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Rabat – A video posted on YouTube on Monday shows a young Moroccan street vendor in Dchira, Inzegan near Agadir, going half-naked in public while threatening to kill himself.
The street vendor took off his clothes – remaining only in his boxer shorts – in a protest of the authorities’ decision to ban street vendors from selling their products on main streets.
The man held a knife and threatened that he would stab himself if the authorities tried to touch him or take his vegetables and fruits he was selling.
A group of bystanders gathered around the angry street vendor while the authorities tried to stop him from hurting himself.
The man was in a hysterical state, screaming and yelling at the authorities to stay away from him and allow him to sell his vegetables and fruits.
Moroccan authorities are once again cracking down on street vendors, saying they have to stay free of public places and pedestrian walkways.
Last month, 42-year-old street vendor named Fateeha, covered her body with paint thinner and set herself on fire in Kenitra after local officers confiscated her goods.
The Moroccan activists called on the government to restructure the sector of street vendors instead of waging war against them, given the large number of vendors affected by the government’s position.
According to study carried out by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and New
Technologies in 2013, roughly 240,000 street vendors in Morocco’s towns and cities were the ones bringing home wages, supporting over 1.3 million people.
