An attempt to understand the Gen Z scene in Morocco

The world heard about Generation Z for the first time in Nepal, then the name was repeated in Morocco, and then it was repeated in Madagascar, and it was said in its definition that it is the generation that came into the world at the beginning of this millennium or a little before the beginning of it, and that it thinks differently from the generations that preceded it.

As for Morocco, I have two backgrounds that explain the scene of the youth of “Generation Z”, who, when they wanted to be distinguished from others, added a number to their definition, so that it became as follows: “Generation Z 212”. One of the two backgrounds is close to Morocco itself, and the other was in Egypt during the period immediately preceding the so-called Arab Spring.

The distant background was when Dr. Ahmed Nazif became prime minister in Egypt, and it was said throughout the years from 2005 to 2011 that his government's growth rate was unprecedented over the years of President Hosni Mubarak, and that this bodes well for a lot of improvement in living standards.

The growth rates were real and not false, but the problem remained in the government's ability to transfer the rates from paper in front of it to the reality in people's lives, or it was unable to translate them from numbers into something practical, and when the spring wind blew at that time, many people engaged in talking about this point, but it was the kind of talk that was too late.

You can find something like this or something similar in the government of Aziz Akhannouch in Morocco, where the prime minister is a businessman with a big name in the business world, and he also has a number of businessmen in the government, and we remember that Nazif's government included some businessmen, and it was said in its days that the goal was to each of them would transfer their own experience to the public sphere, but this was not possible in any case.

Those who visit Morocco or follow what is happening in Morocco know that Akhannouch's government has tried to achieve something, and that its attempts have been going on since it came almost five years ago, but the young people of Generation Z 212 took to the streets in the picture we have followed, and is a visual proof that the outcome of what the government has achieved, if it has reached many Moroccans, has not reached these young people, or it has reached them but has not convinced them, and therefore it has not responded to their longings for a better life in Morocco, particularly in education, and healthcare.

It may be recalled here that King Mohammed VI said at the end of July that he does not want a Morocco that is moving at two speeds in its development, one strong here and the other slow there, and that he wants a country that moves at the same speed and converges with the Moroccans' hopes for justice and equity.

Akhannouch's government did not pay enough attention to the king's philosophy of development, so it was accomplished where visitors see the country with their own eyes, but was not accomplished in line with the aspirations of the youth of Z 212, prompting them to go out to protest and warn and draw attention, and the most beautiful thing was that the majority of them was committed to pacifist protests, and cleaned the streets at the protest sites.

This is about the far background. The close one tells us that Morocco is about to hold a crucial meeting in the Security Council at the end of the month regarding the Moroccanness of the Sahara. Moreover, Morocco is preparing to organize the Africa Cup of Nations on its soil, and is preparing to organize the FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal in 2030.

Morocco continues to adopt a flexible and moderate formula on the Sahara issue, namely autonomy. When you put all of this in one frame, and with it what the country has achieved over the past quarter century in terms of roads, ports, and the automobile and airplane industry, all of which are public and not secret, the eye of the envious must be present once, and the adversaries must be present to disrupt a second time.

I am not seeking to betray the youth who came out or protested, they are Moroccan youth who love their country, and want the North African Kingdom to always be in the best position, otherwise they would not have cleaned up the protest sites, they would not have maintained peace, and they would not have shown good faith in everything they have issued since the beginning of the month, but we cannot overlook the fact that every country has opponents, and that they are not happy to achieve anything or take steps on the road, and I do not think that these opponents were far away from Discord, through which the young Z212 used to communicate with each other and still do.

With these two backgrounds, it can be said that after the outing of the youth of the Generation Z 212 in Morocco, it will be different from what it was before, and the bet here is on the King's famous firmness, despite his calmness in which he appears in all forums.

Suleiman Jouda is an Egyptian writer and journalist and former editor-in-chief of Al-Wafd newspaper

The article was first published in al-masry al-youm 

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Middle East Online.