• Home
  • News
    • Africa
    • International
    • International News
    • Maghreb
    • Algeria
  • Politics
  • Business
    • International
    • Maghreb
    • Middle-East
    • Morocco
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Essays
    • Letters
    • Op-Eds
    • Voices
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • Book and Movie Reviews
    • History
    • Profiles and interviews
    • Upcoming Events
  • Features
  • Society
    • Expatriates
    • Gender issues
    • Portraits
    • Ramadan
    • Religion
  • Education
  • Covid-19
  • Western Sahara
    • Autonomy plan
    • History
Search
  • About Us
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Editorial Team
    • Contributors
    • Correspondents
    • Editorial Board
Morocco World News Morocco World News
  • Home
  • News
    • Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve
      Covid-19

      Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve

      US Embassy Launches New ‘Morocco Future Leaders Program’ in Dakhla
      Morocco

      US Embassy Launches New ‘Morocco Future Leaders Program’ in Dakhla

      Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines
      Covid-19

      Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines

      Human Rights, Gender Equality: UN Celebrates Morocco’s Amina Bouayach
      Gender issues

      Human Rights, Gender Equality: UN Celebrates Morocco’s Amina Bouayach

      Moroccan Security Seizes Over $100,000 Worth Of Electronics
      Morocco

      Moroccan Security Seizes Over $100,000 Worth Of Electronics

      AllAfricaInternationalInternational NewsMaghrebAlgeria
  • Politics
    • Morocco To Help Togo Launch Its Social, Economic Council
      Africa

      Morocco To Help Togo Launch Its Social, Economic Council

      Moroccan FM: Jordan-Morocco Ties Serve as Example for Arab Relations
      Morocco

      Moroccan FM: Jordan-Morocco Ties Serve as Example for Arab Relations

      Morocco Builds Continental Leadership on Diplomacy, African Solidarity
      Morocco

      Morocco Builds Continental Leadership on Diplomacy, African Solidarity

      Morocco’s Human Rights Minister Withdraws Resignation After King Phone Call
      Highlights on Morocco

      Morocco’s Human Rights Minister Withdraws Resignation After Phone Call with King

      EU-Morocco Deals: Lawyers Shatter Polisario’s Claims in ECJ
      Morocco

      EU-Morocco Deals: Lawyers Shatter Polisario’s Claims in ECJ

  • Business
    • Nouaceur: Work Begins on Aeronautics Vocational Center Near Casablanca
      Economy

      Nouaceur: Work Begins on Aeronautics Vocational Center Near Casablanca

      Brexit Buster: Direct Maritime Shipping Route to Connect UK, Morocco
      Economy

      Brexit Buster: Direct Maritime Shipping Route to Connect UK, Morocco

      Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv
      Economy

      Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv

      Morocco Day 2021 Economic Summit for US Economists, Investors
      Economy

      Morocco Day 2021 Economic Summit for US Economists, Investors

      Economy

      Air Arabia Maroc Announces Five New Spain-Morocco Air Routes

      AllInternationalMaghrebMiddle-EastMorocco
  • Opinion
    • The Vote of Moroccans Living Abroad: Unleashing the Potential
      Opinion

      The Vote of Moroccans Living Abroad: Unleashing the Potential

      Storytime: Polisario’s Imagined War in Western Sahara Explained
      Opinion

      Storytime: Polisario’s Imagined War in Western Sahara Explained

      Morocco: Time to Cut Diplomatic Relations with Algeria Long Overdue
      Op-ed

      Morocco: Time to Cut Diplomatic Relations with Algeria Long Overdue

      Why Biden Will Uphold US Western Sahara Recognition
      Op-Eds

      Why Biden Will Uphold US Western Sahara Recognition

      Responsible Tourism Offers Chance to Learn About Other, Self
      Op-ed

      Responsible Tourism Offers Chance to Learn About Other, Self

      AllEditorialsEssaysLettersOp-EdsVoices
  • Lifestyle
    • Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv
      Economy

      Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv

      Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award
      Culture

      Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award

      Morocco Suspends Flights With Belgium, Italy
      Covid-19

      Morocco Suspends Flights With Belgium, Italy

      Rabat to Host the Visa for Music Festival in November
      Highlights on Morocco

      Rabat to Host the Visa for Music Festival in November

      Churchill's Painting of the Koutoubia Mosque Auctioned for €2.8 Million
      International News

      Churchill’s Painting of the Koutoubia Mosque Auctioned for €2.8 Million

      AllCultureBook and Movie ReviewsHistoryProfiles and interviewsUpcoming Events
  • Features
    • Morocco's Environmental Sustainability on Display at United Nations
      Features

