The Politics of Recovery: International Discourse Around Morocco’s Earthquake Relief Efforts
On September 8th, Morocco was struck by its biggest earthquake since 1960. With a total of 2,946 people killed and over 5,674 injured, the West Atlas Mountains were the epicenter of this tragedy. The Atlas Mountains are the backbone of the Maghrib, with the Moroccan section of this mountain range running from the port of Agadir through Morocco’s northern border to Algeria. Morocco’s response in the wake of the earthquake has been a highly discussed subject in the news in recent weeks, as the Moroccan government declined aid from foreign states apart from rescue team assistance from a handful of countries. Many criticized this decision, particularly the states whose aid was refused. The conversation around Morocco’s decision is one of nuance and complicated history with the different states. There are various reasons the Moroccan government declined accepting aid from Algeria and France but accepted the help of search and rescue teams from Spain, Qatar, the UAE, and the UK. The discourse around this controversial decision reflects Morocco’s relationship with these two countries.
As Morocco’s neighbor and long-time rival, Alergia’s offer of assistance comes two years after the states severed official diplomatic ties with one another. This severance occurred in 2021 after decades of disagreement regarding the Western Sahara, a disputed territory south of Morocco. Beginning in 1975, conflict between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara escalated when Spain withdrew its forces in the region and handed over control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania. Once Morocco seized a portion of the Western Sahara, Algeria threw its support behind the local Sahrawi’s claims for self-determination with the goal of preventing an expanding Morocco. This show of support pitted Algerian foreign interests directly against Morocco’s. A turning point in this dispute arose in 2020 when former U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara in exchange for the state normalizing relations with Israel. This agreement reignited tensions over the Western Sahara and led to the eventual severing of ties between Morocco and Algeria in 2021. According to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, relations between these two states had reached a "point of no return."
However, in the aftermath of the earthquake the international community saw an outpouring of support for Morocco from Algeria based on regional camaraderie and unity rhetoric. Algeria expressed willingness and urgency to assist Morocco in relief efforts by reopening Algerian airspace to planes headed for Morocco. This overflow of support and solidarity comes as a swift turn in direction from the division that has historically characterized Moroccan-Algerian relations and Morocco's refusal of Algerian assistance can be accredited to ongoing political rifts despite recent demonstrations of unity.
Among the countries that offered aid to Morocco, France stands out as Morocco’s former colonial ruler until Morocco’s 1955 independence. When the Moroccan government rejected France’s offer of aid, the French media was quick to label Morocco as incompetent. A French journal titled Liberation accused the Moroccan authorities of "silently killing their people." Much of the French media portrayed the Moroccan government as ungrateful and depriving their citizens the resources they need. This narrative pushed in the French media contributes to the idea of Moroccan incompetency without French help and is reminiscent of French justifications for the colonization of Morocco in the 19th and 20th centuries. Unsurprisingly, this reaction and portrayal of the Moroccan government as insufficient in relief efforts prompted backlash from many Moroccans who viewed France’s attitude as paternalistic and perpetuating patterns of colonialism. This sentiment of frustration was expressed by civilian first response Youseff El Berrichi who has helped launch an education initiative with Roots Academy and the University of Mohammed the Fifth in the aftermath of the earthquake. He said that France “couldn't process that Morocco is an independent country now.” El Berrichi’s statement on the portrayal of Morocco’s competency in the French media reflects the sentiments of many who are frustrated with what they feel is France’s attempt to patronize the state in its time of need.
In its response to the situation, the Moroccan government cited a need for order and organization in relief efforts as they were still assessing the situation within Morocco when France’s offer of assistance was made. Morocco expressed that it would have been "counterproductive and chaotic" to the relief efforts already being carried out internally if they opened their border to accepting all offers of aid, specially addressing the controversy around French aid. France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna issued a statement asserting France’s acknowledgement of Morocco’s independence saying,"It's a sovereign Moroccan decision and it's up to them to decide" demonstrating how the French media, rather than the government, is highly critical of how Morocco is responding to the earthquake.
The distinct controversies over aid that erupted from the aftermath of Morocco’s earthquake demonstrate how although it is ideal that humanitarian efforts remain non-politicized, this is simply not the case a majority of the time. In comparing Algerian and French responses to Morocco declining their offer of assistance, it is clear that the countries interpreted the situations in various ways. In Algeria, the main point of contention was the immediate offer of assistance to Morocco which shocked many due to the tumultuous political relationship between the two states. Even after no aid was accepted, Algerian civil society and social media continued to support Morocco in spirit. The situation with France is different in that much of the French media was quick to condemn a sovereign Morocco’s decision to not accept their offer of aid. This decision by the Moroccan government was quickly weaponized against the state by the French media who instead of continuing to offer Morocco support from afar, instead began criticizing the abilities and motives of the government. This swift change in attitude is likely due to the fact that France expected their offer to not only be accepted, but celebrated as it was following the 2020 Beirut explosion in Lebanon. France’s perceived expectation of applause and gratitude when stepping in to offer its former colonies assistance is interpreted by many as the country still feeling like it has a stake or input in Morocco and Lebanon, despite their sovereignty, and explains why the French media is critical of Morocco characterizing the state as “ungrateful.”