The first session took place on Friday, 16/10/2009. Seventeen participants took part in it. Join us too!

Le Club d’Anglais d’Oujda a vu le jour le 19 mars 2005 à la faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université Mohamed I à Oujda (Maroc). C’était une initiative prise par un groupe d’étudiants de la filière Etudes et Littérature Anglaises, en 3^e année (l’ancien système), avec l’assistance du chef de département à l’époque, Dr. Mohamed Dellal, du Dr. Khalid Hajji et d’autres professeurs de la filière, et approuvée par l’ancien Doyen de la faculté, M. Mohamed Benbrahim.

Le Club a pour objectif d’encourager et de promouvoir le travail d’équipe entre les étudiants de la filière, de tous les niveaux, et aussi de découvrir et affiner leurs talents en écriture et en communication en anglais essentiellement, même si ECO jouit d’amis, de lecteurs et de contributeurs qui ne font partie ni de la filière ni de l’université elle-même.

Depuis son établissement, le Club a pris l’initiative d’organiser un bon nombre d’activités culturelles, aussi bien à la faculté qu’à l’Espace Américain, qui a été fondé à Oujda alors que le Club existait déjà. C’était donc l’occasion pour ce dernier de nouer et de maintenir une relation de coopération avec l’Espace Américain, dirigé par M. Mohamed Bendaha.

En plus de l’intérêt majeur qu’il donne aux affaires estudiantines à l’intérieur de la filière, ECO s’est ouvert – même si d’une façon limitée jusqu’à présent – sur quelques élèves dans des lycées un peu partout au Maroc, avec lesquels un lien a été établi grâce aux licenciés de la faculté et fondateurs du Club, ainsi que des amis de celui-ci, qui enseignent l’anglais dans ces lycées. Un récent exemple qui montre ce lien et cette ouverture, c’est la contribution d’élèves du Lycée Moulay Ismail (El Hoceima) avec leurs écrits créatifs. D’autres amis, qu’ils aient étudiés à la faculté même, ou qu’ils aient fait connaissance du Club à travers ses membres, ont aussi participé de Rabat, d’Hollande et des Etats-Unis avec de la poésie et d’autres écrits.

Le travail et l’encadrement du Club est pris en charge par des étudiants volontaires, dont le travail, les études, ou encore la distance qui les sépare de la faculté, n’ont pas empêchés de rester fidèles à l’idée de la communication, l’innovation, l’écriture et le travail collectif, afin d’aboutir à un épanouissement des étudiants et de leur filière ainsi que celui de l’université et son environnement.

La librairie d’anglais a été autrefois une sorte de siège pour ECO. A présent, le Club a du rester un espace électronique, mais présent toutefois à l’Espace Américain, avec ses activités, dont la plus récente est l’atelier de l’art de parler en public, organisé depuis mars 2009 (Public Speaking Workshop).

Ajoutons qu’ECO a publié jusqu’à maintenant 5 numéros de son bulletin d’informations annuel, ou encore ce qu’on peut appeler magazine électronique. Dans ces numéros paraissent des articles spéciaux, des articles littéraires et culturels, des nouvelles, des interviews, de la poésie, des résumés de bouquins et enfin des rapports sur les activités en parallèle.

METAPHOR est le nom que portait une première initiative de publier un magazine de la filière d’anglais et qui a vu le jour en 2 numéros imprimés, parus au nom d’un groupe d’étudiants, 3 années avant la naissance d’ECO. Ce même nom, porté aujourd’hui par le magazine électronique du Club – un nom qui inspire de production créative – indique une volonté de continuer un travail qui n’a pas eu la chance de se poursuivre, et le désir d’unir anciens et nouveaux étudiants, et de les encourager à joindre leurs efforts pour le meilleur des exploits. Le contenu du magazine est publié sous forme d’extraits sur le blog du Club : www.englishcluboujda.blog.com

Le Club se voit heureux de compter un grand nombre de lecteurs et de contributeurs à son magazine, et aussi de participants aux activités qu’il entreprend en collaboration avec l’Espace Américain. Bien évidemment, tous ceux que les objectifs du Club et ses activités les intéressent sont les bienvenus. Le Club se réjouit également de recevoir vos suggestions et commentaires pour que le travail et l’écho d’ECO aillent plus loin, avec plus de succès.