      Morocco’s Environmental Sustainability on Display at United Nations

      WeMash Digital Moroccan Startup Supports Businesses’ Digital Transformation
      Economy

      WeMash Digital: Moroccan Startup Supports Businesses’ Digital Transformation

      Biden’s ‘Self-Defense’ Airstrikes on Syria Signal Shift in US Diplomacy
      Features

      Biden’s ‘Self-Defense’ Airstrikes on Syria Signal Shift in US Diplomacy

      Morocco’s Civil Society Continues Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights Amid COVID-19
      Features

      Morocco’s Civil Society Continues Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights Amid COVID-19

      Dispelling Morocco’s Five Biggest Cannabis Myths
      Features

      Dispelling Morocco’s Five Biggest Cannabis Myths

  • Society
    • Human Rights, Gender Equality: UN Celebrates Morocco’s Amina Bouayach
      Gender issues

      Human Rights, Gender Equality: UN Celebrates Morocco’s Amina Bouayach

      Cannabis: Morocco Aborts International Drug Trafficking Attempt
      Morocco

      Cannabis: Morocco Aborts International Drug Trafficking Attempt

      Heavy Thunderstorms, Snowfall to Hit Morocco Through Sunday
      Highlights on Morocco

      Heavy Thunderstorms, Snowfall to Hit Morocco Through Sunday

      Beni Mellal: Partial House Collapse Kills Man in Central Morocco
      Highlights on Morocco

      Beni Mellal: Partial House Collapse Kills Man in Central Morocco

      Moroccan Singer Saad Lamjarrad in Court to Face Rape Charges
      Morocco

      Moroccan Singer Saad Lamjarred in Court to Face Rape Charges

      AllExpatriatesGender issuesPortraitsRamadanReligion
  • Education
    • Morocco to Set Up Higher School of Technology in Ouarzazate
      Education

      Morocco to Set Up Higher School of Technology in Ouarzazate

      Renewable Energy: Morocco Opens Training Institute in Ouarzazate
      Education

      Renewable Energy: Morocco Opens Training Institute in Ouarzazate

      Education

      Al Akhawayn 1st University in Africa Accredited for Online Instruction

      Moroccan High Schoolers Talk Western Sahara at Public Speaking Contest
      Education

      Moroccan High Schoolers Talk Morocco’s Territorial Integrity at Public Speaking Contest

      British Council Starts English Learning Show on Morocco’s National Radio
      Education

      British Council Starts English Learning Show on Morocco’s National Radio

  • Covid-19
    • Morocco Records 407 New COVID-19 Cases, Three Deaths Nationwide
      Covid-19

      Morocco Records 407 New COVID-19 Cases, Three Deaths Nationwide

      Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve
      Covid-19

      Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve

      Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines
      Covid-19

      Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines

      Morocco’s COVID-19 Recoveries Outpace New Cases As Epidemic Declines
      Covid-19

      Morocco’s COVID-19 Recoveries Outpace New Cases As Epidemic Declines

      BBC Journalist Commends Morocco’s Vaccination Campaign
      Covid-19

      BBC Journalist Commends Morocco’s Vaccination Campaign

  • Western Sahara
    • Video: Prisoners Complain About Torture, Mistreatment in Tindouf Prison
      Morocco

      Video: Prisoners Complain About Torture, Mistreatment in Tindouf Prison

      Analyst Urges France to Back Morocco’s Stance on Western Sahara
      Highlights on Morocco

      Analyst Urges France to Back Morocco’s Stance on Western Sahara

      Morocco

      Jordan Officially Opens Consulate in Morocco’s Laayoune

      EU-Morocco Deals: Lawyers Shatter Polisario’s Claims in ECJ
      Morocco

      EU-Morocco Deals: Lawyers Shatter Polisario’s Claims in ECJ

      Canadian Figures Call on Biden to Support US Western Sahara Recognition
      Morocco

      Canadian Figures Call on Biden to Support US Western Sahara Recognition

      AllAutonomy planHistory
  • Home
  • Food
    • Moroccan Cuisine: 8 Traditional Street Foods You Must Try in Morocco
      Culture

      Moroccan Cuisine: 8 Traditional Street Foods You Must Try in Morocco

      Moroccan Cuisine: Five Soups You Should Integrate Into Your Diet
      Cuisine

      Moroccan Cuisine: Five Soups You Should Integrate Into Your Diet

      Casablanca’s Franklin Roosevelt Starbucks Among World’s ‘Most Beautiful’
      Food

