Port Demonstration
I found these articles on a port siege and demonstration in Sidi Ifni, which is south of us. The protest issues mentioned are poverty and joblessness.
Unemployment remains a key concern throughout the country. Many graduates of university remain without jobs. Most say, "It's something to do, but there is no work for me."
Those who can afford it attend at private business schools, hoping to get a competitive edge. Others have given up on the educational system and just sit around doing nothing.
Our neighbor says, "You have to know someone to get a job. Everyone is looking and there aren't enough jobs for graduates."
Those who are employed face challenges of adequate salary and fair treatment by employers.
... from the Gulf Times – Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper -
Police end Morocco port siege : Sunday, 8 June, 2008, 01:20 AM Doha Time
RABAT: Police used force to end a week-long blockade of a port in southern Morocco by youths protesting poverty and joblessness, but the government denied claims by locals that some demonstrators were killed. Residents said hundreds of police arrived at Sidi Ifni port at 2 AM yesterday to remove the demonstrators.
“The port has been under blockade since May 30 - trucks were trapped inside and the fish they were carrying was rotting,” said a local security official.
“The police moved in to remove the demonstrators.” He said 20 were arrested but none were killed or injured in the operation, which began after the protesters set fire to the car of a local official.
A local resident involved in the demonstration said security forces attacked the protesters using dogs and truncheons. “Dozens were injured and I saw two lying dead on the ground with head wounds,” said the resident, a social worker who asked not to be identified. “Friends in different neighbourhoods told me of three other deaths.”
A Western diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said he had been told by a reliable eyewitness that eight people were killed.
Such protests occur regularly in Morocco but rarely result in deaths.
- Reuters, Gulf Times Newspaper, 2008 ©
Unemployment remains a key concern throughout the country. Many graduates of university remain without jobs. Most say, "It's something to do, but there is no work for me."
Those who can afford it attend at private business schools, hoping to get a competitive edge. Others have given up on the educational system and just sit around doing nothing.
Our neighbor says, "You have to know someone to get a job. Everyone is looking and there aren't enough jobs for graduates."
Those who are employed face challenges of adequate salary and fair treatment by employers.
... from the Gulf Times – Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper -
Police end Morocco port siege : Sunday, 8 June, 2008, 01:20 AM Doha Time
RABAT: Police used force to end a week-long blockade of a port in southern Morocco by youths protesting poverty and joblessness, but the government denied claims by locals that some demonstrators were killed. Residents said hundreds of police arrived at Sidi Ifni port at 2 AM yesterday to remove the demonstrators.
“The port has been under blockade since May 30 - trucks were trapped inside and the fish they were carrying was rotting,” said a local security official.
“The police moved in to remove the demonstrators.” He said 20 were arrested but none were killed or injured in the operation, which began after the protesters set fire to the car of a local official.
A local resident involved in the demonstration said security forces attacked the protesters using dogs and truncheons. “Dozens were injured and I saw two lying dead on the ground with head wounds,” said the resident, a social worker who asked not to be identified. “Friends in different neighbourhoods told me of three other deaths.”
A Western diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said he had been told by a reliable eyewitness that eight people were killed.
Such protests occur regularly in Morocco but rarely result in deaths.
- Reuters, Gulf Times Newspaper, 2008 ©
posted by Carl | 5:50 PM
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