Moroccan Border Town Protests as Smuggling Ban Hits Local Economy

Before the closure of the borders of the two cities of Ceuta and Melilla, smuggling was thriving for these border residents. Technically unemployed for nearly 11 months, the inhabitants of this town, including notably the "mule women", chanted social and economic slogans in front of the town hall of this small locality in the North.

These women are demanding alternatives to smuggling, the income from which has been feeding their families for decades. According to several testimonies, the Diwana (customs, in reference to the border post) had imposed itself out of necessity for decades. For one resident of the locality, they are only demanding factories and investments that can allow them to work and live in dignity. Another notes that several hundred businesses have closed down while others have seen their attendance dwindle (cafes, restaurants...), due to the closure of the Ceuta border post.

As for taxi drivers, they complain of a significant drop in their activity. On Friday, February 26, the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) claims to have provided employment contracts to nearly 700 "mule women" with advance payments on salaries to allow them to support their families, who have lived in precariousness for several months.