      Casablanca’s Franklin Roosevelt Starbucks Among World’s ‘Most Beautiful’

      Cuisine

      Moroccan Chef Hamid Miss Celebrates Morocco’s Cuisine in France

      Cuisine

      Moroccan Cuisine: Nine Must-Visit Restaurants in Rabat

      AllHealth and DietRecipesRestaurant Reviews
  • Travel
    • Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv
      Economy

      Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv

      Morocco Suspends Flights With Belgium, Italy
      Covid-19

      Morocco Suspends Flights With Belgium, Italy

      New Flights to Connect Fez Morocco and Bastia Corsica, Starting July
      Fez

      New Flights to Connect Fez Morocco and Bastia Corsica, Starting July

      In Photos One Cyclist’s Coddiwomple Across Morocco
      Features

      In Photos: One Cyclist’s Coddiwomple Across Morocco

      Moroccan, Switzerland Launch Program to Promote Sustainable Tourism
      Economy

      Morocco, Switzerland Launch Program to Promote Sustainable Tourism

      AllExperiencesHotel ReviewsWhere to visit
  • Culture
    • Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award
      Culture

      Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award

      Moroccan-Italian Malika El-Maslouhi is The Face of Dundas Fall 2021 Collection
      Culture

      Moroccan-Italian Malika El-Maslouhi is The Face of Dundas Fall 2021 Collection

      Discovery of 2.5 Million Year Old Macaque Fossil In Morocco
      Culture

      Discovery of 2.5 Million Year Old Macaque Fossil In Morocco

      Kharboucha Moroccan Heroine, Voice of Rebellion Against Injustice
      Culture

      Kharboucha: Moroccan Heroine, Voice of Rebellion Against Injustice

      Workers Discover 3-Centuries-Old Underground Tunnels in Tangier Medina
      Culture

      Workers Discover 3-Centuries-Old Underground Tunnels in Tangier Medina

      AllBook and Movie ReviewsHistoryProfiles and interviewsUpcoming Events
  • Style
    • Moroccan Photographers L4artiste, Psycho Moustache on Their Rise to Fame
      Culture

      Moroccan Photographers L4artiste, Psycho Moustache on Their Rise to Fame

      Tarzanisme: Journey of a Professional Moroccan Breakdancer
      Features

      Tarzanisme: Journey of a Professional Moroccan Breakdancer

      Olympique de Marseille Celebrates Morocco in New Colors of Africa Kit
      Highlights on Morocco

      Olympique de Marseille Celebrates Morocco in New Colors of Africa Kit

      Maison Artc: Morocco's Modernized Vintage Fashion House
      Fashion

      Maison Artc: Morocco’s Modernized Vintage Fashion House

      Michael Conduit: The Journey of A British Digital Artist in Morocco
      Culture

      Michael Conduit: The Journey of A British Digital Artist in Morocco

      AllFashionInterior DesignShopping
  • Places
    • New Flights to Connect Fez Morocco and Bastia Corsica, Starting July
      Fez

      New Flights to Connect Fez Morocco and Bastia Corsica, Starting July

      Moroccan, Switzerland Launch Program to Promote Sustainable Tourism
      Economy

      Morocco, Switzerland Launch Program to Promote Sustainable Tourism

      “Reflet” Exhibition Promoting Art in Morocco Amid COVID-19
      Casablanca

      “Reflet” Exhibition Promoting Art in Morocco Amid COVID-19

      Global Shapers Community Opens Hub in Morocco’s Laayoune
      Economy

      Global Shapers Community Opens Hub in Morocco’s Laayoune

      Casablanca Floods: Lydec Breaks Silence, Tries to Make Up
      Administrative

      Casablanca Floods: Lydec Breaks Silence, Tries to Make Up

      AllCasablancaFezMarrakechRabatTangier
  • Highlights
  • Events
  • Moroccans of the world
  • Media
  • Services
Home News Maghreb Amid a Berber Reawakening in Libya, Fears of Revenge

Amid a Berber Reawakening in Libya, Fears of Revenge

By C. J. CHIVERS

Staff Writer
By
Staff Writer
-
Aug 9, 2011
Spread the love

By C. J. CHIVERS

August 9, 2011

NYTimes

YAFRAN, Libya — In the evening, as the searing desert temperatures subside, the residents who have returned to this rebel-held city near the front lines appear on the streets. Some of them carry cans of paint, and begin to decorate murals with the characters of an ancient language that had been forbidden by the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The language is Tamazight, the tongue of the Amazigh, or Berbers, who, after decades of oppression in Libya are re-emerging as a political force.