Pour quiconque aimerait en savoir plus sur les objectifs principaux du Club, ou recevoir une copie des numéros précédents du magazine, vous êtes cordialement priés de consulter le blog indiqué ci-dessus ou de contacter le fondateur et superviseur du Club, Mohammed Hashas : hashasm@gmail.com, ou d’écrire à la coordinatrice actuelle du Club, Soumaya B. : englishcluboujda@gmail.com

Au nom d’ECO

Mohammed Hashas

Rome, 26 septembre 2009.

نشأ نادي اللغة الانجليزية يوم 19 مارس 2005 بمبادرة شلة من طلبة السنة الثالثة من شعبة اللغة الانجليزية وآدابها - نظام قديم - بكلية الآداب والعلوم الإنسانية بجامعة محمد الأول بوجدة، المغرب، بدعم من رئيس الشعبة آنذاك الدكتور محمد دلال والدكتور خالد حاجي وباقي أساتذة الشعبة، وبتزكية من عميد الكلية وقتئذ الدكتور محمد بنبراهيم

يهدف النادي إلى تقوية العمل الجماعي بين طلبة الشعبة في مختلف المستويات، والى صقل مواهب الكتابة والتواصل باللغة الانجليزية أساسا، رغم أن النادي له أصدقاء وقراء ومساهمون لا ينتمون لا إلى الشعبة ولا إلى نفس الجامعة

منذ نشأته بادر النادي إلى تنظيم عدد من الأنشطة الثقافية بالكلية و بالفضاء الأمريكي بوجدة الذي تأسس بعد ولادة النادي، فكانت مناسبة لهذا الأخير لبناء جسور التعاون مع الفضاء الأمريكي الذي يديره السيد محمد بنداحة

بالإضافة إلى اهتمامه أساسا بالشأن الطلابي داخل الشعبة، فقد انفتح النادي ولو نسبيا لحد الآن على بعض التلاميذ ببعض المؤسسات التعليمية الثانوية بالمملكة  والتي ربطت بها علاقة تواصل عن طريق خريجي الكلية و مؤسسي النادي وأصدقائه الذي يعملون كمدرسين للغة الانجليزية بها. وكانت آخر حلقات التواصل والانفتاح على المحيط الخارجي هو مساهمات إبداعية أرسلها لنا مبتدئون من ثانوية مولاي إسماعيل بالحسيمة، وكتابات شعرية من أصدقاء درسوا بالشعبة أو تعرفوا عن النادي عن طريق أفراده من الرباط، وهولندا، والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية

يشرف على عمل النادي وتأطيره طلبة متطوعون لا تلهيهم أبحاثهم ولا دراستهم ولا بعدهم الجغرافي عن البقاء أوفياء لفكرة التواصل، والإبداع، والعمل الجماعي لفائدة الشعبة والجامعة ومحيطها

بداية كانت المكتبة الخاصة بطلبة اللغة الانجليزية  بالكلية هي مقر النادي، والآن يتوزع مقره بين الفضاء الإلكتروني والفضاء الأمريكي

للنادي خمس إصدارات إلكترونية رئيسية لحد الآن تتوزع على شكل مقالات خاصة، و مقالات أدبية وثقافية، وقصص وحوارات وإبداعات شعرية،

وملخصات كتب وتقارير عن الأنشطة الموازية

    METAPHOR تجدر الإشارة إلى أن النادي احتفظ باسم

 كاسم للمجلة، تتمة لمجلة صدرت في عددين اثنين لمجموعة من الطلبة بالشعبة 3 

سنوات قبل تأسيس النادي، وفكرة الاحتفاظ بنفس الاسم الذي يوحي إلى الإبداع والخلق جاءت لكي يكون النادي بؤرة لتتمة عمل لم يكتمل وكذلك لربط الطلبة السابقين باللاحقين وتشجيعهم على العمل المشترك غير المنفصل. تصدر المجلة بشكل موجز كذلك على مدونة النادي

www.englishcluboujda.blog.com  

يسر النادي أن يضم أكبر عدد ممكن من القراء والمساهمين في مجلاته الإلكترونية و أنشطته التي يزاولها بتعاون مع الفضاء الأمريكي، كما يسره أن يستقبل اقتراحاتكم وتعليقاتكم ليكبر صدى وعمل النادي أكثر فأكثر

