See also 1972: Failed Coup Morocco and the Years of Lead
- Aziz Binebine (1946-, Morocco) – Tazmamort récit: dix-huit ans dans le bagne de Hassan II (2009, English trans. 18 Years in Morocco’s Secret Prison, 2020). The author of this novel was unwillingly involved in the 1972 attempted coup against King Hassan II on his 42nd birthday, when military leaders ordered their soldiers to commit a bloodbath amongst the King’s guests. Along with 57 other soldiers, he was imprisoned for 18 years. The memoir describes both the psychological cruelties the prisoners inflicted on each other, as well as how Binebine’s gift for storytelling offered solace to his fellow-prisoners and his self-sufficiency in light of his inhumane conditions (reference). ʿAzīz is the brother of Mahi Binebine (see below) (also in 1972 Failed Coup Morocco and the Years of Lead).
- Mahi Binebine (1959-, Morocco) – Le Fou du Roi (‘King’s Fool’, 2017). This novel is inspired by King Hassan II court’s jester, the author’s father Muhammad Binebine, and his brother ʿAzīz (see above), who was imprisoned in the infamous Tazmamart prison. The novel shows how the father maintained his loyalty to the King while his son, the author’s brother, was imprisoned for unwillingly participating in the coup against the King in 1971. The novel involves the same characters as Yūsuf al-Fāḍil’s Ṭāʾir Azraq Nādir Yaḥliq Maʿī (see below in this section) (also in 1972 Failed Coup Morocco and the Years of Lead).
- Ali-Auguste Bourequat (1937-, Morocco / Tunisia) – In the Moroccan King’s Secret Gardens (1998). Write-up of the author’s experiences when secretly imprisoned together with his two brothers in 1973. While spending the first years in a prison closed to Rabat, he was later transferred to the Tazmamart prison in 1981. He was released in 1991.
- Yūsuf al-Fāḍil (1949-, Morocco) – Ṭāʾir Azraq Nādir Yaḥliq Maʿī (2013, English trans. A Rare Blue Bird Flies with Me, 2016). When the pilot ʿAzīz disappears one day after getting married, his young wife embarks on a quest to find him. It takes 18 years of searching before she finds him in a small, dark prison cell (reference). The novel not only tells the story of prisoners in a critical period of Moroccan history (see 1972 Failed Coup Morocco and the Years of Lead), but also reflects on the changes Moroccan society goes through, such as its militarisation. The novel can be read as part of a series on 1980s Morocco that includes Samakah Ḥamrāʾ Mutlaʾliʾah Tasbaḥ Maʿī (English trans. A Shimmering Red Fish Swims with Me, 2019) and Qiṭṭ Abyaḍ Jamīl Yasīr Maʿī (2011, English trans. A Beautiful White Cat Walks with Me, 2016) (also in 1975 – 1991 Morocco – Western Sahara War).
- Tahar ben Jalloun (1944- , Morocco) – Cette aveuglante absence de lumière (2001, English trans. This Blinding Absence of Light, 2002). A fictionized telling of the Tazmamart prison based on a real testimony. The novel centres the detainee Salim, who lives through years-long isolation. It describes the personal as well as collective efforts of the prisoners to survive. It was controversial for being based on ʿAzīz Binebine’s story, who denounced the novel in an open letter (reference).
- Ahmad al-Marzouki (1947-, Morocco) – Tazmamart Cellule 10 (‘Tazmamart, cell 10’, 2000). This prison memoir was one of the first novels depicting a firsthand experience imprisonment in the Tazmamart prison. The author spends 18 years in the prison after the attempted coup on the King that led to a hundred deaths on the King’s 42nd The novel reflects on the period leading up to the author’s imprisonment, the summer of 1973, and his kidnapping from the first prison many of the Tazmamart prisoners were incarcerated in, La Prison Centrale de Kénitra (reference).[1] It also describes the relationships the prisoners developed with their jailers (reference) (also in 1972 Failed Coup Morocco and the Years of Lead).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Brahim El Guabli. 2014. “The ‘Hidden Transcript’ of resistance in Moroccan Tazmamart Prison Writings.” The Arab Studies Journals 22(1): 170-207, p.190
- Cristina Dozio. 2014. “‘A Rare Blue Bird That Flies with Me’: Morocco’s History Through the Eyes of a Prisoner.” www.arablit.org, 20 March 2014 https://arablit.org/2014/03/20/a-rare-blue-bird-that-flies-with-me-moroccos-history-through-the-eyes-of-a-prisoner/ (last accessed 4 April 2020)
- Dr. Dina Ahmed Muhammad and Zika Allah Zaatar. 2020. “Imbrication du vécu et du fictionnel dans ‘Cette aveuglante absence de lumière’ de Tahar Ben Jelloun et ‘Tazmamort’ d’Aziz BineBine.” Philology 74: 67-93, p. 68
- Brahim El Guabli. 2014. “The ‘Hidden Transcript’ of resistance in Moroccan Tazmamart Prison Writings.” The Arab Studies Journals 22(1): 170-207, p. 180, 185