Agadir, Morocco
Beyond the borders of his homeland, in the
corner over there, sat a man of no company,
except for some scattered books in every spot in
his untidy room. His long velvet robe touched
the ground as he moved aside. His eyes kept scrutinizing the tiny words he
found transcribed in the last page of a book he came across
in the book fair he visited recently. His mind, full of unorganized ideas for
which he made a deal to sacrifice, foreshadowed uneasiness in catching every
single word he heard, read, or saw. The chilly weather there didn’t freeze his
ambition to break the virtual fences built before him. His looks conveyed what
many books couldn’t explain. His solitude helped him to strengthen his
relationship with books. A young man of
his age somewhere was supposed to be enjoying his youth supplied with tools
beyond his desires. Another couldn’t even spend a second in such an unbearable atmosphere. However, this young man made
a decision for his entire life, or at least for the most precious stage of his
life. He said farewell to his joys which were witnessed by many youngsters of
his age. He made a commitment to serve humanity in what is mostly labeled the noble
job.
At
first, he couldn’t bear the fact that his young flourishing ideas were faced
with such unbearable conditions. He encountered a multifaceted form of
ignorance and disdain. He was always pointed at as that fake image of the state
that tried to usurp the pride of the locals. In his mind, there was a hope for
the best for everybody because he had made a commitment never to betray his faith and his strong belief in his ambitions. Some
colleagues to whom he was really indebted tried to show some kind of support
and cooperation. He couldn’t hide that feeling. He was always open for any
gratitude and appreciation towards those whom he thought deserved them. His generosity went far beyond his
inner self to transcend to anybody who was so close to him in one way or another.
On a sunny day, as usual, the young man woke up
and prepared his humble breakfast which was usually composed of no more than a
small slice of bread with mint tea and olive oil. The young man who was
nicknamed Ouzar launched his first day of
work. He headed toward the remote zone to which he was told he had been appointed. The
distance was not that easy to bear. However, he didn’t
have another choice. No means of transport was available for him to shorten the
distance. No bus was there to wait for and no vehicle to make use of. His only
jacket was that of his brother’s whose unconditional
help and support he appreciated so much. He put on his low cost trainers which
he haf bought some years before in a second hand
shoe shop and a pair of jeans that were witnessing their
fourth year of use. His bag was in no relation with his newly assigned job. However,
it was rather a faithful companion during his long frequent travels throughout the country. Some of these travels were for duty while others were made for pleasure. For him, that job was not to be paid for but to
take it for a duty that anybody who had got an amount of knowledge with some
spirit had to pass through. He had been obsessed with those ideal and utopian thoughts he had been
taught somewhere. It was not until a couple of
years later did that idea undergo some modifications in his mind.
The difficulties for Ouzar were in the form of
an unending overflow. The way to work was unbearable. He could see a vast land of
spiky herbs, some typically desert plants, and pointed stones and rocks bordered
with a series of sharp peaked mountains. The scene of tall palm trees and of a valley beside Draa River in
the distance was so picturesque at first. Unfortunately, it was
portrayed later to be coined with an amalgam of hardship and torture. He moved
with a steady gait that reflected his long lasting struggle for his ideas to be
in balance. A walk of about an hour was enough for the first two corners of his
so-called school to arise. He thought at first that it was a small hut of one
of the locals. Unexpectedly, as he came close to
the building with a feeling of both surprise and shock, he realized that his
guesses were wrong when he discovered that it
was his newly assigned place of work. The screams and hubbub of small kids were
heard. It was not until he approached did he notice a four legged chair beside what was to be shown later as a
classroom. ‘‘It must be the teacher’s,’’ he
thought. He stopped for a while and then
proceeded reluctantly as if he had intruded somebody’s land.
Ouzar
was soon recognized by one of those who was to
share similar conditions as his. His mind was split into diverse directions. At
that particular moment, he could recall all of
his past memories. A feeling of guilt went through his mind combined with a
belief in destiny. He thought of his early undergraduate studies and tried to
remember the enjoyable moments he couldn’t revive again. He kept contemplating
the scene before him and tried to make suitable associations with his work. A
few months before, he had been told about the bright side of education and
teaching. He had been provided with many ideal tools and had spent long periods of
time analyzing the ways he could make use of
them to prove his role in society. Contrariwise, the reality he faced at that
particular time was ruined in seconds. The man
next to him showed some kind of welcome and expressed an interest in providing
help when necessary. Ouzar sat on the edge of a table when he got into that
classroom which was built of mud and covered
with plaster. The roof was made of many cores of palm trees and some small
sticks for decoration. One single flap blackboard was hung on the wall, and some tables with reasonable amount of dust were
scattered on the ground. The young man tried to break the ice and got in touch
with his co-worker. He first inquired about the latter’s origin which was shown
to be Marrakesh. The two dwelt upon different issues and then dispersed and left the floor to those innocent kids to get into the classroom.
The four hour time span passed quickly. Ouzar
had an idea about his first day of work. He realized that he was in vital need
of changing his mind about that job. The long way back home made him completely exhausted. The rocky road was always there
to witness his presence. The sun focused on his head and contributed a great
deal to his dizziness. He got into his small room and had a look at one of his
favorite books. The word ‘change’ which he had engraved on a wooden table
before drew his attention. At that moment, the expression ‘be the change you
want to see in the world’ popped into his mind and raised his ambition once
again to fulfill his aims regardless of potential difficulties.
