Desert Windfarms in Morocco

Climate Changes Bring First Snow to African Nation

By Anna Durkin

Omar, an International Business major at Salem State, is originally from Morocco, but has also lived in France. We met in the library to discuss climate change and his experiences as an international student. “When was the first time you heard about climate change?” I asked. He said it was at his private French high school. Students had to take an Earth Science class, but, “they didn’t go really in depth," Omar said. "I learned more about it later, but I don’t know if that's because I came here or because I grew up.” Omar is twenty-five now and made a good point that when we are fifteen, we don’t always know to pay attention as much to things like climate change.

“What do you know about climate change today?” I asked. Right away he said, “It isn’t something we should take lightly.” He went on to discuss how one of the major polar ice caps recently broke off. “It starts with a small effect and grows,” he said, meaning every small consequence will grow until we cannot ignore it any longer: a snowball effect.

“Do you know anything about Morocco’s stance on climate change?” I asked. Omar shook his head and answered honestly, “I haven’t been there for three years so I’m honestly not sure.” I shared with him what I learned: “In 2018, Morocco was ranked second in the performance index because there is a solar farm there...” He interrupted, “true, true!” His face lit up as he went on to describe how in one of the deserts, there is a huge piece of land with solar panels and windmills.

Towards the end of the interview, I asked if he felt like Morocco itself was being affected by climate change. He told me about how it never snowed where he lived, but it started snowing one day and he couldn’t believe it, because he had never seen snow in Morocco.

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