Grim Anniversary

The Casablanca bombings, which took the lives of 45 people, most of them Moroccans, happened two years ago today. There’s some coverage in the press, most of it filed from Sidi Moumen, the slum a few miles north of the city, where the suicide bombers lived prior to the attacks. In the L.A. Times Scheherazade Faramarzi speaks to the families of the two bombers who fled the scene without detonating their bombs, and who are now on death row. In the Boston Globe Charles Radin talks to the victims’ families and to organizers of several gatherings in commemoration of the events. In US News and World Report Thomas Omestad offers a more comprehensive view of how the country has changed since May 16, 2003, including the tensions between reformers and islamists, legal advances and setbacks, and what it means for the future. And in the Morocco Times, Karima Rhanem talks about the commemorative events planned this year in Casablanca. For those who can read French, I highly recommend the Moroccan weekly magazine Tel Quel, which has excellent investigative pieces and penetrating commentary by Moroccans about Morocco.