The literary supplement of the Al Maghrib newspaper, 2nd year, No. 11, July 23, 1938

Just like the need for plant life to be fertilized, nations can not do without having permanent contact between themselves. A nation must be able to find inspiration in the experiences of others and to take advantage of human knowledge in all its forms much like plant life must be fertilized so its output won't decrease with succeeding years and so its roots spread out and its plants become more fruitful, If a nation lags behind those it contacts and chooses to live only within its folds, it will end in ruin and will slip several levels on civilization's ladder. It will continue to march backwards until it falls into the abyss of apathy. An opaque curtain will be drawn between it and a true existence, enveloping it in total obscurity and condemning all its efforts to dissipate into the dark night of emptiness.

Our country provides a typical example of this apathy which we must analyze to better understand the regressive factors of a nation that lives on earth but is isolated entirely from the rest of the world. It has broken all ties that united it to other nations and retreated behind its boundaries. It is ignorant of the upheavals and evolutions of the world abroad including those in its neighborhood. It is unaware of the struggles waged by various nations to strengthen their own contributions to modern civilization. These contribution are like grafts on a plant, and are called upon to fortify the roots (and branches) of the entire international community.

Ever since the West began to open its eyes after its dark ages, our dynamism has been smothered and our isolation reinforced. Each time Europe takes a step forward, we make haste to take a step backward. When we were taken by surprise by the progress of modern civilizations we observed that the gap between us and the rest of the world had become huge. The distance that separated us and the other nations could not be traversed in a few days or a few months; it would take years and cost a long period of perseverance requiring the combined efforts of several generations. But what are these efforts that successive generations will be called upon to provide to escape the narrow confines they find themselves in? And how might they be crowned with success if we do not immediately seek to apply a straightforward and appropriate remedy?

The cause of our decline with regards to civilizing processes of modern times arose from having lowered the bar (of expectations) for centuries; barricading ourselves behind (closed) doors and (shuttered) windows to live in isolation from the rest of the world. Our tangible productivity and morale are caught in the doldrums, our vim has ebbed in short order. Today if we were to truly become aware of the reality of our situation, the only effective remedy to which we have recourse is to mingle with civilized nations to enrich our lives by being inspired by their experiences in areas where they have made progress. We can imbue an enterprising mindset, bring about renewed ardor to our work. We can shake off the apathy that weighed heavily on our shoulders for too long and stopped our life blood from circulating in our veins.

This intermingling for enrichment to which we earnestly call upon is not for all elements of this nation and even less so for those not open to progress or those allergic to any adaptation to modern life. Only those groups of individuals capable of being receptive to a civilization for modern times can ensure its success. They will be able to digest the ingredients (of this interaction) so as to imitate them as a first step but ultimately to contribute creatively to distinguish themselves. This group can only recruit from the youth who are pursuing their schooling. They have an awakened mind that is receptive and disposed to imprint a world view with new direction. That is how the life of this nation can be enriched. Education by itself is not sufficient to fulfill this role. At most education would only consist of a collection of bits and pieces of knowledge that accumulate in the brain unless it is accompanied with practical examples of instruction that allow one to draw from this knowledge and to exploit it to benefit their community and to establish new foundations for the nation's education.

Whatever the level of education and degree of maturation a young Moroccan can take pride in, if he does not leave his country, he will always have a difficult void to fill. He will not be able to come to full fruition in a passive society, in a backwards and stagnant country where no examples exist to emulate and no suitable course to serve as a guide along a rightful path. By his nature. the human being does not always create nor does he discover the right path in all the endeavors he engages in no matter the extent of his knowledge or the lessons he has learned from experience. He can not fail however to find inspiration by observing the lives led by others abroad. The unique path to safeguard the Moroccan nation from regressive mishaps and to remove it from the pitfall of laziness and paralysis is to devote a concerted effort to send contingents of students abroad. This would allow our young students to complete their education and to point out from (observations of) their allotted country what our country must do to rebel against that which has reduced our lives to emptiness.

Long ago, great Moroccan rulers, Hassan I among them, had come up with this prescription and understood the benefit to be gained by undertaking these student missions for a country in full decline and isolated from the rest of the world. Hassan I began to organize these contingents. However Moroccan society was passive and even resistive to new ideas. So much so that those students that went abroad were placed on the sidelines and even forgotten shortly after their return. This happened fifty years ago. But today we are faced with a new way of living and we note that it lies in wait with jaws wide open to swallow us . Are we going to persist in our inertia while other nations to which we are linked by the same language, religion and inclinations are hurrying to make sure they enrich their lives? They do so by sending one student contingent after the other to Europe taking care to diversify their missions so as to draw maximum profit from all that shines in Western society. We must also be very certain that there can not be any renewal in Morocco or see progress for its nationals if we do not subject our lives to a new pollination. The latter can intervene in our lives only if hundreds of students are sent to universities in countries engaged in the civilizing processes so that they can learn to view life full of much dynamism and better splendor.