Moroccan artist and theater man Ahmed Jaouad died on Sunday, April 2, 2023. The playwright set himself on fire on Monday, March 27.
Our contributor Akram Louiz mentioned the case of the deceased in his last post, when he reported on the precarious situation of cultural actors in Morocco. In his article, the author evoked “the event which recently shook Morocco and which proves that the Moroccan Ministry of Culture is rather going through a management crisis which risks harming all the talented artists of Morocco”.
And the worst happened. While hope was still allowed to see Ahmed Jawad recover from his injuries inflicted by the flames, he will pass from life to death. The information of his death was confirmed by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Communication. The death occurred this Sunday, April 2, at the CHU Ibn Sina in Rabat. A death that shakes Moroccan public opinion.
Ahmed Jaouad takes action
Monday, March 27, Ahmed Jaouad, after several warnings, decided to take action. In front of a building of the Ministry of Culture, not far from the Mohammed V theater in Rabat where he was in office, the man set himself on fire. As a message, the artist wanted to denounce “exclusion and marginalization”, but also and above all, “ingratitude” against him.
Previously, he acted as animator of the Family Club within the Mohammed V Theater. The playwright took the opportunity of International Theater Day to take action. In a press release, the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication expressed its deep regret after the immolation scene.
Cultural actors in Morocco, the evil is deep
The department had indicated that Ahmed Jaouad was “a contractual civil servant at the Mohammed V Theater in Rabat, retired since October 2021, who enjoys all the rights guaranteed to him by law”. Not without specifying that “the individual in question had submitted to the ministry an offer to purchase his theatrical plays, which was approved”.
The ministry, still in its press release, had claimed to have acquired two of its theatrical plays in 2022. The government would also have agreed to buy a third in 2023. What is the situation in practice? It is the word of the government against that of a deceased. Twists and turns are certainly not to be ruled out, because the evil seems deep, as Mr. Louiz so aptly underlined.
