HIBAPRESS – Mohamed Zariouh
In a scene that reflects the depth of administrative neglect, the Ibouajajaa neighborhood association in the city of Nador submitted an official petition to the municipal council, demanding the provision of the most basic conditions for a decent life, from repairing roads and improving lighting to ensuring the continuity of water and electricity services.
The petition, which was signed by a number of residents of the neighborhood, came after years of daily suffering, in the absence of any real intervention from the responsible authorities. Despite the clarity and simplicity of the demands, the municipality did not bother to respond, according to the president of the neighborhood association, who confirmed that more than a year has passed since the petition was submitted without the residents receiving any official response, no clarification, or even a promise of redress. This silence, which the residents described as "deliberate," reflects a blatant disregard for the principle of spatial justice and raises serious questions about the priorities of the municipal council. How can this continuous disregard for the demands of the Ibouajajaa neighborhood, which lives in difficult conditions, be explained? The neighborhood, which turns into a swamp with every rainfall, lives outside the development map, at a time when projects are showered on other neighborhoods that do not suffer half of what Ibouajajaa suffers. In recent days, Nador has witnessed a series of reforms in some streets and areas, but these improvements did not include the deprived neighborhoods, especially the Ibouajajaa neighborhood, which suffers from the deterioration of infrastructure. These reforms did not achieve the desired goal of other neighborhoods, which reinforces the feeling of marginalization felt by the residents of Ibouajajaa. The residents of the neighborhood are not demanding privileges, but rather their constitutional rights, and they consider the petition a cry of protest against the policy of exclusion practiced by the municipality, whether intentionally or as a result of chronic administrative incompetence. They simply demand the provision of the basic conditions that guarantee them a decent life, starting with the roads that are flooded with water whenever it rains, to public lighting that remains absent for long periods, as well as water and electricity services that are often cut off without prior notice. In light of this disregard, calls are escalating to hold those responsible for this situation accountable and to reconsider the management of local affairs, in a way that ensures a fair distribution of projects and services, and restores respect for neighborhoods that suffer in silence, at the forefront of which is Ibouajajaa. Will the municipality finally move? Or will silence remain the master of the situation, until frustration turns into anger that is difficult to contain? The time has come to put an end to these policies that perpetuate inequality between neighborhoods, and to move away from the style of marginalization that only increases the depth of the gap between citizens. Spatial justice cannot be achieved without providing equality in development opportunities for all regions without exception.
