Morocco Earthquake Aid Faces Delays at Tanger Med Port Customs

It is difficult for humanitarian convoys to cross the 1,000-hectare Tanger Med port to reach the High Atlas, the region affected by a violent earthquake that occurred on the night of Friday, September 8 to Saturday. A humanitarian convoy that left Aveyron and Lozère on Tuesday experienced this bitter experience. Four utility vehicles that arrived from Occitania, and crammed with 80 m³ of donations, are parked on a customs waiting area for hours. "I think we’ll be waiting at least four or five hours," estimates Hervé Durand, the president of Emmaüs Millau, to Midi Libre, before advising the other drivers to try to sleep.

Five vans registered in Spain - a humanitarian convoy from the NGO "Policia Amigo" - were parked near the four trucks. The inspection of the vehicles will take place hours later. This forces some drivers to spend the night under the stars and others in the vehicle cabins. The next day, they were not at the end of their troubles. The Spaniards from "Policia Amigo" join their vehicles. "We arrived yesterday (September 26) at 5 pm. We were in a hotel that we already knew," says one of the volunteers. "Why all these humiliations, all these difficulties? We have information reaching us from the High Atlas. At night, it starts to get very cold there. It even freezes. We have all the necessary equipment. Of course we have to check us. But why not make it easier for us to pass?" he questions.

Faced with endless waiting, Spaniards, French, Moroccans living abroad or dual nationals cry out in outrage. "Tanger Med, it’s always been a mess, regrets another Franco-Moroccan volunteer. They are troublemakers, corrupt. They don’t care about us. They do it on purpose. They all want their ticket. I love my country, but when I see that, yes, I’m ashamed. Morocco is tolerance and hospitality. Not all this bullshit." Thursday will mark the end of their ordeal. The vehicles of the NGO "Policia Amigo" are inspected around 2 pm, those of the Aveyronnais and the Lozériens will follow three hours later. While they see their difficulties conjugated in the past, new people complain in the office of the deputy orderer.

"We first left for Ceuta," testifies one of the four young Franco-Moroccans, from Millau and Montpellier. "We