Notebooks of the Desert

In 2008, Antonella met Ali in a bus between Marrakech and Zagora. Ali explained he was trying to set up a project to create schools for nomad children living in the Saharian Desert. In January 2010, we decided to visit Ali and we flew back to Morocco. We took the 13 hour bus drive from Marrakech to Zagora, through the Atlas mountains. Once we arrived in Zagora, Ali was there to greet us. The next day, aboard a Land Rover, we left the small town and drove into the desert. After a couple of hours, our driver Harbi left the concrete road and soon we were surrounded by nothing else but sand. It took a us a whole day to arrive at the school and by sunset, Ali pointed at a small black spot in the horizon: “There it is!”. When the engine finally died, silence and darkness surrounded us. It was cold.

It was only when the sun rose again the next morning that I realised we were in the middle of nowhere. As far as my eyes could see there were only rocks and sand. The school was right next to me. Made of straw and wooden planks, it wasn’t bigger than my bedroom in Brussels. During the breakfast, I was wondering where the kids were. Ali unwrapped the Moroccan flag and lifted it to a pole standing next to the school. He then invited us to sit down and wait.

From different directions, little black dots seemed to move and approach. They were coming. The children had seen the Land Rover and the flag floating in the breeze. They knew their teacher would be there today. Half an hour later, a group of 15 children had arrived. Ali offered them something to eat before entering the classroom.

morocco 2010