By Ahmed Jalali
Do you remember that Amazigh youth who gave bread to two French girls and refused any payment? It is, of course, an unforgettable story, but it is not a Moroccan-Amazigh exception. Here is another Amazigh young man, in the heart of the Atlas Mountains, confirming that Moroccan generosity is the root. He is Rachid, the chicken farmer and owner of the goat “Kharboucha.”
Writer of the Simple Folk:
Is there any meaning in writing about a young man amidst the snow with goats and chickens, in the depths of poverty, while other journalists philosophize about political fates and geostrategy following the “departure” of Akhannouch from the partisan and political scene?
Certainly, there is deep meaning in dedicating my time and effort to writing about a young man who seems very simple, but is anything but. Rachid and his kind are the ones practicing true politics and real challenge. People like Akhannouch fade into oblivion—or are remembered with a bitter sigh if remembered at all. But Rachid, the chicken farmer in the deep mountains, and those who share his path and culture, are the ones who remain, eternal and towering like the peaks of the Atlas.
While football stars were writing their history and the history of Moroccan and African sports in stadiums decorated for the AFCON and preparing for the World Cup, a poor Moroccan youth was defying snow, freezing cold, and the harshness of life to write a Moroccan history that “five-star” historians will never notice.
A Sun Shining from Nothingness:
At a time when a young, elegant, and polite Moroccan star named Brahim Diaz (or “Si Brahim,” deservedly) shone, and a legendary star named Hakim Ziyech was sidelined—and I do not know the wisdom behind such ingratitude—the sun of citizen Rachid Ouabbas rose from between the mountain peaks covered in snow during an exceptional rainy season.
Rachid possesses nothing of this world’s vanities except a mud house with a few rooms and a barn protecting his goats and chickens from the terrifying snow and winter. He has a donkey, a mule, and the basic necessities of a difficult daily mountain life in even more difficult winter weather.
Before addressing us, Rachid spoke to his favorite goat, “Kharboucha.” How magnificent and significant that name is, symbolically and phonologically, immortalizing the lineage of the “Kharabish” in the deep valleys and rugged mountain bends.
Rachid, the chicken and goat farmer, appeared to Moroccans through spontaneous, simple videos—free of affectation, pedantry, or pretension. A son of nature speaking to Moroccans in their own dialect… naturally. There is an aura of simplicity, honesty, purity, and spontaneity surrounding this young man—humanly, in appearance, in substance, and in communication. Even his gestures, when he struggles to express an idea, become a silent language that conveys profound meaning.
Rachid’s daily diaries followed, breaking records on Facebook. He entered Moroccan homes while preparing bread, digging through snow to extract water, or feeding his chickens and beautiful “Kharabish.” Every video of Rachid is a chapter in a diary that resembles the lives of millions of mountain inhabitants and their struggle with a life lacking the most basic comforts. Ouabbas’s videos are an open book read by millions; some left written comments, while others left “silent” ones.
Fame Beyond Borders:
It wasn’t just Moroccans following Rachid; the eyes of the Arab world were on him too. Proof of this is when the Saudi influencer Khaled Al-Olayan decided to visit our brother Rachid. By a stroke of good intention and luck, Al-Olayan was chosen as the best influencer in the Arab region and North Africa while he was devouring Couscous with Kourdass in Rachid’s house in the heart of the Atlas.
Yes, Al-Olayan, the famous Saudi youth, decided to experience Rachid’s life for a few days. What was the result?
- The Arab Mashreq, with all its cultural weight, met the Amazigh Maghreb with its traditions and soul rooted deep in the earth and history. Rachid and Khaled recorded a document worthy of study by anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists.
- Two different cultures with shared commonalities were placed in a field experiment of coexistence. It was an opportunity to witness interaction, communication, integration, and harmony.
- Amazigh values overflowed naturally—generosity and hospitality toward the guest, including the honor of pouring water over his hands to wash them before eating, using pure, shining copper that radiates an energy like that of the people of the land.
It was impossible to miss how moved the humble and polite Khaled Al-Olayan was. Perhaps the Arabic language failed the son of the Arabian Peninsula to express it—not for a lack of eloquence, but because the meanings became too large for mere words.
Eloquent Messages:
Perhaps neither Rachid nor Khaled realized the magnitude of what they were doing—not just for themselves, but for the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East. They were teaching lessons without a curriculum, creating “textbooks” right under the noses of the failed Ministries of Education in our homelands.
Khaled and Rachid, with only two phones and without a director, screenwriter, or script, gave us a living example of alternative documentary media. They surpassed the theoretical nonsense of journalism institutes and exposed the crime of official media that consumes billions of dollars on crude and ugly propaganda.
Thank you, Khaled Al-Olayan; you are welcome in Morocco among your brothers. Bless you for thinking of visiting Rachid and giving him the chance to shine further.
Thank you, Rachid Ouabbas, the chicken and goat farmer… and the one who—unintentionally—provided “re-education” to some of the social media creatures of our time, an era where modern superficiality has erased many of the features of our beautiful Moroccan/Arab/Amazigh face.
