Before being repatriated, these Moroccans must go, at their own expense, to Istanbul or Paris, from where Moroccan flights are organized. An ordeal for this category of our fellow citizens, who are for the most part in very difficult financial situations.
Repatriation operations for Moroccans stranded abroad are continuing at a brisk pace. After several countries in Europe and Africa, from which hundreds of our fellow citizens in difficult circumstances left to return to the Kingdom, it is now the turn of the countries of Asia and the Middle East to be targeted by the Moroccan authorities. Moroccans stranded in these countries, who are in a situation of stress, are invited to go, at their expense, to the European capitals joined by Moroccan humanitarian flights, namely Istanbul and Paris. Clearly, Moroccans stranded in Asia and the Middle East must pay for their plane tickets to return to Paris or Istanbul. But, once arrived in these two metropolises, the Moroccan authorities take charge of the accommodation and flight costs until their repatriation to the mother country.
Hard situation
This logistical choice, which turned out to be particularly restrictive, and for some very difficult in the current context of the health crisis, was imposed on the Moroccan authorities given the remoteness of the Asian capitals. It is also justified by the fact that these capitals are home to only a few stranded Moroccans, or a maximum of ten people per country and that sending a plane for this limited number of Moroccans would be very costly.
But, for many, the Moroccan government could have made a gesture towards these Moroccans, most of whom are sick, exhausted and without financial resources and pay them the plane tickets to Paris or Istanbul. This gesture could have thus increased the esteem and image of the Moroccan authorities in the eyes of this population. But the fact remains that this repatriation process was already used, a few weeks ago, for Moroccans stranded in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico and even Argentina.
Since the launch of repatriation operations for Moroccans stranded abroad, the Moroccan authorities have been targeting, in the first place, people who are frail, suffering from chronic diseases or in very difficult financial situations. About 5,000 Moroccans have been repatriated. According to available figures, more than 4,000 Moroccans are stranded in Istanbul and more than 9,000 others in Paris.
In total, more than 32,000 are stranded around the world. After several months of waiting and suffering, our fellow citizens are starting to return to their country. But they must undergo the sanitary conditions imposed on them, namely a confinement period of 9 days in addition to screening tests.
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