The campaign is in line with voluntary initiatives to support and assist the communities struggling to survive the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Rabat – The International Cultural Center for Coexistence in Madrid launched a food distribution campaign to assist Moroccans living in the region.
The initiative is part of a voluntary campaign to assist people who are suffering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The center recruited 50 volunteers to provide support and assistance to the families of the Moroccan community residing in Madrid since Spain declared a state of emergency and imposed quarantine restrictions.
The center, based in Madrid suburb Las Rosas, explained that the humanitarian campaign seeks to help people who were affected by the country’s quarantine due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The campaign also assists immigrants and some Moroccan citizens who were stranded since the beginning of the state of emergency.
The government estimated the number of stranded Moroccans abroad at more than 22,000. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, vowed that the country is undergoing preparations for repatriating all Moroccans stranded abroad.
Meanwhile, the international center will continue throughout the blessed month of Ramadan to assist as many families as possible.
The center, according to Maghreb Arab press (MAP), said that it received large quantities of aid and foodstuffs from several institutions.
Approximately 884 benefited from the campaign, the center said.
Moroccans remain the largest foreign-born community in Spain. The number of Moroccans residing in Spain with legal status amounted to 864,500 in 2019, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported on April 21.
With the recent statistics, Moroccans maintain their position as the largest foreign community legally established in Spain. The statistics register an increase of 6.3% from the previous year (50,959 more people).
In addition to the center, the Moroccan embassy in Spain and the consulate have been expressing support and solidarity with stranded Moroccans and nationals living in the European country.
Like other embassies of Morocco across the globe, the embassy set up a crisis unit to receive calls and concerns from Moroccans affected by COVID-19 impacts.
The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been calling on all embassies to take care and support stranded Moroccan tourists and members of the diaspora. The ministry is also covering funeral costs for low-income families who lost their relatives due to COVID-19.
