Years ago, the sound of the rain sneaks into the class melting miserably with my tears, all my mates were in silence, I was hugging my face and trying to keep my tears in a hide until the teacher came and hugged me gently, I still remember the sense of kindness in her touches and smiles, I cried cause my Simba toy was broken, my dream then was just a time machine to help my poor toy and survive it. But what if our children cry in the future after seeing the last lion on earth dying, this powerful animal, was the hero of so many movies that we have grown watching, the symbol of my country, and its unique creature. at the current rate, lions will go extinct by 2050. because of so many threats that are posed by humans. WE. someone in the other continent enjoys drinking expensive wine made up partially from a lion’s bones with no mercy on a luxurious carpet produced from its fur, even more, there are trophies to kill lions for sports activities. including retaliation that leads some framers to kill lions for livestock deaths. you can find a mummified lion easier than finding a real one, such a waste for none.
Resulting, during the last century, the lion population was almost 200,000. Now it is estimated as less than 23,000.
Lions in my country take a special place, from the symbol of the country to the football team. The word lions in Arabic “Ossoude” touches our authentic national soul deeply. I still feel the amazement in my eyes four years ago when I first saw a real one. our race deserves to see those creatures, not just for symbolizing, but also for giving them a reason to be grateful, grateful to us if we took these animals out of an absolute murder.
our inventions changed the world, but while these needy are divining into the death, there is no such an impact or energy to stop it. well, we can’t deny the efforts which are made by so many countries and organizations, like Panthera which is the only organization in the world dedicated to the survival of the world’s wild cats. and also the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it takes action in 185 countries, aiming to help the threatened species and form strategies for a better environment and ecosystem. it is a whole specie with its own life, own role, own story, disappearing like ashes within a fire ignited by humans. But every fire has an end. we have two choices: waiting for the extension of lions or doing the first move. we all are responsible, to the world: stop demanding for lion stuff, STOP murdering, STOP ignoring…
Imagination drove me to see myself with my kids watching Simba, suddenly one asked: what is this animal daddy? I said: we called it a lion…
I don’t want to use the past in my expressions to talk about animals, who similarly have souls.
This danger isn’t just facing lions, but also tigers, orangutans, chimpanzees, elephants, leopards, dolphins, gorillas, whales…
Your earth may seem to a visitor from another planet as a crime scene, we just have to spread peace cause they deserve it too. this is my dream, those hearts deserve to keep beating as well as we, we all matter on this blue planet.
Morocco 