In the south of Morocco, the destruction of the historic center of Imsouane is underway. The seaside buildings of this small town of eight thousand inhabitants, known for its bay popular with surfers from around the world and its fishermen, are razed. The residents had 24 hours to empty the premises.
2 mins
with our special correspondent in Issouame, Nadia Ben Mahfoudh
Residents are rushing to collect their belongings and anything of value from their homes. Window, door, wood, everything that can be sold is recovered before the bulldozers finish razing everything. On Thursday, the local authorities of Imssouane (some two hours from Agadir) verbally asked the owners of houses, businesses and surf schools to leave the premises. They had 24 hours before the bulldozers arrived.
Abdelhamid has lived here for forty years. Until Thursday, he ran a small fisherman’s house transformed into a restaurant. Faced with the ruins, he feels helpless. “ No one can defend us! Do you know why they gave us 24 hours to empty the place??? So that we don’t stick together, so that we don’t (can’t) create something! »
Like Mohamed, there were hundreds of them who made a living from tourism. Now unemployed, he lets his anger explode. “ We are Amazigh, we are the first population to have inhabited the region! My family has lived in Imsouane for more than fifty years… And they came to tell us: do you have 24 hours to leave the premises? Nobody respects us, we have no rights! »
Ismaël is a surf instructor. If he has not lost his work tool, he fears that this upheaval will scare away tourists. “ There are people who said: no, we can’t come back since the real Imsouane no longer exists, unfortunately… »
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For the moment, the inhabitants of Imsouane do not know what their city will look like. A development plan was drawn up in 2022, but it planned to preserve many houses which have already been destroyed.
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