Second Arab Spring: Difference between revisions

The internet has allowed Moroccan citizens to express their discontent with the government and recently soccer stadiums have become a major outlet for the [https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEastEye/videos/1464504480392465/ expression of discontent]. One such chant: [https://twitter.com/middleeasteye/status/1179072320817844224?lang=en '<nowiki/>''Fbladi Delmouni'''] has gone viral since erupting from numerous stadium protests and has gained worldwide attention. The mostly young football crowds gather in the tens of thousands in Moroccan soccer club stadiums. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/12/20/the-soccer-politics-of-morocco/|title=The Soccer Politics of Morocco|last=Alami|first=Aida|date=2018-12-20|website=The New York Review of Books|language=en|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> Football stadiums offer protesters a sort of free haven to voice their cries for the injustices they face. Fbladi Delmouni literally translates to: "In my country they oppress me." There are a number of different chants with lyrics that sometimes change significantly from one parody to the other, however the reoccurring them of criticizing the government and the poor standard of living is present. <ref>{{Citation|title=Moroccan Ultras anti corruption chants of 2019|url=https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEastEye/videos/1464504480392465/|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref>

 

 

These issues at its core, while they were exacerbated by the [[Death of Mouhcine Fikri]], are due to the lack of a suitable standard of living for the Moroccan people. Massive projects have been taken underway to improve the infrastructure and development of the country but the young and poor people feel that their needs are still being ignored. One such project is to be Africa's first high speed train running from Casablanca to Tangier. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.citylab.com/commute/2017/01/africas-first-high-speed-train-is-coming/512375/|title=Meet Morocco's First High-Speed Train|last=Kirk|first=Mimi|website=CityLab|language=en|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> The extensive renovations in the Rabat airport is another such project. The problem with these recent developments is that the majority of Moroccans that live in poverty do not benefit from them. Many of the nations poor live in rural areas in the countryside and do not benefit from flying in new airports or using high speed trains. Many still suffer from the poor quality of transportation within major cities like the bus system in Casablanca. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thearabweekly.com/traffic-jams-filthy-streets-decaying-buses-turn-life-casablanca-daily-nightmare|title=Traffic jams, filthy streets, decaying buses turn life in Casablanca into daily nightmare {{!}} Saad Guerraoui|website=AW|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref> and connecting smaller cities and towns within Morocco. Moroccans lack basic access to food and water and 22% of the country is unemployed. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html|title=Africa :: Morocco — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> These recent projects have exacerbated the economic disparity between social classes in Morocco and generate more social unrest among the poor. One recent protest started in late 2017 and continued strong into 2018 over the lack of food and water. In Sidi Boulalam, a small village outside Essaouira, a stampede occurred when supplies arrived to the marketplace which resulted in the trampling and death of at least 15 people. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/932314783197605890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E932314783197605890&ref_url=https://|title=Stampede near #Morocco’s Essaouira kills at least 15|last=English|first=Al Arabiya|date=2017-11-19|website=@AlArabiya_Eng|language=ca|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref> It is worse in the interior of Morocco in places like Zagora, a small village in the southeastern desert of Morocco, where for the past 15 years people have been surviving off drinking imported bottled water. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/water-shortages-parch-moroccan-towns-prompt-protests-20171105|title=Water shortages parch Moroccan towns, prompt protests|date=2017-11-05|website=News24|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref>