There are lands, scattered across our earth—like here in Morocco—from which energy emanates, compelling one to pause awhile, to let oneself be traversed by these elusive yet potent emanations, with an inexhaustible capacity to restore and invigorate weary bodies and souls.

There are people who radiate an energy that leaves no one untouched. They possess a passion for welcoming, a deftness in offering well‑being, and an insatiable desire to share the riches of life gathered along their journey.

There are places where an invisible hearth glows, inviting us to gather—a little removed from the world and its noise, sanctuaries where, for the span of a pause, we are offered a setting to rest and rediscover ourselves.

And sometimes, land, place, and person converge—and in their union, the magic of renewal emerges.

Here, in the village of Tisselday, nestled in the Imini valley on the southern slopes of the Atlas, Ahmed Agouni and his guesthouse Irocha invite us to such an experience.

Tisselday, the root place

Tisselday is an Amazigh word for the tool once used by local women to stretch their weaving between a loom’s vertical posts. Born here, Ahmed grew up roaming the surrounding mountains, so enchanted by the multicolored stones that he later went on to study geology at university. In 1994, he discovered a passion for traditional crafts—creating musical instruments and goatskin furniture. While living in Essaouira, where he opened a small bazaar, he met his partner Catherine, and together they decided to embark on the nascent tourism venture in this remote corner of southeast Morocco.

It was only natural that in 2000 he returned to his native land to lay the first stones of a hospitality project. He built a house of stone and earth, perched atop a rock overlooking the valley. Today, the place has reached its maturity: the warm patina of time is felt from the moment you enter. Nature has unfolded around it, and the house now offers a dozen guest rooms, a pool, dining areas, and a terrace opening onto the sky and the imposing Atlas Mountains—giving every visitor the thrilling sense of being like an eagle poised to take flight toward vast horizons.

A lire : The shepherd, the forgotten pearl of Moroccan cultural heritage

A few months ago, Irocha added a space dedicated to body care, with the opening of a hammam and massage room. More recently, a large hall has been fitted out in warm, soothing woodwork and stained glass, to host cultural discovery, movement, and meditation activities.

Over the years, Ahmed has seen how much travelers enjoy staying in his guesthouse, delighting in following him on walks along the mountain slopes or across the dunes of the vast Sahara. They have come to appreciate hearing him recount the region’s rich history, as well as discovering, through him, its many natural treasures and the ancestral know-how of local artisans.

The desire to welcome differently

Yet, despite this satisfaction, Ahmed feels within himself the need to evolve his approach to hospitality, drawing on a double experience patiently built up over the years.

He now understands more deeply than before what the traveler seeks in coming here, and conversely, discerns more clearly what his village, his guesthouse Irocha, and the entire region of southeast Morocco, with all the facets of its cultures and the traditions of its communities, can offer these travelers.

Of course, these travelers are here on holiday; having left behind, for a time, the hectic world and the exhausting lives they lead, their first need is for rest, leisure, and a sense of well-being restored. All this, Ahmed knows how to offer them from the moment they arrive at Irocha. But he has come to understand that some travelers are searching for something more; something new that will send them home changed — enriched by discovery, learning, or understanding, or else soothed, relieved of a burden, a pressure, or a sorrow.

And it is to these travelers that Ahmed now wishes to devote himself.

The universal alphabet of life’s essential virtues

He wishes to offer them more than a simple stay, but truly a sensitive encounter at the very heart of his region’s natural and cultural identity.

Here in the southeast, as nowhere else in Morocco, the landscapes unfold in all their beauty and diversity. From the peaks and slopes of the Atlas Mountains to the enchanting sands of the Sahara, the landscapes here unfold in all their beauty and diversity. Along the way, lush valleys—the Drâa, the Dadès, and the Ziz—offer a succession of date-palm oases and gardens of olives, almonds, and figs. Across the serene expanse of stone and endless plateaus, everything here is, for the traveler, a source of peace and wonder.

Urban life barely makes itself felt here, as if humbled by the majesty of Nature. That is why people have settled so discreetly, gathering in small villages with their characteristic houses of earth and stone.

