Yusuf of Merzouga
As time is tight this week, this is another from deep in the archives, a scan from a negative from over 10 years ago. Earlier this evening I heard a passing comment on a Discovery Channel documentary that the Moroccan desert town of Merzouga had been destroyed in a flash flood in 2006.
When I finished my time in university, I took a trip through southern Spain and Morocco, and Merzouga—a town on the edge of the dunes of the Sahara that at the time had no electricity, phones or proper road access—was as far into Morocco as I got. Every time I wandered out onto the dunes, this little boy, Yusuf, would appear and follow me, as I was the only of the four of us who could talk to him in French. He was the sweetest kid, who would be out in a dark sweatshirt and corduroy pants even though the temperature easily topped 35 degrees Celsius. And while the photo is not the sharpest, it's a flashback to that little corner of the world that once again found itself in my thoughts (and hopes that it has found its way back to rebuild). If anyone out there can fill me in on how things are there now—or even if they have ever come across Yusuf—I'd love to hear.
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