Think Forward.

L'éducation par les valeurs 1230

L’éducation par les valeurs Par Mustapha GUILIZ, enseignant, écrivain Nos valeurs font notre différence par rapport aux autres cultures qui nous entourent. C’est cela qui détermine notre ancrage dans l’espace et dans le temps. Avec la mondialisation, nous étions appelés à revoir les constantes morales qui faisaient notre fierté pour adopter, même timidement, d’autres valeurs qu’on considérait naguère comme des menaces à notre mode de vie. Des raccourcis que nous commettons inconsciemment, il y a l’idée qui nous faisait croire que le sens de la modernisation signifiait occidentalisation. C’est un glissement de sens qui occasionne bien des malentendus. Sur le plan du droit de l’homme, refuser d’en admettre les principes sous prétexte de notre particularisme est une incurie des plus regrettables. Ce retard observé dans le rythme de la modernisation affecte le domaine des réalisations. Les chantres de cette option se font des ventricules d’une classe sociale héritière des richesses du pays et qui lutte mordicus afin de garder l’exclusivité des privilèges. C’est la raison pour laquelle toute voix libre qui s’élève est durement punie par une machine aux pouvoirs labiles. Pire encore, on concède à la masse populaire les changements de comportements qui ne sont que des simulacres de son émancipation, non des progrès qui découlent de l’idée d’une perfectibilité de l’homme telle qu’elle est conçue par Rousseau et Condorcet. La foi dans le progrès et la modernisation par le progrès est étrangement sélective. Elle est le résultat d’un vain changement qui se réduit au paraître : les habits, la nourriture et d’autres modes de consommations. D’où le commerce étrangement limitatif des new fashion pour lesquels une bourgeoisie typiquement consumériste constitue une piètre caricature. On omet de penser que ce genre de folklore ne fait que souligner une uniformisation qui se satisfait des apparences. Mais les signes de notre manque à gagner sur le plan culturel sont si visibles qu’ils ne trompent pas. Ce phénomène que nous vivons depuis peu de générations est dû à une gestion politique qui, en même temps qu’ils gouvernent, les responsables aux manettes du pouvoir poursuivent des plans de développement d’une efficacité faillible et douteuse. La part d’effort pour la promotion de l’homme et la dignité du citoyen ne sert pas de base à l’expression collective des idéaux à réaliser. Cette promotion des valeurs positives à l’image du goût de l’effort, de l’honnêteté intellectuelle, du civisme sont rendus à la portion congrue. Le passé nous instruit ; l’avenir se construit. Les politiques culturelles ainsi conçues attestent d’une méconnaissance totale des bases de la culture ancienne et même moderne. C’est la raison pour laquelle une médiocrité tenace domine les pratiques culturelles. Médiocrité des programmes scolaires, médiocrité des formateurs, médiocrité de l’administration, médiocrité des politiciens, médiocrité des politiques. On nage dans une mer d’images fallacieuses, de mirages déroutants. La réalité se dérobe à nos yeux, ne laissant que simulacres, erreurs et subterfuges. On croit être ce que l’on n’est pas ou ce que l’on n’est plus. La pédagogie par l’immoralisme est un jeu dangereux. Le citoyen dont le niveau d’attachement à son socle culturel