Homeless in Morocco Face Deadly Cold and COVID-19 as Deaths Go Unnoticed

In a public space near the Al-Massira mosque in the Yaqoub El Mansour district, a first homeless person, coughing and living on the street like several others, is taken by young people from the neighborhood to the hospital, where he tested positive for coronavirus. Despite this, he was sent "back home on the street", where he will die a day later, in total indifference and especially that of the health authorities, reports Hespress, adding that two others have succumbed to the cold. This exposes the vulnerable condition of the homeless in Morocco, especially in this winter period when the temperature drops to extremely low levels, exposing them to various health risks.

But, "whatever the reasons for justifying the presence of these people on the street, it is totally unacceptable that we reach a stage where we watch them die because of the cold," indignantly said Nisrine Louzi, president of the Association "We are all with you". Although the authorities have opened a number of public halls and schools to house people living on the street in the context of the health crisis, they have found themselves back on the street after the resumption of activities in these centers. But since then, the authorities have no longer returned to the conditions of their accommodation.

For the president of the association, "if the homeless are subjected to such neglect, laxity and total disinterest and more, it is because they are not electoral voices," she deplores, stressing "that a tiny part of the attention they receive during the winter season is often temporary and is just a matter of ’have you seen me’, and after that, the deluge". These vulnerable groups of Moroccan citizens "count for nothing in our society, it is unfortunate and unworthy," she revolted.