In this week's episode, we are joined by Salua El Omari an activist and psychologist originally from the Rif in northern Morocco, working and living in Andalucia, Spain.She joins us to discuss the socio-/geo- political situation in the Rif region particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic and the largest social movement the Hirak Rif. Further, Salua tells us about the importance of matriarchal lineages and oral traditions in forging and maintaining identity and strength in resistance. Bordering the Mediterranean and sharing the only land border with Europe in Africa, the Rif is home to the first post-colonial state in Africa after a successful guerrilla war against the Spanish colonisers in the 1920s. Carrying on from then, the Rif has continued to be a centre of struggle for civil rights in North Africa. Salua is the founder and president of the Rala Buya socio-cultural association and works with the human rights association APDHA in Andalusia. NB: This interview was conducted in Spanish and translated by Blossom Ah-Ket The song we hear in the show is called Aseqsi by Rif ExperiencePerformed by Maryam & Soufian Elbouzakhti, with the melody by Thaghrast Nederland. It was composed and arranged by Soufian Elbouzakhti, with lyrics by: Ahmed Sadiki
