Final thoughts after 44 days.

( excerpt from the back of my journal )

I'm trying to understand the nature and evolution of the hustler. I had an experience this morning that added a piece to the puzzle. The man I stayed with was a run of the mill catch #em before the hotel and use your mother's house as a bed and breakfast, but he didn#t ask for payment for services and expressed that he very much did not want that, but instead hoped I could give him money for medicine for a non-fatal skin disease. I got the idea that he needed money, but couldn't live with selling his room and hustling, but needed an alternative guise. The hustlers have two problems. All of them sell a commodity that is in almost infinite supply. The problem then comes as to how to raise the price against the law of supply and demand and how to maximize your take of the industries gross income. The hustlers sell three things, food, shelter and knowledge. From my talk with Rachid I know the first two are in ample supply. The third is unfortunately only minimal in quality when found in ample supply. Everyone sells the knowledge that everyone who has been there for more than a week already knows. Sadly many of these fellows have been there since childhood but have picked up little else. To further complicate matters, the knowledge is often posessed by the consumer, making a legitimate sale impossible. There is no return for duplicate information.

The first product, food and shelter are for the most part stardardized, although negotiations can be somewhat awkward and uncomfortable. The second product is much more of a problem. Given someone who lacks a mom preparing ample servings and a spare bed in a reasonable location, the lack of jobs gives many only one option but to sell knowledge. Accepting the conditions laid out, it is not at all surprising that the present situation had been reached.

The unfortunate matter is that there are numerous alternatives, many of which require zero investment and are selfishly motivated. For instance, the laws of economics demand that I distinguish my product in order to reap temporary profit. Logic states I should therefore spend the off season in the library becoming more knowledgable than anyone else. The second problem is how to advertise without an established system of credentialing. Since selling a high-supply product requires aggressive tactics, I would demonstrate my unique product with the utmost passive attempts. Personally I would squat confidently on the sidewalk reading a book in my best foreign language beside a small well crafted sign that read, 'self-proclaimed most knowledgable guide in YOUR CITY HERE.'

The one thing I have not mentioned is actual products, namely crafts. I asked myself the question, why do people sit around all day hustling only to shoy you an unused loom. I asked myself why a perfectly valuable piece of capital was so poorly used. A weaver could use the loom without taking anything away from the dealers use of the loom as a showpiece. The immediate problem is that there is an overabundance of crafts. They are traditional crafts because they are found in every house. This discourages people from sitting down at the loom. My solution would be to engage the capital for free and distinguish my product. First I would pull out the box of old clothes, borrow some from an uncle and create a particularly traditional outfit, or at least what is expected. The look and the fact that a mysterious individual is working the loom is enough to stimulate interest of shop owners that want to attract clients. Second, I have never seen anyone sell anything I watched them make, and I guarantee that in the last few hours of weaving, a buyer would always surface, and if not the blanket gets tossed in with a collective and you start anew. This does require a modest investment of wool, but I imagine undyed wool couldn't cost more than a days a hustle, and perhaps it would be the last day of hustling.

Why do I have these thoughts and feel quite alone with them. Why do foreign entrepeneurs dominate less developed countries. Why do I have answers when I'm not faced with the problem...

( on the culture )

I went back to Tangiers in order to reclaim the city that was taken away from me. Among other things I discovered that I happened on the city at a particularly bad time. It was still a rough place but much more toned down. My main point of interest was the American Legation. In 1778 Morocco signed a peace treaty with the U.S. making it the first nation to recognize the U.S. as an independent nation. The house was donated in 1831 and now serves as the only U.S. historical site not on U.S. soil. On the second floor is a letter written from the ambassador in 1839 to the president of the U.S. He explained the present situation. The sultan sent a message declaring that he had sent two lions as a gift to the president. The messanger repeatedly declined the offer but the sultan refused to accept his authority. Before the ambassador could himself deliver a message refusing the gift, the prince showed up in Tangiers with a large entourage that included two lions. The ambassador apologized that the prince had to bring the lions all the way over, but he had to refuse the gift. The prince said he can't refuse because it is for the president. The ambassador said the president has given him the authority to refuse the gift on his behalf. The prince did not accept his authority and was told that even if the president wanted the lions the congress has prevented him from taking gifts. The prince replied that the gift was therefore not for the president but for the congress. The ambassador noted that the constitution explicitly prevents congress from accepting gifts. The prince inquired as to who wrote the constitution. The people wrote the constitution, so the prince again corrected his offer. The lions were a gift to the people of the U.S. and therefore could not be refused. The following dialogue is not described, but eventually the prince closed off the streets and stated that the lions would be released in the streets. The ambassador reported to the president that the 14 jewish families that reside on the street and who have welcomed the U.S. presence would not favor lions in their street. As a result, the ambassador accepted the lions in one of the rooms of the American Legation. He pleaded to the president, stating his life was in danger, and hoped for the authority to send the lions out of Morocco to be dealt with in any matter.

The rest of the story is unfortunately unknown. The story sounds like a fable that illustrates moroccan culture and moroccan business; however, the original letter is there to prove otherwise.

( on what I got )

On my way to Tangiers I met an older guy who had spent several years as a golf pro in Marrakech. After learning about my trip he asked me what I got from all of it. I could only explain that I got two questions from it. The first question is how much to blame colonization for the present situation. I don't have an answer, but I can give some reasons for thinking about it. First, everything looks as though a large entity just up and left one day. The sidewalks are all tattered; however, one can imagine that they once looked quite attractive. The decorative trees that lined the prosperous roads have had their limbs removed for wood. Everywhere I went I found parks turned into dumpsites and fountains that didn't function anymore. Children still spend a great deal of their education on french, both language, literature, history and culture, yet the majority of them will never be allowed to visit. The second question is what is the third world. Travelers that visit Casablanca would have a very difficult time with this question. It's a lively business city with a booming industry and a billion dollar mosque in the skyline. Then there is the rest of Morocco, which lacks infrastructure for anything except tourism. Families are largely agrarian and many go completely without money, bartering goods instead. In the middle are the people with sewage systems that still defocate on the side of the road in the middle of the city. As long as there is dirt it's far game. In general hygiene is poor in any city. So why is it third world and what makes it third world. I'll just blame the king because it's probably just that easy huh.

Anywho, that's it from Africa. I hope you enjoyed it.