Maghreb Union Blogging Day
It’s the 1st of June, so Maghreb Union blogging day!
The Maghreb Union for me doesn’t really exist. In name it does and there is an institution called Maghreb Union, but for me it is useless and a hassle.
All the Maghreb countries are still little children fighting over their toys and pulling each others hair out. Just like your normal dysfunctional family.
The Union will do nothing to solve that.
Let us first grow up before we decide to marry into an union. Seriously, that union came way too quick and was actually more part of this low self-esteem of our elites who desperately tried to model everything to European standards. In the mean time they forgot that an union needs basic things like a working judiciary, healthy economies, good democracies etc.
Anyhow, the fact that Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have a lot in common is hard to deny. (I’m skipping the other 2 members, Libya and Mauretania, because of my lack of knowledge)
All 3 countries are immigrant countries with a schizophrenic identity (the latter not so in Tunisia but still)
Are we Moroccans/Algerians/Tunisians first? Or maybe muslim or perhaps north-african? But maybe Berber, Arabs, Arabized or Europeanized?
It is hard to decide for the ones still looking to decide. Especially for the Maghrebis in Europe. Millions of people from the Maghreb live in Europe and other parts of the world, and most of them have an almost holy ritual of taking their summer-holiday in the Maghreb.
We know that we have Raï in common. And amazigh-music. And don’t forget the marabouts either!
Algerian and Moroccan-Arabic (and Tunisian a bit) are both alien languages for most of the people in the Arabic world. So there you go, another thing we have in common.
If you come to think of it, we have more in common than we think. We are more alike than we think. Unfortunately, personal vendettas between our “leaders” prevent us from sharing and celebrating that.
But we need to realize that there are factors that separate us. History, borders and political ties. We have to cherish those factors as well in order to cooperate together.
Cooperation isn’t only based on things we have in common, it would be a delusional cooperation. Cooperation is succesfull if we consider our divides and treat each other in a mature way (and not the bitch-fights we often see between Algeria and Morocco)
To conclude my rantings, here are 4 videos from Youtube. All 4 of them are traditional music from North Africa, and for me that’s the second best thing that has come out of that region (Cheikha Rimitti, Aicha Tachinouite, couscous and Moroccan kaftans share the 1st spot)
the first 2 are Moroccan.
Morocco: (Aicha Tachinouite rocks! Seriously, she’s one fierce lady who knows how to shake it!)
Dakka Marrakchia in Holland. There should be an universal law that every wedding should have one of these of bands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b12-1J27TIA
Algeria:
Tunisia. Thats always a bit strange. I always associate Tunisia with the beautiful movie of Satin Rouge where a Tunisian widow takes up bellydancing. So therefore this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMqaYbKlEus
(I looooove the accent)
PS: This post was cross-posted on my blog Maghrebism because of the Maghreb Union Blogging Day.
If you want to read more Maghreb Union Blogging Day-posts, go visit these aggregators:
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia
Join the Conversation
I love North African culture. Do you consider Egypt a North African country? Like do Moroccans view Egypt as a fellow North African country or as a Middle Eastern country?
I think more people view it as Middle Eastern because of the nature and background of its people.
You see, I for instance, think that North Africa stops somewhere in the middle of Libya .
For me North Africa is berbers, french occupier and understandable darija (arabic). Egypt doesn’t offer that. (yeah ok you do have berbers in Siwa but they dont really count)
This day is meant to be an opening of dialogue between blogger’s comunities in the Maghreb to share their views about the So-called Union, which -let’s face the truth- doesn’t really exist now. Some of us want it to exist, some others don’t, and a lot of people have a particular vision of what it can be.
To most important for me is to share, communicate and learn about each other. As you said, we have a lot in common, but our differences are enriching as well. We can work together and cooperated instead of fighting for words and old political ideologies.
I wrote about it today on my blog, and it is cross-posted on Dis-Moi.
I second Nadia’s good statement.
And Patrick, yes, people view Egypt as a more Middle Eastern country. When we say the “maghreb region” here it definitely excludes Egypt.
That said Egypt is also the only country in North Africa that we have much more contact and connections with, both politically and in terms of media. This is why we consider it as Middle Eastern and not North African, whose countries we don’t really collaborate with much, except rarely with Morocco.
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Thank you for your support and participation to our initiative. I think we have been successfull for a first edition. I’m sur that next year we will see hundreds of participations demanding the integration of the Great Maghreb countries.
The maghreb union should be viewed first as an economical opportunity.
Why constrain ourselves to smaller markets and encourage european trade with individual countries rather than inter maghreb trade.
As has been mentioned before, a much needed maturity is a prerequisite to a successful union. Indeed you cannot have free trade when chinese goods are entering other ports in other maghreb countries thanks to corruption.
indeed i think that this is the major problem that has to be adressed WHILE working to acheive a free movement of individuals and goods .
If independent commissions are formed and given all necessary freedom, to plan implement ,and control cites and administrations ,for certain the maghreb union can be a positive tool that would leed to social and economical progress.