Morocco made history when the Atlas Lions won the fifth edition of the Championship of African Nations (CHAN), making the country the first to both host and win the tournament.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, and Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia will carry Africa’s hopes and dreams. The Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is set for December 1 to determine group pairings for next summer’s football showpiece.
The Confederation of African Football emergency committee met in Lagos and unanimously decided that Morocco will host the fifth edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) instead of Kenya. Kenya’s rights to host the tourney were stripped after their preparations were deemed unsuitable for the biennial 16-team tournament.
The Sahrawi situation is one of the most protracted refugee crises in the world. The refugees fled fighting between Morocco and the Polisario Front following the end of Spain’s colonial administration of Western Sahara in 1976. An innovative project using plastic bottled sand to build houses started by Tateh Lehbib Breica, an engineer supported by UN Refugee Agency is helping to improve the living conditions of Sahrawi refugees. The houses are designed to withstand the elements, and the project has created jobs for many of the refugees.
The conflict between Western Sahara and Morocco has tempered down but the historic difficult relationship between the two parties can’t be erased. Attacks on the Saharawis by Moroccan forces led to death of many, and 25 Saharawis stand a retrial for the alleged killing of Moroccan security forces. Could the recent re-admittance of Morocco as the African Union’s 55 Member State be the first step on the long, and arduous road to resolving the conflict?
The African Union (AU) welcomed an old member, the Kingdom of Morocco, that left the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) after the continental bloc refused to support Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara, which it occupied in 1976. The dispute over Western Sahara will hog the limelight and the issue, which has continued to divide the AU member states will resurface and test the AU’s strength and resolve to address a longstanding political crisis.
A segment aired on Moroccan state TV channel showing women how to cover bruises from domestic violence with make-up has raised the ire of social media, strongly criticised for sanitising the abuse of women. A campaign “Don’t cover domestic violence with makeup” is gathering steam, and petitioners are calling on broadcasting authorities to take action against the channel.
Today is Morocco’s National Day in recognition of the country’s independence proclaimed by King Mohammed V in 1955 upon his return from exile. We commemorate the 60th anniversary of the independence of Morocco, from France and Spain. Happy Independence Day (Eid Al Istiqulal) to our Moroccan brothers and sisters.
Moroccan writer Leila Slimani has won France’s top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, for her novel “Chanson douce” (loosely translated “Sweet Song”). Slimani is only the second African woman to win the prestigious award after French-Senegalese author Marie NDiaye won the award in 2009 for her novel Trois femmes puissantes (Three Powerful Women).
Morocco has formally requested to re-join the African Union (AU), 32 years after it left the bloc. If Morocco is re-admitted, the dispute over Western Sahara will hog the limelight and the issue, which has continued to divide the AU member states will resurface.
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