The Sacrifice of the Exceptional Moroccan Fathers

By Omar Bihmidine

Morocco World News

Sidi Ifni, Morocco, July 18, 2012

Even though uneducated, many poor fathers living in Souss and Daraa regions, such as Tiznit and Zagora areas respectively, have sacrificed their lives and toiled hard for the sake of bringing up their children appropriately and sending them to school and university. Unable to offer their children any kind of private tuition, these poor fathers go on to encourage their children to do their best in their studies and to be self-reliant.

Nowadays, many of these parents bear stories of their hardships in this process. Their main purpose is to see their children landing noble jobs one day. Acutely aware of the plight of illiteracy and miserable labor, these fathers do not want their children to fall in the same pitfall.

A distant relative of mine is a father blessed with four children. One of them is now a primary school teacher. I know very well the story of this family whose father is really sacrificial. There were times when he was tempted to send his son to work, but he never succumbed to the ephemeral pleasure his son could bring him. He was aware enough that his son’s education would matter more to both of them.

If it weren’t for his father’s care, the son could have been forced to drop out of school as has been the case with many victims of Moroccan society. But, what characterizes this great father is that he has been patient with the burdens of life and his extremely low standards of living until his son attained the position of teacher. It is now crystal clear that a large number of teachers are born to poor fathers. Fortunately for this teacher, his father, albeit somewhat illiterate, was conscientious.

Another father originally from my home village is a shopkeeper in Casablanca who bears nearly the same story. Now that one of his sons has become a doctor, this father can breathe a deep sigh of relief after spending large amounts of money he could not afford. Sometimes, he resorted to loans just to equip his son with whatever he needed to realize his dreams. As I know, this father never complained to his son about the expenditures of life for the simple reason that he would stand by his son during hard times out of sincere sacrifice.

Frankly, I stand in awe of another father, a taxi driver, whose daughter is still pursuing her studies in America. Even if her father has not the slightest idea what her specialty is, he never stops sending her an amount of money through Western Union to support her. He works day in and day out to earn his livelihood and then share his profits with his daughter. It is now seven years that he has been doing so. Yet, this sacrifice never tires him at a time when the future of his daughter is all that matters to him.

Stories of sacrifice on the part of some fathers are countless. Just think of the sweaty foreheads of the cart drawers whose children are waiting for the every day. Just think of the fathers who get up very early to walk miles and miles and come back home with their sacks full of food and clothing for their children. Just think of the fathers who no longer care about what they wear, how they look like, and whether they are still healthy enough to provide the best for their children. At the very least, isn’t their sacrifice worth shedding tears for in reminiscence of their indelible favor?

Edited by Benjamin Villanti