We want reforms!

Arabic version (PDF).
French translation (manual).

An open letter to the protectorate administration, Al Maghrib - May 21, 1937

Gentlemen in charge,

Enough of the promises. We are not dream seekers. We want reforms!^[22]. The time for smiles has passed and the teatime policy is buried. We are aware of the type of life you have imposed on us. We see the enormous gap between our lives and those of other nations. We know perfectly well our fate will be at the mercy of the winds if we continue to be deceived by your smiles while drinking tea. Beyond exchanges of courtesy, we have not reaped a single real advantage in favor of the emancipation of our people and of their awakening.

We are ready to enter into a process of dialogue and cooperation, but only on one and only one condition: That this process will be in the interest and benefit of our nation which our movement is committed to save from degradation. Our aim is to improve the lives of its people.

So enough of your promises and speeches. We are fully aware of the ills that gnaw at us, which you know about even though you feign ignorance. We understand these ills and we want remedies. However we can not accept that the only cure works like a narcotic that disguises the truth. We want it to be sufficiently effective so as to stop our nation's plummet down the steep road it has been driven to. Our aim is raise it to a modest level from which it can make (further) progress.

Moroccan society from all aspects and all forms requires key reforms with great urgency. It will need serious attention and pragmatic thinking to shield it from the dangers which lie in wait. It needs to be ready for the formidable catastrophes that attack it from all sides. Any attempts to poison the minds of the people will be doomed to failure. Likewise any reforms without good intentions in their conceptualization or without a sincere will to execute them will seriously damage our attempts to organize and manage society with respect to its executive, legislative and judicial functions as well as in the areas of education, the economy and finance.

The crisis in Morocco is more a question of lost hope than economic. Our values have dwindled to the point that individuals and society as a whole can not count on help from the heavens or any other such allegorical concept. Our lives have lost a sense of balance ever since we have been on this path of perversion and ever since we turned our backs to all that is right and good.

Gentlemen in charge,

Reflect on what can still be done to pull Morocco out of its current crisis. Reflect well before its ills worsen and its remedy becomes much more difficult. Know that this can not be had by either promises nor even less by drugs. It can only be accomplished by appropriate reforms.

^[22] Saïd wanted to emphasize that the National Movement had on numerous occasions denounced the Protectorate's recalcitrance when confronted by the will of the Moroccan people to improve their lives and to lead life of dignity with liberty and freedom. Their demands were always met with token promises and never saw the light of day. It was as if they had never been acknowledged by the occupier.

When the liberal Popular Front came to power in France, Said took the opportunity to address the new French government with a campaign for much needed reforms for Morocco. Reforms that would replace the prior administration's teatime honeyed discussions which were intended more to soothe anxieties rather than to engage in any commitments for reform.

"We want reforms!" he exclaimed. Everyone knew this interjection was a result of deep reflections by a man committed to his cause. A person who had practical insights on how to conceive a proper relationship between the governed and the government. He planned his course of action without being misled by emotions nor running head first against political intrigue. He knew these would be fruitless to the national cause which he placed above all his other endeavors.

He called loud and clear that Moroccans expected reforms because in addition to the empty promises, there had been much procrastination. Always planning ahead, he was forced to constantly to make adjustments after the colonial administration's attempts to fog the demands by the National Action Committee. Hear what he said with renewed optimism:

"Thanks to the support we expect from the Popular Front, Morocco will be able to take a giant leap forward towards our goals for progress. The elements of the Protectorate Government who are hostile to this progress will be less effective while those who support the political emancipation of the native populations are joining our ranks. It is our duty therefore to strive for real reforms if we wish to reach the objectives we seek for the good of the nation."