A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| I saw with my very own eyes... oppression |
|---|
| M.F. |
| 03/24/02 at 06:23:14 |
| Assalamu alaikum, I live right in the middle of downtown Rabat, the Capital of Morocco. Last Wednesday, I saw something from my apartment balcony that changed my whole view of Morocco. PhD holders and architects who didn't have jobs had been protesting in front of the Parliament (which is almost directly accross the street from me) for weeks and weeks before they were told very violently not to come around anymore. Wednesday they dared to come back. I heard a loud siren and then shouts and screams. My husband and I ran to the window. We saw with our very own eyes men and women being beat up by riot police, I mean really being beat up with those sticks that they have made of rubber, being kicked, one woman was slapped in the face according to my husband, about 20 peopl were just lying around, they couldn't move because their legs had been broken probably. The police picked them up and threw them on the sidewalks to get them out of the street. Women and men were just lying there on the sidewalks. The ones who got away would gather in a street and start chanting again (that's all they'd ever been doing, they never used anything except their mouths). The riot police would start running towards them brandishing their sticks. You could see that they loved what they were doing, they looked bloodthirsty. They were running to get them! The crowd would then run away, and it went on like that for over an hour. Shocked, I wanted to call an ambulance but my husband told me it wouldn't be of any use. The police themselves would answer if I called and they wouldn't let any get by. Sure enough, it wasn't till an hour later that the ambulances showed up. After that, some ambulances stayed around. All of a sudden, I saw the police waving to an ambulance to come over, quick!! they were clearning the way for it as fast as they could and they seemed panicked. I said: They've killed someone. The ambulance came right under our building; and the paramedics got out as fast as they could. The person they picked up was in convulsions. I mean violent ones! He was bloody and I screamed: They've killed him!! I know they did. My husband wouldn't let me watch after that (he tried to get me away several times before too). He said it's probably an epillepsy fit but that doesn't sound very likely. The police wouldn't have panicked like that if it were. And he was bloody. That same day the king's upcoming wedding was announced. For the first time in Moroccan history the king's wife is shown to all. Billions are being spent to build a new palace in Marrakech where the wedding will take place. In the meantime millions are starving. The press didn't say one word about the violence. This is just what they do in public, downtown Rabat, on the main street, where Moroccans and foreigners can see them... What do they do when they can't be seen? I asked a local TV cameraman that was at our work the next day to film an event if they would be showing what had happened the day before. He said: "What happened?" and I said: exactly, what happened? Of course he'd been there and seen it but they're not allowed to record or broadcast that kind of thing. Everyone knows but everyone's in denial. Nothing happened. I've lost faith in Morocco. I'm disillusioned and disenchanted. I'm disgusted and outraged. I'm angry. I'm helpless, I'm completely helpless. There's absolutely nothing I can do. I can only ask Allah to help us. |
| Re: I saw with my very own eyes... oppression |
|---|
| UmmWafi |
| 03/25/02 at 14:20:33 |
| Dearest dearest Mariam Its so very very difficult to watch as human life lost its value in place of something else isnt it ? It must have been horrible to watch and a great big hug for u hoping that u can feel I share your pain. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. People always ask What went wrong ? What went wrong ? But, are they really interested in the answer ? Because the answer is so very clear. We have violated the Covenant that we made with Allah our Creator. We accepted Allah as our Lord but we transgress His Laws. The result is nothing short of chaos. My dua that Allah will bless us with hidayah and hikmah so that we can perform what is in fact our fitrah. Our duties to Him as faithful servants. Wassalam |
| Re: I saw with my very own eyes... oppression |
|---|
| zomorrud |
| 03/25/02 at 18:44:06 |
| assalamu alaikum, that is quite sad. having lived in the middle east for some time, i believe that it would take a lot to change things. but you know, if an amature video taping of the violence were to reach the bbc or cnn or amnesty international, i am sure that it would be aired and maybe embarass the moroccan govt, maybe it would even pressure them to do something about it? have your video cam handy! however, it might turn out to jeoprodize your own safety. how about you contact foreign correspondents in morocco - i am sure there are some stationed there, and tell them what you saw. |
| Re: I saw with my very own eyes... oppression |
|---|
| M.F. |
| 03/26/02 at 08:59:23 |
| Assalamu alaikum Yesterday they gathered again and sat it the middle of the street. I didn't see any beating, but they were literally dragged accross the street to the sidewalk. Some policemen actually picked the women in the group up (can you imagine a sister with hijab being picked up by two or three men?) then the police made a two man deep wall pressing them in.... ugh. I can't stand to hear their protests anymore or the police sirens (I heard this yesterday and my knees kinda went weak. I can't stand looking at their ugly police uniforms anymore. I'm just so disgusted. It's like they love to be violent. How could any human being be that way?? |
| Re: I saw with my very own eyes... oppression |
|---|
| UmmWafi |
| 03/26/02 at 12:27:44 |
| (((((((((((Mariam)))))))))))) Just a lil anecdote to brighten your Moroccan day. Not so long ago, there was a function held in Turkey attended by luminaries including the Turkish Prime Minister. The function was opened by recitation of the Holy Quran. At this point, the PM left the hall and came back later. When asked abt his behaviour, he said, he didnt stay because he believes in a secular state for Turkey and thus recitation of the Quran at state function is unseemly. But yet he still profess to be a Muslim. Wohoooo...what a world we live in eh ? Wassalam |
| Re: I saw with my very own eyes... oppression |
|---|
| M.F. |
| 03/27/02 at 04:22:38 |
| Assalamu alaikum It's scary what Muslims are doing to themselves. If Allah had chosen to punish us like he did the people before who rejected the messages of the prophets, we would be in deep trouble. Now I think Muslims are just being punished by their own ignorance, I mean by being left in a state of ignorance and helplessness that they can do nothing about. Not until they realize that it's their own doing that's put them in this state will anything ever change. That's the way I see it at least. Wallahu a'lam. Allahumma ultuf bina wa irhamna! |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |