“We are only migrants, we are not criminals”, “no to violence”, “no to discrimination”, this is how dozens of irregularly staying migrants expressed their anger last Thursday in the neighborhood Milan to Casablanca, to protest against the aggression of one of their own.
Assault
According to several testimonies collected on the spot, the facts date back to last Thursday when a young Sudanese migrant was attacked by two young Moroccans who stole his cell phone and beat him. The intervention of other migrants, many of whom came to demand justice, resulted in the outbreak of a violent conflict with some young people in the neighborhood. Several cases of injuries were recorded among the migrants, some of them serious. Material damage was also observed.
“The young people of the district were numerous. And we didn’t know who we were fighting with. Blows rained down from all sides and we were unable to identify the criminals, some of whom were carrying knives,” said a Sudanese migrant who witnessed the incident on Thursday. And to continue: “I myself was the victim of several stab wounds to the hands, face and head. The worst was narrowly avoided.
“We have been victims of injustice and discrimination. And it’s not the first time,” protested another migrant. And to specify: “Often, one of ours is the victim of a physical or moral attack on the part of the local population who treats us like thieves, rapists or drug traffickers when we are only simple migrants who have fled their country and seek international protection in Europe”.
Regrets
Ahmed, a young person from the neighborhood, considers Thursday’s events as “regrettable” since their actors are young people known as “delinquents”, “unscrupulous”. “We haven’t seen anything bad from these young Sudanese some of whom work as tradesmen’s helpers or whatever in the neighborhood. What happened is serious and does not honor us,” he laments.
“We were not direct witnesses of what happened but we know that the Sudanese migrants who have recently settled in the neighborhood are not aggressive. They are rather calm and kind, ”says another resident of the neighborhood.
Prejudice
Could this incident be related to those that occurred last January between irregular migrants settled around the Ouled Ziane bus station and local residents? “Absolutely not”, replied SA, an associative activist from Casablanca. “We are faced with another configuration. In the Milan district, these migrants live in a large shed and are not in direct contact with the local population. These migrants, a large majority of whom are Sudanese, live in lamentable hygienic conditions but discreetly and far from the eyes of the curious,” he specifies.
However, our interlocutor believes that the image of migrants has deteriorated significantly in recent times. “We have felt some tension since January. People are more suspicious and fearful. A situation amplified by certain media, in particular those unconventional which propagate stereotypes and prejudices and report information without verification and without filter”, he confided to us. And to add: “It should be specified, however, that this situation of tension is observed only at the level of Derb Soultan where several irregular migrants have settled. In the other districts of the city, such as Aïn Sebaa or Oulfa, where a large immigrant population resides, nothing has been reported. Migrants live in peace like other Moroccan cities”.
Cohabitation
Our source also believes that the cohabitation between irregular migrants and the local population will remain fragile, particularly in a context marked by the increase in the number of candidates for migration and which is due to the difficulty of the passage to Europe given the strengthening of control in recent years. “It is the invisible that becomes visible. There are fears that the situation in Casablanca will become identical to that of Calais in France which has been in crisis for several years with hundreds of migrants wandering the city hoping to reach the United Kingdom. Here, the situation is worse since no structure has been put in place to accommodate them. Especially since a certain section of the local population is annoyed by the so-called “incivility and inappropriate behavior of certain migrants”.
Responsibility
And what about the urban municipality of Casablanca? “She denies any responsibility in the management of this file while explaining that the problem of migration in the city is multifaceted since it affects security, the economy, social, culture and other areas and each sector must be treated. within the framework of the mission of each party and within the limits of its responsibilities”, indicated SA And to conclude: “There was recently the idea of the installation of an office in charge of this question, as well as the creation of a digital platform for migrants, a kind of toll-free number with a whole team whose objective is to guide and educate migrants about their duties and rights. But these are facade solutions since the needs and expectations are enormous.
Especially since this file is complicated. Its challenges and its ramifications are multiple. And suddenly, it is difficult to establish the balance between all the parties concerned.
Hassan Bentaleb