Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School, Morrisville PA
Undertake a culturally-immersive expedition of Morocco to deepen awareness of Sub-Saharan refugees' plight before granted asylum, better understand refugee students, and more effectively reach Muslim student and their families.
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the largest in the country. It is also the only Mosque a non-Muslim can tour. It was built in just six years with thousands of Moroccan craftsmen working around the clock.
The Foundation Orient-Occident is an inspiring institution in Rabat that is a haven and hub of activity for migrants and refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa.
When in Rabat eat at Dar Naji. They have two locations. One by the old Medina walls and one by the sea.
New friends from Guinea and the Central African Republic who helped us get good deals in the Medina. These young men were helped in varying degrees by the Foundation.
This is an abandoned factory located in the heart of the city of Meknes. It is also the home of 60 Sub-Saharan migrants ineligible for public assistance, living off the grid.
This is the spot where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Some Sub-Saharan refugees cross the Mediterranean to make their homes in Europe, others are granted asylum to cross the Atlantic to the US or Canada. Others stay in Morocco.
Visiting Foundation Orient-Occident was extremely moving. This is an oasis for Sub-Saharan refugees in Rabat, which helps over 200 asylum seekers a month. The courtyard is full of young people lounging. There are classes, trainings, an art space, children's workshops and a cafeteria. The center is vibrantly decorated with inspirational messages. A photographic exhibit in the garden shows migrants atop barbed wire barriers or camping in the forest, hoping to get to Spain. @alisateachertraveler
My respect of the Muslim religion has deepened. Each city we visited had great Mosques and you could hear regular calls to prayer and see many devout followers of the religion. Everyone we met was so warm, kind and welcoming. We watched the Moroccan Olympic soccer matches in the cafes. I realized that I carried some preconceived bias expecting that Arab people to be standoffish and unfriendly, however my experience was quite the opposite. Everyone we met was friendly and inviting.
The abandoned factory in Meknes where migrants stay was an unplanned stop. Tires were rolled back and we entered this underworld - a sneak peek of something I'd only seen in movies. My traveling companion had lived there in his youth and his former bodyguard resides there still. The Moroccan beaches were an unexpected delight. Women remain completely covered and the scene is very different than western beaches. I gained friends including a soccer player I met on a beach and our phenomenal guide.
I plan to present a slideshow to my school community that depicts much of the beauty I experienced on my travels to Morocco. I have great pictures of the Medinas and the Atlas Mountains, the mosaic fountains, the great craftsmanship of the architecture and interiors. I plan to do this jointly with the Moroccan students and their families from my school. They were so excited that I was going to Morocco and wished me a great trip. I can now explain to my students why Chefchaouen in blue.
In addition to involving families to help me create and present a slideshow presentation, it might be good to do a craft. I will work with the art teacher at my school to chose a craft that is simple, beautiful and emblematic of Morocco. I am thinking of a mosaic paper lantern after-school project open to families to celebrate a Muslim holiday.
One of my goals of this fellowship was to come back with a deepened understanding a reverence and make the case to change the school calendar to have off for Eid. I will be reaching out to the calendar committee, but I understand that this is already in the works and others in the school district were also thinking this is a good idea and the change is going ahead.