As rebels have chased the Qaddafi military from much of the arid highlands in Libya’s west this spring and summer, Yafran has become the easternmost outpost of a cultural and linguistic reawakening that has expanded across the map, and it is expected to expand more.

Overlooking the Libyan desert plain, the city shows signs of a nascent sense of self-determination — a step, the Amazigh hope, toward full national and regional recognition.

“Before we were in darkness — we were invisible,” said Osama Graber, 36, an Amazigh mechanical engineer who is now an opposition fighter. “And now we can be seen, and are tasting freedom.”

No sooner had the Qaddafi forces pulled back from this city than its residents began reasserting their standing, even as the Qaddafi military lingered just beyond rocket range.

They followed a model seen in other traditionally Amazigh cities — including Nalut and Jadu — that have already broken free of the government’s grip. And they hope to build on gains realized by Amazigh people elsewhere, including in Morocco, which gave official standing to the language in June.

Classes in Tamazight are being held. An Amazigh security force has been formed. A local weekly newspaper, called Tamusna, for “wisdom,” has started to circulate in three languages — Tamazight, Arabic and English.

And Amazigh cultural and political leaders have framed a set of public demands for a postconflict Libya. As part of their vision, Tamazight will have an equal standing with Arabic, and Libya will become a parliamentary democracy based on a constitution grounded in tolerance and respect for human rights.

But with these high official aspirations, made possible by force, have come whiffs of revenge, which raise questions about whether the swift social reorganization gathering momentum in Libya risks fueling tensions that could undercut stability in the years ahead, or even lead to intractable internecine war.

After the Qaddafi military withdrew in early June, the houses in Yafran of the Mashaashia, a tribe whose members supported the Qaddafi government, were set upon and burned. Their occupants vanished from these mountains, apparently having fled. Many Amazigh residents say the Mashaashia are not welcome back.

The number of houses burned here is in dispute. Some say perhaps 15 or 20, others say more. The Mashaashia had a small presence in the city, which had a full-time prewar population of about 25,000, and the remaining residents say perhaps 150 of them were chased away.

The arson followed patterns seen in more densely populated Mashaashia areas, including the towns of Awaniya and Qawalish. Many Yafran residents say it was justified.

“These people, they were bad,” said a fighter, who gave only his first name, Hatam. “When the Amazigh families moved away from the fighting, they stayed and broke into homes, took things and killed our sheep.”

The Mashaashia households, other residents said, also provided sons who fought in pro-Qaddafi forces or offered intelligence and logistical support to government troops that besieged the mountains.

The attacks on the Mashaashia, however, seemed not to be directed only against the homes of those known to have sons in the military. Among the ruined houses were those once occupied by families whose connections to the government would seem of little consequence, including that of a widow and her children, who neighbors said were 13 and 16 years old.

Reprisals have been a source of embarrassment for the Transitional National Council, the de facto rebel authority, which has relied on Western support to survive. Officially, after prodding from Western diplomats, rebel leaders said that they would investigate the crimes and try to redress the grievances later.

“They are welcome back to their homes after the war, after we defeat the Qaddafi forces,” Jalal el-Digheily, the new rebel defense minister, said in an interview on Thursday.

But such declarations are not often echoed on the lands the Amazigh consider theirs. Years of oppression and months of bloodshed have hardened sentiments.

Even public officials are comfortable declaring that driving away pro-Qaddafi tribes aligns with a popular mood. One prominent Amazigh official, Gen. Ahmed Ismail el-Gul, who is Yafran’s police chief, was blunt.

“We don’t want them,” he said of the Mashaashia. “The government says they can come back. But the people don’t want them.”

With their enemies now gone from the city, the Amazigh have been slowly restoring life to Yafran. One resident, Yousef Grada, 35, has been cleaning the city, block by block.

Mr. Grada ran a small shop before the war. During the two-month guerrilla effort to chase the Qaddafi soldiers from the city, he was a fighter. He first went to combat, he said, with a meat cleaver, but eventually obtained a captured assault rifle.

Once the Qaddafi forces pulled back, he said, he set aside the blade and the rifle and formed a volunteer cleaning crew. First, he carried away the accumulated garbage and the city’s carpet of spent machine-gun cartridges.

Lately, he has been painting the city’s walls, street by street, which are then decorated with revolutionary and Amazigh murals. He said he was waiting for the end of the war, and full legal recognition. “I am expecting good things,” Mr. Grada said.

A few blocks away, at a former government building that has become a revolutionary exhibit, the main artist, Abdul Ghassem, said the Amazigh revival should not harm other Libyans or be seen as a yearning for separatism.

