Logistics or politics? What is tying up Morocco quake aid?

Sixty years ago, just before midnight on Feb. 29, 1960, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit the coastal Moroccan town of Agadir. As many as 15,000 people were killed – a third of the city’s population. French and American military airplanes were quick to bring relief aid to the newly independent country.

Today, in the aftermath of what could prove to be Morocco’s most deadly earthquake since then – 2,800 people have been killed and thousands are unaccounted for – Paris and Washington have again offered to help. But this time, they have been rebuffed.

Moroccan nongovernmental organizations have teamed up with European aid organizations in search-and-rescue efforts, and Moroccan military helicopters have begun dropping aid packages into remote villages in the Atlas Mountains – the epicenter of the quake. But the government thus far has allowed only four countries – Spain, Britain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates – to provide official aid.

As residents in isolated mountain areas struggle to get help, with some saying they feel abandoned, Morocco clearly needs assistance. So why is it being so discerning in asking for it?

“Morocco says it’s very hard to coordinate aid, and I’m sure it is very daunting. ... But everything is political in this region, and I think Morocco will prioritize aid from solid, reliable partners,” says Zine Ghebouli, a visiting fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“They’re trying to filter partnerships, score diplomatic points in the future,” he adds. “Innocent people are dying as the authorities figure out their political maneuvering.”

Up to Morocco to choose

Moroccan authorities have explained their choice as a logistical one, in order to avoid chaos at Marrakech airport and on severely damaged roads. On Tuesday, in a video message to the Moroccan public, French President Emmanuel Macron said that while “we have the possibility to provide direct humanitarian aid,” it was up to Rabat to organize international support.

“We are at the disposal of their sovereign decision,” he said.

But many observers point to geopolitical explanations for the brushoff. One key issue is the status of the Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco annexed in 1979 in breach of international law and where the United Nations has been trying for 30 years to hold a referendum among its inhabitants to choose between independence and integration into Morocco.

“The Sahara issue is the lens through which Morocco looks at the world,” King Mohammed VI declared in a speech last year.

Offers of quake aid from Morocco’s archrival and eastern neighbor, Algeria, which supports the Polisario independence movement in the Western Sahara, have also been ignored.

Spain, the United States, and Israel have recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, while France has refused to do so. In 2020, the UAE became the first Arab country to open a consulate there.

“It’s obvious that the question of the Western Sahara is the most pertinent explanation. ... Morocco is sending a message,” says Khadija Mohsen-Finan, a Paris-based political scientist and specialist on the Maghreb region. “It’s a way to get the U.S. to be even more clear on its position and for France to take steps towards the U.S. and Spain on the issue.”

The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has recently sent signals of support for Rabat’s stance, and Morocco may favor London precisely because Britain is not a member of the European Union, some observers suggest.

The European Parliament tightened restrictions on entry to its building earlier this year for Qatari and Moroccan diplomats who had been accused of offering bribes to members of the parliament. The parliament also condemned Morocco for the first time in 25 years for human rights violations involving media freedom.

“Morocco was very angry ... about both of those issues,” says Pierre Vermeren, a historian of the Maghreb at Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. “The U.K. is not part of the EU anymore, but they can offer that same proximity in terms of aid,” he points out. Morocco’s choices “are clearly meant to send a political signal.”

Prejudice and pride

Although Algeria, Morocco’s closest geographical neighbor, would seem an obvious channel for assistance to Morocco, the two countries have long been at loggerheads, and not only because of Algeria’s support for the Polisario Front. In 2021, the neighbors severed diplomatic ties after Algeria accused Morocco of using Israeli Pegasus software to spy on its officials.

Morocco has also been unhappy with French and Algerian moves towards mutual rapprochement, and with a 2021 decision by Paris to slash the number of visas available to Moroccans. Morocco has not had an ambassador in Paris since March, and a visit by Mr. Macron to meet Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has been repeatedly postponed.

“Morocco has a very pragmatic, realistic approach” to diplomacy, says Mr. Ghebouli of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Morocco has objectives, and they’ll go as far as they need to go to reach those objectives. The end justifies the means.”

National pride is certainly part of the equation, he says. Algiers rebuffed Morocco’s attempts to help with Algeria’s deadly forest fires over the past three years, and Morocco’s accepting aid might be seen as acknowledging defeat. Opening up more channels for foreign aid would also expose fault lines in Morocco’s governance.

“Moroccan officials might also be a little ashamed,” says Dr. Vermeren of Université de Paris 1. “They like to offer a good image of the country, its beautiful beaches and hotels. But here you’d be exposing abject poverty in certain regions, terrible management of resources, and so on.”

Ultimately, says Dr. Vermeren, Morocco cannot reasonably manage hundreds of requests from foreign governments and aid organizations and must decide itself on the best way of reaching the unknown number of Moroccans still missing in remote, mountainous regions.

In the meantime, NGOs from around the world are stepping in – with or without an official green light. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an emergency call for $100 million to support victims of the earthquake. And in the region, voices are being raised about the importance of international support.

“There is an urgency, there is a moral duty that our country cannot shirk: to clearly show its solidarity with Morocco and send humanitarian aid as soon as possible,” wrote Algerian-born author and journalist Sid Ahmed Semiane on X (formerly Twitter). “No political conflict should silence our humanity.”