The Washington Moroccan Club has organized a book signing for “Tangier, the novel” , a novel published in 2005 with Book Surge Editions, by the author and anthropologist Ms. Diane Skelly Ponasik.

At the beginning of the 20th century Morocco is the only country on the southern rim of the Mediterranean that has not been colonized, or fallen under the rule of the Ottomans.  When a twelve-year old boy inherits the throne, this traditional country soon falls into civil war, in protest against his interest in Western reforms.  The situation is ripe for takeover by France, to which Morocco is deeply in debt.  While some forward-thinking officials want the changes the West offered, few favor a colonial take-over, preferring to maintain their integrity as a Muslim country.

 Tangier, a Novel is set in this international town where Jews, Christians and Muslims mingle freely. It is the story of Lili, a young Moroccan girl brought up by the American Ambassador in Tangier, and the man she loves, Tariq, a Berber noble at the Sultan’s court.  Lili, who has embraced her American identity and married an American diplomat, finds herself increasingly drawn to Tariq, despite her reluctance to enter a world she sees as limiting her freedom.  Like Morocco itself, she must choose between her Western life or the traditions of the country she was born in.  It is also the story of Meriam, a Moroccan Jew, and her family.  Moroccan Jews  acted  as intermediaries between Western merchants and Muslim farmers.  They paid substantial taxes to the Sultan from the profits they made on these transactions, but as more foreigners sought out these goods, they find ways to exempt the Jews from the taxes, removing a valuable source of income from the country.

As civil war and indebtedness gradually weaken the country, the stage is set for a colonial take-over.

Ms. Ponasik, who has lived for over 12 years in Morocco, said that the novel takes place in the city of Tangier at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century when European powers, France and England in particular, were competing to colonize the Kingdom of Morocco.

The main protagonist, Lili, is a young Moroccan woman, from the Rif mountains, who was adopted and educated by the American consul in Tangier, following the death of her  mother. After her studies in the US, the teenager was torn between her adopted American identity and her original Moroccan culture. Even though she fell in love with Tarik, a young man from a prominent Moroccan family, she reluctantly decided to marry an American diplomat with the hope of being a “happy and free American woman”. But destiny has decided otherwise…

Takes place in an era of civil war and political unrest as a young Sultan tries to fend off  European powers interested in annexing Morocco, and bandits and pretenders threaten his throne.  This is the story of Lili, a Moroccan girl raised in Tangier by the American Ambassador.  Lili is convinced her future lies in becoming a Western woman, and, despite her attraction to a Moroccan noble, she marries an American diplomat posted to Morocco.  As she watches the country fall into civil war and follows the noble, Tariq, in his resistance to its take over by the French, she realizes the strength of her allegiance to Morocco and her love for Tariq.

Lili’s stepbrother, Ted, experiences the same conflict.  Educated in Moroccan palaces with three young aristocrats (of whom Tariq is one), Ted becomes a respected journalist reporting on Moroccan issues.  He must choose between his career and his Jewish wife, Meriam, who is raped in an anti-Semitic attack and rejects the country of her birth.***
   
the story line and the protagonists are based on real events at the time.” said The author.
Ms Ponasik, is a former peace corp. volunteer. She lived and worked in a remote village near khmisset and helped with young girls’ education. She returned to the US and finished her PhD in Anthropology.
She has recently visited Morocco to celebrate the marriage of her Moroccan adoptive daughter and was amazed at the transformation of the country in such a short period of time.

The book signing was attended by Moroccan Community in Washington as well as the “friends of Morocco organization”, a group of former peace corp. volunteers that were based in Morocco.

The Moroccan musical concert that followed the reading was performed by Mr. Ali Amir, a talented Moroccan singer that also performs at the Morocco pavilion at Epcot Center in Orlando, Fl.
By  Mostapha Saout 
Edited from original French article by Mr. K. Fattoumi of  MAP

Diane Skelly Ponasik was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco in the 1960’s and has a Ph.D. in Anthropology with an emphasis on the Middle East.  She spent ten years on and off in Morocco, and lived several months at the American Legation in Tangier, where her novel is set.  She then joined the United States Agency for International Development.  During her twenty-seven year career she was stationed in the Yemen Arab Republic, Mali, Egypt, Haiti and Macedonia.  She and her husband have an adopted  Moroccan daughter, who is now married.  Ms. Ponasik and her husband, who are now retired, live in Washington, D.C.