va se dissipant à cause des comportements scandaleusement individualistes d’une classe qui reste toujours presque impunie, ce citoyen risque de ne plus compter dans un avenir hypothéqué. Mais curieusement, les dépassements avérés sont révélés par une presse de plus en plus nerveuse à l’endroit de ces abus de pouvoir. Cette presse ne cesse de payer un lourd tribu dans des parodies de procès d’un âge révolu. Les dénonciations portent toutes les marques de détournement et de recel d’un héritage qui a plus de valeurs que le bien matériel : ce sont les valeurs. On oppose à cette morale de la dérive une impunité qui désespère le citoyen dans ses convictions les plus profondes. La pédagogie qui rate parfois sa cible, en fait parfois un homme qui ne trouve pas sa place dans la société : il devient un monstre. Les valeurs, les principes culturels n’ont de dignité que lorsqu’ils sont vécus comme les dogmes d’une croyance. Avec la différence qu’ils sont plus que cela. On n’est jamais dispensé de faire le bien en faisant abstraction des attaches qui nous définissent. Peut-être parce que les valeurs, qui ne dépendent pas du religieux, sont l’illustration de notre appartenance à la religion civique. Les vertus sont d’abord et avant tout humaines. C’est que le retard au niveau culturel se manifeste d’abord dans le respect de l’autre, de sa différence. Dans un ordre social qui ne souffre pas la liberté, l’individu se limite à une méconnaissance totale de cet autre. Sa connaissance manque de base. Même ceux qui ont les manettes du pouvoir font montre d’un goût médiocre à tous les niveaux, en particulier de la connaissance de soi a travers l’autre. Paradoxalement, le rayonnement du passé domine un présent sacrifié sur l’autel d’un sensationnalisme de mauvais aloi. Le savoir passé, et ce qui en découle comme valeurs, portait un souci pour la culture d’une grande valeur. C’était là que prospéraient la philologie, la grammaire, l’astronomie, la philosophie et les sciences de la nature. Ceci montre combien est mince le socle les éléments fondamentaux de la culture moderne. Les sciences humaines, et grâce à leur rôle utilitaire, la psychologie-la psychanalyse et la sociologie se portent bien dans une société qui privilégie le didactisme purgé de toute idéologie, ainsi que des affirmations pleines de préjugés. La culture, les responsables des programmes culturels doivent se fixer des performances rudimentaires dans un premier temps. Les valeurs qui soutiennent les hommes dans leurs luttes pour la vie, et qui assurent une continuité d’abord de l’homme, demeurent nécessaires pour amorcer un élan sûr dans la voie du progrès via la connaissance. On peut à titre indicatif citer la nécessité de l’éveil des facultés de l’esprit, du degré de conscience. Cet homme/ cette femme, qu’on appelle de nos vœux, s’engagera à promouvoir la culture avec une fréquentation longue de l’école. Il s’agit d’agir sur les causes profondes pour entamer par des procédés efficients et tenant leur crédibilité du politique. L’éducation est un projet sociétal qui se doit d’associer toutes les énergies pour assurer la création-recréation des valeurs et leur transmission qui ne peut s’effectuer sans l’alphabétisation de toute la société d’abord, de toute la société encore et de toute la société enfin. La volonté seule y suffit.
Guilizm

