Back in Morocco

My return to Morocco on May 28 coincided with the beginning of our week-long “Mid-service Medical Exams.”  After some relatively invasive exams, I came out with a clean bill of health.  No parasites, no cavities.  Hamdullilah!  In fact, the dentist complimented me on my dental hygiene.  Yay!  J  Mid-service meds also gave my stage of volunteers a chance to meet up and hang out, for the first time since November.  We had a lot of fun spending time together, including going bowling at the Rabat Mega Mall, having dinner at the American Club (the only place in Morocco to find Root Beer, Dr Pepper and Guinness), and dancing in a Western African dance club. 

 

While I was off gallivanting throughout Egypt and Morocco, the people of my community were dedicated to the wheat harvest.  The harvest happens once a year and lasts about 2 weeks.  Last year, I was able to help out, and let me tell you, it was the hardest work I’ve ever done.  This year, I was in Egypt for the entirety of the harvest (I swear I didn’t plan it that way!), so I just heard stories when I returned.  Everyone I talked to had the same answer when I asked about the harvest.  “Ishqa bzzaf assugassad” (which means very difficult this year).  Apparently the amount of rain we received throughout winter made for some very hard harvesting conditions.  The condition that concerns me the most is the amount of dangerous bugs and reptiles (are snakes a reptile?) present.  Everyone I talked to saw at least a handful of camel spiders and countless scorpions.  My closest friend in site, Najma, was bit TWICE by camel spiders while I was gone.  Her leg went numb for a while and she could no longer work the harvest (losing her family a lot of money), but she has thankfully fully recovered.  Another girl in souk (who I didn’t know) did not meet the same fate.  Her family had so much to harvest, they were working into the night one day when she was bit by a snake.  Unfortunately it was a weekend, so there was no one at the health clinic.  The family tried to drive her to Tiznit for treatment, but she died before reaching the hospital.  Although my site is relatively advanced in terms of health care compared to other places in Morocco and the world, this incident just renewed my frustration with the lack of accessible emergency care.