Since leaving up
my work in the UK civil service to move to Morocco, I have been very fortunate
to find work as Project and Development Manager at the High Atlas Foundation. HAF is a Moroccan association and
US 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to participatory development
through local, national, and international partnerships. The HAF philosophy is
to create an inclusive process for community development that relies on the
participation of all local stakeholders, and especially the most marginalized
groups.
Just as exciting
as working with incredibly talented, dedicated colleagues on projects which
really help people is the opportunity I have to meet local people and learn
more about Essaouira, the town I have chosen to call home.
The main project
I manage is one with cultural, social, environmental and heritage objectives
initiated by HAF and its
partners. The project is based around the cemeteries of the city. This might
seem odd until one learns that Essaouira – today a small port city on Morocco’s
Atlantic Coast – was once home to as many Jews as Muslims and many Christians
besides. And that this phenomenon of
social, cultural and philosophical intimacy – one might even say unity –
despite religious diversity – pre-dates even the French colonial period. In fact, Essaouira, with its cemeteries of
three faiths (Christian, Jewish and Muslim) epitomizes a uniquely Moroccan
integration of distinct and shared identity, which HAF and its partners hope to
promote amongst the younger generation locally. The cemeteries serve as
reminders today of a rich multicultural heritage of Essaouira, which is today a
popular tourist and watersports destination.
The key
figure in Essaouira’s development was Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdullah who, in
1765, founded the city with its walled medina which today has UNESCO World
Heritage status. He invited Jews to trade and live here and Essaouira flourished
under the name Mogador. It is said that
the materials for one of Mogador’s 33 synagogues were imported directly from
Manchester. Mogador served as the port
for Timbuktu and saw the exchange of produce, valuables, and slaves. By the end
of the 19th century, communities of Arabs, Amazigh, Africans, and
Europeans were living, working, and trading together and all speaking the local
Arabic dialect.
Today, many
Europeans – many of whom would consider themselves Christians - live in Essaouira,
but the Moroccan Jewish community has not been significant since the 1960s. This
does not mean it is forgotten and there are many festivals and restoration
projects which seek to revive and celebrate this important cultural influence.
One of the
fascinating aspects of working with such a relatively recent past is that much
of it is still within living memory and captured on film. I have had the
pleasure of talking to many people about their recollections of the peaceful
coexistence between communities and some have shared photos which we have
collated into an album on Flickr, and some of which are featured here.
It is really
important to record these memories and historical references before it is too
late. If you are interested in following the progress of the project, please
see the HAF website
The views in
this article are my own, although they may coincide with those of HAF. If you
would like to know more or to support HAF, you can do so via GlobalGiving. UK
tax payers will receive gift aid on their donation. A wide range of projects
(including the Essaouira one) can be seen on GlobalGiving UK
Lynn Sheppard
About the writer:
After 13 years as a grey civil servant, Lynn Sheppard has decided to live life in colour in Essaouira, Morocco. A redundancy payment goes a long way in Africa (she hopes) and while deciding how to spend it, she is working for the High Atlas Foundation (www.highatlasfoundation.org) as well as writing and taking photos for her blog (www.maroc-o-phile.com). The thing she really misses from her UK life is Afro-Cuban dancing, but she's working on that...
