Where to go?

While Bert and Aicha were running up and down the stairs in the provincial palace in Tiznit between the different layers of bureaucracy to get funding for the 'Reunion' of the Friends of Iligh, I was in Ireland and didn't have a clou what went on. During my stay in Polranny Bert and I had had contact via Skype every Tuesday about the graphic story. But since Bert had left for Morocco we had only occasionally spoken to each other. I knew about the disaster that had befallen Iligh and the desperation of Bert how that would effect the arrival of the international crew of experts. I didn't know about the effort of Bert and Aisha to work out Plan B. My flight from Dublin to Agadir would be on March 21 in the middle of the night. I would to take a taxi from the airport to Iligh. That was the plan. Next I got a mail from Bert that she had not arranged a taxi and anyway she, Aisha and Annie Wright, the photographer were in Tiznit. The Aboudmiaa also had stated that I couldn't take a taxi in the middle of the night. That was too dangerous and anyway Zhor Rehilhil was supposed to land that morning sometime from Casablanca. I had to come with her to Tiznit. I saw myself spending the night in the carpark of the airport. That didn't bode well. Finally I caught Bert on Skype. She happened to be in Agadir in the Tildi hotel. I asked her to get me a room and a transfer from the airport. She did that. A room with shower was reserved for me as I can't get into and out of a bath anymore. The last time I was in the Tildi I had trouble with it. So far so good. Between the arrival of my train from Castlebar and the flight to Agadir I was going to have to spend a lot of time in Dublin. Time enough to finally make that sketch inside the Galway Hooker. The Galway Hooker is the carvery inside Heuston Station. It is the place for the culchies to wait for the train into the boondogs.

Bert and Aicha try Plan B

A week before the 'Reunion' of friends of Iligh would take place Bert and Aisha met again in Agadir. An impressive list of people who were coming to Iligh was ready. But there was nowhere to stay for them and it was still unsure if they would get to see anything. Iligh was still more like a warzone than a place of any importance. In the meantime Moulay Imam Aboudmiaa had suggested two locations in the neighborhood of Iligh where people could stay now that Iligh was out. But to stay in the neighboring 'auberges' would cost money and there wasn't any. Aisha suggested to pull political strings. She thought that the safeguarding of the heritage of her family was a matter of public interest. And there was a little matter of certain documents from Iligh having given proof to the legality of the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco in 1975 or thereabouts. She also anted to cash in on that. Bert and Aisha moved to Tiznit the provincial capital to work the authorities there. For the next days they tried very hard to convince the politicians and civil servants of the prestige of footing the bill for the 'Reunion'.

The preparation for the 'Reunion'

In February Bert went to Morocco for a symposium on Moroccan-Jewish history at the Jewish Museum in Casablanca. She hoped to meet Jossy Chitry from Haifa and Taroudant there a specialist in Moroccan Jewish manuscripts. She also wanted to meet Zhor Rehilhil the director of the museum again. Zhor was one of the experts interested in attending the 'Reunion' that would be held in Iligh from March 22 to 24. After the symposium she went to Agadir to meet up with Aisha. As neither Bert nor the Aboudmiaa family had any funds,the plan was to have everybody stay in Iligh. However when Bert went on to check the situation in Iligh she was in for a shock. Unexpected changes had taken place there that put in doubt if the 'Reunion' could take place at all. However she couldn't sort out the situation as she had to meet a group in Tangiers. In the drawing Bert is writing her diary in Iligh. The diary that would make up a large part of the Graphic Story.

Chapter 6 Top Guns for Iligh

The only thing that is left to reveal the secrets of Iligh and turn the tide of the deterioration of the historical archives is to get international recognition. In Chapter 6 Bert the writer of the Graphic Story and Aicha Aboudmiaa set out to mobilize the experts in the field of documents, linguistics, history, anthropology and Jewish/Moroccan relations. The family Aboudmiaa starts a society of 'Friends of Iligh'. There is plenty of interest, but everybody demands to be shown examples from the archive that is important to their particular field of interest. Moulay Imam Aboudmiaa lets be known through his daughter that he can and will deliver. This results in a 'Reunion de Amis d'Iligh' on March 22, 23 and 24 2018 in Iligh. What will happen when everybody knocks on the gate of Iligh? Will Moulay Imam Aboudmiaa open up the coffers of the archive and if he does, will it reveal what everybody hopes and even expects it to deliver? And what will the reaction of the experts be? Will they be sufficiently impressed by what they see and by the attitude of the family to offer means and money to safeguard everything for future generations? How will the story end? The drawing shows Bert Hoogervorst and Moulay Imam Aboudmiaa. Do they really understand each other or is it a Biblical confusion of tongues as the Hebrew Thora text reads in the Museum of Iligh?

Chapter 5 the gates of Iligh are opened

In Chapter 5 the gates are finally opened for writer Bert and artist Peti. On September 26 2017 they have an appointment with the father of Aisha, Moulay Imam Aboudmiaa. But from the beginning things don't really go according to plan. Although the two Dutchwomen are warmly welcomed into the bosom of the family, and have a whale of a time with Fatima and Imam, they get the 'tourist' treatment with regards to the secrets of Iligh. They return to Holland with more questions than answers. Is there written letters or texts in Arabic that tell about the visits made and deals struck with Michiel de Ruyter? Are there as many texts in Hebrew as suggested? Imam is supposed to know, but if he does, he did not communicate it with the visitors. But one thing is certain whatever the secret archives are hiding, it is in a deplorable state. Time, changing temperatures and creepy crawlies have caused havoc with the written texts and manuscripts. Will the heritage of this very special little stronghold with its rich, colorful and unique past crumble to dust and disappear into the earth and into oblivion or can the family get what they insist they want: expert help from abroad?

Chapter 4 another Dutch-Iligh connection

In Chapter 4 of 'The Tears of Iligh' Aicha introduces another connection with Holland. Aisha tells about the secret documents both in Arabic and Hebrew and both on paper and parchment and how in 1982 a Moroccan scientist Paul Pascon was allowed to look into some of the documents. He had won the trust of the family. He wrote a study about the economical history of the small realm of Iligh. To him it was special for several reasons and he wanted to come back and write more and even start digging in the ruins that surround the Casbahs. Unfortunately Paul Pascon had died in a road accident in 1985. Some people thought it suspicious how he had died. Aisha then remembered there had been Dutch among the students who had done research with Paul Pascon in Iligh. She couldn't remember their names however. Back in Amsterdam Bert was on the internet again. She found the study: La Maison d'Iligh. It was out of print. One of the names listed on the cover was Herman van der Wüsten. That sounded Dutch. He was a retired professor and so was the other Dutchman Paolo de Mas. In contrast to Van der Wüsten, Paolo de Mas had kept up an interest in Morocco. Het had been director of the Dutch Institute in Morocco and had written a book about its history with another Dutchman. In 2011 he had been back to Iligh with a TV crew. Paolo de Mas proved helpful and a source of information even though it was given in fits and bounds. It had been 25 years since any outsider had had access to the archives of the family. At last meeting Aisha again now in the company of Peti Buchel the artist of graphic stories in Agadir, she promised that her father would not only receive them, but also give them access to the archives of Iligh. There was one catch, the two had to promise to bring Iligh again under the attention of the academics. The sketch is made after a photo depicting Paolo de Mas in 1984 in the company of a then young scion of the Aboudmiaa family, Hamdi.

