At first it was endearing, young tawny-skinned boys and girls doe-eyed and sporting wide smiles sidling up to you to reveal an unopened packet of tissues, hoping you could spare some loose coins in exchange. As the days wore on, you begin to notice that they swarmed around certain tourists in groups of 2s or 4s. What might have seemed innocent early on in your mind slowly shifts to disquieting as you recall the traveling warning you read while preparing for the trip–beware pickpockets! Yet there is a part of you that yearns to do something. It would be unconscionable if children were doing the same in your own country.
TRAVEL TIP: “No, Thank You”, “Non, Merci”, or “La, Shukran” in Darija, the Moroccan Arabic dialect.
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