Here is rural Morocco — the historic cradle of the royal dynasty, one of the age-old faces of its Amazigh identity, and the fertile ground of many of its traditional crafts. It is a world where the oldest traditions are still carried on through simple, everyday gestures, or in communal gatherings where time itself seems to stand still — a world where families truly delight in coming together at the weekly souks.

Life here, however, is harsh—just like the climate. In the face of adversity, the people of southeast Morocco have developed a keen sense of resilience, born of sobriety and simplicity, with smiles on their lips and hands extended in welcome, their eyes turned to the sky from which, inevitably, mercy and providence will come. Time is never a rival; patience comes naturally, humility prevails before the unfathomable mystery of life, and whatever little one has is always shared with the guest who is welcomed in.

All this, Ahmed knows as intimately as he knows his own heart, and he has understood how, here in southeast Morocco, a singular alchemy between humanity, Nature, and time makes the universal alphabet of life’s essential virtues resound.

From Irocha, Ahmed now offers his guests far more than mere hospitality; he invites them to set out to encounter these life-giving virtues, to share in their savor and their benefits.

An invitation to take time to reconnect with what is essential, with others, and thus with oneself.

Photo credits : Abdellah Azizi / azifoto.com

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The Amazigh community of Morocco is renowned for producing talented experts in the art of weaving carpets, a result of ancestral knowledge and a symbol of the multicolored identity of this people as well as the entire country.

The Berber women, as this art is theirs, have managed to mobilize all the dexterity of their movements, the patience of their commitment, and the sincerity of their intention to achieve excellence in their work. Once finished, the carpet no longer belongs to its craftswoman. It is, facing the world, a reflection of Morocco’s face.

But there is another domain where all these qualities of an artist are at work, still in the heart of Berber soil, in the southeast of Morocco, where another weaving has begun to bring to light another reflection of Morocco’s face. Its threads are not of wool. They are of flesh and spirit. They have the color of joy as well as of pain. The framework that welcomes and blends them together is the long passage of time. Together, their weave tells the story of our humanity on Earth.

Kamal Hachkar, the child of Tinghir, is one of these weavers of history. In 2010, he returned to his native land, that of all his ancestors, holding in his hand a first strand, the memories of his grandfather about a time when Jewish communities still lived in Morocco, here in Tinghir as in many other territories.

Having left for France with his parents at a young age, Kamal had no idea what he would discover by pulling further on the thread of the past that his ancestor suddenly revealed to his gaze. He wanted to know more. Indeed, Kamal had undergone training as a history teacher in France, but he did not suspect the intensity that his initiative would provoke.

The awakening of the echo of a past we had forgotten

If Kamal Hachkar begins his work of collecting memories with the stance of filial curiosity, he continues it in Israel with the attitude of a researcher who connects the threads together, searching for Moshe, the old friend and accomplice of his grandfather, who once left his native land of Tinghir forever to join Israel; as others went to Canada, the United States, Europe… Kamal gives voice to the children of those who lived in Tinghir or elsewhere in Morocco, this land distant from their ancestors, and the land of their roots that they barely know.

With his camera and microphone, he awakens the memories of each individual and gives them both resonance and echo. The echo of a past we had forgotten, set aside in a remote corner of our memory, believing it to be extinguished forever, and the resonance of a timeless reality, of a true fraternity that was lived and that endures.

One Sunday evening, four million Moroccans confronting their history

At the end of its journey, the documentary takes the name “Tinghir – Jerusalem, Echoes of the Mellah” and is screened at numerous festivals in Europe, the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and Israel. Its first screening in Morocco takes place in April 2012 on the 2M television channel, on a Sunday evening at the beginning of the night. This broadcast of the documentary then meets immense success among the Moroccan population – the viewership reaches nearly four million people.

During the first screening in Tinghir, the crowd gathers. With these successful first steps, the documentary is screened in many places, and Kamal often accompanies its screening, both in Morocco and abroad, in big cities, universities, or small villages, to be in a position to hear the audience’s reactions and address the questions that such a subject inevitably raises.

