Tales from Morocco p. 3 Hope for Saalé

Once in Rabat, there was no rest for the weary.  We had to meet at 9 am and be ready to roll, and roll we did.  Our first day had us driving by the slums Saalé.  Our trip leader explained to us that slums like these were breeding grounds for terrorist groups.  Young boys grew up with no education, either secular or of their faith, no hope for any kind of future outside of the slums.  Representatives from the terrorist groups would come in taking advantage of the situation, and saying that Allah wanted these boys to join the terrorists groups, that they would be awarded in heaven for their acts, and the groups would provide for their families.  It was not just a way out, it was something to live for for.  Seeing this play out before them, a group of Moroccan students began to start tutoring for the children in the slums, and eventually it became a charity center called Hope for Saalé.  Even the king of Morocco recognized their work and gave Hope for a Saalé a donation which allowed them to build a center to host their classes and programming.

Saalé

So at the entrance of the Hope for Saalé building, a number of the Moroccan students met us.  They showed us around the center, and then led us to a classroom for another intercultural discussion.  The following hour or so proved to be an interesting and lively time, but also caused me to think and consider my own culture.  I suppose that was the point of the discussion.  Our conversation with the Moroccans was broad, covering a variety of subjects from gun control to US military spending to the situation in Syria.  It was particularly interesting seeing as there were an equal amount of variety in opinions as topics brought up.  Political and ideological points of view covered the spectrum, from conservatives to extremely progressive liberals, muslims and christians, atheists and agnostics.  And yet, it continued to remain a friendly conversation.  Over the course of the discussion, I was blown away by how much attention the Moroccan students paid to the world not only within their own country, but the wider world. They even had a better grasp of the political situation than I did, then most of the American students for that matter.  It made me consider that I'd grown up in  world where I didn't need to read the news.  What I needed to know I could find out from over hearing snippets of other's conversation.  I had seen no need to keep up and critically consider the world around me.  Admittedly I tried, but not hard enough.  I thought about the culture of American young people, how we were almost spoon fed.  It seemed to me to be a culture of entitlement, and I was shocked that I fit into that culture, that stereotype of the naive and ignorant American, because I wanted to act as a world citizen.  I wanted to put effort into understanding and considering other cultures and people, keep up on their news, their lives.  But I hadn't to the best of my ability.

So as we left Hope for Saalé, I was left to consider several things.  Firstly, the fate of Saalé.  What would become of these people, these children?  Secondly, the perseverance of the Moroccan students for starting Hope for Saalé.  It had taken years of work and patience to get it started.  And thirdly, my own lack of understanding and a resolve to change that.