A GRIEVING Ashburton family today paid tribute to their popular 26-year-old surf-mad son who has been killed in a road crash in Morocco.

Tributes have poured in for Paul Brewer (above), a former South Dartmoor Community College student, who died instantly in the crash last week.

He has been described as 'outgoing and caring with a wicked sense of humour'.

Paul moved to the North African country last September to work with friends running a leading surf holiday company.

His devastated parents, retired teachers Peter and Eileen Brewer, who live in Ashburton, learned he had been killed in a road accident last Thursday.

The family, including his sister Claire, spoke yesterday of an active and outgoing young man who 'made so many friends wherever he went'.

"He was outgoing, caring, compassionate, friendly and had a wicked sense of humour," Mr Brewer said. "He had brilliant, sparkly eyes and a smashing smile."

Mr Brewer said they had learned the tragic news from one of Paul's work colleagues.

He said: "There was only one vehicle involved and he was killed instantly. We have to be grateful for small mercies."

He paid tribute to his son's 'amazing' friends in Morocco for their help. Paul's body is being flown back to Britain today and his funeral is being held next week.

"We have had lots of cards, flowers and visitors," Mr Brewer said. "His friends have been very supportive. Some are travelling back from New Zealand and Thailand."

Dozens of tributes have also been made on the social networking site Facebook. The family last saw him in January.

The 26-year-old, who was raised in St Dominick, near Callington in South East Cornwall, began his love of surfing on Cornish shores and ended up travelling all over the world.

"He started surfing when we used to go down to Porthcothan," Mr Brewer remembered. "He progressed from a bodyboard to a longboard and became very competent, surfing all year round. He surfed all over the world, from Australia to Bali and New Zealand to Morocco."

During his time at South Dartmoor Community College, he played for both basketball and football teams.

He was persuaded to join the first boys' South Dartmoor Dance Group, whose Dustbin Dance went on to be performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

The group's success resulted in a national tour while Paul also travelled to Australia with another local dance group.

After completing his A levels at South Dartmoor, he took a year out to work and fund a trip to Australia, Bali and Thailand.

When he returned he went to Swansea University and gained a degree in development studies.

Paul also revisited Bali after the devastating terrorist bomb attack to research his final dissertation.

He was working for a specialist recruitment company in Exeter, where he lived with friends, when he was offered the chance to go to Morocco in September.

He was working for Surf Maroc, a company owned by friends he met through university, when the accident happened.

"Wherever he went he made strong and lasting friendships, was selfless, full of energy, lived life to the full and encouraged others to do the same," Mr Brewer added.

"He radiated a spirit which touched others wherever he went and made a real difference to so many people."

South Dartmoor Community College principal Ray Tarleton said: "We are all shocked by the news of Paul's death.

"He was a charming, likeable man. One of my teachers said people like Paul were the reason they wanted to teach.

"He was a wonderful pupil, very active and involved in sport as well as dance. It's very sad."

A service for family and close friends is being held at the crematorium in Torquay next Thursday, March 18, followed by an event at Lavender House in Ashburton to celebrate his life.

Source: thisissouthdevon.co.uk

Public services in Morocco ground to a halt on Wednesday after stalled labour-management talks spurred a general strike.

Three major public-sector unions launched a general strike Wednesday (March 3rd) after two months of negotiations with the government reached an impasse.

"We're not fans of strike action," Democratic Labour Federation general secretary Abderrahman Azzouzi said, "but after a two-month halt in the negotiation process, we had to do something."

The strike, led by the Moroccan Labour Union, the Democratic Labour Federation, and the National Union of Moroccan Workers, may paralyse public-service activity in Morocco throughout the month. Union officials and the government plan to resume talks in April.

The action marks the culmination of an escalating series of strikes in the transport, civil service, healthcare, and education sectors during the past several months.

"The public-sector unrest that Morocco is now witnessing is partly the fault of the central government and partly the fault of companies that don't listen to their employees' grievances," Azzouzi said.

The government has failed to resolve grievances over internal promotions and pay raises in connection with the increasing cost of living, he said. Talks with Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi were supposed to have resumed several weeks ago, Azzouzi said.

Morocco's government has denied responsibility for the stalemate.

