National pride and a piece of desert – that’s why the King of Morocco proposes emergency aid. The number of victims in Morocco rises to at least 2,862 – the search for survivors continues

20th Anniversary of the Accession of King Mohamed VI Handout - King Mohammed VI of Morocco, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, attends the ceremony of the 20th anniversary of the accession of the sovereign ...
As a ‘brother country’, France wanted to help the victims of the earthquake in Morocco. King Mohammed VI but politely declines. It is a case of national pride – and national humiliation.
Stefan Brändle, Paris / ch media

Mentally, France is closer than ever to Morocco: since the recent earthquake, Parisian television stations have been reporting live on the disaster, sometimes around the clock; All aid organizations, including cities, departments and regions, raise money for ‘solidarité Maroc’. The government in Paris has made five million euros available. She mobilized rescue teams with sniffer dogs and lots of medicine.

Only: they haven’t started yet. Morocco has accepted offers from Britain, Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – but not from France, with which the former protectorate shares history, language and to some extent culture. Rescue workers who left Paris in no time on Saturday are stuck in Marrakesh.

epaselect epa10854426 People walk over the rubble of a damaged building in the medina after a powerful earthquake in Marrakesh, Morocco, September 11, 2023. An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 ...

Brother countries in a clinch

Why this absurd situation? Politically, Morocco is now light years away from France. There has been talk of an ice age between the two ‘brother countries’, as the Maghreb-born Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin calls them, for months. French-Moroccan journalist Mustapha Tossa said France’s refusal to accept Western Sahara as Moroccan territory was primarily due to this.

Background Western Sahara
In 1976, Spain granted independence to the colony of Western Sahara. The Sahrawi liberation movement – ​​the Polisario Front – then proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. However, after the Spanish withdrew, Morocco and Mauritania occupied Western Sahara and divided the area. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from Western Sahara, after which Morocco also occupied this part – against the resistance of the Polisario Front. Since the 1991 ceasefire, it has controlled a strip in the east and south of the area; Morocco has built a 3,000 km long wall to keep the Sahrawis out of its zone. The Republic of Western Sahara is recognized by approximately 80 states, of which approximately 30 have withdrawn or suspended their recognition. (mr)

Several countries, such as Spain, have accepted the desert area, which has been disputed for decades, as Moroccan. Paris is more aligned with Algeria, which disputes Western Sahara with Morocco. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron has relied even more than before on the Algerian map to guarantee the supply of oil and gas.

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Western Sahara

Macron had already angered Moroccans in 2022 when he halved the number of visas. This caused a lot of resentment in a country where the poor population usually only has one path to greater prosperity: France. French tourists, on the other hand, can still enter Morocco without a visa.

Moroccan King Mohamed VI. therefore recalled its ambassador in Paris in January. He was also reportedly annoyed by a video showing him drunk at night in Paris – even though as a good Muslim he was not allowed to drink alcohol. The Moroccan newspapers did not report a single word about it, but the king’s subjects found out about it via French social media.

epa10854398 Rescue workers in action during a search operation after a powerful earthquake in the village of Talat Talat N'Yaqoub, south of Marrakesh, Morocco, September 11, 2023. A magnitude ...
epa10852707 A group of young men set up a makeshift camp in a clearing in Moulay Brahim, south of Marrakesh, Morocco, on September 10, 2023, after a powerful earthquake.  An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8...

They also heard from a Parisian newspaper on Saturday that their king had been treated in France for an immune disease, and then rushed back to Rabat after the earthquake and organized a televised crisis meeting there. Now the Moroccans know why their king did not comment on the earthquake for almost a day.

It is said that all this angered Mohamed so much that he deliberately tried to humiliate the French by not inviting them. The French government tries to hide its lack of understanding of the king’s attitude. Minister Darmanin denied, against his better judgement, that “political reasons” played a role in this case. For her part, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Morocco is a sovereign country. France remains available to provide assistance. The minister called it a “misplaced argument”.

Feelings of national pride and at the same time national humiliation play a role on both sides: in Morocco people are annoyed by the fact that France initially did not ask if their help was wanted. The French, on the other hand, are surprised because Rabat is not asking them for help, but rather the British, with whom Paris has had a deep rivalry since colonial times.

The result is certainly serious. In Morocco, tens of thousands of residents of remote, now closed villages have been without any help for three days. The first 72 hours after an earthquake are absolutely crucial; then help comes too late.

More on the subject:

More on the subject:

Soource :Watson

follow:
Amelia

Amelia

I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.

Related Posts