Been gone so long...

Tonight is the first night in almost three weeks that I am alone... which has lead me to update my blog. The past few weeks have been anything but boring here in Sefrou and in North Africa in general.

First there was the February 20 protests in Morocco and from my perch over looking the rumpaun in the Ben Saffar section of town I witnessed what I believe was over a 1000 people marching peacefully under my window... but the peace was short lived as more protesters gathered together around the city, clashes with the authorities were bound to erupt... and it did. Groups of young people stoned buildings and police vehicles. I was brought back to those days in the fall of 1975 in Boston, when busing ripped the city apart and I was in the middle of riot fighting for my life. The ebb and flow of the day felt the same... memories rushed back as I watched small groups grow to large masses and one could sense the build up to a moment... and then Bang!! the action would begin, rocks flying, people scattering, men with clubs roaming the streets. It felt so familiar and I could anticipate the exact moment when the gathering storm would burst into life. I had forgotten what it was like...

Two weeks have past since I was trapped in my home, told not to leave until the next morning... Sefrou is calm, but I sense an undercurrent of something, I can't tell what or if it is just my imagination play with me. But the people here seem to want a change, so I keep alert and wonder if it will happen again. Time will tell, I have heard talk of another protest tomorrow and then every Sunday until March 20th when there is a call for mass protests across Morocco. Inshallah I will stay in here.

The photos are from my home... the first is apolice van being pelted with rocks, the other is a march under my window. I take no side in this political protest, I just observe.