Morocco
‘Comfort Women’ of the Campagne
After World War II, France outlawed prostitution and shut more than a thousand brothels within its borders. But the army, which had thousands of North African troops to demobilize, set up its own secret brothels and trafficked women, often against their will, to service the troops.
Field of Dreams
For decades, African soccer has been caught between immense natural talent and broken systems of governance and funding. But a convergence of changes — new leadership, diaspora players returning to their roots, Morocco’s World Cup success and grassroots investment — could tip the continent into a golden era.
Vietnam’s Village of Moroccan Defectors
Hundreds of conscripted Moroccan soldiers defected to join the Viet Minh during the French Indochina War, then stayed in Vietnam to build their lives — until the Americans came, and they were forced to flee to a home they hadn’t seen in decades.
The Odd Couple: Franco’s Alliance With Muslims
There was a time when the Spanish far right needed Ceuta’s Muslims and plied them with gifts. One of these, the Muley el-Mehdi mosque on the Avenida de África, was built in the middle of the Spanish Civil War.
From Syria to Lebanon, Saving the Seeds That Could Save Humanity
If a grown sample in a colder region isn’t able to withstand frequent heat waves and gets wiped out, the genetically resilient samples created in ICARDA’s genebank would come to the rescue. So when the accessions made their way to Lebanon in late 2015, it was all hands on deck.
A Moroccan Cop’s Battle Against Sexual Harassment — Including Her Own
Observers might think that Morocco is making progress in prosecuting sexual assault and other crimes against women, but real victims often languish while the state trumps up charges against its critics.