The reception is always enthusiastic. For the older generations, the documentary reminds them of a cherished period in the secret of their hearts, a time when the presence of Jews in Morocco was as natural a reality as the seasons of nature that have always punctuated their lives. For young Moroccans, they observe with delight that Israeli women speak their language, sing the traditional songs they heard as children during festive moments in their communities, playing the same musical instrument. They discover that beyond distances, and of course beyond political conflicts, Jews and Muslims once lived together in Morocco in obvious harmony.

The photographs, yellowed by time, finally emerge from their hiding place

At the end of each screening of the documentary, the public’s reactions multiply and are ultimately always the same. Kamal understands that this honoring of Jews and Amazighs in prime time on Moroccan television had the effect of a fresh breeze that liberated speech. In many families, suddenly the elders begin to reveal to their grandchildren, for the first time, their connections with the Jewish community, and sometimes even blood ties. Old photographs, yellowed by time, suddenly emerge from their hiding places and find a caption under the astonished eyes of the younger generations. Many Moroccans recognize themselves in Kamal’s approach and his urgency to finally listen to the memory of the ancestors, to collect their words, to preserve their testimony.

Kamal understands that his documentary breaks the taboos surrounding this Jewish presence in the rural depths of Morocco, around this harmonious and joyful coexistence between Jews and Muslims, around this forgotten reality that there was a time in Morocco when one could be both Moroccan and of Jewish faith.

This breaking of the taboo is possible because it is done without any upheaval, but in the gentleness of the shared emotions among all the testimonies, in the texture of life stories that command respect.

The history of the Jews of Tinghir speaks to everyone

When asked what the main teaching of his documentary is, and after listening to the countless reactions from all these different audiences, Kamal realizes that the history of the Moroccan Jews of Tinghir speaks to everyone. Their lives bear witness to the experience of rupture, the forced departure from a beloved place, the exile to an unknown place.

There is ultimately nothing easier to share than these testimonies because the experience of exodus, the trauma it provokes, is an integral part of the adventure of our humanity.

For a moment, Tinghir becomes the heart of the world.

There was a time when the human community of Tinghir was strong in its diversity and the plurality of its traditions. At that time, harmony naturally connected the differentiations of each component of the whole. There was a time when this alloy broke down. Under the force of the grand history that surpasses each individual or due to the inherent fragilities of any human construction, the Moroccan of Jewish faith left Tinghir, while the Moroccan of Muslim faith remained, alone.

A lire : The lost destiny of Jews from South East Morocco

Reflecting on one’s identity beyond the walls

In 2012, the screening of the documentary “Tinghir – Jerusalem, Echoes from the Mellah” on Moroccan television sparked opposition from certain political groups. The Moroccan Parliament was prompted to debate the issue to determine who had authorized such a broadcast on the national channel. Among other criticisms, Kamal Hachkar was reproached for not addressing the Palestinian cause and for deviating too much from the collective religious or pan-Arabic narrative. In 2013, the Moroccan Ministry of Communication decided not to participate in the National Film Festival of Tangier, which had scheduled the documentary. Demonstrations took place both in opposition to and in support of the documentary. Moroccan and foreign media outlets published numerous articles on this controversy.

In the end, the Tangier festival awarded Kamal Hachkar the Prize for Best Debut Work. The controversy surrounding the documentary dwindled because it was based on a misunderstanding: the documentary is not a political tool. It has nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It does not promote any ideological agenda. It passes no judgment.

At the very least, one could have recognized the philosophical significance of the documentary:

Young Moroccans are not familiar with the real history of Morocco

Kamal was right. It is indeed the identity dimension that must have sparked both enthusiastic reactions and objections. And this is the second lesson that the documentary unveils: too few Moroccans, especially young people, truly know the breadth and depth of Morocco’s identity.

Clearly, they do not know the real history of Morocco.

This journey, however long it may be, has already begun. The reactions of the Moroccan public to the documentary illustrate a thirst for knowledge regarding history at the individual level, within families, in relation to their particular roots and respective genealogies. Slowly, the appetite to know more is sharpening.

A new chapter between the Jews and Morocco can now be written

Tinghir has certainly lost its Jewish communities; families have been separated, friendships have been broken, and traditions have been forgotten. The bitterness of the rupture remains unaltered, but today memories can be displayed openly and without taboo.

