GIBRALTAR: Moroccans who live and work in Gibraltar say they do not enjoy the same rights as local people

Record ID: 735347

  • Title: GIBRALTAR: Moroccans who live and work in Gibraltar say they do not enjoy the same rights as local people
  • Date: 5th October 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ALI DOUISSI, PRESIDENT OF THE MOROCCAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION IN GIBRALTAR, SAYING: "The main problem for Moroccans here in Gibraltar is that they don't have the same rights as the local people, the Gibraltarians, despite the fact that they fulfil the same duties in terms of paying taxes and paying social security insurance. But they don't have the right to gain nationality or residency rights." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN MAIN STREET ON NATIONAL DAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOROCCAN WORKING IN GIBRALTAR, ZOHRA VIKTOR SAYING: "All the Moroccan workers who live in Gibraltar, when they need to go home to Morocco, there is transport from Friday to Sunday only. They are no other days when the ferry runs. For example if they have a family problem, there is no way to cross (the Strait) on a Monday or a Tuesday or a Wednesday, it has to be a Friday or a Sunday and that's not enough."
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Gibraltar, Gibraltar
  • Country: Gibraltar
  • Topics: Employment,People,Population
  • Reuters ID: LVAIS3G5WFOMDMR56WD3X6YNU6G
  • Story Text: Moroccans who live and work in Gibraltar say they do not enjoy the same rights as local people, even though many have lived in the British territory for decades.
    Gibraltar, connected to Spain but owned by Britain, has often been a source of tension between the two countries.
    But Moroccans living and working in the territory say their lack of basic rights is a far more important issue than the political tussle over ownership.
    It's now more than 40 years since Britain called on Moroccan workers to seek employment in Gibraltar after the border with Spain closed. Thousands took up the offer and got jobs in the construction industry and the naval dockyards.
    But now the number of Moroccan workers has seen a dramatic decrease, as the opening of the border with Spain prompted Europeans - mainly Spanish - to seek work there.
    "They closed the border between Gibraltar and Spain, that was in 1969, and the demand by the ruling British for Moroccan workers from Tangier increased. Workers used to come from Tangier, or from Morocco, specifically to work in Gibraltar and there were about 7,000 Moroccan workers. Now in Gibraltar, there are about 1,200 Moroccans," said Ali Douissi, President of the Moroccan Community Association in Gibraltar.
    Although many Moroccans have lived in Gibraltar for decades, they still find it hard to gain EU citizenship and the local government has been accused of being slow to acknowledge the rights of Moroccan workers.
    "The main problem for Moroccans here in Gibraltar is that they don't have the same rights as the local people, the Gibraltarians, despite the fact that they fulfil the same duties in terms of paying taxes and paying social security insurance. But they don't have the right to gain nationality or residency rights," said Douissi.
    Zohra Viktor, who works as a carer in Gibraltar, is able to stay in the territory because she has British citizenship. But, she says most Moroccans do not have it so easy and even making the journey home for a visit can be problematic.
    "All the Moroccan workers who live in Gibraltar, when they need to go home to Morocco, there is transport from Friday to Sunday only. They are no other days when the ferry runs. For example if they have a family problem, there is no way to cross (the Strait) on a Monday or a Tuesday or a Wednesday, it has to be a Friday or a Sunday and that's not enough," she said.
    Britain seized Gibraltar, at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, in 1704 and it was formally ceded to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht nine years later.
    Spain demands its return, but relations over the disputed territory have appeared to thaw since July 2009 when the first Spanish minister in 300 years made an official visit to the outcrop for talks with Britain and Gibraltar.
    But for Moroccan workers in Gibraltar, the political thaw has not helped them resolve some basic issues.
    "I have been living here for 27 years but when I try to go to Spain with friends, I can't cross. Everyone else can go and come back from Spain but you have to have the right papers. To enter Spain, papers from the Gibraltar government are not accepted, so I can't enter Spain," said long-time resident Abdulilla Benhaddou.
    The Moroccans have now set up their own association to co-ordinate their demands. The British trade union Unite has also taken up the cause of Moroccan workers in Gibraltar and is currently poised to take some cases to the European courts.
    With the prospect of the Moroccans' plight receiving European attention through the legal action, and with local elections coming up soon, it may be that the Moroccans in Gibraltar will not have long to wait before their rights are recognised.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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