When 58-year-old Moroccan Belhussein Abdelsalam was arrested and lost his job three decades ago, he saw Charlie Chaplin on the television and decided in that moment upon a new career: Impersonating the American Silent Movie star.

A far-cry from his old job as sports photographer and political activist, impersonating Chaplin helped him use a comedic mask to hide sadness and the hardship of Moroccan life, drawing parallels from the screen legend who masked emotions behind humor and a painted face.

“It was when I lost everything that I became charlie chaplin (who) made the world laugh and cry without saying a word. He is a unique person who fought against discrimination and united (everyone),” Abdelsalam said.

It’s a meager living: He earns under $150 per month from tips, but the enforced career change helped him fulfil youthful ambitions he once had as being a theater artist. Besides, he said he had few other professional choices in with the high unemployment rates of the poor North African country. Ever since, he has been performing in the streets of the Moroccan capital of Rabat nearly everyday as he makes people laugh. But he is proud to be a street side celebrity, known by residents simply as Charlo. Many of the daily commuters and downtown locals recognize him now, calling out his nickname across the street. Equally recognizable is his Chaplin-like limp, which he does not fake and stems from issues with his health.  

Charlo’s bittersweet days are spent on the capital’s main artery, the avenue Mohamed V, a stone’s throw from Parliament and the Royal Palace. Carrying balloons, masks, oversized shoes, trumpets, pigeon feed and a smile, he commutes in every day from his neighborhood in Sale.  

One minute, he might be reapplying his stage makeup using a broken mirror and an eyeliner in one of the nearby flowershops. The next he might be delighting the children with magic tricks and impressions, or by sending the pigeons into feeding frenzies by scattering bags of seed.  

But he is filled with the ghosts of his past. He always keeps with him photos of his time as a sports photographer, and images of himself as a young suited man involved in politics. That was before Charlo claims he was arrested and spent a year in prison in the 1980′s linked to his political activism and journalism during the reign of King Hassan II. Like many at that time, activism was punished severely by the state. He was in prison for 8 months, something he describes as “the wilderness with monsters in it.” Though he regrets what happened to him, he is thankful for the outlet of theater to have helped him survive mentally.

“Bad things happened to me from bad people. If not for Charlie Chaplin I would’ve lost my mind,” he said.  

The pandemic has added further turbulence to his life. When Morocco went into a lockdown last year, Charlo lost his already-small earnings as he was no longer able to perform. Now, with lifting of restrictions, he was faced with new challenges: His audiences were continually dispersed by police, and he couldn’t perform during his peak times of weekend evening because of a nightly curfew.

But he’s adapted, and begun performing at birthday parties to get by.

He survives by being young at heart, and spending time with his beloved 90-year-old mother Nadia. Taking off his makeup, she waits for him by the house when he arrives with a loaf of bread for dinner.

Text from AP News story, AP PHOTOS: Moroccan impersonates Chaplin to mask daily hardships, by Mosa’ab Elshamy.

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