Kamal Hachkar carries within him the conviction that Morocco must rediscover the face of its deep-rooted identity anchored in the vastness of history. Indeed, and thanks to the late King Hassan II, many Israelis return to Morocco every year. Many Moroccan Jews from all over the world visit Morocco for their holidays, making pilgrimages to the places of their ancestors.

It is also true, and Kamal echoes this sentiment in his new documentary project “In Your Eyes, I See My Country” that many young Israelis of Moroccan origin want to experience life in Morocco, and conversely, many young Moroccans, Muslims therefore, wish to discover Israel.

To proudly display the virtues of Morocco’s universality

A new chapter may truly be unfolding in Morocco, as elsewhere. Confrontations rooted in nationalist inspirations seem to be giving way to the recognition that a common destiny could once again be asserted among communities that were once in symbiosis, despite the ruptures, tears, and distances. The magic of connection could once again be at work. The richness of diversity could once again be a source of blessings for all.

Morocco could proudly display, both to its own people and to the world, the plurality of its identity and the virtues of its universality.

What a beautiful adventure it is to attempt the writing of this new chapter in Morocco’s history!

This adventure sketches the future in light of the past for the illumination of the present.

Kamal Hachkar believes in it, as do many others with him. His work as a filmmaker intersects with his former profession as a teacher. He knows how knowledge is the key to all inner wealth. He knows that it is the children and the youth who are the future architects of this new face of Morocco.

The challenge is to awaken them to this challenge, to reignite in them the desire for this conquest, and above all, to awaken their appetite for the long term, the time before, so rich in all its legacies, and the time after, so vast with “all these impossibilities to make possible.”

Tinghir-Jérusalem – Les échos du Mellah : documentary film directed by Kamal Hachkar – Une co-production Les Films d’un Jour – 2M – Berbère TVVoir sur Youtube.

Dans tes yeux, je vois mon pays : the new documentary film by Kamal Hachkar Watch the trailer on Vimeo.

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The Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou held a familiar embrace for Loubna. She holds memories of those rare childhood moments spent here during vacations, reuniting with grandparents native to the place. She recalls her childhood games amidst the labyrinth of dusty streets, the communal basin swims, the horseback rides. However, the essence of her life unfolded in Agadir, and in Casablanca for her higher education. Today, she holds the profession of an airline pilot at Royal Air Maroc.

Her patronym, Mouna, immediately signifies her belonging to these lands as it bears the name of one of the five prominent family lineages that have formed a community here since ancient times. Her father, Ahmed Mouna, born here but raised and lived elsewhere, remains a renowned figure, having passionately advocated for the UNESCO classification of the ksar as a World Heritage Site in 1987. While based in Agadir and a successful entrepreneur, he committed himself to supporting the territory’s development during a time when the southeastern region was entrenched in poverty, far from the dynamic pulse of Morocco, distant from everything. He did so out of gratitude to the land of his own parents, yet he never built a family home here, and these native lands became but a fleeting memory for all.

Aït Ben Haddou (in Tifinagh: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵃⴰⴷⴷⵓ, in Arabic: آيت بن حدّو) is a ksar (Ighrem, in Berber) in Morocco. “Aït” means “family.”

Years later, when Loubna returns to the Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, she knows no one, and no one recognizes her. The site has become an unavoidable stop for all tourists passing through Morocco, eager to cast a fleeting glance upon the Amazigh world. The alleys teem with vibrant bazaars. Guides, whether official or impromptu, pounce on every newcomer. The bottleneck of visitors is perpetual, their flow swift. Her plan to settle here fails for mundane reasons, and as she goes in search of another promising place elsewhere, she falls seriously ill to the point of being unable to walk. Confined to her bed and subjected to numerous medical procedures, Loubna begins to search for the meaning of this sudden and radical trial. In this intimate confrontation, she realizes that the name Aït Ben Haddou still resonates within her, and she understands that she must uncover the significance of this connection to the land, and above all, its purpose — that is, to understand what to make of this bond in her life.

