I would describe the village stay as calmly chaotic, a reflection of life in Sbaa Rouadi. The village is not far from Fez so we met our host families in the city at Centre Batha, an organization to aid women who have suffered domestic violence. We were the first ever home stay students in Sbaa Rouadi and Centre Batha helped coordinate the program. Yet the Centre was not very organized about our arrival. We stayed there for four hours as three twenty year old members of the youth committee tried to put together a program for us. Despite the lack of organization, I enjoyed learning about the center. We received a tour where we were able to see the rooms in which women report violence, the nursery, and the career center. We also had a great introduction to the Soulaliyat movement. The Soulaliyats are women fighting for inheritance rights to their ancestral land. Even if there is no male relative in a family, land goes to the state rather than to a female relative. In 2004, Morocco's Muduwena (family law) guaranteed inheritance, but there is still a battle since male family members often ignore the law. It was great to get to know Centre Batha, but it was even better to finally board our bus again, host brothers and fathers included, and drive to Sbaa Rouadi!
Antinnea, Youssef, and I were dropped off first. We jumped down onto the side of the road and walked to our new house. I was surprised at how large the house was and it was much nicer than I expected. Youssef told us that when his parents first got married the house was only one large room and then as the family grew they added on rooms. Youssef (26) is the oldest, but he has five siblings: Ali (22), Mehdi (21), Fatima (20 and married. We never saw her.), and Sara (6). Ali and his father drive grand taxis, Mehdi has a cow project and hopes to sell butter and milk, and the mother cooks and cleans. Sara is currently in school and Youssef hopes that she will become very educated, but that will be a struggle. Their father is kind and quite the entertainer (he mooed loudly to tell us we were eating cow meat), but he is very conservative. Families try to protect their girls' reputation and virginity by keeping them as close to the house as possible. Going to university would mean that Sara would have night classes and that she would have to travel to Fez often. Youssef says that he will try to convince his father to let Sara do so. Fatima "did not succeed in her studies", left school at a very early age and stayed at home with her mother. I asked Youssef if there are laws in Morocco that require a certain level of education. In his experience, students attain the highest level of education they can. Fatima, for example, left school when she could not pass her classes any more. I was shocked by this! If American students are failing there is the option to repeat a year and there are tutors. This is the case in Morocco too, but it is not very common in Sbaa Rouadi, especially for girls.
That first night in the village, as with every night, we stayed up extremely late talking about everything from religion to sexuality. I loved debating with Youssef and it was the best experience of cultural exchange I've had on all of my travels. The majority of the time our discussions were fun and rewarding, but Antinnea and I had one slightly worrisome experience. One night, Youssef shared with us his theory that Jewish people are clandestinely dominating international politics as a means to take over the world. Excitedly, he said things like "Why have people always hated the Jews? Why are there no poor Jews? The Zionists may be the extremists, but the President of Israel said he interprets the Old Testament strictly. There is a US Senator who feels the same." He was so proud of this conspiracy type theory until Antinnea and I reproached him. Truthfully, some of his points did make sense in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I was very upset about his insistence that a religious group planned to take over the world. I hope Antinnea and I gave him cause to rethink his beliefs.
Another night, Youssef brought a friend from university over to help show us the wonders of Islam! They repeatedly assured us that they were not trying to convert us, but that it was their duty as Muslims to make us aware of our fate and to educate us about the religion. They told us about several modern scientific studies that have proved certain passages in the Quaran. For example, did you know there is a dividing point where one side of the ocean is sweet and one side is salty? I'm not so sure I believe that, but it was interesting to hear their arguments. Antinnea believes in a higher power, but not religion. She feels people should have a direct relationship with God. I am not religious and believe more in nature than God. I joke that my Gods are the ancient Greek ones! Youssef could not understand my lack of faith! He told me "the only ones I know who aren't religious...they're at the university. We call them comrades." Later that week he asked me "Your family isn't religious. Are they communist?"
We did not just sit inside talking all day though! Youssef is quite the poet and everything he does or says shows it. Our first morning he took us outside, showed us the mountains and said that there was a scientific study proving that those who see something beautiful when they first wake up are better off. So he goes and looks at the beautiful mountain view every day. One day we spent the morning with Mehdi, taking the cows out to pasture. It felt good to be so close to the earth, sitting in the dirt, absorbing the sunshine, breathing the fresh air. I love that, thanks to my joint rural-urban upbringing I can thrive and feel comfortable in the city and the country.
Badr made sure that we spent one afternoon enjoying the volcanic, sulphuric waters in nearby Moulay Yacoub. Of course there were no showers in the village and Turkish toilets were standard (I'm a professional now!) so it was nice to take a bath, even though the sulphur smell did not dissipate for days! We also participated in group athletic activities. In celebration of International Women's Day, we ran in a 5k with hundreds of women and girls from the surrounding area. We also played in a footbal/ soccer match with some of the village girls. I've improved since elementary school, but I'm still pretty awful. It was very fun, though! Time moved slower in the village. One morning Youssef greeted us cheerily, "We are late today, but it's okay."
We were also able to visit many local associations and cooperatives, including a cous cous and rabbit raising cooperative. We loaded up into a bus that we fondly called 'the human trafficking van' due to it's bench style seating arrangement and perpetually open doors and set out on a tour of associations. [We also often drove in the back of Princess and Shalea's host dad's truck bed]. At the Association for Housing we tried to speak to about twenty women, but could barely get a word in. They were very upset with their situation; many of them have been forced into shantytowns because their stream side houses were flooded. They've requested aid from the government, but have gotten no response. Some of them have such great ideas for change, but it is hard to get anything done in the chaos of complaints. We also spoke to a cooperative of embroiders who make belts that are sold in Fez. Traditionally women cannot leave the village so they rely on a man to bring them supplies and sell their belts. They complained that he cheats them, but when we suggested they use one of their male relatives instead they insisted it would be the same. These women did not trust their own brothers, husbands, and sons.
The village women could benefit from some female empowerment, one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I was curious if the village women had heard anything about the UN; they said the UN has never gotten involved. My peers did not understand why I asked this. One girl told me the UN has no business here when there are other areas a lot worse off. I told her that I was not suggesting it did, but that I was just curious to see a practical assessment of how effective the MDGS really are. In New York it's hard to imagine that there are really places out there where, for example, a woman feels she has no other options because the men around her says she does not; I'm finally seeing these issues firsthand.
When it came time to leave the village none of us were really ready to go. Our families had made us feel like Sbaa Rouadians, renaming us, spending hours talking with us, and including us in daily activities. Ashton had a particularly difficult time leaving and could not stop crying. She wants to start a running camp for girls in Sbaa Rouadi and she is actually back in the village now working on her ISJ! Finally, we made our way back to Fes.
We spent a few hours in the city taking a tour of the Medina, the largest in the Arab world. I learned how to weave Moroccan textiles! We also got to visit the tanneries, which I've been wanting to see since arriving in Morocco. Fes supposedly has the highest quality products in all of Morocco; maybe I'll go back before I leave.
What an incredible experience the village stay was! Chaotic, yes, but in that disorder people manage to continue on with their lives, hoping for a better future.
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