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Moroccans in a town bordering a Spanish enclave face a bleak future after a crackdown on smuggling and a border closure over fears of coronavirus that have destroyed their livelihoods.
Street vendor Badr is one of the thousands of people in the town of Fnideq who once profited from the black market clothing, food and cleaning products trade imported from the neighboring Spanish territory of Ceuta.
“We are not asking for a resumption of contraband, but for alternatives,” said the 32-year-old.
Badr now makes a living peddling clothes and perfumes in front of the deserted market of Fnideq.
“Sometimes I think about killing myself,” he says. “Only my wife and children allow me to continue.”
Like the rest of the townspeople interviewed by AFP, Badr preferred not to give his last name.
But he was among hundreds of people who demonstrated in a recent weekly Friday demonstration to demand the border be reopened.
Thousands of traders crossed the border every day and returned with Spanish products.
The trade has long been tolerated, but Moroccan authorities cracked down in October 2019, dealing a heavy blow to Fnideq.
Moroccans who pass through Ceuta daily are angry at the border closure, which now lasts almost a year. By FADEL SENNA (AFP) Border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated the economic crisis, depriving thousands of workers of their livelihoods.
The city, whose residents do not need visas for Ceuta, is now empty of customers, tourists and Spanish contraband.
‘Just a decent life’
Human rights groups have called for action to end smuggling after 11 people died in border crashes between 2017 and 2019, activist Mohamed Benaissa said.
But the government took action to close what in 2018 represented a $ 560 million hole in tax revenue.
Today, with the Ceuta border closed for almost a year, many Fnideq residents are desperate.
“I have a degree in hotel management, but I can’t find a job because of the pandemic,” said Ikram, 23. “All we ask for is a decent life.”
Young Moroccans have been hit hardest by the economic effects of the pandemic, with unemployment among 15-24 year olds reaching 31% last year, official figures show.
Young Moroccans have been the hardest hit by the economic effects of the pandemic. By FADEL SENNA (AFP) The economy shed 430,000 jobs in 2020, bringing the number of unemployed to nearly 1.5 million.
Ikram’s mother, who asked not to be named, was unable to do her job as a cleaner in the Spanish enclave.
She is backed by friends and modest government help, but she has had to dig deep into her savings and even sell some of her furniture to make ends meet.
The border with Ceuta is blocked by high barbed wire fences.
Another of her sons, barely 18, nearly drowned while trying to swim from Fnideq to Ceuta, a risky trip of about seven kilometers (four miles), in search of work.
Activist Benaïssa said six young men recently died attempting the trip, adding to the anger.
Authorities tolerated two protests, but four demonstrators received a six-month suspended prison sentence for “violence against the security forces”.
Dreams of leaving
Moroccans have gathered in weekly protests outside a mosque to demand support in the economic crisis. By FADEL SENNA (AFP) Good news for Fnideq, which should benefit from nearly $ 45 million allocated to a regional economic and social development program, and the announcement of 700 factory jobs for women.
Work has also restarted on the Fnideq free zone, linked to the huge Tanger Med freight port nearby, aimed at offering an alternative to black market traders.
But many in Fnideq see little hope, and some have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
Spain said this week that nearly 42,000 migrants entered illegally in 2020, up 29% from last year.
They included both Moroccans and citizens of other African countries, more than half of whom arrived in the Spanish Canary Islands, off the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Ismail, 23, said he was considering trying to swim to Ceuta.
“I worked with contraband for two and a half years. Now I work in a perfume store but I think it will close soon, ”he says.
“We haven’t sold anything for two days.”
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