Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira

by High Atlas Foundation
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira
Cultural Preservation & Coexistence in Essaouira

Summary

The High Atlas Foundation and its partners have initiated a preservation and maintenance program for the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish cemeteries in Essaouira, which stand as present-day reminders of the multicultural past of this small city and Morocco at-large, where people of different faiths shared a town, a life, work, a culture, and language. This project supports building a website and an education program for students of Essaouira and planting & maintenance of the cemeteries.

$40,000
total goal
$39,800
remaining
2
donors
0
monthly donors
11
years

Challenge

For the majority of Essaouira/Mogador history, Arabs, Berbers, Muslims, Jews, European and African -- had lived together long enough that they shared language, culture, traditions, recipes, and work. This was a harmonious co-existence, and can be remembered through the cemeteries, which tell these histories. However, due to corrosion and lack of public space, cemeteries of the three faiths are not maintained, and those who know the history are growing older.

Solution

In order to perpetuate the memory and to re-kindle the spirit of this rich past, approximately 400 local students and teachers will visit cemeteries over one academic year. The preservation of these sacred sites will include skills training for the current guardians, actions to limit cemetery deterioration, preservation of writing upon graves and its cataloging, and sustainable plantings and maintenance in all 3 cemeteries to, avoid erosion, make them more inviting, and (3) encourage respect.

Long-Term Impact

This project seeks to raise awareness of this richness (through education locally), to increase understanding of its uniqueness (through the media), and to instill pride in the inclusive aspects of the Moroccan identity, which Essaouira so clearly represents. This project is particularly important for its potential to demonstrate to the entire world that Muslims and Jews can live together in harmony because here, they in fact have lived together in harmony for centuries.

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources

Organization Information

High Atlas Foundation

Location: New York, NY - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @AtlasHigh
Project Leader:
Younes Khitouch
New York , New York United States
$200 raised of $40,000 goal
 
2 donations
$39,800 to go
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