The Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) held on May 8 at the “London School of Economics”, a meeting under the banner “Think about the forgotten …”, in memory of Moroccans expelled from Algeria.
This meeting was an opportunity to question the memory and educate the British public, students, intellectuals and the younger generation of the Moroccan community in England on the ordeal of more than 45,000 Moroccan families expelled from Algeria in 1975.
Speaking on this occasion, Ms. Souad Talsi, a community activist in London and a CCME member, stressed the importance of this meeting and its theme, asserting that the goal of this meeting is to uncover the painful events that have affected thousands of Moroccan families expelled from Algeria.
According to the British journalist Liza Brinkworth of the daily “Times”, who attended the meeting, it is then “a flagrant violation of human rights.”
Mrs. Brinkworth, an investigative journalist who has worked for many British newspapers, has pledged to work to make known the history of injustices committed against Moroccans, a story little known in England.
Mr. Mohamed Cherfaoui, president of the Association of Moroccans expelled from Algeria (Europe) took the opportunity to present his book “The black market” in which the author offers the reader a poignant testimony on a tragedy that struck thousands of Moroccan families expelled from Algeria following the organization of the Green March of 6 November 1975.
“This book, a biography is primarily a duty of memory because the majority of Moroccans expelled from Algeria in bulk are still traumatized. They rarely speak of this tragedy,” adding that the victims are still waiting for justice to be done.
For her part, Ms. Fatiha Saidi, a member of the Belgian Parliament, focused on the atrocities and abuses against the Moroccan families.
She recalled the motion for a resolution she submitted along with four of her colleagues, to the Belgian Senate calling on it to intervene with the Algerian authorities to demand explanations concerning the injustices committed against the Moroccans expelled from Algeria.
The proposed resolution, she said, has basically taken three main demands of NGOs representing the victims (family reunification facilitation, restitution for victims of property and an investigation into the arbitrary expulsion).
The speakers also placed emphasis on violations of children and women’s rights, victims of arbitrary expulsion from Algeria, describing the approach of the Algerian authorities as an incomprehensible act.