Chapter 3 The founder of the House of Iligh

Chapter 3 takes the reader through the first meeting of Bert Hogervorst with Aisha Aboudmiaa in Agadir. Aisha is the eldest daughter of the current 'Sant' of Iligh. She told Bert about her ancestor the Sufi saint Sidi Ahmed ou Moussa (1460-1563), her heritage and the stash of secret documents and books kept in the family's coffers. Once again back in Amsterdam Bert searches the internet for Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa. She discovers that Sidi Ahmed was a real lout in his youth. With other urchins he terrorized the neighborhood. One fateful day he met an old man struggling under the weight of a bag of figs. He feels sorry for the old man and takes over his load. The act gave such satisfaction that he decided that helping people was much more fun than pestering people. After this epiphany he took his life and religious studies seriously. From then on wondrous stories abound about his piety, courage, patriotism, travels and magical powers. Some of his travels seem copies of those of Odysseus. He also worked miracles from a distance. That way he once changed the course of history. By magic he forced the Ottoman army on its way to invade Morocco to withdraw. The result was that Morocco stayed independent and never became a tax province of the Sultan in Istanbul. After his death his scant possessions were divided among his sons. They managed to transform the symbolic-religious capital into silver. Within three generations develops the House of Iligh into an economic and political power that challenges that of the Moroccan rulers. Now that Bert and Aisha have met will the gates of Iligh finally open? The sketch is of the keeper of the sanctuary and mausoleum of Sidi Ahmed Ou Mousa.

Chapter 2 Before the closed gates of Iligh

In Chapter 2 the text writer of the graphic story, Bert Hogervorst takes center stage. Three times when visiting Iligh she stood in front of closed gates. Coming upon Iligh by chance for the first time she was struck by its imposing, exotic architecture standing seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The casbah's of Iligh were like no other casbahs. It reminded her of pictures she had seen of sub-saharan buildings. Back in Holland she started an internet search. The first thing she discovered was that in the South of Morocco along the edges of the Sahara desert there were ancient Jewish settlements. Turns out the Jews played a crucial role in the Trans Saharan trade. The oldest settlement was in Ifrane (Atlas Saghir). From there the Jews had spread and brought prosperity to the region. It seemed that the rise of Iligh as a karavanserai, goods depot and trading post in the first half of the 17th century coincided with a particularly cruel episode in the history of the Jewish people of Ifrane known as the Mass Suicide when a ruthless ruler forced Jews into killing themselves and each other. From 1620 till 1968 when the last Rabbi left the place, the fate of the Jewish community and that of the family of the 'Maison d'Iligh' was tightly connected. At the end of the 19th century Iligh boasted the largest Jewish population of any place in the South of Morocco. The drawing is of Bert in the Jewish cemetery of Ifrane while on a reconnaissance of Jewish settlements in southern Morocco. Will the gates of Iligh finally open for her and what will she discover once inside?

Chapter 1 Iligh and the Dutch in the 17th century

Part of the Grant Application was a list of chapters and a short description of each chapter. Writing it brought in focus the potentially strong and weak points of the plot-line.From the start we put ourselves in the middle of the story together with Iligh as a location and as a historical power. But does that make a riveting story? Chapter 1 The seventeenth century: the first Dutch connections with Iligh. There are two important seventeenth century sources that tell us about Iligh in Dutch. Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral of the fleet and hero of several wars against England, kept a diary all through his years at sea. Between 1644 and 1652 before being asked by the Dutch Republic to the admiralty, he traded with the ruler of Iligh. In his diaries he describes the travels inland from Santa Cruz (Agadir), the negotiations with the ruler of Iligh whom he calls the 'Sant'because of his religious status as descendant of a Sufi saint and his meetings with Dutch hostages. One of the hostages was Jan van Maren a ship's captain who wrote the story of his ordeal in Iligh after being freed by his former boss: De Ruyter. Will there also be written sources in the archives of Iligh that tell us about trading with the Dutch? The drawing is of the roadstead of Salé. Here Michiel de Ruyter went on land for the first time in Morocco.

