By Omar Bihmidine
By Omar Bihmidine
Morocco World News
Sidi Ifni, Morocco, May 12, 2012
I instantly stood in awe of Abdellah El Haloui, a professor at Caddy Ayad university, when he was recently caught and photographed sweeping the ground of the library and cleaning it away from any self-consciousness that might have prevented him from engaging in such an unprecedented, philanthropic act. El Haloui, an acquaintance of mine, is a linguistics Ph.D holder whose articles on linguistic issues and philosophical topics I have had the chance to enjoy reading so immensely.
I could see in him a great writer through his frank and wonderful writing style. Yet, to say that such an intellectual whose likes are so rare nowadays swept the faculty ground, the library in particular, has taken aback not only his other fellow professors, but most importantly introduced us to a hitherto unknown and unappreciated approach among the ivory tower dwellers.
The news of the event has spread like wildfire, and articles about El Haloui’s ground-breaking, philanthropic act have immediately been published in Arabic on many news outlets. A video showing El El Haloui wearing a blue collar and cleaning the library floor with a broom has received a large number of comments on Facebook where all commentators expressed their great admiration for this modest and brave professor.
At the time, many students were at the faculty when the professor set to clean the ground alone without waiting for anyone to offer help. Sympathizing with the appearance of the professor, several students instantly offered to provide help when he was in sight cleaning the library corners for his students.
I now begin to hold the man in greater estimation than ever before for the reason that through wearing the blue collar and stooping to collect dusty things on the ground, he has implicitly drawn the attention of all Moroccan professors to the fact it is high time they stopped living in the ivory tower and they considered the hard conditions under which their students live.
El Haloui broke the record when he dared to clean the dirty grounds that have been ignored by the faculty and sanitation administrations. He is now a man true to his words. The real secret doesn’t lie only in the fact that he has held a broom and thrown away all dust, but mainly in the fact that he has contributed to creating a stress-free atmosphere where students, together with their professors, work co-operatively away from any inhibitions.
Watching the video about El Haloui undoubtedly gives us the impression that professors and students alike must now ask themselves what they can do to their university, rather what university can do to them. We can also deduce from this unprecedented event that some university professors are more philanthropic than others.
Back to the way the modest El Halhoui swept the ground as was shown in the video, he stooped to clean it with a broom he bought on his way to university and with a blue collar he rented for the purpose. In the meantime, students who were passing by him stood all in awe. In the process, he polished the shoes of a student.
This professor has transcended the classroom to come up with a new approach that is still ignored and stigmatized by fellow professors at the same faculty who would not appreciate what Mr. El Haloui has done.
Omar Bihmidine is high school teacher of English. He obtained his Associate Degree at Choaib Eddoukali University in 2008. His writings take the form of short stories, poems and articles, many of which have been published in Sous Pens magazine, in the ALC magazine in Agadir, and in the late Casablanca analyst newspaper.
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