Jillian York
Jillian York is a freelance writer who focuses on the MENA region, with an emphasis on Morocco.
After graduating with a BA in Sociology from Binghamton University, Jillian volunteered with AmeriCorps before moving to Morocco to teach English for two years.
Since 2005, Jillian has maintained The Morocco Report, a blog about Moroccan politics and culture, and currently covers Moroccan and Palestinian blogs for Global Voices Online.
She is also the author of a Culture Smart! Morocco, a guide to Moroccan customs and writes for INTHEFRAY Magazine. Jillian is particularly interested in the effort to promote citizen media from countries which are given a negative focus in the Western media.
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07/14/2008 - 11:24 a.m. CST -- by Jillian York 
This past May, Dunkin' Donuts caused a stir amongst conservatives as an advertisement featuring daytime TV darling Rachael Ray wearing a keffiyeh almost aired. On the front lines of the conservative attack was Michelle Malkin, whose yips and yowls contributed to Dunkin' Donuts' decision to pull the ad. The story received significant media coverage, with many journalists clearly opposed to Malkin's ridiculous rhetoric. Dunkin' Donuts' official line on the controversy, according to the Boston Globe, was:
Funny, that. The scarf wasn't even an actual keffiyeh...but of course, that's still enough for the ignorant crowd to get all riled up. The blogosphere, from New York to Beirut, is also riled up, but in a different way. Bloggers are now calling for a boycott of Dunkin' Donuts products. A [Read More]
‘‘In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.’’
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03/19/2008 - 4:43 a.m. CST -- by Jillian York
At approximately 11:00 GMT on March 18, a blogger announced that Fouad Mourtada, the young Moroccan engineer imprisoned last month for impersonating Morocco's Prince Moulay Rachid, had been released. Shortly after, Global Voices Advocacy became the first English source to break the news. For the next few hours, bloggers continued to release commentary, while major news sources remained silent. It wasn't until the next morning that BBC News became the first major source to reference Mourtada's release, while still providing precious few details.
Incidentally, Mourtada's family has kept in close communication with bloggers (and, ironically, through a Facebook community), encouraging them to protest Mourtada's imprisonment. Although no one knows how bloggers first came upon the story (though it is clear that the information hit the web from Morocco), what is clear is that Mourtada's family played a role in quickly publicizing the information.This isn't the first time that the blogoma (Moroccan blogging community) has broken a story before the media; last year, when popular video site YouTube was mysteriously blocked in Morocco, the media picked up on the story after a blogger reported on it. The fact that the story hasn't broken through a Moroccan outlet is, of course, unsurprising. Although Fouad Mourtada was granted a royal pardon, his crime - mimicking a member of the royal family - is a grave one in Morocco. And since he was clearly a scapegoat, Moroccan journalists will tread lightly for quite some time. But the way in which this story has been repo... [Read More] |
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09/23/2007 - 3:58 a.m. CST -- by Jillian York
From far away, the Moroccan election results appear fair, but closer to the surface lies controversy - why did so few people vote? And were those who did vote influenced by lobbying? The elections, held on September 7, had a surprising outcome for most. The PJD (Party of Justice and Development), a moderate "Islamist" party, had been expected to win, however, Istiqlal overtook them by just five seats. The makhzen and urban elite were pleased with the results, the PJD itself cried foul, but for the most part, the entire process was anti-climactic. And now - The EU calls the elections a transparent success, the US "a step forward." What that translates to is "we're glad the Islamists didn't win" (I'm sure you all remember the 2006 Palestinian elections). Meanwhile in Morocco, the focus lies more in the issue of voter apathy, and the decrease of women's representation in parliament. Only a few groups have dared call the elections corrupt. But were they? Unfortunately, since the voting itself went rather smoothly, it's hard to tell. Did members of political parties pay children to run around shouting slogans? Certainly. Were people paid to vote? Perhaps. But how different is that from any other democracy? What's the difference between television commercials and children shouting slogans? Still, no matte... [Read More] |
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08/28/2007 - 6:40 a.m. CST -- by Jillian York
Ask any Moroccan what he thinks about King Hassan II and he will either cringe or cheer. The same can be said for Driss Basri, more commonly known as “Butcher Basri,” who served as Morocco’s Interior Minister for twenty years. Some, such as those of his hometown Settat, admired him for the economic progress he made while others hated him for the torture and imprisonment which he allegedly inflicted upon thousands during his tenure. This period of repression, commonly known as the "Years of Lead,” stretched from the 1970s to the late 1990s, ending with the death of Hassan II in 1999.
Although Basri was a powerful figure who was highly trusted by Hassan II, King Mohammed VI did not feel the same way, removing him from power on November 9, 1999, only three months after his accession to the throne. Basri was given the Grand Ribbon of the Arch, Morocco’s highest honor, and then promptly left for Paris. Within a week of his departure, several of his closest aides were ordered not to leave Morocco without permission. One such aide was later found guilty of abuse of power and of public funds.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that Human Rights groups and Western Sahara advocates have for years accused Basri of abuses, he was able to die peacefully in Paris just a week before the Moroccan elections, leaving behind his reputation and perhaps signaling the true end of an era.
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