blog 1: race, ethnicity, and culture
Something that I immediately noticed in Morocco once I arrived was the strong communal spirit amongst the people. As we drove into the city of Casablanca late Sunday night (the few of us with the late flight), I noticed that there were so many people outside hanging out. I remember commenting on how many people were out at the time, and even checking my phone to see what time it really was to gauge the hour of activity. They didn't seem to be doing anything in particular, just walking, sitting and talking, playing soccer, etc., all with one another other. There's been many other little things I've noticed that displays a strong sense of care and respect they have for each other. A major example was the organic farmer we talked to on Tuesday. He told us how all the neighbors look out after another, leaning on each other for advice or extra labor. The farmer said that he had two wells on the farm for irrigation, but he only used one of them. One day his neighbor asked if he could use the other, and the farmer said yes. Emmanuel asked if the other farmer paid a fee for this, and the farmer was quick so quick to say no. He then went into detail about the relationship amongst the people of the community, and how everyone will need help at one point or another, so that is what they do for each other. If you don't help out, then you will get nothing when you need help. That conversation made me realize how deep the roots run for each other, and how inherent this care is. The cultural difference of sharing, reaching out, and giving others time and recourses is familiar for me in regards of living on a farm in a rural area at home. I've always seen my dad go over to other farms to help fix equipment, haul something over to lend, or talk on the phone for literal hours giving advice from his experiences. In return, we always got amazing deals on seed and chemicals when that time came around. My dad gets so excited and is always surprised when companies take care of him with the sales. The conversation of what he does for them and other farmers in the area often comes up. I used to think that my dad was too generous, and bent over backwards for people who didn't deserve it, but everything always seems to come back around. I'm thankful for this exposure, because whenever the farmer talked about the concept of sharing, I really appreciated what he was saying. That was one way that I was able to feel very close to the culture. Back home I feel like the farmers and their families of the community perceive themselves as the "in-group", and they perceive everyone else in the community as an "out-group", one that they would not give their time to. "Leading Across Differences" talks about how the variability of the relationship differs over time and context. Immediate social context influences the importance of different group memberships. I can think of when those lines of social separation have become blurred back home, like when there was a tragic accident involving a group of kids. But other than that, I can't think of many times my whole entire community has been a true community, like what I've seen here like with the villages. I think a deeper dive in exploring the in/out groups within morocco would be very interesting.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/02/208997/understanding-moroccos-business-culture
Schwartz, S. (2010) Cultural values. In K. Hanum, B.B. McFeeters & L. Booysen (Eds.), Leading across differences (p. 115-123). Pfieffer.
Your blog post not only reminded me of the GLOBE projects I mentioned in mine, but also our reading from Chapter 5 of the Leading Across Differences book. According to the GLOBE site, Morocco falls in the Middle Eastern culture group which is high in in-group collectivism. Within this type of society, there is a “willingness to increase the collective distribution of resources and rewards” (GLOBE, 2020). Perhaps this is why there is communal water within communities? Morocco would also score high in embeddedness as referred to in LAD book. According to Schwartz (2010), “life is expected to come largely through in-group social relationships, through identifying with the group, participating in its shared way of life, and striving toward its shared goals… such values as social order, respect for tradition, security, and wisdom are especially important in embedded cultures” (p. 120).
ReplyDeleteI love and appreciate this aspect of the culture. It reminds me of a simpler time, before the hustle and bustle of modern era United States. I think of my grandparents and how connected they were to their families and neighbors. I think of my own childhood of playing outside with my cousin or borrowing egg/sugar/butter from the neighbor instead of going to the grocery store. Now, some decades later, I could not imagine asking my neighbor for an ingredient. I think the lack of technology helps preserve this way of life – yet with the rise of phones and social media, I wonder how much longer it will be practiced as a collective group? The United States seemed to advance quickly and other countries, such as Mexico or Morocco seem to be some 20-50 years behind. I hope this way of life will be continued as a rich component of tradition, but I worry the culture of community will disappear with innovation, technology and newer generations with changing values.
https://globeproject.com/results/clusters/middle-east?menu=cluster#cluster
Schwartz, S. (2010) Cultural values. In K. Hanum, B.B. McFeeters & L. Booysen (Eds.), Leading across differences (p. 115-123). Pfieffer.