Morocco - Ait Ben Haddou
Writing & Photography by: Derk Steemers
As we are making our way through arid Morocco, in a tin can bus which is leaking through all sides due to Morocco’s first monsoon, I thinking about where we will arrive and where we departed from. After the countryside, where my unvieled girlfriend was scretenized from behind tightly worn veils, we arrive in an oasis of pro-western modernity: Ouarzazate. This town has always been a capitalist hotspot as the caravans from the neighbouring valleys used to gather here until the 1950’s when the French protectorate left. Since the 1950’s the Western movie industry settled itself in the region. This change led to the availability of beer, hard liquor and gambling for the first time in 500 kilometers. Something which the locals seem to enjoy fondly.
A day after arrival we head to Ait Ben Haddou where my chauffeur tells me:“ the movie industry is good for the region. Most of the money here either comes from cows or from abroad.” The region boosted it’s economic activites with her new industry: not only do the locals earn a modest salary as decoration in movies like Babel and Gladiator, also Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate became must see tourist sights. When Unesco found out about Ouallywood and her on set film location – the almost deserted village of Ait Ben Haddou – Unesco included the village on her list and took it into her protectorate. This resulted in hordes of 4x4 wheel drive tourists. My chauffeur has experienced the influence of the tourist industry first hand; after a half hour of haggling he still earns far more than European minimum wage.
The movie and tourism industry saved the region from a future as ghost town. Due to a lack of money and chances the people of Ouarzazate left their homes to seek a better future elsewhere, but this is no longer necessary: some movies offer up to 2000 jobs – half of the population – and market salesman are just as skilled in talking you into an overpriced carpet as their collegues in Marrakech.
Speaking about the bad influences is taboo. When I told my cab driver that I had seen the local twenty year olds buying beer, the driver abruptly stopped the cab and looked at me with the most threatening look in his eyes. “Did you see a women drink a beer?” With my worst secondary school French I convinced him that they were really male customers and no drinking was involved, to continue my ride with a tense and on the edge chauffeur.
The answer to the question whether or not the movie industry and her entourage enriched Ouarzazate there is only one answer: a bold ‘yes.’ It saved the region’s economy. With an average of six movies a year and paying tourists there is plenty of work and oppertunities. The richness of the town can be experienced at the local liquor store. The bottles of booze sell like hot cakes. With our without the approval of my taxi chauffeur.
