Moroccan Restaurant Owner Stranded for Months Due to COVID-19 Border Closures

Ali Azrou’s traditional and annual vacation in Morocco was special this year. With his wife, he had planned to spend three to four weeks in the kingdom. "Usually, I go for two or three weeks, when all the restaurant employees are present. And I leave my son to manage everything," he explains to La Voix du Nord. However, the health crisis related to the coronavirus decided otherwise.

"My son called me to say that the police had come to the restaurant to announce the closure, until further notice. We had prepared about 250 covers for Sunday, everything was lost," the Soleil d’Agadir restaurant owner confides. He finds himself forced to manage his business remotely. "I was always in contact with my son, the accountant, the insurances or the suppliers," he says.

The situation becomes complicated after the implementation of the state of health emergency in Morocco on March 20. The authorities of the kingdom imposed confinement after France. "It was the same as here, the movements were limited, with a certificate. It was rather strict but the people respected it well. I didn’t even see my sister who lives 50 meters away for two and a half months," he says. The Maubeuge resident inquires about the repatriation procedures at the French consulate in Agadir. The return plane tickets he buys are canceled just before departure.

Ali Azrou finally manages to return to France around the end of July, and went to his restaurant. "When I was there, at the beginning, I was afraid of losing everything I’ve been working for for thirty years," admits the restaurateur.