Rough Hands

Ayadin Khachina

Mustapha is a forty-year-old barber in Casablanca. His clients are retired high-ranking government officials, former cabinet ministers and power brokers in Morocco. On the side, Mustapha has an underground business "facilitating" paperwork, using his privileged access to these retired bigwigs to grease the wheels of bureaucracy. While his operation thrives, Mustapha keeps a shameful secret: he is illiterate, and has hired Said to assist him with managing appointments and tracking transactions. He does not know that Said is being paid to monitor his underground dealings.