Families Displaced by Moroccan Dam Project Call for Urgent Aid

Dozens of families in Morocco's Taza province are appealing for urgent intervention as they grapple with the aftermath of displacement caused by the Sidi Abbu dam project. Around 34 families from the "Bni Mohammed" village in the El Brarha commune were relocated due to land expropriation for the dam, but now face a critical lack of basic infrastructure and services in their new locations.

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The urgent demand for an immediate connection to the electrical grid and the provision of building permits without administrative complications are the main calls for the residents of the "Bni Mohammed" douar, affiliated with the "El Brarha" commune (Taza province), who were displaced due to land expropriation resulting from the "Sidi Abbu Dam" project.

Their primary demands include an immediate connection to the national electricity grid and the streamlining of administrative procedures for building permits. Residents, living in makeshift shelters, also highlight the absence of essential services such as roads, potable water, educational facilities, and health centers. They criticize the compensation received for their expropriated agricultural and residential lands, describing it as "meager" and not reflective of the value of irrigated land.

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The affected parties, numbering about 34 affected families according to data obtained by the newspaper, demand 'urgent intervention from the Ministry of Interior, regional authorities, and the Supreme Audit Court' to launch a comprehensive investigation into the lack of infrastructure and basic services.

The situation has created a housing crisis, with families crammed into temporary shelters made of corrugated iron. Compounding their difficulties are the harsh climatic conditions and delays in obtaining building permits, hindering their ability to complete new homes before winter. The local commune council is criticized for the lack of development programs and basic infrastructure, leaving the relocated families in darkness and facing arduous commutes for education and healthcare.

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The expropriation decisions and rapid demolition of homes have resulted in a 'housing and humanitarian crisis' in the region, leaving residents in the open or crowded in tents and temporary shelters made of tin ('barracks') amid harsh climatic conditions and delays in delivering building permits.