Young men in Morocco dream of better future abroad
(20 May 2021) In Hay Al Farah, a low income neighbourhood in the middle of the Moroccan capital Rabat, most young people share a dream: to seek a better future abroad.
Hicham Kacimi, a street seller in Rabat and a father of two, said he hoped to move to a country "where life is better".
He got his bachelor's degree and applied for visas at several embassies to emigrate legally, but all of his requests were rejected because he does not "fulfil" the criteria, he explained.
Kacimi sells vegetables in the street to feed his family, but he still struggles to earn enough to get by.
He is not alone. Official statistics show that most unemployed people in Morocco are under 35.
"Young people are desperate" said Mohammed Ouhaddou, another street seller in Rabat.
"There is no health, no education….Politicians are not doing anything. They are asleep and no one listens to us" he complained.
Since Monday, tensions at the border between Morocco and Spain have increased, with thousands crossing the border to reach European land in one of the biggest diplomatic spats between the two countries in recent years.
Spain says that more than 8,000 people have crossed into Spanish territory in 48 hours, although at least 5,700 have been expelled in bulk pushbacks.
Many of those who crossed were young unemployed men who decided to leave their homes after being left without work since the border was closed because of the pandemic.
Others travelled from different regions of Morocco in an attempt to enter into Spain to find work.
Migrants from other African countries were also among those crossing the border.
Hundreds reaching Ceuta were unaccompanied minors who were crammed into charity-run warehouses for a 10-day compulsory coronavirus quarantine under police watch.
Under Spain's laws, the minors remain under the care of regional authorities until their relatives can be found or they come of age.
Morocco's loosened border watch came after Spain decided to grant entry - for medical treatment - to Brahim Ghali, the chief of a militant group fighting for the independence of Western Sahara.
Morocco annexed the sprawling region on the west coast of Africa in 1975.
Ghali, the head of the Polisario Front, flew into Spain in mid-April with a false Algerian passport.
The border between Fnideq and Ceuta became porous following warnings from the Moroccan government to Spain that it would face consequences over Madrid's decision to provide coronavirus treatment to Ghali.
Over the decades, Spain has built a close relationship with Morocco to crack down on illegal border crossings, but also to increase economic ties and fight extremism.
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