للاستزادة عن الأهداف الأساسية للنادي والحصول على نسخ المجلة السابقة  المرجو زيارة المدونة أعلاه أو الكتابة إلى مِؤسس النادي والمشرف عليه، محمد حصحاص

 hashasm@gmail.com  

أو الكتابة إلى النادي الذي تسهر على تنسيق أنشطته حاليا ا. سمية
 englishcluboujda@gmail.com

عن النادي

محمد حصحاص

روما 26 شتنبر 2009 ]]> http://englishcluboujda.blog.com/2009/09/28/%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%ba%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%ac%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%b2%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%ac%d8%af%d8%a9/feed/ http://englishcluboujda.blog.com/2009/09/28/ecos-electronic-newletter-metaphor-issue-5-2009/ http://englishcluboujda.blog.com/2009/09/28/ecos-electronic-newletter-metaphor-issue-5-2009/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:03:45 +0000 English Club Oujda http://englishcluboujda.blog.com/?p=5183254 The 5th issue of METAPHOR is already out.

You can ask for your PDF copy by contacting us at: hashasm@gmail.com, englishcluboujda@gmail.com

We will be pleased to receive your impressions and remarks.

Next newsletter will come out in January 2010, exceptionally. We have received some contributions about the Palestinian issue, and we have therefore decided to make of it an issue of its own, seeing that January coincides with last year’s war on Gaza.

If you have a contribution about this theme or other, that you would like to share through the club’s newsletters, please feel free to send it to us.

Our best wishes for Eid Al-Fitr!

Moundir Alamrani: From Metaphor to the World of Writing

When I first arrived to the English Department in 2002, I started looking for ways to interact with the graduates to learn from their experiences, and also to know from them how I can find my ways to publish some writings I was developing. Among a good number of diligent students that the department was proud of was Mr Moundir Alamrani. I was in my first year, and he was in the 4^th, the year of graduation. After my inquiries I came to know that one of the BA students had in mind the idea of founding a students’ newsletter. Moundir was among this circle. The idea came out as METAPHOR, and despite the administrative burdens and lack of funding to have the newsletter in printed version, the group collected a satisfactory number of contributions, with the help of some professors, and METAPHOR issue 1 and 2 had time to circulate. I still keep copies in the Resource Room, the English Department students’ library, and Moundir’s stories and poetry among them of course.

Like his undergraduate and graduate achievements, Moundir stayed on at the university for his MA studies which he also received with honours. During these years, and despite time constraints, I cannot say that he stopped thinking over his extra-curricular hobby; i.e. writing. From time to time he would send me and other fellows some links to his blogs where he publishes some of his poetry. When the idea of having an English Club in the department in March 2009, by a new group of 3^rd year students, Moundir encouraged the idea, and contributed some writings from time to time, which we have published in the previous 4 newsletters. There is no need to say that the Club aims at prolonging the life of METAPHOR, that is why we have opted for keeping the same name as a way of bridging gaps between old ideas and groups and new ones. 

This same Moundir who has started from METAPHOR in Oujda has recently published a novel entitled Delirious Hearts (Dorrance Publishing Company, 2009). In this newsletter we include the writer’s review of his novel.  ECO congratulates Moundir for his passion for writing and literature that has a bearing on reality and social issues. It is such an achievement to see one of the founders of METAPHOR turning into a professional writer. ECO is proud of having him as its supporter and contributor. We wish him the best in his writing career, and we expect to read more of him.

My contention behind the above lines is first to introduce Moundir as a personal friend, a friend of ECO, and also as a young Moroccan writer who is threading along the way of Moroccan Literature in English. There is no doubt that his novel will sooner or later be a taught work of art in high schools and universities in the country. From here I invite our readers to introduce themselves to such a young writer and his recent work.  Like Moundir, then, one can see that passion and will are determining factors in pursuing one’s aims.  And this starts early, with being open to extra-curricular activities at the university. It is quite certain that Moundir has learnt a great deal from his creative writings with METAPHOR. They were his beginning that will always affect his later works.

