Lessons from the south of Tarifa

Often information - and now, times require, including ''fake news'' - that reaches us from the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar through the various channels available to us, including written, audiovisual and social media, is marked by misfortune, disasters - natural or man-made -, conflict or injustice. Unfortunately, in our collective imagination, forged through centuries of history, literature, film and the media, the image of the Maghreb has been eminently negative - there is the magnificent essay by the diplomat Alfonso de la Serna Al sur de Tarifa to understand the reasons for the great historical misunderstanding - and the truth is that in governmental, economic or social matters our ears have not exactly been educated to be receptive to what reaches us from North Africa. Well, in recent weeks Morocco - to a similar extent other neighbours of the Maghreb such as Tunisia - is setting a commendable example with regard to the coronavirus pandemic. An example that is fortunately not going unnoticed. 

Morocco is taking it seriously. It has no choice but to do so because its public health system has obvious limitations and because the socio-economic conditions of millions of citizens are what they are. The combination of anticipation on the part of the Maghrebi authorities - rapid border closures, total confinement of the population, closure of shops and mosques, compulsory use of masks to go out into the street, and so on - and the solidarity and collaboration of an immense majority of society in order to contain the spread of the pathogen are proving admirable. 

Likewise, an increasingly important part of the business community -both large, medium and small- and of public institutions are scraping their pockets since last March 15, when King Mohammed VI created a solidarity fund aimed at alleviating the consequences of the viral pandemic. The trickle of incorporations is incessant. For days now, the volume of the aforementioned Fund has exceeded 3 billion euros, making Morocco the fourth country in the world to have raised the most money against the pandemic in relation to its gross domestic product, in this case around 3% of its GDP. 

If in Spain the health crisis is bringing to the surface a sense of solidarity that has generally disappeared, in Morocco, a country accustomed to misfortunes and calamities, it is only confirming a reality: in our southern neighbour, citizens help the needy without the need to be ordered by the authorities, and the elderly - the first victims of this epidemic - far from ending their days in homes, share a roof with the rest of the family, in which they exercise a kind of moral leadership. As the writer Juan Goytisolo wrote, "to the question, very often, of what we can learn from them, given their political and economic backwardness, I answer: firstly, hospitality at the opposite end of the scale from the selfishness and narrow, short-sighted individualism of contemporary First World societies, and secondly, respect for the elderly and the absence of discrimination against them, both in the family and in the emotional and gender spheres". 

Of course, the Moroccan panorama also offers some bright spots. The lack of information and criteria in some sectors of society favour situations such as those seen in some cities, where groups of people driven by selfish and pilgrim proclamations have taken to the streets in an irresponsible way, challenging confinement to entrust themselves to the heavens as the only way to end the pandemic. The media points out that behind these episodes - so far, however, only occasionally - there are radical Islamist groups that seem interested in taking advantage of the situation. Moreover, in small towns and working-class neighbourhoods in the big cities, the confinement is being relaxed, which risks ruining the achievements of these weeks. 

Moreover, one should not be fooled: the extension of coronavirus detection tests is still very limited in Morocco and everyone knows that the real figures do not coincide with the official ones (at the time of writing there were 1,120 cases and 80 deaths). The authorities now intend to generalise and accelerate the screening tests, as the tests were until very recently analysed in a small number of health centres and in small numbers. A large part of Morocco's population lives in rural and particularly scattered environments, and health facilities are scarce if not non-existent in large regions and districts. Many infections and deaths must be occurring that official statistics do not account for. And more that will happen. And the worst is yet to come. 

But the truth is that far, far away, and denied by the facts, there are still some things heard by the perpetrator of these lines in the Moroccan streets in recent weeks. More than one believed here and there - perhaps loaded with reasons - that the social and cultural habits of our southern neighbours - crowds in bazaars and medinas, distrust of the administration, family life with members of several generations sharing a roof, etc. - would make it little less than impossible to implement any of the measures that the Moroccan authorities are carrying out with relative success and speed. The work of the police forces and the army is generally very positive, and it was moving to see the images broadcast by Moroccan television in recent days of neighbourhoods cheering the officers from their balconies and windows, often subject to the anger and discontent of the population. 

No one knows if, despite these initiatives, Morocco will manage to keep the cursed coronavirus at bay, or if it is a matter of weeks before the numbers skyrocket and the emergencies get out of hand. What is clear is that, taking into account the crucial mistakes made by the Spanish authorities and citizens in recent weeks, and the very serious situation we are experiencing in our country, we would do well to look at what is happening south of Tarifa with a little humility. In addition to rationalising the tourism model, promoting teleworking, containing consumerist waste and recognising the capital importance of our health system - many of us hope that some things will change from now on - opening our eyes to the merits and achievements of the changing and vibrant Maghreb societies, starting with Morocco, should be one of the lessons of this crisis.