The Associated Press
Dozens of activists demonstrated Thursday in Morocco’s capital in a rare protest against racism following the murder earlier of a Senegalese migrant.
The protest comes a year after Morocco announced a new immigration policy aimed at making it easier for migrants to legalize their status.
Thousands of sub-Saharan Africans come every year to Morocco hoping to cross into Europe to find a new life, and tensions often flare between them and residents.
Senegalese migrant Charles Ndour was visiting Tangiers from Casablanca with friends when he was attacked by a mob and fatally stabbed Aug. 30.
Hundreds of migrants marched the next day to protest his death and the numerous attacks they say are subjected to by residents. Police dispersed the demonstration, arrested 26 and deported most of them.
“The migrants in Morocco are in real danger,” said Lucile Daumas of Atac Maroc, one of the groups organizing the demonstration, as she stood before parliament in downtown Rabat. “He (Ndour) was killed just because he had dark skin.”
She added that he was the sixth African migrant killed in the last year and said that while the new migration policy had noble ideas, there had been little change on the ground.
Ndour’s death has caused a certain degree of embarrassment to Morocco, which is presenting itself as a major economic partner to sub-Saharan Africa, with recent royal trips to West Africa.
On Sept. 4, government spokesman Mustapha Khalfi emphasized the importance of arresting those involved in the attack.
On Wednesday, the governor of Casablanca also held meetings with organizations catering to migrants as well as representatives of African consulates to seek ways to better integrate migrants into daily life.
There are an estimated 40,000 sub-Saharan Africans living in Morocco, most seeking to cross to Spain. Morocco has pledged its northern neighbor to stem the flow.
