Melilla Taxi Drivers Blocked from Entering Morocco, Claim Discrimination

For Mohamed Lamrani, the Moroccan authorities are "annoying" Melilla by acting in this way. "It is not normal that preference is given to taxi drivers" from other countries, he denounces, stating that he does not understand this "policy of Morocco towards Melilla".

The representative of Melilla taxi drivers deplores this situation which does not allow them to go to Morocco even without passengers. Before the border closure in 2019, they were making round trips to Nador or Saïdia without any problem, but today, "no one is interested because of the queue", explained Lamrani, asking Morocco to let them cross the border with their identity card (DNI) as in 2019.

The situation in Melilla is similar to that of Ceuta before the pandemic, when taxis could not enter Morocco, he notes. The president of the Ceuta Taxi Drivers Association, Francisco Manuel Toledo, confirms and supports that the situation remains unchanged in the autonomous city, hoping that with the creation of the commercial customs, taxis will be able to cross the border and enter Morocco.

In any case, it is not interesting to go to Morocco "in the current state of the border", admit Lamrani and Toledo, because "although there is little traffic, the border is not fluid because Morocco is carrying out comprehensive checks".