Morocco-Spain: the media, a point of encounter or misunderstanding?

Geography is static, while history is mobile. As you are well aware, the geographical situation of Spain and Morocco - separated by a mere stretch of water that bears the name of the Strait of Gibraltar - has forced us to face each other and to understand each other because of our shared interests, which are not few. Even so, there are other invisible straits that keep us apart.

There are some key dates that have marked the history of Spanish-Moroccan relations over the past two centuries, such as the Tetuan War of 1859-1860, the occupation of northern Morocco in 1912, the Battle of Annual in 1921, the role of the Moroccans in the Spanish Civil War, the Sahara question and the Green March in 1975. The problems related to the renewal of the fisheries agreements in the 1990s and the Perejil conflict in 2002, among other crises of a political nature. With all this, what I want to express is that Spain has been very present in the Moroccan consciousness and the Spaniard was perceived by the Moroccan citizen as a different being from a religious, cultural, social and political point of view.

However, this image of Spanish has been changing over time and in the late 1980s - a golden age for Moroccans due to the possibilities they had of settling in neighbouring Spain and getting a job.

For some young Moroccans, Spain represented the embodiment of the European dream: a country where Moroccans could prosper and a place where they could find prosperity. For another part of Moroccan society, Spain had the best teams in football, and I echo the words of Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo, "Football is what made Spain popular". And I witness this almost daily in Tangier, the city closest to Spain.

In the same vein, the Moroccan political elite saw the neighbouring country as a good democratic model to imitate. But in the last five years, since the crisis began to hit Spain, we have seen the impact it is having on the Moroccan emigrant community. Some of them have even been forced to return. All this, in addition to a barrage of criticism of the austerity policies undertaken by the political class, has done much to tarnish Spain's image as a model in the Mediterranean area, and this is reflected daily in the Moroccan press.

From this moment on, Spain ceases to represent the 'golden age' for a large part of Moroccan society, which is equally concerned about the economic and political instability the country is experiencing because it has a direct impact on Morocco. But in the words of the various politicians on both sides of the Atlantic: only together will the two countries be able to find new ways of interrelating and dealing with the crisis. They are destined to work together to complement each other's strengths, making the two shores a unique area. Because of their history, their geography and their common interests. I believe that, if we work together along these lines, it is possible that the image that Spanish society has of Morocco and Moroccan citizens will change and change for the better.  At least, that is what I hope.

As a follower of current affairs in Spain, it saddens me that Morocco continues to represent a danger to the ordinary Spaniard, the politician and even the intellectual: "It is a 'disturbing neighbour', we can often hear behind the scenes. From the southern shore come only illiterates, immigrant corpses and drug traffickers. In this context it is obvious that years pass, but prejudices remain.

And this, in my opinion, is where the problem lies. It is that we have no will to break down the barriers in both directions in order to find precisely those cultural "encounters" and not "cultural clashes". Look, the cultural variety is vast and there are many nuances to be valued, but how to summarise this in a chronicle or in a journalistic text? What headline to use? A very difficult task, but an extremely important one because the creation of a country's image, its culture and identity will depend on it. That is why anthropology is so important and how we understand man. We are all called to truth because that is the essential dynamic of reason, will and affections. It is a matter of better understanding the realities of each shore away from stereotypes.

Having said that, and within this framework of complex neighbourhood, we can ask ourselves about the role played by the media as a point of encounter or disagreement between the two shores. The question I pose here today is: what responsibility do journalists have in the reproduction of prejudices?

Nabil Driouch, Moroccan journalist and expert on Spanish-Moroccan relations, author of the book 'La vecindad cautelosa'.