HIBAPRESS – Shafiq Anouri
A new documentary film directed by the Spaniard Victoria González Arceniega, shed light on the dire consequences left by the use of chemical weapons by the Iberian occupation in its fight against the Rif resistance in northern Morocco.
The young Spanish director chose the name "The Rif's Guernica" for the documentary, in an attempt to make the Spanish understand the magnitude of the tragedy that befell the Moroccan Rif, by using the name of the Basque city (Guernica) which was subjected to a fierce aerial bombardment on April 26, 1937, by the German Air Force supporting General Franco during the civil war.
Arceniega said, in an interview with the newspaper "laprovincia", that the idea of the documentary appeared in one of the master's classes, where a journalist specializing in North Africa came; Ricardo Gonzalez, and mentioned that Spain, in the Rif war, used chemical weapons and that the population is still dying from cancer despite the passage of 100 years.
Arceniega added that "this phrase remained etched in my memory, because at that moment I felt shocked", continuing: "I did not know the place of the Rif, but I was very shocked that an event that happened a long time ago still has effects to this day. This was my biggest motivation for completing the documentary."
Regarding the subject of the film, she explained that it "carries three types of condemnation. On the one hand, it briefly explains what the Rif war was like and why Spain was in northern Morocco. It also condemns that our country used, for the first time in history, aerial bombardment with chemical weapons against civilians."
She continued: "The attack was not on the fighters, but was directed directly towards the markets and villages. They mainly used a chemical weapon called mustard gas because of its yellow color. This liquid not only pollutes the land, water and livestock, but it is also a carcinogenic substance, which means that it causes cancer to the population."
She added: "100 years have passed since this event and the land is still polluted, and unfortunately, people are still dying from this disease. The situation is exacerbated more because Spain has not acknowledged what it has done," adding that political parties tried to "give a voice to what happened in the Rif through a parliamentary proposal, but it was rejected by the Popular Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party."
She highlighted that this work is her first in this field, noting that she did not know exactly how to start "and tried to seek help. I wanted someone to accompany me to Morocco so that I would not travel alone because I had not visited this country before, and to get support from a professional such as a photographer or videographer."
She pointed out that her trip to Morocco was "half adventure and half pre-arranged interviews. I could not ask people in the street (…) In addition, I said that I was a history student and that I would learn more about the Rif war. I could not conduct interviews in the street, nor could I use the camera tripod."
The director, who arrived in Morocco with misconceptions related to the possibility of being prevented from filming or obtaining field testimonies on the subject, explained: "I did not want to raise suspicions (…) I went with two pre-arranged interviews, and although one was canceled, the other, which was with the president of the Rif Memory Association, I was able to conduct it."
The Spanish director indicated that the president of the Rif Memory Association "was the person who put me in touch with other reliable people who spoke with me about the subject without any problem. However, none of the doctors I contacted wanted to participate."
On the third day, the director explained: "I conducted an interview with Professor Abdul Majid Azouzi, who is one of the main sources for the documentary. He worked as a translator and guided me to the historical sites. I was very lucky because I was very scared. I spoke with a journalist who spent a long time in Morocco and advised me not to get out of the car in the specified locations because she might be followed."
Regarding the biggest challenge the director faced in her work, she said that it was "focusing and summarizing the information. There were many things that I wanted to give a voice to, and that was definitely the biggest challenge," adding that she finally decided to "combine a little bit of everything. Another challenge was being there and feeling ashamed that I did not know the history of the Rif."
Arceniega concluded her interview by saying: "When I told the residents of the area that I had talked to my parents and friends about the military conflict between Spain and the place and that they also did not know about it, I felt very ashamed, not only because it is the history of Morocco, which it is too, because Morocco is a neighboring country, but because it is also the history of Spain and we do not know it."
