Special Report : The Pathetic Condition Of Sub-Saharan African Migrants Stranded In Morocco

Are you or anyone you know thinking of travelling by road to Europe? Please do not try it ! For every successful story out there of road migrants who made it to Europe,there are hundreds of sad tales of people whose dreams ended disastrously.

Refuge Network International, has just returned from recent field trips to African migrant camps in Morocco.Our team visited refugees in the border town of Oujda and another large camp in the ancient Moroccan town of Fes.

During the cause of the trip,we were able to distribute clothing and food as well as offer much-needed counselling to hundreds of disillusioned suffering Sub-Saharan African migrants stranded in Morocco on their way to Europe.

Moroccans are generally hospitable and a recent research by the Legatum Institute, listed the country as the 3rd most prosperous nation in Africa.There are huge infrastructural development projects going on all over the country and it is the number one tourist destination in the continent with a record 10 million international tourist visits in 2013.

These positive points are however tainted by a high rate of youth unemployment.About 22% of males and 38% females are unemployed.To add to this dismal picture,official figures indicate that about 40% of young men and 90% of young women who were not studying in the last few years are either unemployed or are part of the economically inactive population.

It is quite common to find able-bodied Moroccans begging for money on the streets of major cities and towns.There is also a high number of homeless children roaming the streets due to poverty and other social factors.A 2012 statistic indicates that there are over 30 thousand destitute kids sleeping on Moroccan streets.

In the light of these challenges,it is not surprising that Morocco is struggling to deal with the influx of African migrants daily trooping into the country from all over the continent.The government is confronted with the difficult multi-pronged problem of trying to prevent these migrants from entering Moroccan territory through its porous borders;fighting to stop those already in the country from getting into Europe through Morocco’s land and sea routes; and struggling to handle those stranded in the country without the means to continue towards Europe or to go back to their home country.

It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of the number of refugees in this beautiful and culturally rich north African country. However, recent research suggests there could be as many as 40,000 illegal immigrants representing over 100 nations, residing in the country.

The majority of these immigrants are blacks from Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of them are fleeing wars,epidemics,economic hardship,political instability and various challenging situations in their home countries.

Migrants are scattered all over the nation,with a large concentration in the northern region of Morocco.Cities such as Tangier,Nador,Oujda,Casablanca,Rabat and Fes are known to have a good representation of these Europe bound travellers.
While some African migrants are known to have settled in Morocco, trading, doing menial low-paid jobs and living in squalid accommodation,a significant number are homeless and live in dehumanizing conditions in forests,mountains and makeshift camps in various parts of the country.

We were at two prominent camps.The first is located in Oujda in the open forest beside the city’s university,while the second is situated in the open field next to the main train station at Fes.
There are hundreds of refugees in both camps that we went to.Those at Fes are estimated to be between 400 to 500 people in number,while the Oujda camp also has a couple of hundred refugees.
These are unofficial camps,functioning on their own and administered along communal lines by the migrants themselves, and bereft of the presence of any local or international aid organisations.

Camp Life
Each camp is divided into small groups of ramshackled tents,composed of the main nationalities represented within the community. Cameroonians constitute the largest groups in both camps.Mr Yaya, leader of the Oujda Cameroon camp group, informed us that there are over 200 Cameroonian immigrants living there.There were also large numbers of Nigerians,Ghanaians,Gambians,Malians, Guineans and other francophone Africans in the two camps.

Conditions in these camps are so bad that even animals might find it challenging surviving here.All that separates the inhabitants from the harsh unforgiving north African weather are small improvised huts made up of a combination of polyethylene material,cardboard paper,pieces of stones,sticks and damaged car tyres.

There are no toilets,no clearly defined cooking areas,no medical facilities,no electricity supply,no pipe borne water,and absolutely no proper infrastructure whatsoever.When they need to answer the call of nature,they simply do it out in the open field right next to where they sleep,shielded only by tall grasses and a few trees.Cooking is also largely done in the open with dry wood collected from the area.

It is difficult to comprehend how these people survive from day to day.There are men,women,children and even babies eating,sleeping and somehow carving out an existence here.Without proper documentation and without jobs,their options are pretty limited.The majority spend the day begging for money from passing cars in town.Time is also spent scavenging for food at the Medina.The situation is so depressing that it has left some mentally deranged.Visit the Oujda camp and you would find a completely mad black African migrant living with the others there.He roams about,gathering rubbish in the neighbourhood.

Though Moroccan society as well as the authorities are generally tolerant in their attitudes towards migrants, some undocumented Africans interviewed, complained of persecution and victimization by certain elements of the Moroccan police.A number of them had terrible physical scars sustained from brutal beatings.There were also allegations of unlawful confiscation and theft of their phones and money by law enforcement agents.Minor instances of racial discrimination were also reported.

Due to severe hardship,some migrants get lured into a life of crime.They resort to human trafficking,drug peddling and cyber crimes.We were reliably informed that there are many African migrants in Moroccan prisons.Some Nigerians in both locations told us there are at least 2 Nigerian citizens serving up to 20 year sentences for various criminal offences in Morocco.One is said to be doing time for murder.

Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place
We encountered a number illegal immigrants in the camp who have given up on their dream to make it to Europe.One of them Ivan Falou from Cameroon,told us he was ready to leave Morocco immediately,but that the only thing holding him back was a one way ticket back home.Frustrated,defeated and suffering,they are desirous to return back to their home countries.
But going back is a major problem as they do not have the means to do so.Many complained that they could not get needed support from their embassies and humanitarian organisations in Morocco.

With a view to addressing the huge migrant crisis in the country,the Moroccan government,under the direction of its very popular monarch,King Mohammed VI, initiated a migrant integration programme aimed at regularizing the status of thousands of illegal immigrants in Morocco. Based on meeting certain stipulated pre-requisites, about 18 thousand undocumented persons were granted the right to legal residency.

However,this liberal gesture has sadly not changed the lot of the many thousands who were not affected by the documentation exercise. Many are still living like animals on the fringes of the Moroccan society with no hope of going forward towards Europe,no funds to go back to their own countries,and no prospect of settling down permanently in Morocco.

http://www.refugenetworkinternational.com/blog/report-from-our-field-trip-to-morocco-the-pathetic-condition-of-sub-saharan-african-migrants-stranded-in-morocco/

Picture 1 - Oujda Town,Morocco
Picture 2 - The Medina or Old Town at Oujda where many migrants spend their day begging
Picture 3 - Refuge Network International (RNI) distributing clothes to destitute migrants at the Oujda Camp

Picture 1 - Arriving at the Oujda Camp where hundreds of the migrants live
Picture 2 - Giving clothes to migrants from Ghana who live in that tent
Picture 3 - A row of migrant tents at the camp

Picture 1 - Parts of the very large migrant camp in Fes Morocco
Picture 2 - This section houses migrants from Mali,Senegal,Gambia and Ivory Coast
Picture 3 - Migrants from Cameroon are quite many in this camp.These tents belong to a group of Cameroonians.
Picture 4 - There are a number of large Nigerian groups in Fes.Some live here.Another group sleeps on the rail lines right under a faulty train.

Picture 1 - Inside a Nigerian migrant’s tent
Picture 2 - Migrants live side by side with piles of rubbish at Fes Camp
Picture 3 - Migrant kids are growing up in this unhygienic environment
Picture 4 - The ‘bathroom’ at Fes

Picture 1 - A Nigerian migrant doing his laundry in camp
Picture 2 - Toilet area at Fes Camp
Picture 3 - Cooking area at Oujda
Picture 4 - Migrants running after cars to beg for money on the streets

Ivan from Cameroon wants to return home but has no money to purchase a ticket

Now you leave Nigeria - the land flowing with milk and honey and a spirit of suffering and smilling to a land of suffering, hardship and death. I dont know whats freaking wrong with some people, Nigeria is one of the easiest place to make it, but our youths these days are not ready to work they are looking for easy ways of making money.
I dont pity anyone in that picture, anything their eyes sees they should take.

In 50s voice......

GET RICH OR DIE TRYING


On the other news, some oyibo's still dey appreciate our culture so Nigerians and African should be proud of themselves

Na them Sabi...wetin them find go there?...I'm goin' up on the charts on Nairaland...Introvert a Protege is on the Rise of Bestin' his Master

.

The Situation is so pathetic.. Our government is yet to care for the inhabitants..how much more would they give attention to migrants in other countries.. wish I could help this zoological kingdom..

Despite the war, I know a person that just travelled to Libya.

I dey abroad

No place like home.

Its wah

All in the bid to get to Italy or spain through the meditteranean sea. And they never get to their destination

To waju o ba sen lo....eyin a sa se n pada so.....if its unbearable there at least they should be able to come home...

Who send them?

Make i quick yarn bimpe wey wan go morocco by all means..

9ja is dt bad afterall
Smh

B

dis is touching



Lord thank you for a roof over my head and the food you provide for me everyday.



I pray you also help this migrants in need. In Jesus Name, Amen

Ounpe

If na dis type, EUrope gbakwa oku......

no be oyibo dey capture black people now ooo....


na black people dey capture themselves to oyibo people as modern slaves.

and they have a govt with the largest ministries and parastatals in Africa,produce the largest oil, has the largest population and manpower yet this is what they get for accepting the decision of a white harlot and her boyfriend.

when will Nigeria youths match

I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE COME BACK AND DEVELOP YOUR OWN COUNTRY, NOT OTHERS.

DON'T BE A SLAVE IN ANOTHER 'S MAN COUNTRY.

Quite Sad.

But it's not by force na.


Some will still leave Nigeria tomorrow via same route even after reading and hearing of various danger that comes with it.

SMH!!!

Morroco??

Am disappointed in some nigerians

They deserve no pity

Mad pipu living here are better by far. IyaNgbali,com back home now

greed n lack of hard work has lead 2dis situation. instead of living like dis, i rather farming in my village n manage wateva i get