“We are not looking for our own country,” he said. “We are all Libyans. All we want is our rights.”

A doctor at the Yafran hospital said that kind of feeling has made the Amazigh sense that the currents of war and history are now making long-suppressed dreams feel possible. But his own fears — he declined to give his name because, he said, he was worried for the safety of relatives in Tripoli — underscored how treacherous life in Libya remains.

He said he was concerned that tensions between tribes and ethnic groups, long exploited by the Qaddafi government’s patronage system and now one of the dividing lines in this war, could create cycles of resentment and violence that could be hard to calm after an ouster of the Qaddafi clan.

“Absolutely we are worried. People have to learn that getting our rights does not mean threatening other people’s rights,” the doctor said in an interview at the hospital, which is not far from some charred remains of what, until June, had been Mashaashia homes.

Photo credit: Bryan Denton for The New York Times

Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
WhatsApp
Email
ReddIt
Pinterest
    Staff Writer

    RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

    Morocco Records 407 New COVID-19 Cases, Three Deaths Nationwide
    Covid-19

    Morocco Records 407 New COVID-19 Cases, Three Deaths Nationwide

    The Vote of Moroccans Living Abroad: Unleashing the Potential
    Opinion

    The Vote of Moroccans Living Abroad: Unleashing the Potential

    Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve
    Covid-19

    Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve

    US Embassy Launches New ‘Morocco Future Leaders Program’ in Dakhla
    Morocco

    US Embassy Launches New ‘Morocco Future Leaders Program’ in Dakhla

    Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines
    Covid-19

    Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines

    Human Rights, Gender Equality: UN Celebrates Morocco’s Amina Bouayach
    Gender issues

    Human Rights, Gender Equality: UN Celebrates Morocco’s Amina Bouayach

    MOST WATCHED VIDEOS
    Polisario Supporters Storm Moroccan Consulate General in Valencia

    Polisario Supporters Storm Moroccan Consulate General in Valencia

    Tamba François Koundouno - Nov 15, 2020
    Rania Sara Moroccan sisters the Voice Kids France

    The Voice Kids: French-Moroccan Sisters Amaze Judges to Reach Finals

    Diaspora Oct 4, 2020
    Video Shows Children Witnessing, Surviving Beirut Explosion

    Video Shows Children Witnessing, Surviving Beirut Explosion

    News Aug 5, 2020
    Beirut Explosion Leaves Royal Air Maroc Agency in Ruins

    Video: Beirut Explosion Leaves Royal Air Maroc Agency in Ruins

    International Aug 5, 2020
    ‘Morocco’s Warrior Women’ The Inspirational Riders Taking on Fantasia

    ‘Morocco’s Warrior Women’: The Inspirational Riders Taking on Fantasia

    Culture Jul 29, 2020
    MOST READ

    LIFESTYLE UPDATES

    Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv
    Economy Mar 5, 2021

    Morocco to Participate in International Tourism Exposition in Tel Aviv

    Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award
    Culture Mar 3, 2021

    Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award

    Morocco Suspends Flights With Belgium, Italy
    Covid-19 Mar 2, 2021

    Morocco Suspends Flights With Belgium, Italy

    EXPERIENCES

    • Culture Morocco’s Red City: Touristic Places in Marrakech You Must Visit Morocco’s Red City: Touristic Places in Marrakech You Must Visit
    • Experiences California to Morocco: A Student’s COVID-19 Diary of Self-Discovery California to Morocco: A Student’s COVID-19 Diary of Self-Discovery
    • Experiences Travel in Morocco: Exploring Tinmel Mosque, a Hidden Gem Travel in Morocco: Exploring Tinmel Mosque, a Hidden Gem

    MOST READ

    MOST READ OPINIONS
    [getmostpop category=11 range="last30days"]

    Latest Articles

    Morocco Records 407 New COVID-19 Cases, Three Deaths Nationwide

    The Vote of Moroccans Living Abroad: Unleashing the Potential

    Dutch Radio: Morocco’s COVID-19 Response Ahead of Global Curve

    US Embassy Launches New ‘Morocco Future Leaders Program’ in Dakhla

    Morocco Sends Royal Air Maroc Plane To China To Fetch Vaccines

    Morocco World News

    About us

    Morocco World News: Championing Free Speech and Thoughtful Debate Through Journalistic Excellence.

    Morocco World News is dedicated to bringing the news of Morocco and the MENA region to a wide audience without bias or a political agenda.

    Contact us: [email protected]

    DMCA.com Protection Status

    Useful Links

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Correspondents
    • Editorial Board