List of resources for Morocco

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Following is a list of websites for additional information about the Peace Corps and Morocco and also to connect you to returned Volunteers. Please keep in mind that although we try to make sure all these links are active and current, we cannot guarantee this.

A note of caution: as you surf the Internet, you may find bulletin boards and chat rooms in which people are free to express opinions about the Peace Corps based on their own experiences, including comments by those who were unhappy with their choice to serve in the Peace Corps. These opinions are not those of the Peace Corps or the U.S. government, and we hope you will keep in mind that no two people experience their service in the same way.

[edit] General Information

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations
Visit this site for general travel advice about almost any country in the world.

http://www.speakmoroccan.com/
Moroccan Arabic lessons, vocabulary lists, and a free translations' forum.

http://www.state.gov
The U.S. State Department’s website issues background notes periodically about countries around the world. Find Morocco and learn more about its social and political history.

http://www.geography.about.com/library/maps/blindex.htm
This online world atlas includes maps and geographical information, and each country page contains links to other sites, such as the Library of Congress, which contain comprehensive historical, social, and political background information.

http://lexicorient.com/morocco/index.htm
This guide to travel in Morocco offers city-specific descriptions, photos, and sound clips.

http://www.morocco.com
This site operated by Virtual Countries presents business, cultural, and travel information on Morocco.

http://www.arabinfo.org
This site features the latest news from Arabic newspapers around the world.

http://www.maroc.ma/PortailInst/An/home
Gateway officially launched by the Moroccan Goverment in April 2006 to introduce Moroccan institutions, society and culture to net surfers as well as offer online public service to Moroccan citizens and expats in country.

[edit] Connect With Returned Volunteers and Other Invitees

http://www.friendsofmorocco.org
This is a membership organization for Americans, mostly returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) with experience in Morocco, and Moroccans living in the U.S. The site has a wealth of articles and information on Morocco and features a weekly update on Morocco-related events and news clippings.

http://www.rpcv.org
This is the site of the National Peace Corps Association, composed of RPCVs. On this site you can find links to all the Web pages of the “friends of” groups for most countries of service, made up of former Volunteers who served in those countries. There are also regional groups who frequently get together for social events and local volunteer activities.

http://www.peacecorpswriters.org
This site is hosted by a group of RPCV writers. Designed to be a monthly online electronic newsletter, this site presents essays and accounts of Peace Corps Volunteers’ service.

[edit] Online Articles/Current News

http://www.map.ma/
The site of Morocco’s official national news agency, Maghreb Arab Press.

http://www.moroccotimes.com/
The is the first electronic English language newspaper to be issued in Morocco (2005). It is hosted by a private press agency and is updated regularly.

http://www.moroccodaily.com
A news site on Morocco as well as other parts of the world.

http://www.north-africa.com
This journal offers commentary and in-depth analysis of political, economic, and business issues in North Africa. Available by subscription only.

[edit] International Development Sites

http://www.tanmia.ma (english version available on homepage)
The first gateway that aims to bring together local, Moroccan development NGOs, providing an interactive site for discussion of development-related issues and sharing of information.

http://www.pnud.org.ma
United Nations Development Programme (in French)

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/morocco.html
Statistical data from the United Nations’ Children’s Fund

[edit] Recommended Books

Nearly all of these books are available in the Peace Corps/ Morocco Resource Center. Those that are out of print may be available through a consortium of booksellers called Bibliofind or through a university library.

1. Ardizzone, Tony. Larabi’s Ox: Stories of Morocco. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1992.This collection of loosely connected stories about Americans in Morocco, which grew out of the author’s stay there as a Fulbright scholar, presents many interesting aspects of the culture.
2. Baker, Alison. Voices of Resistance: Oral Histories of Moroccan Women. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998. Baker chronicles the involvement of women leaders and working-class activists in Morocco’s struggle for independence from France.
3. Ben Jelloun, Tahar. The Sand Child. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. This book won France’s prestigious Goncourt Prize for literature. It questions gender in an interesting way, though some may not like the postmodernist style.
4. Bowen, Donna Lee, and Evelyn A. Early (eds.). Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East (2nd ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
5. Bowles, Paul. The Sheltering Sky (2nd ed.). Echo, 1998. Bowles was an American writer and composer who spent much of his life in Morocco; he died in Tangier in 1999. This novel describes the impact of Arab life on three jaded Americans in the mid-20th century. A film of the same name by Bernardo Bertolucci shows the gorgeous fortified villages in the south.
6. Brett, Michael. The Berbers. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 1997.
7. Hargraves, Orin. Culture Shock! Morocco. Portland: Graphic Arts Books, 2006.
8. Hart, David M. Tribe and Society in Rural Morocco. London: Frank Cass & Co., 2000.
9. Lowerre, Susan. Under the Neem Tree. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993.
10. Maxwell, Gavin. Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua, 1893-1956. Guilford, CO: Lyons Press, 2000. A lively account of the colorful leader who held parts of the High Atlas Mountains against the sultan early in the 20th century.
11. Mernissi, Fatima. Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in a Modern Muslim Society. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987. This book contrasts the views of Sigmund Freud and al-Ghazali, a famous 11th-century Islamic philosopher, on sexuality, discussing conflicts in this area for modern Moroccans.
12. Moran, Michael. Younger Than That Now: A Peace Corps Volunteer Remembers Morocco. Full Court Press, 1994.
13. Nydell, Margaret K. Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 2005.
14. Pennell, C.R. Morocco Since 1830: A History. New York: New York University Press, 2001.
15. Ponasik, Diane Skelly. Tangier, A Novel. Booksurge.com, 2006.
16. Porch, Douglas. The Conquest of Morocco. Cincinnati: Forward Movement, 1986. A lively account of the French takeover of Morocco in the early 1900s, described by the author as “a story of people, of chaos, villainy, glory, misery, violence, greed, avarice, and maladministration.”
17. Wagner, Daniel A. Literacy, Culture and Development: Becoming Literate in Morocco. Oxford: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

[edit] Books About the History of the Peace Corps

1. Hoffman, Elizabeth Cobbs. All You Need is Love: The Peace Corps and the Spirit of the 1960’s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000.
2. Rice, Gerald T. The Bold Experiment: JFK’s Peace Corps. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.
3. Stossel, Scott. Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2004.

[edit] Books on the Volunteer Experience

1. Dirlam, Sharon. Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place. Santa Barbara, CA: McSeas Books, 2004.
2. Casebolt, Marjorie DeMoss. Margarita: A Guatemalan Peace Corps Experience. Gig Harbor, WA: Red Apple Publishing, 2000.
3. Erdman, Sarah. Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village. New York, NY: Picador, 2003.
4. Hessler, Peter. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. New York, NY: Perennial, 2001.
5. Kennedy, Geraldine (ed.). From the Center of the Earth: Stories out of the Peace Corps. Santa Monica, CA: Clover Park Press, 1991.
6. Thompsen, Moritz. Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997 (reprint).