The government has always been willing to engage in dialogue, said the deputy minister for the modernisation of the public sector, Mohammed Saad Alami. He added that the government has ensured that talks are held between management and labour twice a year. The ministry is preparing for the second round of talks in April, Saad Alami said, and noted his plans to attend meetings with union representatives until then.

Alami also credited the government with raising salaries through a reduction in the income tax.

Justice and Development Party (PJD) MP Lahcen Daoudi dismissed the concession as "tax breaks given to financial lobbyists while workers are suffering."

The government is "incapable of settling the disputes," said Daoudi, who is an economist. He blamed the strike on "the erosion of people's purchasing power against a background of increases in the cost of living and the stagnation of salaries".

An annual pay raise of 1-2% tied to national economy's growth rate could break the deadlock, he said.

"The average growth rate in Morocco is 5%," he said. "This means that salaries should be increased."

"The government must make more effort in terms of economic development so that there will be some scope for doing something about pay," Daoudi added.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat

2010 has been a promising year for Moroccan literature. Amazing Moroccan poet Mohammed Bennis, the founder of the House of Poetry, was awarded, during the Kairaouan festival in Tunis last Thursday, the Maghreb Culture Prize for his commendable achievements in literature. The award was presented by Tunisian President Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali.

         Mohammed Bennis

Mr. Bennis authored over twenty books of poetry, prose, essays, and translation. He was the recipient of numerous international awards, notably the Prize of Calopezzati of Mediterranean literature in 2006.

On January 12, 2010, Abdellatif Laabi became the second Moroccan to receive the Prix Goncourt honoring his life achievements. Laabi was jailed for eight years in the seventies for his poetry and the literary magazine - Souffles - he created and edited.

            Abdellatif Laabi

The bulk of his poetic work is phenomenal. His poetry is included in high school and college curriculums in France and Spain. In a recent interview, during the Casablanca Book Fair, he bemoaned the fact that Morocco's education ministry deemed his poetry and prose unsuitable.

Source: cabalamuse.wordpress.com

Rabat - The Moroccan city of Fes wants to become the first in the North African kingdom to ban alcohol entirely, the mayor said on Friday.

Local residents have been disturbed by the bars and discos frequented by tourists, Mayor Hamid Chabat said, proposing that Fes, a popular tourist destination, become "an alcohol-free city like Mecca or al-Qods (Jerusalem)".

The city council, which is dominated by the conservative nationalist Istiqlal party, already gave its backing to the ban on Thursday.

The authorities had received complaints from residents about rowdy behaviour in bars and discotheques where Moroccans were served alcohol despite laws which prohibit Muslims from drinking.

The law allows Christians and Jews to consume alcohol, but in reality, alcoholic drinks are often available to Muslims as well.

The ban planned by the Fes authorities would affect foreign tourists as well as Moroccans.

The provincial prefect was, however, unlikely to allow the ban to go into effect, observers said.

Fes, one of Morocco's imperial cities, marked 12 centuries of its existence in 2008. The former capital is located at about 200 kilometres east of the current capital Rabat.

Source: SAPA

Morocco - Moroccan police have dismantled a terrorist network that was "active in several towns" of the north African kingdom, the state security service announced on Tuesday.

The network included six members who "were planning to commit terrorist acts inside the national territory," the security service said in a statement, without saying when the arrests took place.

"Within the framework of efforts by security forces to combat terrorism and extremism, these services dismantled a terrorist network of six people imbued with Takfirist ideology...," the statement said.

Takfiris are a tiny minority of Muslims in Morocco, but they believe that society and its leaders have turned away from the narrow path of what they see as true Islam.

The arrests were "recently" made in the towns of Taza and Oujda in northeast Morocco and in Kenitra, 40km north of Rabat, according to a security official contacted by AFP.

The "network is also accused of wanting to commit acts of violence against political figures, as well as holding up a bank", said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

Takfiris condone violence to religious and political ends and first emerged as an ideological force in Egypt in the 1970s.

"The members of this network will be produced in court after an investigation supervised by the public prosecutor," the state security service said.

Source: SAPA 

Residents of the Moroccan city of Meknes rallied on Sunday (February 21st) to mourn the 41 killed and 86 injured in the collapse of a historic mosque's minaret during Friday prayers.

