Que Sera Sera – Amazing Story of an Icelandic Ship by Jawhar Kodadi

I’d like to share with you a story that a friend of mine, Jawhar Kodadi, a talented photographer, told me.

“Que Sera Sera.”

It’s the name of this stranded boat on the beach of Laayoune. It was as if destiny gave it the end which its name foretold. Que Sera Sera (whatever will be, will be), and it happened on the white sandy beaches of the costs of the Moroccan south. I was contemplating this majestic wreck, lost in my thoughts, imagining it sailing through the Atlantic currents.

I was accompanied by Mokhtar, a Sahrawi friend and a history and arts buff. He was the one who showed me this place. He said: I know a place and a story that you will like.

And here we are, the place can take your breath away, the story however, you can judge for yourselves.

Que Sera Sera is, or rather was, an Icelandic fishing boat. Its crew used to fish sardines for 14 months in the offshore waters of Laayoune, and then export them.

Que Sera Sera was not like the other boats, in two or three months, it has surpassed all its competitors, lowering prices, until it was the only one left in the place. It offered work for hundreds of people in Laayoune, the company by the name of Fleur de Mer had a real impact on the city, workers were paid 80 dirhams per hour, something unheard-of at the time. Everyone was happy, until the day when the crew disappeared, leaving behind the stranded boat on the beach.

Mokhtar then stayed silent for a long period, and as I could not accept that ending, I asked him, disappeared how? And why?

This last sentence answered all the questions I was asking myself, I finally understand why they chose this name, Que Sera Sera; We stick to the plan, and whatever will be, will be.

It’s beautiful, it’s ironic, it’s funny and it’s poetic. Strangely enough, I have great admiration for its crew…

Visit Jawhar’s website to see more of his splendid captures: photographe.ma