Experts and commentators on Wednesday warned against the manipulation of youth obsessed with false promises of a better life and a bright future on the other shore of the Mediterranean, through massive calls for irregular immigration on social media.
Condemning these irresponsible calls, which push thousands of young people to risk their lives for a chimerical Eldorado, they hailed the colossal measures and efforts deployed by Moroccan authorities to avoid, conscientiously and professionally, that these would-be migrants needlessly endanger their lives following these misleading and malicious calls circulating on social media.
For political scientist Mustapha Tossa, social media content openly inciting to storm the security barrier between the cities of Fnideq and Sebta, on September 15, « shows to what extent social media plays a harmful role today, amplifies this phenomenon and forges illusions by haranguing the youth and weak spirits and by feeding false hopes of crossing the borders ».
« As soon as these attempts to cross the borders were announced, it is clear that Moroccan authorities have set up an effective security system that has largely reduced the impacts of this assault, also limiting its scale and making it marginal, very far from the aims of its promoters and the agitators on social media who tried to exploit it, » Tossa told MAP.
These incidents demonstrate, once again, the major challenges of illegal immigration faced by Morocco, which is working hard to abort these attempts and identify an international phenomenon that continues to grow, he added.
In this regard, he recalled that Morocco’s migration policy is highly praised internationally for its effectiveness in combating irregular migration.
In addition to the security choices to combat this global scourge, the Kingdom is engaged on several fronts to guarantee a decent life for Moroccans, with special attention to its youth, through large-scale projects and strategies, including those destined to promote youth employment, the political scientist underlined.
« For a policy to generate positive results and bear fruit that meets expectations, it needs time. No country has a magic wand, » he said.
For his part, Mohammed Benhammou, president of the Moroccan Center for Strategic Studies (CMES), denounced the malicious calls for irregular immigration on social media, which aim « to harm the image of the Kingdom, » arguing that these harmful and bad faith actions particularly target vulnerable youth.
« These attempts seek to sabotage and slow down the sustained development momentum in the Kingdom in various areas, » he said.
Benhammou said that Moroccan authorities, who have devised an effective security system to thwart these attempts in advance and prevent any spillover of the situation, have demonstrated professionalism and restraint, despite the acts of violence and vandalism perpetrated by the would-be migrants.
He also highlighted the migration policy adopted by Morocco in recent years, stressing that the Kingdom is the only country in Africa to have regularized the situation of irregular migrants, in line with its international commitments.
CMES President also noted that public policies on youth employment illustrate the Kingdom’s will under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI to cement the foundations of the social state for all segments of society.
M’hammed Belarbi, a lecturer and researcher at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, said that calls on social media to orchestrate an assault on the security barrier between the cities of Fnideq and Sebta have taken on an unprecedented scale, pushing Moroccan authorities to set up a significant and effective security system to face this unprecedented situation.
At a time when Morocco continues to make great efforts to combat illegal immigration, as part of a multidimensional approach, migratory pressure is becoming increasingly unsustainable due to the mafias that are active in this type of mass mobilization on social media, he explained.
The academic also recalled that the Kingdom is engaged in several projects and programs aimed at providing jobs for youth and guaranteeing them the conditions for a dignified life, far from these bitter voices, which seek to deceive this youth with illusory and empty promises.