The tale of the ksar mirrors the story of Morocco

Emerging from her convalescence, it becomes evident that she will meet her parents to ask them to recount the history of this land that resonates within her so deeply. Their response acts as a catalyst: they know nothing of this history, as it has never truly interested them. Their parents are deceased, taking with them all their memories. Loubna thus has no choice but to return to the site to attempt to uncover the answers to her questions. She decides on an initial journey accompanied by her mother, and a second one with her father afterward. During the first journey, and thanks to her mother’s presence, she is no longer a stranger. She is Haj Mouna’s granddaughter.

A distant cousin leads her to meet the elders of the ksar, starting with an old woman who welcomes her with open arms and recites an ancient Amazigh poem with a strong voice, traditionally spoken to greet a visitor not seen for a long time, signifying a warm welcome. At that moment, Loubna understands little of the Amazigh language, but her tears flow endlessly, like water from a long-lost spring. She visits another old man, and then another.

For the first time in her life, she listens to the history of her original community and the place of her ancestors, the Ksar Aït Aissa, renamed Ksar Aït Ben Haddou in the early 20th century. There, she understands that the history of this small patch of land, where her roots lie, mirrors the history of her country, Morocco: a mosaic tale formed from the meeting of multiple cultures, a crucible where humanity blends from one to another.

A first glimmer of an answer takes shape: she will do everything necessary to ensure that this radiant memory is preserved, before the passing of its living witnesses, and can thus be shared both in Morocco and throughout the world.

The walls of a territory cradle the memories of its communities

During a second visit with her father, as she wanders through the alleys of the ksar, she discovers the damage caused by the torrential rains that had fallen on the South of Morocco in the preceding months. All the rehabilitation work carried out a few years earlier under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture was almost completely undone. Despite being classified as a World Heritage Site, the site seemed destined to disappear with the whims of time, and no one in the douar felt capable of fighting against this fate. As the roofs and walls crumbled into dust, joining the wadi that flowed at the foot of the ksar, the history of the place faded away, memory after memory, until it merged into the unfathomable sea of oblivion.

A second response is imperative: to breathe life back into the walls of the ksar so that they become the cradle of the memories of its human communities offered to passing visitors. The roadmap is now clear. Loubna and her partner have found the project that will occupy their future. They decide to revitalize the local association Aït Aissa, founded by Loubna’s father, and launch as a first step a lengthy phase of participatory dialogue within the local population, so that everyone can collectively express who they are, where they come from, and together envision where they want to go in the future, for their children, for their territory.

A first observation arises: the human community of the ksar needs to revive the collective spirit. The Amazigh New Year celebration, the festival of seeds and earth, will be an opportunity to gather the population in a joyful atmosphere. On January 13, 2016, under Loubna’s impetus, this first collective celebration is organized under the title “we are all one.” It is a success. Doors open, neighbors take the time to talk to each other, the elders gather again, and children play together. Then, in April 2017, the Aït Aissa association organizes the first “Heritage Day” under the theme of “community life” to welcome tourists for free and allow them to experience the charms of daily life in this emblematic place of southeastern Morocco.

Loubna and Hicham mobilize their friendly and professional contacts in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech to gather the expertise necessary for the implementation of the future project, which takes shape through collective discussions among the inhabitants of the ksar. Establishing a place to generate income for the members of the women’s association of Aït Ben Haddou; this is the Tawasna tearoom in a garden of the ksar, a place that is now fully active and profitable. Reviving agricultural projects to diversify the territory’s economy and no longer depend solely on tourist activities. Organizing the sale of regional products through a Cooperative House. Showcasing the traditions, rituals, and rites of the ksar in an Oral Traditions House. A Cinema House to promote the cinematic history of the ksar. Thematic tours of the ksar to provide local guides with an organized and diverse offering (tours focusing on rites, cinema, ksar history, and three family homes ready to welcome visitors to present beauty rituals, daily life, and weaving). All of these activities, with an initial launch planned for November 2019, will generate funds, part of which will be pooled under the supervision of a council of elders to finance preservation and promotion work on the ksar.

A new association is created to bring together all these human expertise from the major cities of Morocco, mobilized by Loubna and Hicham, the “We Speak Citizen” collective, which aims to support the development of rural areas in Morocco, with the project carried out on the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou serving as a laboratory for the emergence of a new way of fostering rural growth in Morocco.

