“YOU VISIT WHAT WE WERE TOLD TO LEAVE BEHIND”
The wind rises just before sunset in M’Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco, where the road ends and the Sahara begins. Here, at the edge of the dunes, Bessou prays in the weather-worn tent. His camel, a small, sure-footed creatures that once carried trade goods across North Africa, now carry Europeans seeking sunsets and silence.
Bessou lives with his mother and sister in a tent set deep in the desert, nearly a two-day walk from the nearest town. The tent has stood in the same place for over 20 years, surrounded by only low scrub brush, moving dunes, and wind.
In recent decades, the Amazigh have moved from the margins toward a more visible assertion of identity and political presence. From language rights to cultural recognition, the push for visibility has gained ground—but not without resistance and a landscape of internal and external challenges. A 2024 report by the World Amazigh Congress underscores that most government investment still bypasses majority-Amazigh regions, including parts of southern Morocco. This contributes to high illiteracy rates and unemployment, particularly among women.
M’Hamid el Ghizlane was once a vital node in the trans-Saharan trade network. Now, it is among the last vestiges of Morocco’s once-vast nomadic culture. Over the past four decades, government policies have gradually pushed nomadic communities like Bessou’s into fixed settlements, promising access to education and healthcare, but often delivering isolation, unemployment, and the erosion of centuries-old traditions.
At home Bessou offers tourists sweet mint tea, pouring it high and slow, his mother cooking tajin for all. His sister Aicha sits cross-legged, sewing small camel figurines from real camel fur. Simple crafts they hope will sell to passersby and tour operators. Aicha walks nearly two hours each way to reach a roadside stall where she displays their work, hoping someone will stop and pay a few dirhams.
“The desert teaches you patience. There is no rush where nothing grows fast.”
“We do what we can,” Bessou says. “Tourism helps us survive.“ His family, like many Amazigh in southern Morocco, once led a fully nomadic life, moving with the seasons, herding animals, living in rhythm with the desert. But over the past forty years, that rhythm has been disrupted. Government policies aimed at sedentarizing nomadic populations promised access to education, healthcare, and stability. What they delivered instead, says Bessou, was isolation
Tourism is now a vital part of survival for families like Bessou’s. When approached with care and awareness, it can contribute to preserving traditions, supporting livelihoods, and building mutual understanding. If you're interested in learning more—or if you'd like to connect with Bessou for a guided desert journey—I’m happy to share his contact and help bridge the distance between stories often told and lives still lived.