HIBAPRESS- Omar Razzini: Barcelona Office
The Moroccan community in Barcelona is experiencing one of its most difficult phases in recent years, as the housing crisis has worsened dangerously, turning from a social problem into a matter of dignity and human rights. An increasing number of Moroccan families are facing direct and explicit rejection from Spanish property owners who refuse to rent their homes simply because the applicant is Moroccan, in a behavior that is repeated widely and classified by immigrants as veiled racism that has become less shy and more clear.
Talking about Moroccans sleeping in their cars is no longer an exaggeration, but has become a reality that people witness in the streets of Barcelona and its suburbs. And entire families, children and women, find themselves homeless despite their ability to pay and despite their work and professional stability. Despite the direction of dozens of complaints, the answer often remains: "The house is not available for foreigners" or "Another candidate has been chosen"… while the Spaniard gets the keys on the same day!. Many immigrants believe that the arrival of a new Consul to Barcelona constitutes an opportunity to review this file, which has remained folded in shameful silence for years. The Moroccan community is waiting for an actual move, a move befitting a country that has diplomatic weight and an international standing, and not just a protocol reception or formal meetings that do not touch the reality of the immigrant. Anger within the community is also rising due to the faint – if not absent – role of a large number of Moroccan associations that are supposed to defend the rights of immigrants. These associations have turned, according to many testimonies, into spaces for taking pictures with officials, attending parties, and collecting donations… while the simple immigrant is left to face racism, the cold, and the street, alone. What the Moroccan immigrant is demanding today is not privileges, nor special treatment… but only demands his natural right to housing, to security, to dignity, to human-to-human treatment. The consulate is required – more than ever – to put this file at the top of the priorities, and to open direct communication channels with the local Spanish authorities, and to activate legal mechanisms to protect the rights of Moroccan citizens, and to direct associations towards their true roles instead of leaving them competing on platforms and pictures. The Moroccan immigrant has struggled for decades to build his future in Spain, and has contributed with his work and commitment to the country's economy. And in return for this giving, he deserves to be treated with dignity, and to find someone to raise his voice when his rights are violated. The time has come, strongly, to restore the immigrant's prestige and respect for his presence and rights.