The lasting gold of a community is its intangible heritage

The development approach implemented in the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou set forth a crucial initial step: a dual awakening within the population. The first must lead the people to understand that the fate of their territory, however renowned it may be, cannot rely solely on the immediate exploitation of its assets—here, old dwellings and rows of traditional objects—but must be grounded in the recognition that true value, the enduring gold that withstands the test of time, is intangible. It is essential to preserve ways of life, communal rites, daily rituals, oral histories—all that once nourished the community’s identity and sustained its collective spirit.

The second awakening must lead this same population to realize that they themselves are the sustainable solution to their territory’s problems. It is the pooling of collective talents and their cooperation in service of the common good that will render any development action effective and robust, whether undertaken by the state, institutions, or private organizations.

Loubna’s gamble, her intuition, lies in recognizing that it is precisely the embellishment of this intangible heritage, its showcasing and promotion in broad daylight, before the eyes of the world, that will once again nurture the identity of the human community of Aït Ben Haddou and revive its collective spirit. It is this enhancement of the collective being that will nurture the pride of its members and enable them to transcend personal interests—not to negate them, but to harmonize them in a synergy that brings good to all.

The re-enchantment as a driver of development

The equation posed by Loubna, Hicham, and their colleagues is clear: for a collective facing the necessity of growth and development, the recognition of beauty within it, the embellishment of its identity and nature, is the most effective lever for mobilizing its vital forces and taking control of the mechanisms of this development.

The greatest challenge Loubna must confront, and she is aware of it, is the widespread defeatism that too often leads to the belief that nothing new is achievable in Morocco. It is also, and above all, the equally widespread propensity for indifference that allows for the disappearance of memories, the forgetting of history, the loss of roots, and the denial of the pluralities that have constituted the ksar here and everywhere else in Morocco. Fortunately, Aït Ben Haddou had the chance to encounter one of its own who was there at the right moment to give it the impetus it needed to awaken. It is done. Projects are underway, and others will follow.

Emerging from illness, Loubna Mouna Guenoun reached a tipping point in her consciousness that led her to serve the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou. Through the words of the elders who welcomed her back among them, Loubna discovered an ineffable strength that suddenly re-enchanted her being and, consequently, her life. For it is in this reconciled, peaceful time—where harmony reigns between the past, the present, and the future—that the individual and collective being finds the true space for its growth and the matrix of its joy. And that is what was missing for Loubna. It is from this same re-enchantment that the success of the project undertaken with the population of Aït Ben Haddou, or the mobilization of third-party expertise and necessary financial resources, arises.

Undoubtedly, the ongoing laboratory in the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou will serve the rest of Morocco and all its rural areas: the re-enchantment of the origins of a collective and its journey traveled is the guarantee of the success of its destiny.

Photo credits : Abdellah Azizi / azifoto.com

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It is Friday, 17th July 2020, and Sister Angela is about to close the wooden door to the little church of St Theresa, nestled in the heart of Ouarzazate, on the banks of the river and surrounded by old palm trees and tamaris. In just a few moments, she will leave the town, accompanied by her two colleagues, Sister Mary Jospeh and Sister Rozy. All three will carry with them the memories of the 48 years of this religious congregation, and Ouarzazate will slowly forget all about the women who came to carry out their spiritual commitment to serving others, everywhere in the world, and, which until now has been the sum of their whole existence.

The little church will withdraw into greater unobtrusiveness. Whereas not so long ago its stone cross could be seen from the central avenue of the town, signifying its presence to passing visitors, a large building recently erected is now camouflaging it more. With the nuns gone, silence will set in. The church bell will no longer ring at Easter or Christmas. The font at the entrance to the building is empty, as is the tabernacle, and only the glow of the sanctuary lamp still shines, preserving the notion of a sacred presence.

The fruits of the French presence in Ouarzazate

The church was built in 1931 by legionaries of the French army, part of the French Protectorate in Morocco. Three years previously in 1928, the first soldiers under the leadership of Lieutenant Spillmann had been installed at the top of a small hill just several hundred metres from the ksar of Taourirt, where the representative of Si Hammadi el Glaoui, the Pacha of Marrakech, reigned supreme. In 1931, Ouarzazate, still in its infancy, was officially established as an administrative centre to all the villages of a vast surrounding area; from Telouet and Taliouine to Foum Zguid and covering the Dades and Drâa valleys, thereby establishing its de facto control over all the numerous tribes that had lived there for centuries.

