Saturday (March 21st): Corona solidarity in Morocco

Mohammed VI

Name? Mohammed VI.

Westphalian identity? Moroccan 

Age? 56

Why is he in the news? He is not! Morocco only has 86 cases (13:15) and the last time the West cared about Morocco was to evacuate tourists from the country. 

Why do we care? We would like to shed light on different approaches to handling the Corona crisis. And Morocco is a little bit different in its reaction, especially when it comes to the economic packages prepared by all governments. On March 16th, King Mohammed the VI set up a special fund dedicated to supporting the medical system and the national economy. But unlike in Europe and the US, the money is not only coming from taxpayers. In patriotic solidarity, the individuals well off in Morocco donate into that trust fund. Othman Benjelloun, owner of the Bank of Africa, will donate entire profits of the first quarter of 2020 to the fund with many others to soon follow his example. 

Why should you care? While European governments are doing everything to keep the stock markets happy and to preserve huge funds from losing money (sounds like 2008 all over again), the fund in Morocco seems more solitary. Maybe something for Europe’s rich to keep in mind while suffering quarantine in their huge villas with plenty of space and entertainment… 

Who else cares? Moroccans. As one of our friends from Morocco tells us: “There is an amount of solidarity I have not seen before.” Maybe this crisis has one good outcome after all? It at times restores a bit of faith in humanity.

Any further comments? Morocco is under lockdown like all other countries to its North. With a relatively low number of cases, this is an early and drastic step to take. But at least they are redistributing the right way, unlike Europe.

Joshua Dario Hasenstab

General Coordinator