Who says Morocco and Pennsylvania don’t mesh?

Family facts

Name: Youssef Wadih
Country of origin: Morocco
Language: Moroccan, Arabic and French
Been in the US since: 1984
Family: Eileen, Sophia, 9 Noah and Nora 5

Brought up in Morocco as a Muslim and with values and traditions seemingly different from ours, a young Youssef spends some time in Europe.

A combination of what he has learned at home and what he encoun­ters in his young life makes him the person he is. The same person that stands outside of his house waiting for me that evening when we are scheduled to do the interview. The same person that is glowing with pride when he shows me his Moroccan artifacts in their house and the same person that insists I have to try the family dinner cooking in their ‘ tagine’ before I leave the house. His open, kind heart is contagious, which is obvious when you meet his family and even the neighbors.

“ The Koran says that you should know the people in the seven houses to your right and the seven houses to your left and that you should know them as family.” Youssef explains.

Youssef begins traveling as a young man and starts off in England. He takes the train to London and finds a mosque where he is hoping he can sleep. It is not possible and he is standing in front of the building when he asks a stranger leaving the mosque in his at the time broken English to help him find somewhere to sleep. The stranger takes him to a house where a group of Turkish young men are living. Youssef gets to sleep there. The fact that the stranger helps him means a lot to him.

A few years later Youssef, the youngest of six, moves to New York City. “ At that time there were no Moroccans here. My brother and I were like the first generation of Moroccans going to the U. S. We speak French so Europe is easier for us,” he says. “ In my country they still don’t know that much about the U. S.”

When Youssef come home to Casablanca where he grew up, some of the old businessmen would gather, have Youssef sit in the middle and then bombard him with questions about the U. S. and how we live over here.

In rural Pennylvania, a young woman, the youngest out of six, was growing up around the same time and when she gets older she ends up in Brooklyn. This is Eileen and she meets Youssef in the city in 1993. They get married in 1998 and have their first daughter. But let us rewind. So Eileen is from rural Pennsyl­vania and the first time she brings Youssef home is a start of many “ firsts” for her parents, uncles and aunts who have never met a Moroc­can or a Muslim. It worries them a little bit that Eileen is getting serious with this strange man. However, in order to understand Youssef’s background Eileen’s mother buys a book about Islam and at the next meeting she calmly states that “ the religions are almost the same.”

Youssef explains: “ Islam as well as Christianity and Judaism all have the same base principles. You have to be good to people, help people, take care of the poor. And in Islam we believe in both Jesus and Moses, they were both big prophets.”

When reflecting upon it further, Youssef comes to the conclusion that Eileen’s father and his own father raised their children very similarly even though they were continents and religions apart.

Before they get married Youssef takes Eileen to Morocco for her to see what his life and background are like. “ My father told me to go and find everything out for myself,” she says. “ It struck me how hospitable people were. One night we were invited to a relative of Youssef’s for dates and milk. They lived three peo­ple in one little room but they wanted to offer us a meal.’ The dates and milk is a good luck tradition in Morocco. It is one of the simplest meals you can have and the bride and groom always share that after the wedding. It shows that it is not the big things that are important.

Sophia, 9, tells me about a trip to Morocco: “ We went to an old market and we sat on sand bags and ate tagine. We all ate with our hands from the same tagine.” During our interview Sophia takes her siblings and disappear, they come back now dressed in Moroccan traditional clothing. The pride of their father’s country is bursting through in their faces and the stories they tell me about their family in Morocco.

So how does a country gal and a Muslim Moroccan find their way to West Orange?

“ We wanted good schools for the children and diversity was important to us. We had a friend that knew us and knew West Orange and she took us on a tour here. We went to St Cloud School and loved the fact that it was so diverse.’ The family moves in August 2001, a fortuitous time to leave New York.

“ After 9/ 11 it was hard being a Muslim in the city but out here everyone was just normal toward me,” Youssef says.

Youssef and Eileen and their kids have not only made West Orange their home. Youssef says that he has adopted the town. “It is my town now. I live here.” Youssef has adopted the whole neighborhood, or maybe they have adopted him. Every year the Wadih family throws an International Dinner where all their neighbors bring a typical dish from their native country. “We have 17 countries represented on our block. They all get to show their cultural pride at the dinner. I have traveled a lot but I found the world in West Orange.” Youssef says. Youssef insists that I stay and try some of the family dinner. It is chicken cooked in a tagine. Youssef makes food in a tagine two to three nights a week. It is slow cooked and takes a long time. I get the plate and the chicken and couscous with cumin, ginger, paprika and fresh herbs tastes great. I leave the house and I see chil­dren and adults from all ethnicities on the block, parents and children out­side, sharing toys and the adults wine, and I wonder if the block could have been the same without Youssef and his family. I am not 100 percent sure about that.

What made Youssef the kind, open, welcoming person he is? Is it his Islamic upbringing, the fact that the has traveled and worked hard, the position of being the last of six children, his Moroccan heritage or maybe his encounter with the man that helped him find shelter in London when he was young. That man turned out to be Cat Stevens who now is known as Yusef Islam, after his conversion to Islam. It is probably a combination of all the above. But I know that for their block and for West Orange it is a blessing to have them here.



Family favorites

What do you like most with West Orange?
The diversity and the fact that the people in town, as the children’s prin­cipal, are concerned about you.

Which place is your favorite place in WO?
We love the zoo.

Favorite restaurant?
Pal’s Cabin and PieZone.

What do you miss from home?
I don’t miss all that much. I live the American dream, I have every­thing I need right here. But of course I miss my family and friends.



Facts about Morocco
Morocco is located in North Africa. It is bordered by Spain to the north, Algeria to the east and Mauri­tania to the south.

Capital: Rabat
Language: Official language Arabic. French is widely used in official government texts and by the business community Moroccan Arabic is the most common native language. Amazigh or Berber languages are also widely spoken.
Population: 31,993,000
Currency: Moroccan dirham


What is a tagine?
Tagine is the Moroccan word that refers to both the unique glazed earthenware vessel with a distinctive conical lid and also the food prepared in it.

Traditionally used by nomads as portable ovens over charcoal braziers for making stews, usually containing meat, the tagine is used for both cook­ing and serving, but care should be taken to protect your table when using the tagine as a serving dish as the base will be very hot.

Cooking principles:
The conical shaped lid helps pre­serve moisture in the food as the steam condenses on the inside. The shape of the lid also creates circula­tion within the dish, infusing the food with spices and flavors. The low indirect heat produces a rich, aromatic flavor as the food slow­ly simmers for hours and the resulting meat becomes meltingly tender. Most tagines involve slow simmering of less expensive meats. Very few Moroccan tagine recipes require initial browning, making them ideal to cook in the oven.

Tagines come in two types, those that can be used for serving only and those used for cooking.

Michelle Cadeau has lived in West Orange since December 2004 and is part of a multicultural family, as she is from Sweden, her husband, James, is from Haiti and their two boys were born in Brooklyn. With more than 53 languages spoken in the schools, West Orange is truly a place where immigrants feel comfortable. In the “ We are the World” series, you will meet West Orange residents from throughout the world and see what they are doing in and for our wonderful town. If you are interested in being featured in the series, send an e­mail to thecadeaus@verizon.net.