The Franciscan almoner of the Foreign Legion, Father Bonaventure Hermentier, settled down in the area and organised religious activity for the military and, above all, for the large number of European residents and their families who had come to settle throughout south-eastern Morocco, currently engaged in a frantic synergy of development.

The spirit of Francis of Assisi soars over Morocco

The presence of the Franciscan Order in Morocco dates back to the 13th century with the arrival of a first group coming to preach the Gospel to the Moors. Barely 10 years after having founded a religious order known as the Minor Friars, Francis of Assisi, still under the spell of his meeting with Sultan Abd-al-Malik in Egypt, who was under siege from the Crusader armies, decided to send a small group of his followers on an adventure that was as daring as it was incongruous, since it ended with the imprisonment of the monks as soon as they arrived, and with their execution in Marrakech in 1220.

Over the years having laid their proselyting aside, the Franciscan missionaries, faithful to their vows of fraternity, never ceased to come and settle in Morocco in order to bring assistance and comfort to Christian prisoners, as well as to poor and destitute Moroccans.

In the 19th century, the Franciscan, Jose Maria Antonio Lerchundi, became famous when he published a book in the Moroccan dialect. It marked the beginning of the opening of a number of schools and health centres in Morocco, based on a conviction irrevocably shared by all his fellow Christians:

The commitment of women in the service of this fraternity

So it is perfectly natural that a congregation of religious women, structurally attached to the Franciscan order, should come to Morocco in order to follow this mission of benevolence.

And so it is in this same spirit that in 1912 the first groups of Franciscan missionary sisters of Mary arrived in Morocco following the signing of the Treaty of Fes in the March of the same year between Moulay Abd el Hafid and the representatives of the French government, establishing what would become known as the French Protectorate in the Cherifian Empire.

This religious congregation came into being in India in 1877 at the incentive of a French nun from Brittany, Hélène de Chappotin de Neuville, better known as Sister Mary of the Passion. She dedicates her new congregation to the service of the poor and on her death in 1904 86 communities of sisters in almost 48 countries are opened. But it is at the instigation of the Second Vatican Council of1962 under Pope John 13 that innumerable Catholic congregations were sent throughout the world following the advocacy of openness and encounter with the poorest and the neediest.

And the congregation of the Franciscan missionary sisters would continue to follow this movement until at the height of its commitment it was present and active in 76 countries.

In Ouarzazate close to the population

Very rapidly, 22 establishments in Morocco were set up first and foremost to allow the inauguration of a health system capable of responding to the needs of the population, and equally quickly opening a number of schools providing instruction to Moroccan children and young people.

In 1973, the Ministry of Public Health of a now independent Morocco instructed the organisation to send its nursing sisters to Ouarzazate. Three of them, who had been posted to Fes, Sister Gabrielle, a Frenchwoman, as well as two Spanish sisters made the journey in order to assist their Moroccan brothers there.

They form a first group of nurses at the Sidi Hssain hospital. And throughout the sisters’ stay, the community would become involved in responding to various needs arising. There were teachers at the new school for the training of nurses, or like Sister Colette in public education giving maths lessons at the Crown Prince’s high school, now the Mohammed VI high school. There were kindergarten teachers and social workers for orphaned children or the most disadvantaged such as the disabled. There was vocational training for women in sewing, embroidery and carpet weaving.

From 1971 onwards, a community of friars in the region of Agouim was strengthened by another new foundation. This Franciscan missionary community of Mary included Sister Lucy, a nurse who spent her time on the road attending births and providing care. Another dynamic sister, Sister Huguette, with a university degree in biology and who cultivated saffron, opened a cheese factory that is still in operation today, and also began training farmers.

Other establishments were created in Errachidia, Goulmima, Midelt, Ighrem Nougdal.

