Morocco Halts Annual Diaspora Return Program Amid COVID-19 Concerns

Contrary to all expectations, the Minister of Foreign Affairs canceled the Marhaba operation on June 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This announcement has seriously undermined the vacation plans of thousands of Moroccan vacationers who usually take advantage of this summer period to reunite with their families, their country of birth or origin, reports Jeune Afrique.

According to the same media, the Moroccan authorities annually support the arrival of hundreds of thousands of "MREs" - Moroccans residing abroad - logistically, particularly by sea, through the Strait of Gibraltar. Between June 15 and September 15, 2019, these MREs had been around 2.5 million to enter the country.

If the minister has canceled the operation, he has also invited the MREs who wish to return to the country to do so individually but under certain conditions. "This year, the MREs who want to spend part of the summer in Morocco will have to undergo two PCR tests and undergo a mandatory nine-day quarantine." The authorities’ fear in canceling the operation is that the reception centers, tents, gathering points or even the distribution of water bottles for the MREs at the entry points of the kingdom will lead to clusters that are difficult to control for the country, just days before deconfinement.

According to a young MRE from France, this operation represents for him as for the vast majority of his friends and relatives, an important moment awaited with impatience. This is also the case for another for whom this cancellation upsets the plans of his parents who had to celebrate a complicated Ramadan disrupted, "I will have to give up Eid al-Adha with the family...", he laments.

On the side of tourism professionals, the professionals, hoteliers and carriers in the lead. For economist Nabil Adel, tourism contributes at least 7% to Morocco’s GDP. As for the MREs, they contribute around 45% to the tourism industry. "The returns of Moroccans from abroad during the summer constitute an important inflow of money for the kingdom," he added.

The other difficulty that gives uncertainties about the return of MREs is the opening of borders which is not yet clear. At the national level, domestic flights have indeed resumed, but no official announcement has been made on the reopening of airspaces closed since mid-March. Dates are mentioned of course but the doubt remains on an effective reopening of these borders as soon as the deconfinement expected for the month of July. To date, the authorities are still struggling to bring back the 32,000 compatriots stranded abroad. This file, the management of which is the subject of many criticisms, further complicates the task of the government, adds the same source.