ECO aspires to see its readers and contributors turning into creative writers and professionals, like Moundir. We want to see many Moundirs who have started with METAPHOR and ECO and ended up into the world of writing and professionalism.

Congratulations again, Moundir, for your published work. Thank you also for having given ECO a chance to make of you an example of a student who has entered the world of writing.

Mohammed Hashas – Rome, 15 September 2009

Table of Contents

Delirious Hearts:  What is Fate? 4

What Do They Say about Public Speaking Workshop? 5

Reflections on Culture, Nationhood, and the Process of Identity Formation in Ephemeral Human Gatherings: The Hajj as a Case Study^* 6

Introduction. 6

I- Methodological Background: The Religious, the Secular and the Political 7

II- Cultural identity in the Hajj: the in/outside paradigm.. 8

III- Flag-waving in Arafat: the ambivalence of the nation. 10

By way of conclusion. 11

Manhattan Transfer John Dos Passos. 13

Progress of the Story/Stories 13

The Author’s Technique in General 14

Apart from Eccentricity 15

Remarkable Quotes 15

Conclusion. 16

Computer Science (1): Security Testing Tools. 17

KisMAC.. 17

NMAP. 18

The Electricity Bill Race – Short Story. 19

The Sun Shines from Moulay Ismail. 21

The Dream.. 21

Poetry. 22

Island of Pines 22

The Last Flower, Letter to my Love. 22

A Battle Took Place. 23

Suspicion. 24

Dreams of Trespass 24

Delirious Hearts: what is Fate?

Deception, weakness, failure, desire and innocence, to name but these, are all factors that shape and mark our fate in this life. Fatima’s, Boushra’s, and Salema’s itineraries in life have been greatly traced by these factors but on the hands of men. However, before going any further in exploring these ladies’ destiny, we need to ask a fundamental question: are men guilty of what has happened or are they just tools in the hands of fate to fulfil its aims? (…)

Moundir Alamrani – August 16, 2009

Reflections on Culture, Nationhood, and the Process of Identity Formation in Ephemeral Human Gatherings: the Hajj as a Case Study

(…)

Needless to say, a few people interested in the on-going current debates at the heart of social theory and cultural studies would be oblivious to the urgent need for a ‘new’ way of re-considering the primordial questions of culture, identity, and nationhood. Hence, the primary objective this paper aspires to achieve is to examine the process of identity formation in the Hajj as a temporary human gathering.

(…)

Because I believe that most troubles come from power relations and conflicts; especially the use, misuse and abuse of the symbolic, the metaphysical and the transcendental – i.e. culture, myth, and ‘religion’ – to serve material and political interests, I was looking for a case on earth, in which the political is at bay, even relatively, so that I can pause for a while and examine this exquisite process of identity-making from which I can draw some insights on identity as ‘being’ as well as ‘becoming’; and also to see whether individuals, with sundry backgrounds: language, race, ethnicity, class, nationhood, gender, etc. have the potentiality of existing in a “public space” in which they could inhabit space ‘peacefully’ and cohabit with the Other, and hence develop a sense of belonging to an imagined community (…) without losing their ‘particulars’, or where these particulars can be kept, even displayed, without inciting quarrels or conflicts.

Kamal Mhamdi

Computer Science (1) - Security Testing Tools

There are two different types of tools i.e. software and hardware tools that can be used to test security of computer systems or networks. In this article KisMAC as one of hardware testing security tools, and NMAP as a software security testing tools will be discussed.

Ari Kusyanti - January 2009

The Electricity Bill Race - Shorty Story

(…)

The electricity office opened from 08:30 to 14:00 o’clock, but it was always overcrowded towards the end of the month. Hajji Brahim knew very well this fact, therefore, a brilliant idea jumped into his mind, which was to be at the electricity office at seven o’clock. Thus he did. He was at the electricity office at seven o’clock sharp. Unfortunately for him, many other old people came up with the same brilliant idea and even better since they arrived there before him.

(…) during one hour the old men talked and talked and talked. The issues they tackled ranged between serious and trivial. They jumped from one topic to another: they spoke about bribery in Morocco, the benefit of olive oil, tension between Morocco and Algeria, the renewal of Hamam Benkashor, Kaddafi and his funny clothes and green book, the price of Tarfas and many, many other topics.

