On our last night in the Hotel Berlin the calm on the street outside was broken by a loud chanting. I looked out my window only to see hundreds of people singing in the street outside. Badr had just been telling us about frustration with the Moroccan soccer team, the Atlas Lions, who had just lost two games in a row, so I thought maybe they had finally won and this was the celebration. Well, then the singers took off running down the street and a mass of police soon appeared running behind them, night sticks outstretched. It was a demonstration! Even in Athens, which is demonstration central right now, I had never seen anything like this.
Kirsten, an MOJ student photo journalist, ran to my room and lamented leaving her camera behind as I was able to capture the chase on video. After the chase, the streets regained their calm, but Kirsten and I couldn't stop talking. We mentioned several times that it probably was not a good idea to go down to the street, but that we really wanted to! So we threw clothes on over our pajamas, I turned up the collar on my trench coat, and we decided to see what was happening from the safety of the hotel's lobby. We saw that the situation was stable so we ventured out. The police were blocking off the street, preventing any protesters from returning and Kirsten tried to snap pictures from a distance. An officer came over and told us not to take pictures, but Kirsten tried Mary's "act dumb" trick so we crossed the street and reattempted. This time a higher up officer saw, came over, and tugged on Kirsten's camera strap, hung over her neck. He spoke in fast and furious Dhriija and then, seeing we didn't understand, switched to French. "La carte, la carte" he said. He wanted her SD card. Then some Moroccans flew in, shoving the officer aside and saying they'd take care of it. They watched as she deleted all the protest pictures, but they also seemed to want us there. They asked if we were journalists, but to be safe we just said "ana taliba", I am a student.
We rushed back to the hotel, just a few feet away, as giddy as could be. We have obviously been bitten by the journalism bug and Mary was so proud when we told her about our experience the next day. It was interesting to hear about other MOJer's experiences too. Marie, Jackie, Ashton, and Shalea were out buying cell phones when the chase occurred and they inadvertently became a part of it, running with the protesters to avoid the police. When the chase stopped, the protestors were eager to tell them about their situation. They are all graduates with masters degrees and higher that have not been able to find work. They organize based on major. Their demand is for secure government jobs and whenever one becomes available they choose who should interview for it based on who has logged the most protest hours. That night, they were going to sleep outside of parliament, but the police chased them out. Jackie asked one woman who, for five years, had her masters, but no job if the police were ever violent, but she did not seem to understand. I certainly didn't see any violence, but Mary said that she had earlier in the week. Ashton, a photojournalist like Kirsten, seems as innocent as could be, but she had her camera hidden in her sleeve the whole time and was able to take a video.
Don't worry! I wouldn't have gone if it was not completely safe (although you can never really tell) and I probably will not be running into a protest anytime soon; that is exactly what everyone tells you not to do. Yet it was a great experience which really reinforced my decision to come here.
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