Morocco Struggles to Replace Smuggling Economy After Closing Ceuta and Melilla Borders

To fight the problem of food smuggling, the Moroccan government had decided to close the borders of Ceuta and Melilla. Thus, "Morocco has taken an important step to stop smuggling, due to its economic and social losses," said the president of the Northern Observatory for Human Rights (ONDH), Mohamed Benaïssa, quoted by H24info.

The direct losses for Morocco have reached more than 700 million euros per year, not including "the material and financial means put in place by Morocco to organize this activity and which the Spanish sources forget to highlight, thus obscuring the extent of Moroccan losses," said Mohamed Benaïssa, adding that several dozen "mule women" die because of this activity where many human rights violations are recorded.

Spanish traders, for their part, indicate that trade allows the neighboring Moroccan regions to have a profit of "around 70 million euros per year" and to export to Morocco more than 44 million euros in various products. In addition, "Melilla spends 15 million euros per year on services provided to Moroccans who go to the enclave" and "an additional 14 million euros to assist the minors welcomed by the city," reports the same source, citing their confederation.

With the closure of the two borders, due to the pandemic and which risk no longer serving as a link for this trade, the government has decided to build a free zone in Fnideq. But the work is slow to take shape. For the moment, "it is urgent to find immediate solutions for the affected regions," says Mohamed Benaïssa.