Mostafa Chaachaoui – February 2009

Island of Pines

Below my house beyond the hill

on this clouded day I walk

to a skiff at rest in the lake

a hull of weathered wooden boards

all grey and black and green set

one to another in a way to form a hull

to hold me as I sit oars grasped

to row to an island of pines

there above the shore I came across

one tree laid upon another

a line of black moving in and out

of the lower that rests on a thick

bed of duff while others stand

straight up like arrows aimed

majestic in coarse coats

a triangular man sits near the shore

he is always there when I am here

a dog in heat at his feet

never does he offer any of his catch

but sometimes he yells up to me

‘there is nothing there’ for me to hear

I am not a fisherman and where I am

a cold stream flows north to south

where stands a blind man with rod

in hand looking towards me

father, father I yell as he

turns toward the north.

Creative Writing Workshop Supervised by American Writer Jacqueline Bishop

The American Corner in
Oujda hosted a Creative Writing Workshop on Saturday, June 20, 2009 from 9.00 to 12.00 a.m. The workshop was supervised by Professor Jacqueline Bishop, a fulbrighter in Rabat (2008-09). She is an American writer, poet and producer from a Jamaican origin. Mrs Amina Jaouad, from Dar America in Casablanca, was there to initiate the session by introducing the writer.

The workshop programme consisted in reading excerpts from Jacqueline Bishop’s collection of poems “Fauna” (2006) and then making attempts to write spontaneous poems by the participants. The latter should express an idea related somehow to the poems read.

The first poem was entitled “Girl”. Broadly speaking, it is about a grandmother giving her granddaughter advice related to seemingly simple things, such as which part of a star-apple she should eat and which one she should not (the star-apple is a typical fruit of the Caribbean). The grandmother thus prepares her granddaughter to mature age. Her advice is characterized at times by superstition and by pretending to care for the girl more than her own mother. The most important aspect of the poem however is the fact that it depicts and values the particularities of Jamaican culture. This was actually the starting point for the writing experience we went through. We were asked to write a poem in which an old person advices their granddaughter or a grandson, in a genuine way. This means that we had to draw attention to the particularities of our own specific culture(s), by including concrete details that portray the way a grandmother – for example – would advice her grandchild in our society.

The second poem, “Flame Tree”, was a personification of the flame tree, again a specific tree to the Caribbean. In the poem, the tree is ‘an old woman’ tired of her long life among creatures that benefit from her, without giving her anything in return. The writer draws attention to the fact that the tree has been giving shade to everybody, while the sun is burning her; nobody is protecting her from it. Our task then consisted in putting ourselves in the shoes of a flower, but not an ordinary flower. The one we were supposed to give a voice to is rebelled against its fate: that of being cut and touched and smelled by everybody, to die within a couple of days. Most poems pictured the flower as a victim, and after some touches suggested by Jacqueline, our flowers became more rebellious and angrier, not merely sad.

As to the third poem, it was about another Caribbean tree: “Calabash”. The poem is a detailed description of the tree; more, it is in the very shape of this tree. This was the starting point for us to write a poem in the shape of a bottle of water put in front of us. We had to praise the water inside that Ein Sultan’s bottle, in every fantastic way we could manage to come up with, so as to make the reader desire that water. Any allusion to our culture was again very much welcome.

Finally, we read and discussed “Pa” poem, which is a sad story about a grandchild remembering his dead grandfather in reminiscence. The house in which everybody used to gather is now totally abandoned and in a pitiful state.

For the sake of fairness, I have to say that this is not an attempt on my part to analyze the poems; rather it is a very broad and short account about the meanings we quickly inferred from them during the discussion.

Back to the workshop. I think it was a successful one for the following reasons: first, Jacqueline helped us feel free from stress from the very beginning, while we were introducing ourselves. Second, she was not too demanding about the instructions she gave us. Hence, we were making attempts, reading them out loud or giving them to her to suggest us ameliorations, all in a friendly, sometimes funny way. Her feedback was most of the time encouraging. However, it would have been preferable in my opinion had she not given us concrete examples of what we could say in our poems, as way of illustration, because this led to the limitation of the creativity of most participants, who were reproducing the ready-made examples given to them.

