Countdown to Chaos

It seems that countdown posts don’t mean much when there’s no rhyme or reason about the way things actually go.

I’m still in Morocco, having abandoned all ideas of a timely and painless exit. I haven’t been publishing much lately anywhere, not on social media, not here on Hive. This is partly because I’ve been so harried and stressed from trying to leave this damn country that I just haven’t had time, and partly because much of what I have to post about could land me in a Moroccan klink. I have no intention of writing favorably about a monarchal government system that has hassled and detained me endlessly regarding my departure, therefore it’s best that I wait until I’m safely beyond their reach before going into detail.

I should probably clarify that no, I’m not in legal trouble, and no, none of the issues are in any way organized or ordered by any higher power. It’s just a cluster-eff of mismanagement at every level here and I don’t travel light. What is mindlessly simple for other nations and other systems can completely cripple any semblance of efficiency in Morocco. Add a pandemic to the mix, and you have a national disaster of dysfunction.

When @michelios and I first came to Morocco, I saw worlds of potential for tourism and possibly even residency. There are, after all, many things to see and do here, with centuries of history in the walls of every medina and city. But as we started digging into our ideas and considering investment, we uncovered layer after layer of corruption and poor administration that made bringing any significant amount of money into this country a very risky proposition. Then, as lockdowns began to shift and lessen in severity, we encountered even more rotten truth that made the country’s general aversion to photographs and video quite understandable. I mean, if things are going well, any entity hungry for tourism would want as much exposure as possible for the charms it can offer. If things are not going well and there is much to hide from the world, cameras become verboten out of a basic need to conceal the myriad of reasons no tourists should ever come here with money to spend.

None of the things I’ve learned about Morocco are discoveries unique to me. I’m not the first to realize how broken the society is here. But I may be the first to write about it with any depth because most people who have experienced the darker side of this culture have family, friends, businesses, or property here that they cannot jeopardize. Me? Once I’m gone, I’m gone. I couldn’t care less if the powers that be are made uncomfortable by the dirty laundry I air as long as I’m safely out of the country before I leave it all flapping in the breeze.

Tomorrow will be my third attempt to leave the country since the borders reopened. The first flight was canceled and the second flight I missed because I was lying unconscious on the airport floor. On Tuesday the 23rd, Michel has a ticket out of here as well. If all goes well tomorrow and on the 23rd, and after I’ve had a chance to recover a bit, I’ll supply all the details here and on other social media platforms. It’s quite a harrowing tale. Stay tuned.

cover image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/maze-graphic-render-labyrinth-2264/]