Thousands of Rif Youth Flee Morocco for Spain in Risky Sea Crossings

In search of a better life, the young people of the Rif region prefer to join Spain. Oussama, 25, and Mohamed, 26, have decided to leave Al Hoceima for Motril, on the coast of Granada, where their 20-year-old brother Marouane is waiting for them, who a few months ago crossed the Alboran Sea by jet ski to return to Spain. Oussama is an economist and Mohamed, a master pastry chef. Since they obtained their diplomas, they have only had small jobs in the Rif region.

"We will join our little brother as soon as possible. We have lost all hope here. Morocco’s policy in the Rif is pushing us to emigrate," explains Oussama to El Pais. Mohamed, for his part, had tried two years ago to cross the Alboran Sea on board the large fishing boats called buleteras, but was arrested by the Moroccan security forces. This summer, a considerable number of migrants have managed to reach the Spanish coast. Since the beginning of the year, more than 5,000 migrants have already crossed the Alboran Sea, according to data consulted by El Pais.

The reasons for this massive exodus are multiple. "There is a combination of socio-economic, but also identity-related factors, that push the young people of the Rif towards the large cities of Morocco and especially towards the EU countries," says Mohamed Hamji, professor at the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, adding that "the region needs to improve its infrastructure: a more complete road network, the expansion of ports and the creation of industrial zones".

According to Ángela Suárez Collado, lecturer at the University of Salamanca, "the absence of a comprehensive and effective development plan" for the Rif region could explain this state of affairs. "Until the early 2000s, public policies had a low impact on the regional economy, which feeds on emigration transfers, the cultivation and marketing of hashish and (until 2018-2020) smuggling with Ceuta and Melilla," she explains. Immigration, "it’s not a choice, it’s our destiny," resigns the owner of a cafe in Al Hoceima.