Overall, we spent a nice time together; we tested our creativity and discovered ways of being closer to our readers, namely including very concrete details and elements specific to our culture, and by personalizing our poems.

We were offered by Jacqueline a flower each, from the bunch she was herself offered as an expression of gratitude and welcome. But those flowers we took with us home seemed calm and quite happy!

Soumaya B.

June 20, 2009

Public Speaking Workshop in Progress

It is a pleasure to update our readers about the Public Speaking Workshop in progress. Seven sessions have been carried out up to now, at Oujda American Corner, since March 20 (2009). The meetings were held (as indicated in the notice below) every Friday afternoon, with intervals.

A first general remark is that each session witnessed the presence of a different group of attendants, with a few permanent ones. The workshop as a whole, although carefully organized, was, and still is, a new experience for everybody. In other words, in this kind of activities, we start by suggesting what to do; we make plans that we try to put into practice more or less thoroughly, with many factors entering into play; then we assess and modify depending on the needs and the circumstances.

Nevertheless, every attendant must have learnt something from this workshop, such as the idea that public speaking, like everything in life, must have a start; if we do not take a first step, we will simply never learn. We learnt also that the stress and the fear that accompany public speaking, in various situations, is a normal reaction that must not discourage us from trying, and that its cure is possible and up to us.

What characterized the workshop further was the fact of being always open to suggestions, from those who took part in it, about its activities and what they considered to be most useful for them. The aim was, and still is, that they all participate in the making of the workshop, that they feel it belongs to them, as well as they belong to it.

During the sessions that have elapsed, two presentations were given, followed by discussions. There were also a number of open discussions about topics suggested again by the attendants themselves, and one movie projection. Concerning the theory of public speaking, it was partially presented in the form of auditory programmes and of written short articles, all by American specialists in the field.

In general, the feedbacks received from participants were most of the time positive: encouraging the initiative and considering it a very important opportunity for students to practice speaking in English. Moreover, those who gave presentations or took part in discussions were satisfied with the experience and realized the advantage of practicing within a group whose members are all there to learn.

Yet, the workshop is still in need of advertisement, suggestions, criticism and dynamism to push it forward and keep it alive in the future, with better organization, clearer planning, and brighter ideas. In any case, what has been achieved up to now constitutes no doubt the basis of future experiences. Thus, we may say that the workshop, as an activity, has gone through its first step. So, it has still a long way ahead, hoping for much improvement in the near future, with the participants’ devotion.

Finally, many thanks are due to all those who encouraged the workshop, those who attended and those who suggested ideas. Special thanks to Mr Mohamed Bendaha, the Corner’s director, for hosting the activity and encouraging it.

Of course, this is not a farewell. There are yet other sessions coming, and they are not less important than the previous ones. So, welcome all to attend and to leave comments here or send them to: englishcluboujda@gmail.com

Workshop supervisor

May 24, 2009

Editorial (p. 2)

(…)

For four years, ECO has been organizing activities that created another space of encounter between students of English, playing thus a vital role in their educational life. (…)

I think it is worth reminding my dear readers of its aims, which were set with the starting project, and specified in the club’s first newsletter (September 2005). In my own words I may say that they generally focus on the needs of students: the need for help in the first place, with regards the difficulties they find in their studies, the need to express themselves and voice their ideas, the need to have achievements of their own, and finally the need to feel that their studies trajectory is more interesting and enjoyable than it was. (…)

Dear students, you are the ones who can make the difference. There are many problems you are facing, many changes you would like to see in your faculty. You have got hidden talents, ideas to share and massages to convey. Your energy, your spirit of creativity and your care for learning and improvement are rich enough to enable you make the changes you wish to see. (…)

Soumaya B. (March 03, 2009)

Stereotypes, Communication and Networking (American Corner) (p. 6)

November 2007 was an occasion for the English speaking individuals of
Oujda city to exchange ideas with some Americans about the American life and about the possible ways of more understanding between the Moroccan and American people, leaving apart the political issues that generally hinder this understanding and co-work. It first started with Ms Paula McLaughlin, an American teacher of French at Mercy High School, San Francisco, California, who was invited to animate a debate on Stereotypes and Moroccan-American Communication on November 6, 2007. What might be of surprise about the event is that while she was expected to find grounds of understanding between her country and Morocco, the director of the American Corner, Mr Mohammed Bendaha, was simultaneously doing the same thing in the US for his country, Morocco, and the US. They happened to be ambassadors of their societies at the same time. And it is no wonder still to know that while in the US he had the occasion to talk about the Corner’s activity that particular day, November 6, as he recounted to me after his return back home. (…)

Mohammed Hashas (November 2007)

The Price (Short Story, p.