Chanting slogans condemning neglect of the ancient city's monuments, residents demanded that those responsible be held accountable and called for an investigation into the fate of funds allocated for city maintenance.

The disaster at the Lalla Khenata mosque in the Ismaili capital brought demands for officials across Morocco to take action. This winter, collapses of houses were also reported in Fes and Casablanca.

Maintenance is a key issue in Morocco's older, walled cities. According to landscape architect Hind Bassiri, development work on historic sites is not carried out in accordance with best practices. Dwellings in these areas require special treatment, but the high cost of such work makes is difficult for local administrators to shoulder.

The Lalla Khenata mosque was built during the reign of King Moulay Ismail El Alaoui, who ruled Morocco from 1672-1727 and who made Meknes the country's capital. The mosque is in the ancient Bab El Berdiyine area.

Following the collapse, sadness swept Tezimi Street, where the mosque is located. Each household had a story about one of the dead or injured; residents were grieving and angry at the authorities. Men wept in the street, shoulder to shoulder, and wished each other well.

Mohammed, who was injured in the collapse, was pleased that his friend Abdullah had prayed in a different mosque on the day of the tragedy. "I was worried about you, my friend; thank God you survived," he said.

"I asked about you, too," his friend responded.

Abdullah described his good fortune to Magharebia: "I chose to pray in the nearby Zaytuna mosque simply because the imam starts his prayers a lot earlier than at the Khenata mosque."

Several district residents had reported problems at the Lalla Khenata mosque prior to the incident.

"We made many complaints to officials about the status of the historic mosque, but they didn't take our warnings seriously," said Abdul Kabir Annahayfe.

"On ... the day of the incident, a group of people warned the local official, informing him of soil settling at the mosque", he said. "But the person in charge didn't care. In addition, worshippers warned the imam before the Friday prayers began, and the imam said he would take a look after the completion of prayers."

One eyewitness said that the minaret fell at about 1:58pm on Friday, at the start of prayers. "The minaret toppled and a big part of the roof fell on the congregation, which had gathered for the prayer," he said.

Although the heavy rains and strong winds that recently lashed Meknes are the direct cause of the collapse, MP Abdellah Bouanou cited other reasons as well.

He called the structural problems in historic homes and other buildings a "time bomb", and said responsibility lies with a number of parties, including the interior and housing ministries.

Bouanou revealed to Magharebia that there was a serious fire last July in a carpenters' workshop adjacent to the mosque.

"The fire continued for more than two hours before it was put out by fire-fighters", he said. "The combination of fire and the pressurised water used to put it out caused erosion at the base of the minaret; despite all of this, officials did nothing after the incident."

Experts say immediate action is required to preserve Morocco's historical sites and guarantee safety.

Jamal Lokhnati, general secretary of Morocco's national association of architects, said that the government should assign appropriate budgets to maintaining the country's heritage. He also recommended the establishment of a special institution to sort out the problem.

The Bab El Berdiyine district is the target of a recent EU-sponsored revitalisation programme. Nevertheless, said Bouanou, the programme "only cares about the facade of the houses and antique tiled alleys... there has been no repair or maintenance indoors".

According to the Housing Ministry, the law on dwellings at risk of collapse will be launched in 2010. The ministry has already embarked on several restoration projects across a number of cities, including Fes, Rabat, Marrakech and Tangier. From 2002 through 2009, more than 1.1 billion dirhams was provided for this work, benefiting more than 120,000 households.

The UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) will send experts from around the world to help in the restoration of the 400-year old Bab El Berdiyine mosque in Meknes and assess the structural integrity of other old mosques in Morocco, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a press release on Monday (February 21st). Meknes was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1996.

Source: By Mawassi Lahcen in Meknes and Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat

Victims of domestic violence in the Maghreb region often have nowhere to go when shelters are full, local and international experts said at a Tunis conference.

Crowded women's shelters in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are turning away hundreds of women every year, according to participants at the recent "Right to Accommodation and Shelter for Abused Women" seminar in Tunis.

"We provide legal and medical assistance, but we don't have a shelter centre for applicants," noted Hayat al-Wertani of Tunisia's Association for Democratic Women (TADW)."The Association doesn't have solutions other than listening to women and directing them to the authorities."