Grant application

Bert wrote the following Project Proposal for the Grant application. The translation from the Dutch is mine... The Tears of Iligh: written by Bert Hogervorst, art by Peti Buchel While on a trip to the South of Morocco I stumbled by chance upon a remarkable stronghold in the style of sub-saharan architecture.When was this extraordinary collection of castles built? Who lived there? What is its history? That was how the idea for a book of Graphic Journalism was born. Three times in as many years did I knock on the door. On the fourth time it finally opened. What happened next? The first meeting with the family that has lived there for 350 years was so remarkable that it led to a train of unforeseen adventures. The family is heir to a very unusual history. Among other things two historical facts stood out immediately: its special connection to the Netherlands and the ties to the the large Jewish community that found shelter within its walls. There are supposed to be many written documents that prove the pivotal role the family played in the history of the region and the trans-Saharan trade, but the family is sworn to secrecy. According to trustworthy sources the whole family archive is in a deplorable state as damp and insects have made havoc with the papers and leathers on which the archive is written. Most of what is known about the history of Iligh comes from outsiders: for example the 17th century diaries of Dutch admiral of the fleet Michiel de Ruyter who traded with Iligh for 10 years. The key question of this book of Graphic Journalism is: can the authors penetrate the secret archives? Can they make the family trust them enough to let experts evaluate what's there and possibly safeguard them for future generations? Bert Hogervorst and Peti Buchel have collaborated before on 'The Turning Tide (1998) a study about alternative ways to regenerate 19th century harbour building in NW Europe. They share a love of and interest in the Arab speaking part of the Islamic world and its history and culture.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch

In the meantime, while Bert works her fingers to the bone on the computer to organize the reunion of the Friends of Iligh, I'm back in Polranny, Ireland where I'm teaching an art class in a local watering hole: McLouglin's Bar, Achill Sound. Once a week on Tuesday mornings Bert and I Skype about the progress of the Graphic Novel. In October and November I did 29 pages using as text the dairy that Bert wrote while in Iligh. I could hand out these pages to the experts at the meeting at the Leyde University. But then I started to falter. There was so much that went on before Bert started her diary and not in the least how to finish the story after the ending of the diary. Also when in Ireland there were other things that ate up time. The Red Queen in 'Alice in Wonderland' would say: 'Off with his head! He's killing time!' Still we managed during the weekly Skype moments to hammer out a structure. Bert left for Morocco again on February 19th. Just before we managed to send off a grant application for funding the Graphic Novel as a 'Special Journalistic Project'.

'Friends of Iligh'

In the winter of 2017/2018 Bert Hogervorst and Aicha Aboudmiaa started to organize a 'Reunion des Amis d'Iligh' (a reunion of the friends of Iligh) that had to take place in Iligh in March 2018. The aim was to bring the experts to the 'Museum' of Aicha's father Imam Aboudmiaa. There the 'coffres' (travel boxes)with the old and secret documents of the family would open and the content be revealed. Or at least that was the intention. The experts could then assess the state the documents were in, the level of deterioration, the language in which they were written and the identity of the writers. Or at least they would get a general idea to be able to judge the next steps. Aicha and Bert worked very hard to get an impressive list of participants together. But they ran into a couple of problems. The most important being: where to put up the guests? A stay in Iligh was not an option and the organizers had no funds to spent on accommodation. Aicha decided to make it political: the importance of Amazigh heritage as a tool to battle Islamist radicalism. Bert and Aicha set out to make the 'Reunion d'Amis d'Iligh' the responsibility of the Governor of the Province of Tiznit.

Aicha on the move

Aicha was still in Amsterdam when I left for Ireland. But before I left she cooked up a storm in Bert's kitchen. She made a wonderful Tagine. She did her mother Fatima proud. After ten days in Amsterdam Aicha left for Paris to visit her sisters. By that time her luggage had grown to such proportions that Bert decided to rent a car and drive her to Paris. In the meantime they had made contact with Paul Dahan of the Jewish Museum in Brussels and he wanted to meet them. Paul Dahan is a Jewish Moroccan living in Belgium and specialized in documents in Hebrew and documents related to Jewish history. On the way to Paris they made a stop at the Jewish Museum to meet him. For the occasion Paul Dahan also made a Skype contact with another expert on Moroccan Jewish history a retired professor of Haifa university who was born in Taroudant. All things considered Aicha's visit to Amsterdam and Brussels proved very useful. In Paris Bert received a very warm welcome from Aicha's sisters.

