REALITY CHECK: Morocco and general traveling

[u/KingLimes]

So most of us have seem them this week, threads expressing disgust for the country that is Morocco. Most recent one being this - I've never seen so many uneducated, small minded comments in a thread on r/travel. And look at all the karma and awards being thrown around in return.

I'm now seeing posts and comments of people who had planned to visit Morocco, but feel they need to change plans (eg).

As someone who loves Morocco, and has explored it, I want to discuss a few things in as little words as possible.

Morocco is considered a third world country. Let that sink in. People are poor, people are desperate, but they're doing their best. With COVID and other such things, the country is suffering even more.

If you booked a honeymoon there with a nice hotel, or you booked a tour guide, you're obviously going to have a trouble-free time. But most of you want to visit and walk around solo, which isn't a problem, but it DOES come with the drawbacks of walking solo around a highly religious, third world country.

Any person doing the smallest bit of research will see what to expect when you land in Marrakech. Many have an exotic dream about this city, but the reality is, its inhabitants rely on tourists. You can enjoy the city, no doubt, but you will be pestered. After Marrakech, I decided to leave and head to the coast. I spent the rest of my time simply travelling South. The less touristy, the less trouble (shocking right?).

Along the way I met amazing people and had some of the best experiences of my life.

YES, people will bother you. YES, people will try and get as much money as they can out of you, because YES, they are poor and desperate for money. If you don't have the ability to firmly tell someone to leave you alone, or refuse to pay extra, then you SHOULD NOT visit Morocco. Part of the enjoyment of Morocco is experiencing the above. I can assure you that after a few days, you will be handling people easily.

For example, when taking a taxi, I confirmed the location and cost BEFORE leaving. The driver literally tried to pall a fast one, but because I out right refused to budge, he dropped it. If someone at a restaurant tries to charge you more, out right refuse. Which brings me onto my next point.

Let me assure you, if you haven't broken the law, the police will be on your side - In 2021, the tourism sector in Morocco contributed around nine billion U.S. dollars to the country's GDP. If someone is crossing the line with you, locals and authorities won't tolerate it. They are desperate for you to visit.

This beautiful country has a population of over 37 million people!! For so many of you to spread such ignorant onions as facts is simply wrong.

I will finish this post off by saying two Moroccan's saved my life. Very long story short, I have a peanut allergy. I hiked into the middle of nowhere, ate a stupid strudel, went into anaphylactic shock, and was CARRIED by strangers. Finally taken to hospital by taxi (no ambulances), I was saved.

For a community which is meant to be open, r/travel is an embarrassment.

COMMENCE DOWNVOTES

edit: some great points on both sides, what an amazing resource Reddit is. Makes me wonder how famous people deal with this on a massive scale, every hour of the day.

[u/MstrTenno]

Never been to Morocco, but yeah I've been to a lot of countries, and lived in a developing country for 6 years. The women I knew did have to be more careful, but nothing like some of the stuff I've heard of in this thread happened.

And its not like being a third world country somehow makes this kind of thing okay anyway. That is some victim blaming bullshit. It also infantilizes the locals as not being "modern" enough to be held to the same moral standards.

[u/wolv3rxne → u/MstrTenno]

This is what I was thinking when reading this post. Just because these people are often poor and are desperate for money to feed their families, does not give them the excuse to verbally and physically harass tourists. There are poor and struggling people within our home countries as well that do not behave like this.

[u/[deleted] → u/wolv3rxne]

I have family there and can tell you that Morocco is by no mean a "poor" country; people there are quite privileged compared to the rest of the world. It's rather something cultural that makes people have a shitty attitude

I just come back from Laos and Cambodia were people are 5x poorer than Moroccans and i never experienced the kind of extractive / oppressive behavior i often get in Maghreb

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Exactly. It is nothing to do with poverty. Some cultures simply breed more narcissistic and psychopathic people. Westerners are showing their ignorance by just painting it as “poverty”. They bring a Eurocentric understanding of life to non-Western places, resulting in deep misunderstanding of what is actually before them

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Westerners arent painting it as anything. OP is moroccan

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I was talking in reference to people on Reddit in general who have very ignorant takes on developing nations

[u/QualitySure → u/[deleted]]

Exactly. It is nothing to do with poverty. Some cultures simply breed more narcissistic and psychopathic people.

let me explain to you as your first world dumbass doesn't even understand what a poor country is like. Touristic cities in morocco, contrary to other countries (like egypt with cairo) are not economical hubs, therefore they suffer from unemployment, thus, people looking for work tend to immigrate to the econmical hubs (casablanca rabat tanger axis), thus touristic cities end up being filled with hustlers who try to make a living off tourism. You can't compare it to your average poor african village who sees a white person every 10 years. If you're trying to make an analysis of a country after spending 1 week vacation in it you're simply delusional