young entrepreneurs When young Moroccans dream of escape, almost inevitably they wonder how to make themselves pleasing to foreigners, how to sell themselves to foreigners in one way or another. This can take the form of the young Jemaa el Fna waiter who went to school for two years in “tourist entertainment,” or the lady friend of Ali’s who sells trinkets in the parking lots of roadside attractions and told me “I love you” as soon as she knew I was American, or Chafik who despite having the touchy pride of a university educated intellectual is keen to cultivate friends in the Peace Corps, or Said the guide in Merzouga who makes his living directly from tourists, or Nabil’s sister who was willing to follow my mother back to the U.S. to cook and clean for her, or Saleh who cultivated a relationship with a Spanish woman almost twice his age. Family and society sometimes rein in this entrepreneurial spirit and put a brake on its excesses, but all too often they are its enablers, such as Jamal’s mother who allowed his French girlfriend to stay with him for several days, even though she never lets his Moroccan friends in the house. There is an almost universal understanding at every level of society, from top to bottom, that foreigners are to be considered an opportunity. Thus Moroccan friendship and hospitality, while sincere, are corrupted by the search for profit, either immediate or long term.
	location: Essaouira, Morocco date: July 27, 2006 average rating: [not rated] your rating (0-10):