HIBAPRESS
The Houmat Chouk area in Tangier is witnessing unprecedented unrest and tension due to the rampant chaos that has become the occupation of public domain by a number of cafes and shops, in a scene described by the residents as "provocative" and "unacceptable," after the sidewalks turned into private spaces where a policy of fait accompli is imposed at the expense of citizens and their right to safe passage.
A number of residents of the neighborhood confirmed that some cafe and shop owners were not content with exploiting small parts of the sidewalks, but rather deliberately occupied them completely by spreading chairs, tables, and commercial goods randomly, without any respect for the law or for the comfort of the residents, which forced pedestrians, including children, women, and the elderly, to go down to the street and face the risk of traffic accidents on a daily basis. The residents considered that what is happening in Houmat Chouk is no longer just isolated violations, but has turned into real chaos that undermines the prestige of the law and distorts the image of the neighborhood, amid silence that raises many questions about the reasons for the continuation of this situation, which has worsened significantly in recent months. The affected added that some of those occupying the public domain act as if the sidewalks have become their personal property, in a clear challenge to the laws regulating public space, which created a state of anger and widespread resentment among citizens who are fed up with this recklessness and chaos. The residents demanded that the Wali of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, Younes Tazi, immediately and urgently intervene to launch strict field campaigns to liberate the public domain and put an end to these violations, with the law being applied to all violators without discrimination or exception. The residents stressed that liberating the sidewalks and restoring the right of pedestrians is no longer an ordinary demand, but has become an urgent necessity to save the neighborhood from the chaos and randomness that has begun to suffocate Houmat Chouk and fuel the anger of the residents day after day.
