While I was in the Sahara Desert (off the city of Merzouga in the dunes of Erg Chebbi), we did a few small adventures.
We went to hang out with some nomads, so I could get a sense of what their life was like.
I didn’t take pictures, or take my phone into their tent, because I didn’t think it was respectful to treat them like a spectacle or anything.
The Nomads are basically people who just live wherever they can find, and just move from place to place when need be. They don’t have traditional jobs, and make money how they can with milk from their animals, or crafts the women make.
It felt a little weird. I didn’t even know if it was okay to go, but I was told we were invited, and they liked meeting people and sharing their lives, and it’s a way for them to make money, as we give them a little money, just for stopping by.
They’d made us homemade bread, which was delicious. And there were three children. And we learn that, because they’re so far from society, the children don’t go to school.
It was so sad for me to learn that the plan is that Fatimah never gets an education, never learns to read, and is married off to someone else around 18 years old.
And again, I always feel conflicted about judging people’s futures because it’s like, “Am I just bringing in some Western ideal?” But also like, what kind of life is that for her?
Maybe in some ways it could be simple and nice to just hang with your family for life. Maybe if you don’t have access to lots of things, or lots of education, you’re able to just be content.
But also like… we only get one shot at life. Is Fatimah gonna spend it cooking and cleaning for other people all day, and never even learning to read?
(Mohammed said if I send him some Arabic children’s books on learning to read, he’ll give them to Fatimah.)
And then as we were leaving, Mohammed said I could give the money to the man in the house. But then I asked if I could give it to the woman instead.
And he was like “well, it just usually goes to the man.” And I’m like “But I CAN give it to the woman, yeah?”
He thought it was a little out of tradition, but I did it! I know it’s not really my place to challenge norms in Morocco, but I just wanted to make sure that woman felt really seen (even though I’m reasonably sure she just handed the money to the man in the house after I left).