Guilizm


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Morocco, History, and Geography: The Foundations of Political Reality and Territorial Integrity... 230

Politics cannot be separated from history or geography. It consists of a set of actions and decisions aimed at organizing a society internally, as well as in its relations with the rest of the world. It is always situated within a context shaped by the two fundamental dimensions of history and geography, which are by no means mere backdrops but rather provide the framework within which political projects, conflicts, and developments unfold. Politics may be influenced by an ideology—born of a philosophy—or simply shaped by a given context, but such influence rarely lasts. History plays a fundamental role in understanding political phenomena. A country’s institutions, laws, and values are rooted in its collective memory, an inheritance made up of major events, breaks, or continuities with the past. Borders, for example, are often drawn following wars or treaties, the outcome of ancient or recent conflicts. They remain visible marks of past rivalries, defeats, victories, and compromises. Relations—whether of solidarity or rivalry—between nations, regions, or communities are explained in light of shared or divergent histories. The present Kingdom of Morocco cannot be understood without reference to its millennial origins, to the centuries-old Sharifian Empire, nor to the successive dynasties that shaped its relationship to religion, allegiance, and the centralization of power throughout different eras. Similarly, geography significantly influences the choices and constraints of public policies. The distribution of natural resources conditions economic development, territorial organization, and power relations. Relief, climate, and access to maritime routes determine possibilities for urbanization, agriculture, communication, and defense. Border situations impose specific diplomatic and security policies, while landlocked or insular areas require tailored strategies. Some authors even describe Morocco as an “island country” due to its geographical configuration. It is therefore inconceivable to conceive of effective or legitimate politics without taking history and geography into account. Every choice, reform, or political ambition must be based on a deep understanding of the territory and collective memory; ignoring one or the other exposes one to illusion, misunderstanding, or even failure. Regarding the Sahara, referred to as the “Western Sahara,” the geography of this region is undeniably contiguous to Morocco, physically, demographically, and historically: the Saharan populations have largely contributed to the country’s evolution. Its history was written through the successive allegiances of its tribes to the sultans of Morocco, and the Sharifian kingdom thus constitutes a nation-state established long before the contemporary era. Weakened by having missed the crucial turn of the industrial revolution, the Sharifian Empire was dissected from south to north, but also from the east. The so-called Western Sahara was annexed by Spain, which exercised colonial control there from 1884 to 1975. This situation facilitated France’s domination over territories grouped into French West Africa, part of which later became Mauritania. France also appropriated the eastern part of the Sharifian Empire, annexed de facto to its departments conquered from the Ottoman Empire and called French Algeria. The remainder was placed under French protectorate, while northern Morocco came under Spanish rule. Independence, achieved in 1956, and the gradual decolonization of Sidi Ifni and Tarfaya concerned other regions only later. On November 28, 1960, France authorized the proclamation of Mauritania’s independence—a region then claimed by Morocco, as were territories under Spanish control that Morocco considered its own. At that time, there was a Moroccan ministry called the “Ministry of Mauritanian and Saharan Affairs,” headed by Mohammed Fal Ould Oumeir, a representative of those territories. From 1963 onwards, the kingdom raised the issue of the Spanish Sahara before the Decolonization Commission. The situation became complicated when newly created Mauritania also claimed the territory, notably to pressure Morocco, which did not recognize Mauritanian independence until 1969—nine years after its proclamation. Morocco continued to claim the Spanish Sahara peacefully, preventing the Liberation Army from pursuing military actions in the region. In 1973, the creation of the Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) marked a new stage. This movement initially aimed to unite the Saharan territory with the “motherland.” But in a context of regional rivalries and ideological tensions, the Saharan question was instrumentalized by various actors. Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya played a decisive role in the rise of the separatist Polisario, supporting and arming the movement in a "revolutionary" and pan-Arabist logic, while seeking to destabilize the Moroccan monarchy. Later, Gaddafi himself admitted having made a “strategic mistake” in backing this group, which remains a destabilizing factor in the region today. In 1975, a peaceful turning point occurred: bolstered by the International Court of Justice’s opinion recognizing ties of allegiance between Saharan tribes and Moroccan sultans, the late King Hassan II launched the Green March to general surprise. This mobilization pushed Spain to withdraw from Laâyoune in favor of Morocco, which immediately reclaimed the territory. Mauritania, although having occupied adjacent zones, ultimately withdrew, leaving Morocco alone against the Polisario Front, actively supported by Algeria, which hosted, armed, financed, and elevated the movement into a “republic.” Houari Boumédiène’s Algeria exploited the situation to weaken its Moroccan neighbor, even calling the Saharan issue a “thorn in Morocco’s side,” a way of exacting revenge for the crushing defeat in 1963. This dispute has often overshadowed the deep history of ties between Morocco and these territories under Sharifian authority well before the colonial era. For Morocco, territorial integrity rests firmly on the constants of history and geography—major arguments. The rest is merely a temporary construction without foundation, destined to fade into oblivion in the near future. Moroccans know this very well… Perhaps not everyone else…