Aicha meeting the Polranny Pirates

In Amsterdam Aicha was kindly taken in by Polranny Pirate Coby Prins and her husband Tom who live on a romantic canal called 'De Teertuinen' (The Tarring Yards). Riny Meyer, president of the Polranny Pirates also wanted to meet and greet Aicha. That happened in 'Broodje Mokum'(Mokum is the Jiddisch word for Amsterdam and 'Broodje' means bun) on the Rozengracht as seen in the sketch. Riny has occasionally privately sponsored Bert's and mine Iligh adventures and Graphic Novel aspirations. I don't know how Aicha liked Amsterdam. It must have been a change from Agadir where she usually lives as it rained most of the time. She did a lot of traveling by tram between Coby's home and Bert's home and there was a lot of walking to do as she also visited the Ten Kate street market, the Jewish Museum and the Prince Claus Foundation. But I think the most important thing for her in Amsterdam was the 'Primark', the cheap clothes and home accessories store on the Damrak. She had to buy extra suitcases to accommodate all the stuff she bought for herself, her mother, brother's family and her sisters.

Aicha meeting the Dutch experts

Aicha Aboudmiaa met the experts on Iligh, the history of Morocco, the Tashelhyt language and the former students of Paul Pascon in Leyden University. She gave a talk on the history and heritage of Iligh, the family's documents and the need to have them preserved. Her presentation was very well received. The gentlemen, most of whom were retired from active work reacted positive to her invitation to come for a reunion to Iligh. Paolo de Mas and Herman van der Wüsten were with Paul Pascon in Iligh in the early eighties. Herman who became Professor Social Geography at UvA, Amsterdam University admitted that after his adventure in Iligh never did research on Morocco since. Paolo de Mas on the other hand became director of the Dutch Institute in Rabat and had visited Iligh with a TV crew as recent as 2011. He also wrote a book about the history of Morocco with Herman Obdeyn. Herman Obdeyn a retired diplomat still publishes about Morocco. He also was friends with the Moroccan scientist who died in the car crash with Paul Pascon in 1985. Recently he wrote a history book about 400 years relationships between the Netherlands and Morocco together with Morocco Dutch publicist Abdelkader Benali. Harry Stromer also retired is an expert on the Tashelhyt language that is spoke in the region of Iligh and has published and impressive library full of literature in the language and in translation. His life's work is a dictionary and grammar of Tashelhyt. He took us after the meeting to his home to view his work. On the way back to Amsterdam we were very conscious of the pressure of time as people with knowledge are getting very old and the state the documents are in is deteriorating.

Aicha Aboudmiaa comes to Amsterdam

In the last week of September and the first week of October 2017 Bert Hogervorst and me were in Iligh on reconnaissance. There we met with Moulay Imam Aboudmiaa and his wife Fatima and got to get to know their daughter Aicha better. I came back to Amsterdam before Bert after having spent another week in Tangiers and started immediately on the graphic novel about Iligh. Bert had kept a diary while in Iligh and I used this diary as scenario. Bert in the meantime contacted everybody who in the past had had something to do with Iligh. And although she stayed in Morocco till the end of October and almost immediately moved to the Orkney Islands afterwards, she did manage to get positive responses from everyone. Especially Paolo de Mas who had been to Iligh in company of Paul Pascon proved to be of great help. Aicha Aboudmiaa was coming to Europe to visit her sisters in Paris. Bert convinced her to come to Amsterdam too to meet the men who had an interest in her heritage. She landed on November 22th. Bert had set up a meeting in the library/hall of the University in Leyden on the 24th. Aicha wanted to give a presentation. That had to be prepared beforehand on Bertje's Apple laptop that Aicha also had to learn to use. It were a hectic and intense few days of preparation.