Rabat – As Operation Marhaba commences, 523 Moroccan seasonal workers on Wednesday, June 16 returned home after working in Spain.
The seasonal workers are returning to Morocco after working in Spanish farms, greenhouses, and orchards. Morocco’s government chartered a special ferry service traveling from Algeciras in Spain, to the Moroccan port of Tangier-Med, reports Moroccan state media.
According to the same source, Moroccan authorities have mobilized both port and security authorities, in addition to health workers to facilitate a safe and comfortable return for the workers. The operation was conducted in full compliance with Morocco’s current COVID-19 safety measures.
The workers had to undergo a PCR test during the journey to Tangier-Med, in addition to social distancing and other safety precautions in place. Ferry authorities split up the workers into groups according to their home town or city, ensuring that they receive the appropriate administrative and social support.
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Speaking to Morocco’s state press agency, the workers praised Morocco’s efforts in facilitating their return, including the fact that the government has ensured their transport home while taking into account the additional necessary steps.
Most workers were coming from the Spanish city of Huelva, where every year thousands of Moroccan seasonal workers, mostly women, go to work in Spain’s agricultural sector.
Moroccans make up Spain’s largest diaspora group of workers, according to the Spanish Ministry of Integration, Social Security, and Migration. Approximately 262,058 Moroccans were registered with the Iberian authorities by the end of 2020.
Moroccan seasonal workers travel to Spain on a yearly basis to work in the country’s industrial, agricultural, and service sectors. This has been facilitated by the 2001 agreement between Morocco and Spain, that grants seasonal workers temporary visas to harvest fruit in Spain.
In 2019, over 20,000 Moroccan women traveled to Spain to work as seasonal workers in strawberry and other red fruit fields.
