Over the past few days, as the terrible scenes have been broadcast from Afghanistan, friends have been asking how they can help Afghan refugees in Edinburgh. It has become clear that we are facing another refugee crisis. The UK government has signalled an intention to accommodate 20,000 Afghan refugees in the UK, and my local authority, the City of Edinburgh Council has offered to accommodate Afghan refugees in a similar way to how they did Syrians during the conflict there, while calling for the UK government to accept more refugees.
In response to questions from friends about how they can help Afghan refugees in Edinburgh as the city and surrounding area prepares for new arrivals, I have prepared the following information on three ways you can help refugees arriving in Edinburgh. Continue reading
I am very proud to announce that the fourth book to which I have contributed on Morocco was published earlier this month. The Demographic Dividend and the Power of Youth is an anthology of essays from around the world about harnessing the energy and potential of younger generations.
Happy New Year! I am very proud to be part of the “Our Morocco” anthology, alongside friends and fellow marocophiles including Tahir Shah, Amanada Moutakki and Saeida Rouass, to name but a few.
As regular readers of this blog will know, our Scottish-Moroccan family divides its time between Edinburgh and Essaouira. Recently, I have spent more time in Scotland recently than in Morocco. Current travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic haven’t helped, of course. 
In the past two weeks, Casablanca has come to Edinburgh! The showing of Sofia by Meryem Benm’Barek in the 2019 
Over the years, many people have asked my advice about owning property in Essaouira. Perhaps, like me, they 
I attended the Edinburgh launch of Benita Matofska and Sophie Sheinwald’s “Generation Share” book not really understanding what the “Sharing Economy” was, but feeling some kind of resonance and a desire to learn more. I not only learned what it was, but I was inspired and I realised that sharing is a key aspect of my life. 
