Veterinary Practice Around the World 8. Morocco

Abstract

Doctor Jadi Hamadi is a Moroccan veterinary surgeon living and working in the port of Tangier. His work ranges from private large and small animal practice, through farming to public health duties and animal welfare work. I met Dr Hamadi in the bar of a hotel on the Tangier beachfront. Over coffee at a barside table we began by discussing his entry into the profession. Initially, it seemed surprising that he went to the Madrid veterinary school for six years, obtaining his degree in 1975, until he explained that until 1956 much of the territory around Tangier was part of Spanish North Africa. Like many Tangerines he was multilingual, being proficient in Arabic, Spanish, French and able to conjure up the right English phrase when appropriate. There is a Moroccan veterinary college in the capital, Rabat, taking about 20 students a year, but in the late '60s it made more sense to travel to Madrid for training. After qualifying he went back to Morocco and had two jobs before returning to Tangier in 1981.