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When Morocco closed its borders to counter the coronavirus crisis, thousands of Moroccans found themselves stranded in foreign countries across the world. Awaiting repatriation, some of these nationals are very far from home, experiencing special yet complicated situations.
Meryem* is one of the Moroccans who is currently stranded in India. She left the Kingdom before the international health crisis erupted for an internship opportunity in Mumbai and stayed there ever since. But Meryem wants to go back home.
Stranded in Mumbai
«I came for a graduation internship and I was supposed to spend four months in India», Meryem explained to Yabiladi. One month after she arrived in Mumbai, the country implemented a strict lockdown, and Meryem had to work from home.
Unable to adapt to the hectic work routine, she decided to end her internship. «It was very hard and the work schedule was so tight that it did not respect my personal time : no weekends at all», she complained.
Scared of contracting the virus and exhausted by work, Meryem said that this week is her last week as an intern. But that is the beginning of a new struggle. «Next month I am forced to contact the Moroccan embassy for help because ending my paid internship would also mean that I would struggle financially», she regretted.
Awaiting repatriation, the young woman had to lie to her already-very-worried parents. «I feel like I am alone here, although the embassy checks on us, if something happens to me, I will be left to my own device», Meryem concluded.
Stranded in an isolated and small island
Not very far from India, Khaoula, a Moroccan who works at a Maldives resort, found herself in a similar situation when the lockdown happened. After her employers put her on furlough, the young woman found herself stranded in an isolated island with nowhere to go.
«When the resort closed its doors, I was asked alongside other employees to leave the island because it belongs to the hotel», Khaoula recalls. While other employees were able to return home through repatriation flights chartered by their countries, Khaoula was forced to stay there and accept the hotel’s offer.
«As the country prohibits us from leaving the island, unless we are going to the airport to go back home, I stayed here in the resort which offered food and shelter», Khaoula explained.
Her situation however is not the best. Surviving off the limited resources provided by the hotel, which has no revenues because of the crisis, Khaoula is suffering from asthma and needs to see her doctor.
«We live in an island and it is very humid and hot, especially when the electricity goes off by 5 pm. Sometimes I feel like I am suffocating in my room», she explained. Unable to leave the tiny and isolated island, Khaoula is also awaiting repatriation.
The Maldives / Ph. Martin Falbisoner - Wikipedia (cc)
After contacting the Moroccan embassy, however, she was surprised by the answer she got. «They told me that as someone who has a job in the Maldives, I am considered as a resident and I shouldn’t be repatriated», she told Yabiladi. «I explained to them that there is a difference and that I have a job permit only and because the place I work at is closed indefinitely I have nowhere to go», she argued.
Laid off in Russia
While Khaoula can still return to work after the end of the crisis, Ayoub was laid off due to the coronavirus. Living in Russia since August 2019, the Moroccan who used to work as an English teacher was forced to leave the apartment he was offered by the school he used to work for after he lost his job.
«I was fired on March 21 and was asked to leave the apartment», he recalled. When he contacted the Moroccan embassy, Ayoub was offered a hotel room as a temporary shelter during the crisis. «Fortunately, I started working as a freelancer as I still had some clients», he explained.
Moscow / Ph. Alexander Novikov - Global Look Press
«I think I am in a better situation than other Moroccans stranded abroad but we are just a group of 21 people in Russia», he said, referring to their potential repatriation.
The difficult situations of these Moroccans stranded far from home is added to that of thousands of other people. Last week, Morocco announced that around 28,000 Moroccans are currently stranded abroad because of the health crisis. Their repatriation is still under discussion, while the information provided by the official sources remains inconclusive.