Victims and aid workers attending the February 13th event recounted comparable shelter problems throughout the Maghreb. One Tunisian woman said that she and her daughter were forced to wait across the street from a shelter until dawn, after her husband expelled them from their house.

Such delays are common, according to the head of Morocco's Institution of Solidarity with Women in Distress (INSAF).

"Last year alone we received 1,112 applications," Nabila Tbeur said. "But we could only accept a quarter of that number. We moved to a larger facility in 2008 when a donor donated a 4 story building, but our capacity is limited."

Morocco has three shelters for abused women and five centres for single mothers. Authorities received 12,710 complaints of domestic violence between October 2008 and September 2009, according to the National Counselling Centre.

Other Maghreb women's shelters face "largely similar challenges", Sabrina Ouared of Algeria's SOS Women in Danger (SOSWD) said. SOSWD receives about 30 applications from abused women every month, she said, but her shelter can only house 45 women.

Shelter workers often assume personal responsibility for their applicants, TADW president Sanaa Ben Achour said.

"Abused women, in a moment, can find themselves without shelter for their children," she explained. "They often need financial assistance to meet their urgent needs, and in many cases the members of our association are obliged to provide shelter for abused women in their own houses."

"They do this in spite of the risks that may result, since we don't know how husbands and families may react," Ben Achour added.

Abused women face other challenges.

"Most of the victims are illiterate women who don't know any trades," Moroccan advocate Tbeur noted. "So we hold workshops to train them in a trade and then place them in jobs so that they can face life after leaving the shelter."

Seminar participants called for government assistance.

"I think it's about time that we produced a shift on all levels - starting with the enactment of legislation that responds to the needs of abused women and their children - in order to put an end to the discrimination that women suffer in a masculine society," Ben Achour said.

A Spanish delegation discussed their experiences with domestic violence at the seminar. Spanish women's organisations have lobbied the government and local authorities to enact legislation on abused women, Maria Nariduo said.

"This is in addition to budgeting money and training psychological specialists to deal with abused women," she said.

Tbeur applauded the opportunity to collaborate with regional organisations at the seminar.

"Such meetings give us a chance to exchange experiences and co-operate among ourselves, to kick off Maghreb-wide efforts to educate people about the seriousness of this issue," she said.

Nevertheless, Tbeur said, "we still have a long way ahead of us before we reach a real shift that gives single mothers their full rights and real opportunities in the labour market".

Source: Magharebia.com  By Jamel Arfaoui

King Mohammed of Morocco has ordered structural examinations of all the country's ancient mosques after a minaret collapsed, killing 41 people.

The centuries-old minaret fell as hundreds of worshippers were attending Friday prayers at a mosque in the central city of Meknes.

Rescue workers recovered the last body from the rubble on Saturday.

There has been public criticism of the apparent lack of maintenance of the minaret.

Following the urgent appraisal of old mosques ordered by King Mohammed, "the necessary measures will be taken", the interior ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Earlier, the king had ordered the reconstruction of the Meknes minaret "keeping to its original form."

The government is investigating the cause of Friday's collapse. Meknes is on Unesco's world heritage list.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Residents of the Gharb region of Morocco, already hit by flooding for the second year in a row, are bracing themselves for another rough month. Farmers fear the worst now that February, a month known for heavy rainfall, has arrived.

"I'm experiencing the same nightmare as I did last year," Benacher told Magharebia. "My field has been flooded, my livestock has been harmed and I'm at my wits' end."

Local authorities, together with the national government, have been working to evacuate residents in inflatable dinghies and accommodate them in tents and specially equipped bivouacs.

"The necessary resources have been deployed, including a Ministry of Health team made up of a doctor and several nurses," Sidi Allal local council chairman Tazi Berkiya Mustapha told Magharebia.

Since January, authorities have been distributing mattresses, blankets, food and livestock feed.

Special tents have also been erected for primary school pupils, so that they will not be forced to miss classes while their communities struggle to contain the flooding. School administrators have formulated a plan to take necessary steps to minimise disruption in the children's schooling, said Abdellatif Youssoufi, the regional director of the Academy of Education and Teaching.

