Morocco's Berbers Reclaim Their Language and Their Indigenous Culture
This is precisely what happened to Hind Bari, a 10-year-old third grader at the school. Hind was excited about starting classes four years ago, but the Arabic-only classes quickly curbed her interest. Her father, Hajib, a construction worker, could do little to help because he had no formal schooling, aside from a yearlong literacy course for adults. Unable to keep pace, Hind failed first grade twice.
Worried about a repeat with his second daughter, Bari enrolled Fatiha, four years younger, in a newly opened preschool near the family's home. The classes exposed Fatiha to Arabic, but she had an additional advantage beginning school: three hours of classes in Tamazight, her native tongue. Now, 6-year-old Fatiha is on track to complete first grade in time.
On a recent Friday morning, Fatiha joined 22 students during Boutmouzzar's Tamazight class, where students performed skits and sang songs during the hour-long class. "It's a bridge between the reality and the institution," Boutmouzzar says.
But Fatiha's luck may be short lived. Though the government initiative calls for adding a new level of Tamazight each year, the school in Ait Ourir has offered only the first level for the past three years.
It's a similar problem in schools across the country. Many still have no Tamazight teachers, and the Ministry of Education won't allocate money to recruit new ones—a position that many Berbers see as a sign that the Arab-dominated government hasn't fully accepted the initiative. Textbooks aren't always sent to rural areas, where Berbers are often the majority, because they don't sell as well. Other promises, such as plans to launch an all-Tamazight television station and develop university-level programs on Berbers, have not materialized, either.
As roadblock after roadblock stalls the pace of change, many Berber activists are beginning to criticize and distance themselves from the king's effort. In 2005, for instance, seven of the 30 board members of IRCAM quit because of the constant pushback from the ministry. "If the government doesn't go fast and the mentality stays as is, there won't be progress," says Abdellah Hitous, head of Tamaynut, the country's leading human-rights organization for Berbers. "In fact, I think there will be a regression."
advertisement