(…)

Sliman worked as a Mason; he shared a small apartment with two of his cousins; their life was summed up to working, eating and sleeping. Every penny they saved was for the sake of the loved ones.

They picked off every flower of their age in order to embellish the future of the loved ones.

Sliman knew the beautiful aspect of life only when he went back to his country and spent his holidays with the loved ones. Everything was tasteless except the month he used to spend with his wife and children. During that month Sliman did not deprive his family from anything they asked, though most of the times he anticipated their needs and thought. (…)

“Your father is an old fashioned and a naïve fellow, but he must discover later that we are not interested in school,” said Mohamed. “Hey idiot, be sure before you enter home to get rid of any cigarette and be sure that your mouth and clothes are smoke free, too,” said Mohamed in a low voice. (…)

Mostafa Chaachaoui (October 6, 2007)

A Mid-Summer’s Night (Short Story, p. 15)

August 15, night, I packed up my clothes, gathered a number of books and prepared every necessary thing my residence there would entail. After having put everything at the ready, I went out to meet my cousin Yassin in order to arrange for the time we would leave as we had already agreed to set out together. (…)

Onion is usually dirt cheap in Souk and the last thing I expected to be in such a need for in my life. Surely you will never know the value of a thing till you lose it or till you find yourself in an urgent need for it, just like the urgent need I felt for onion. I developed a strange sense of both love and hatred for onion ever since. Anyway, I took that piece of onion, confused whether to smell it first or to have a bite as if that was rule-bound. (…)

Faouzi Yasbah (March 19, 2009)

Fate (poem, p. 22)

Could one change one’s fate?

Some people are ranked among the late

Though they set the date.

Others, to be leaders is their fate.

Some are borne to give;

Others are here just to take.

One has no life to live,

And another one can’t feel the ache.

Do you see now the mess?

Find the reason you never tried to guess.

I and you can’t change our fate

Doomed we are to be among the late.

Though we try to set another date,

To be led by others is our fate.

Moundir Alamrani (2008)

An Alumnus Commemorating the Birth of ECO on its 4^th Anniversary (p. 23)

The American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau was right when he wrote:  ‘when you have built ivory towers, put the foundations under them.’ This is our aim. Why should I start with such a quote? The reason is that ECO is now entering its 4^th anniversary and still more foundations are needed to solidify its basis. (…)

I always like to keep an optimistic tone, yet sometimes tough talks help in bringing the lost threads into their right place. Otherwise put, after each newsletter we receive very good feedback and encouragements to go ahead with this work, but little contributions accompany these encouragements, which we are delighted to receive, of course. The point is, ECO cannot go on with lip-service and good words, we need real acts, more contributions, more participation, more involvement, more commitment, and with them more criti­cism to do better and better. (…)

I seize this opportunity to announce to ECO’s contributors and friends that we are in touch with Casablancaanalyst newspaper which is issued generally monthly, depending on the contributions received, by Dr Mohamed Oujetti, a professor at Hassan II University in Casablanca. So, with ECO and more writings we can have some of ECO’s works published by this Moroccan promising newspaper, which we all have to encourage and contribute to. With this note I wish all the best for the new members who are working on ECO’s agenda, voluntarily and with passion and professionalism, hoping that the 4 years that have elapsed will be added to the CV of ECO, with more appreciated records. That is what I succinctly meant by Thoreau’s words ‘when you have built ivory towers, put the foundations under them.’ (…)

The editor: Mohammed Hashas (Rome, March 15, 2009)

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AMERICAN CORNER IN OUJDA

ECO is back with the Public Speaking Workshop activity. It is open for students of English who wish to learn how to overcome the fear of public speaking, and to practice giving presentations.

Welcome!