Ahmed Faras: The Eternal Legend of Moroccan Football 455

I have been fortunate enough to know Ahmed Faras. It is unbearable for me to speak of him in the past tense, someone who has been part of my life for so long. It had been ages since he last touched a ball. Few are still alive who saw him play, those who, match after match, would await his dribble, his runs down the wing, his shot, his goal. Faras was an outstanding man, with an incredible shyness and reserve. Even when present somewhere, he was always on the sidelines: discreet, courteous, kind, with deep sensitivity, affection, and great touchiness. But Faras will always be part of the present. He is a true legend of Moroccan and African football; legends never die. Fedala saw him born in the cold of December 1947. Mohammedia would be his city and Chabab his eternal club. At the time, there was no such thing as a transfer market, no migrations, no football mercenary spirit. You were born in a club, learned to play there, and you stayed. His temperament was not that of a typical striker: there was no aggressiveness, no cunning. He compensated with his genius and never needed to dive or roll on the ground to sway a referee or create confusion. His genius spared him all that. He was an exceptional striker who marked the history of Moroccan and continental football. The turf at El Bachir football stadium helped him, at that time, it was the best in Morocco. Ahmed Faras was the product of a generation shaped by the structured environment of the youth sports schools run by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a system supposedly dismantled by so-called administrative and political reforms. Yet, it was there that Morocco's champions were formed, across all sports. His early path was marked by the guidance of renowned trainers such as Lakhmiri, who helped shape numerous Moroccan talents. This solid foundation allowed him to develop technical skills and a sense of teamwork very early on, which would become hallmarks of his play. Ahmed Faras spent his entire career at Chabab Mohammedia, from 1965 to 1982, never having a professional contract—such things didn’t exist in Morocco then. There’s no need to mention signing bonuses or performance awards, even with the national team. His loyalty to Chabab is remarkable. He would lead the club to a Moroccan championship and become its top scorer. He would bring along with him his playing friends—Acila, Glaoua, Haddadi, and many more. Faras was a pillar of the Moroccan national team. With 36 goals in 94 caps, what a historic scorer for the Atlas Lions! He captained the national team for eight years, playing in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. In 1975, Ahmed Faras entered the legend by becoming the first Moroccan to win the African Ballon d’Or, an award that underlined the quality and consistency of his play. This distinction placed him among the greatest players on the continent, competing with the top African stars of his era. There was talk of a transfer to Real Madrid...but at the time Moroccan league players were barred from moving abroad under penalty of losing their place in the national team. The idea was, thus, to strengthen the domestic league... The peak of his career was surely the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), won by Morocco in Ethiopia. Faras was the leader on the pitch, the tournament’s top scorer, and his influence was decisive for this historic triumph—the only major African title that Morocco has ever won. He scored crucial goals against Nigeria and Egypt in that tournament, perfectly embodying the role of playmaker and team leader on the field. To this day, he remains the only Moroccan captain ever to lift the coveted African trophy. I have been a few times to that ground in Addis Ababa where he lifted the trophy, and every time, his image dominates my thoughts. An indelible black-and-white, forever etched in the history of the Kingdom and in the memory of Moroccans who followed the match at the time through the voice of one Ahmed Elgharbi...no live broadcasts back then. He was a respected and heeded captain, guided by great coaches: Abdelkader Lakhmiri, Blagoe Vidinic, Abdellah Settati, Jabrane, and especially Gheorghe Mardarescu during that epic campaign in the land of Emperor Haile Selassie. His charisma and vision of the game were crucial in unifying the team and leading them to the summit of African football. Faras embodied the spirit of conquest and national pride throughout the tournament. The squad was selected and led by an outstanding manager as well Colonel Mehdi Belmejdoub. His name is forever bound to that legendary achievement, a symbol of the potential of Moroccan football when guided by exemplary leadership, committed and knowledgeable managers, and players who were true warriors for their jersey’s colors. Ahmed Faras was not just a talented player. After his retirement, he continued to share his passion, getting involved in youth training, passing on his knowledge and love for the game to the new generation. He has been a source of inspiration for so many generations of players. Knowing Lhaj Ahmed Faras meant knowing a symbol of loyalty, talent, and unique leadership in Moroccan sports. His name will forever remain inscribed in collective memory as that of a football giant, whose legacy goes beyond sport to inspire entire generations. Rest in peace, my friend. One day, a great football stadium in this country will bear your name, and it will be fitting, if the players follow your example, honor your career, and if the public rises to your greatness, paying tribute to your distinguished name. So Lhaj Ahmed Faras, if you ever meet Acila up there, ask him to give you another nice pass, and tell Glaoua to defend well... Know that your star shines and will always shine above us in the sky of the beautiful country you cherished so much. ---