Speech given by Said Hajji at a demonstration in 1936 in support for the demands by the National Action Committee.
Several speakers have stood on this stage, others, after me, will take their turn to talk about the main points of the "Plan de Réformes" (Plan for Reforms) such as they been summarized in "le Cahier des Revendications Urgentes" (The List of Key Demands) which touch upon various aspects of the lives of Moroccan people.
But, in front of such a large representative sample of a whole nation which approves of men working for its common good and progress, it is imperative to submit for general discussion a ranking of the priorities allowing us to classify our aspirations according to their importance. This will allow us to know which amongst our needs is the most dependent on the brilliant light of life. That vivifying warmth of the sunlight which destroys germs. The latter, without necessary precautions, will result in the attack, erosion and a certain death of the body of society.
After the speakers for this grand demonstration explain the importance of the list of key demands and necessary reforms, one should note that these demands, even if they reach a stage of implementation, could remain like a body without a soul; a lifeless vision. The reforms introduced into society's midst and all efforts to organize our social and administrative business could end up like a dead letter on an empty page. They will produce no effect as long as Moroccan society continues to be deprived of its freedoms and to be prevented from exercising its will. And there will be no effect as long as it is threatened arbitrarily. Its spirit will remain a prisoner of despotism and enslavement. Its affairs will continue to be conducted on its behalf in the obscurity of the darkest night.
At the present time, Morocco's image appears distorted. It has moved further and further away from a path to prosperity and is engaged in a process of degradation. Its abject condition has left it in a state of weakness and impotence in which it risks to stay for quite some time. The origins of this state are found in the lack of freedom, the key driving force of life. Freedom merges with a human being through his innate right to take appropriate action without external constraints. Freedom also encompasses the societies he belongs to and contributes to the self-actualization of groups and organizations.
Because Morocco is deprived of all liberties, private or public, social or political, its business is conducted by others in the midst of suspicion and corruption. Meanwhile men of integrity vegetate at society's margins unable to find a valid direction to exercise any type of contribution. In our time, Morocco is the only country subjected to an arsenal of unjust laws issued in bad faith and it remains attached to traditions that go back to the darkness of night.
As for us, we wish above all and even before any resolution of our laws, to do our part in support of political, economic and social freedom. We wish to taste that pure air we are due that fills the body and revives it. The attempt to imagine the next step towards which Moroccan society could be headed does not prevent us from affirming that, amongst all existing societies, we are the ones in most need of public and private freedoms. Freedom to appreciate the value of (a liberated) man to his society and to consider the individual's role in guiding his community's affairs.
Undeniably political freedom trumps all other freedoms. It lies at the origin of the feelings to defend all other rights. It demands the right to accomplish duties of an honest citizen and to enjoy peace of mind. Political freedom is the foundation of modern life. It guides the nation along the path to progress and unveils the secrets of the (proper) organization of society. It establishes a spirit of solidarity between its members. It blocks the road to despotism and restores the rights to the victims of injustice. It eases the suffering of the poor. It protects against vagaries imposed on individuals when society is deprived of its freedoms. Without freedom its members are prevented from enjoying their rights. They are denied that breath of pure air without which they can not accede to the heights of achievement and progress to which they aspire.
The best example to illustrate the worst calamities of a life without freedom is given by this country, Morocco. This is a country which has not been authorized to live as it wishes presently. It has not been allowed to breathe the air of freedom that invigorates life. It is the theater for tyranny and all injustices like nowhere else. Our Morocco, gentlemen, provides a view of a country bestowed with all that is possible to imagine with respect to totalitarian misbehavior, excesses of power, humiliation and the denial of the most legitimate of rights.
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What country is this where it is deprived of a national press to defend its interests, to account for the wishes of its people and its development?
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What country is this where meetings are prohibited and even individual freedoms are not allowed?
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What country is this where associations are non-existent, where their creation is not allowed regardless of their stated objectives?
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What country is this, among all countries of the earth, where insult is added to its injury and is not allowed to remedy the ills that gnaw at it no matter how grave?
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What country is this, among all countries of the earth, where demands are either not acknowledged or refused categorically without any justification? The latter in itself is an injustice and a humiliation.
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What country is this, among all countries of the earth, where the lowest paid civil servant is invested with the most extensive power, and, like a despot, rules with absolute authority over the population? He is without worry about his accountability in case of an abuse of power nor does he worry about having to answer to any mission of inquiry.
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What country is this that drags people to jail, individually or collectively, without any committed crime with its sole desire being to humiliate and injure their self-esteem and their dignity as patriots?
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What country is this where corruption is in full swing at all levels, be it for the settlement of personal or business affairs which require in both cases the intervention of public authorities?
My dear compatriots, Morocco's problems are legion and beyond all understanding. It is time to expose them to the light of day, to post images and publish news about them. The time has come to pull together documentation on all these issues. It is time to ensure that these are broadcast abroad widely so the whole world is aware of the state of decadence and injustice under which our nation lives. It is time as well to tell about the treatment it is subjected to. To bring awareness to the wrongs that gnaw at its body without allowing it to bring remedy nor the means to take giant leaps towards whatever path it chooses.