In the future, serious efforts should be made to build schools farther away from flood-prone areas, he noted.

The affected area sits just 6 metres above sea level, and its clay-rich soil hinders water retention, resulting in massive floods.

Last year, floods submerged over 56,000 hectares of land in Gharb, destroying crops and leaving many farmers struggling to recover their losses. The Agriculture Department stepped in to provide farmers with replacement livestock, mixed fodder and tree seedlings.

A new strategy - with a price tag of 200 million dirhams - aims to prevent another such season in the Gharb-Chrarda-Beni-Hssen region.

"A comprehensive programme will soon be put in place to maintain and create trackways and clear sewer systems, among other things," Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhennouch announced in Kenitra on Monday (February 1st).

The state will also pay "90% of the purchase price of hybrid maize seed, hybrid sunflower seeds, certified sunflower populations and certified rice seed", he said.

Along with funding seed for new crops, the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing's plan covers 60% of the price of fertiliser for 45,000 hectares of sunflowers, 25,000 hectares of maize and 7,000 hectares of rice.

Moroccan officials, confronted with two years of devastating damage in the Gharb-Chrarda-Beni-Hssen region, are looking closely at other ways to prevent a recurrence of the catastrophic flooding.

The Department for Water and the Environment is currently examining whether two proposed dams could safeguard the Gharb plain from future floods. The first of the new dams would be positioned upstream in the Oued Sebou and the second would be installed in the Oued Beht.

"Officials must find a lasting solution for this region," economist Mohammed Benchemmar told Magahrebia.

Source: Magharebia.com
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat

Imams looking to fill mosque vacancies must satisfy new education requirements and be younger than 45 years of age.

The appointment and removal of imams and khatibs in Moroccan mosques will now follow a specific employment code as part of efforts to curb extremism, the Ministry for Islamic Affairs announced this week.

The new code, as reported in the February 11th edition of newspaper Attajdid, stipulates that a committee headed by a ministry representative will now appoint new imams. The committee will also include two members from the Ulema Council and two members of the ministry's directorate, who will convene to sift through applications for the posts in a transparent manner.

Justice and Development Party (PJD) MP Lahcen Daoudi criticised this measure, saying that imams will now "be like an employee of the ministry".

"I don't think that the management of mosques can be made through bureaucrats," he told Magharebia on Monday, adding newly hired imams may be subjected to "pressure".

In order to be selected as an imam, preachers must possess a recommendation from the Ulema Council, a certificate of Qur'an memorisation, a certificate from an imam or khatib and a spotless police record. Candidates older than 45 are not eligible for consideration.

The new code also outlines the application process for mosque openings. After an opening is announced, candidates have 15 days to submit their applications, which will then be reviewed by the hiring committee.

The ministry has also formally designated formal grounds for dismissal for imams and khatibs. Imams who swear in the mosque, are convicted in court or use drugs will be sacked under the new code.

The new regulations have been set in place to ensure that mosque leaders possess a higher level of education and adopt a more moderate approach to preaching.

Several Moroccans expressed concern over the government's attempts to regulate the hiring and firing of imams.

Moroccan terrorism analyst Mohammed Darif told Magharebia on Monday that Morocco is looking to "ensure certain qualities in imams related to the principles of the nation and keenness on [religious unity]".

Darif said the new code is an attempt by the state to monitor the mosques and combat some sects that authorities consider dangerous. For the analyst, this became clear before the 2003 Casablanca attacks, when the ministry "established certain measures for the appointment of clerics".

Other Moroccans are concerned that the new qualifications for imams will make it harder to fill vacant posts in mosques.

"By imposing these conditions, the ministry will face difficulties in finding people who are under the age of 45 and memorise the Qur'an, given that they are few in number," Abdelbarii Zemzami, a founder of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, told Magharebia on Monday.

MP Daoudi rejected the imposition of an age limit as "wrong".

"What's the guilt of a person whose age exceeds that limit and can be the best to handle the position of imam or khatib in the mosque?" he asked.

The imam employment code is the latest step taken by Morocco to curb extremism in mosques. In June 2009, the government initiated a training programme for 45,000 imams throughout the country to modernise religious instruction.

Source: Magharebia.com