Part II: Phosphorus Plants

This part of the trip was not as aesthetically pleasing as everything else, but it definitely made an impression on me and reminded me of the ongoing political toils that this country has with Western Sahara. In 2001 Morocco and Western Sahara were the second largest producer of phosphate rock, after the United States. Phosphorus is a chemical used to make fertilizer. After passing what felt like miles of sardine factories along the coast in Safi (see map from post below), we entered the port of Jorf Lasfar. This port houses phosphorus and electricity facilities and generates more than half of Morocco's total electricity. This facility is considered the largest independent power plant in Africa.


Morocco holds 45% of the world market share in phosphate rock (Australia and China are the other large producers). Global phosphate consumption grew in 2003 and prices rose in 2005. The growing economies of India and China and their increase in agricultural productivity heavily influenced the prices of phosphate. The price rose from US$40 per ton in 2005, to over US$400 per ton in 2008, and then decreased to under US$200 per ton in late 2008.


I gather that a big reason why Morocco wants to hold onto the Western Sahara is because of the phosphorus industry and the possibility for offshore oil drilling. The Moroccan government controls all of Western Sahara's trade and economic activities, which are dependent on agriculture, fishing, and phosphate mining.


Phosphorus factory

Oil containers

References:

PPhilip A. Szczesnia, "The Mineral Industries of Morocco and Western Sahara," 

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2001/momyb01.pdf 

"Phosphate Market," Nupower Resources Ltd., 2010 http://www.nupowerresources.com.au/INVESTORINFORMATION/PHOSPHATEMARKET/tabid/106/language/en-AU/Default.aspx 

Travels in Morocco Part I

Road Trip Destination Part I: Oyster Farm

I have been really bad at posting these days. Maybe in part because I don't feel like I have anything extraordinary to share anymore. There are thousands of blogs on people's travels, many much more detailed, eloquent and informative than mine. But since this blog is mainly for my close friends, it is something more personal than just sharing information, or updating you on what I have been up to. It is just as much as a learning experience for me, to 'reflect' upon what I am experiencing, as a learning experience for the small amount of followers who read my sparse posts.

So here I am....
2 weeks left in Morocco
The past two weeks I have done a lot of traveling throughout the country. It makes me feel like there is so much more to see now! I wish I had a paid job and more time to see more isolated parts of this amazing country.
I have been to Tanger, Asilah, Oudalyia, Essaouria, Marrakech, passed through Agadir, and stayed in Immouzer.

My favorite things were seeing the vast untouched coastline as we headed down to Essaouria and staying in the isolated high atlas moutains in Immouzer. I really wanted to ride a camel in the Sahara desert, but we didn't have enough time to drive through the snowy mountains and reach the desert. So I'll  just have to come back to Morocco again for more exploration!

Tyler arrives and we book into a funny hotel in Casablanca for the night

We stop in Oualidia for oysters!

 Oyster farm on the coast

Very happy with my glass of pinot gris

Driving along the coast

A day at the grocery store

a lighthouse in the Oudaya in Rabat

Yesterday was supposed to be my relaxing and pampering day. Originally I was going to go swimming, get scrubbed down in the hamam, then sit in the sauna, and then have my first ever massage. All for about $30.

Then plans changed and I ended up going for a run in Parc Hilton with a friend. It was my first real exercise excursion since I have been here for a month! Earlier in the week I got to play tennis at the British Embassy, but my run was deffinitley a better workout. After my run I did manage to go get my massage in which I felt ever single knot I have accumulated over my entire life in my back! The masseuse was gentle on me, but it made me think that I need to do this every week. I am in pain the following day...

Unfortunately the hamam and sauna were foregone and instead I decided to take a look at the mega grocery store here called Marjan. It was like a great big Wegmans attached to a K-Mart. Quite nice and I ended up buying 8 bags of groceries. Unfortunately I underestimated how difficult it was going to be grabbing a taxi on a Saturday, at the end of the month when everyone was out spending their paychecks. I waited in line for about 8 minutes, when I saw a couple taxis come by, drop people off, but refuse to pick people up because they wanted to go shopping themselves! Then more and more people started cutting the line (as usual here) and I decided to walk over to the highway and try to hail a cab.

Walking with 8 bags of groceries was painful and I felt like I had just erased anything that the massage had down to relax me. Fortunately, another man who had just bought a vacuum, which he was very proud of, despite having missed it when it was on sale, started chatting to me as we were both trying to hail a taxi. He informed me that we wouldn't be able to grab a taxi on the highway because the police were around and taxis could not stop for us (logicial, as stopping to pick someone up on the highway is dangerous, but this didn't cross my mind as being something that cars wouldn't do here).

So we ended up walking the (nearly 1 mile) back to the area I live in! The man told me he was Berber and that Moroccans and Americans are good friends, and the same. This is actually the second time that I have heard a Moroccan tell me how close Americans and Moroccans are to one another...I don't think I would ever here this back in the states. Sad. He told me that Morocco is undergoing great changes, as I have noticed by all of the construction projects happening all over Rabat. Then as usual, he brought up religion, and told me that all Muslims, Christians, and Jews are welcome in Morocco and we are all the same in that we are all sons of Abraham.

What I heard from this man was really uplifting. I have not had any experiences so far in which I have felt unwelcome or even had people act ambivalent towards me. On the contrary everyone has been incredibly welcoming, friendly, and what seems quite sincere in their interactions with me. I can't imagine as a Moroccan running into someone in the states and having them say to me after greeting me that Muslims are welcome in the US and all people on earth are the same no matter what they believe. Historically, the Berbers, the original Moroccans, have been used to different groups invading Morocco, from the Romans, to Spanish, Arabs and French. Or would it be typical that in the US I run into someone that speaks for languages like this man did, Dhirija, Arabic, English, and French. Again, he related his language competency to Islam, telling me that Mohammed urged all Muslims to speak as many languages as they could, so that they could communicate and dialogue with all types of peoples. Being a conflict resolution student, I reveled in this last statement he made.

Must be that I ran into an extraordinary Moroccan...or did I?

blue doors

Casablanca

Casablanca

Hassan II Mosque

Search for Common Ground info

So lots of my friends and family have been asking me about what I am doing out here in Morocco. I hope that it will come across better as I post more about my work, but following the SFCG blog and befriending them on Facebook are a great way to start learning about what the organization does.


I also hope to be writing for the blog about our Morocco projects so keep checking for those too!

Blog: http://sfcg.wordpress.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Search-for-Common-Ground/72700460615?ref=ts&v=wall

Bouznika

I went to one of SFCG's training sessions last week. We are training participants in mediation approaches and media tools to prepare them to conduct interviews with local government officials which they will then post on radio broadcasts & podcasts.

I love this

I went to Chellah this past weekend... I don't know really how to describe what it, except that it was enchanting and eerie with huge stork nests and lots of stray cats all over the place... ruins from the 13th century, and before that it was a Roman city... the colors of the stones that decorate the floor and fountains is amazing. it reminds me of this scary film i used to watch when i was little, where the children would go out into the woods and have seances... this would be the perfect place.

views from my flat

The mosque right below and a view of the park. The white buildings beyond are the Medina where there is a gigantic market, and then furhter on is the ocean.

Looking away from the ocean is the Theatre Mohammed V on the left.

jeudi

Maybe the one thing I miss about Monterey right now is that I wouldn't be covered in mosquito bites.

Nightime pic. from my new flat: