Here’s the thing; I have been paying taxes in Morocco when I worked there. At my salary range, half of that revenue went into the state treasurery. Now, I didn’t mind it so much because at the time, everything pointed out that the country was heading in the right direction. For someone who’s lived under the tyrannical regime of Hassan II, the new king was a God-sent and the people were grateful for every new freedom the palace was willing to bestow on us.
Even though journalists are regularly censored, I considered it normal because…well, the Moroccan constitution says that the king is sacred. Not that I agree with it or anything, but surely reporters must have read that at some point in their careers. A lot went into exile, others are rotting in jails or went bankrupt because of the exorbitant fines imposed on them for expressing their opinions.
And yes, abuses of authority were common place, but you can’t break a decades old tradition overnight. I was convinced of the king’s good will, and attributed every excess to overzealous cops or dirty judges.
This case was a breakpoint for me. At first, I had no doubt that a pardon was imminent. I figured that it probably takes some time before the king hears of it and takes proper action. Now, I’m starting to wonder who was behind it all. I mean, I would probably be pissed at the person who uses my name in a Facebook profile, and I can’t blame the prince for feeling the same way. But kidnapping, torture and jail is excessive to say the very least.
I can’t, in good conscience, let my hard-earned money pay for the salary of the judge who sent the poor kid to jail over a harmless prank. I can overlook the Western Sahara story because evidently the majority of Moroccans supports oppressing the people down there (and because opposing it would get me straight to jail, without passing Go or collecting $200).
It saddens me to be considering this alternative, but I have the impression that frustration is the only thing waiting for me there. In that climate, no wonder some seek their own twisted version of divine justice by blowing up innocents.
Dissent is a suicidal enterprise over there. So I’ll pass, thank you very much. And if that makes me a coward in the eyes of Hedo, so be it!
P.S: GKhan, I don’t see what’s paying taxes in Sweden has to do with anything, but no, I don’t pay anything besides the VAT (one of the highest in the world though). The few part-time jobs I can find do not make my income reach the minimum that needs to be declared under Swedish law.