Sister Francesca – tenacity in supporting the town’s growth

Sister Francesca Maria Leonardi, a trained social worker, arrived in Ouarzazate in 1979 and dedicated herself to respecting the instructions of her antecedent, the Franciscan José Maria Antonio Lerchundi, who appealed to the members of his congregation in Morocco to:

More than anyone else, she marked the 27 years of her time in Ouarzazate through her personality and her capacity to both initiate and complete major social development projects thereby ensuring that assistance to the most disadvantaged could be sustainably organised.

For this reason, she instigated the creation of the association Horizon des Handicapés, which was the first organisation anywhere in the southern regions of Morocco to support disabled people and their families. The association still exists today and has received recognition in its task of service to the public. Sister Francesca later founded the Achourouk association to serve deaf and dumb people, the Oxygène association to support the professional integration of young girls, and finally the Amnougar association to ensure the professional training of young disabled people in the jewellery, carpentry, sewing and agricultural trades.

Idir Ouguindi knew Sister Francesca well. He assisted her in setting up the Horizon des handicapés association together with Pierre Katrakazos, the current president of the association. Today he shows his deep regard for this extraordinary person who has earned a place in the history of Ouarzazate:

A page is being turned, a world is disappearing

The evolution of human societies has brought with it the disappearance of such lives as these, dedicated to the service of others. From year to year, religious vocations have been decreasing in number and now with fewer nuns available, the congregation has been obliged to close its establishments right across the world.

In Morocco, the community in Agouim left in 2001, followed by those in Errachidia and Ighrem Nougdal in 2008. The group in Taroudant closed in 2012. After the departure of the sisters from Ouarzazate, just four establishments will be left in Morocco; in Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes and Midelt.

It is now planned for a French couple to join the church of St Theresa in Ouarzazate soon, with the intention of receiving all those who wish to be welcomed to the chapel, and for those who wish to preserve the traces of the past which are gradually disappearing.

Memories live on in the hearts of several of Ouarzazate’s population; the nurses trained by the sisters, among the handicapped who received their support, the orphaned children who were able to grow up under better conditions thanks to the sisters’ devotion, and all those young women and young people who also benefitted from their presence and their attention.

In the service of others – everywhere and for ever

Each of the three sisters will set out with just a small amount of luggage. They are instructed always to leave everything of their various assignments behind them. They have become accustomed to having no personal belongings, apart from what they require for daily life. They feel at home everywhere, and are welcomed by the local populations, who have come to love them, like here in Ouarzazate, where they have propagated their devotion to their fellow man.

Sister Marie Joseph, born in Morocco, worked in Russia before taking care of the community in Taroudant for 18 years. She will now be based in Casablanca.

Sister Rozy, born in India, served in Libya, then India, in Tunisia and finally in Nador where she supported migrants until 2019.

Sister Angela, also born in India, came to Ouarzazate in 2002 to replace Sister Francesca. In a few days from the time of writing, she will get ready to go to Algeria to continue her mission there.

The Franciscan sisters of Mary have left. A page has been turned for ever. All these women, their faith firmly anchored in their hearts will, at one time or another, have decided to be the ones who love and take care of the growing Ouarzazate.

Translated by : Felicity Greenlaw / Desert Majesty

Erratum:
Sister Mary Joseph wishes to correct the statement concerning the church in Ouarzazate.

« The sisters are no longer in Ouarzazate; but the doorbell and all telephone calls will still be answered. In fact, a retired couple, formerly caravanners, have been hired by the Bishop of Rabat and will be living there as from September. In addition, a priest from Paris, resident in Ouarzazate, will conduct the Sunday services and those of the major festivals.»

Latest information :
A commentary has been posted by the people who will soon be coming to take care of the church in Ouarzazate.

« We are the French couple who have volunteered so that this wonderful site of Ouarzazate and its incomparable history can continue its mission. With the help of a priest living in Ouarzazate, the church will be open to everyone and at all times.
Our thanks go to our bishop Cristobal, who granted our request to maintain the Catholic presence in Ouarzazate.
Our arrival planned for May has been delayed by the pandemic but our will remains intact, and we look forward to being part of this great Moroccan family. Thérèse and Daniel Le Scoarnec

Photo credits : Abdellah Azizi / azifoto.com

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