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Rabat – A nurse and a student at ISPITS were violently assaulted by agents of authority this Wednesday, August 11.
The assault took place in Casablanca, at the vaccination center “Idmaj” in the Anassi district in the prefecture of Bernoussi, and was filmed by witnesses and shared on social media platforms.
According to media outlets reporting on the matter, the student, who is a volunteer ambulance trainee, was approached by an authority agent before entering the facility and asked to verify the names of patients and their ID numbers.
The task is allocated to state personnel dispatched by the Ministry of the Interior in vaccination centers across the country.
The student trainee refused to help the authority officer, arguing that the task does not fall within his competence. This refusal was not to the liking of the agent in question, who then called on the Caid.
Authority agents are alleged to have physically assaulted the trainee. In response, a nurse intervened in his defense, only to be slapped and insulted in return.
The agents then destroyed the center and locked the nurse in an office.
A video widely shared online shows the aftermath in the vaccination center, and the collapsed assaulted nurse.
The Movement of Nurses and Health Technicians in Morocco (MITSM) held a sit-in solidarity this Thursday, August 12, in Rabat to denounce the appalling behavior towards health professionals at the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The nursing staff “is in a state of shock and anger against this aggression,” said Fatima-Zahra Belline, member and communications advisor at MITSM in a statement to the press.
She added that “it is a first and a flagrant offense to human rights, and constitutional rights that protect citizens and guarantees their physical safety.”
What happened in the vaccination center in Casablanca, only aggravates the suffering of the nursing staff that still struggles amid a raging third wave of COVID19 infections in the country.
With the daily death numbers reaching the one hundred mark this week, the national health system is experiencing severe strain.
The spokesperson highlighted the staff’s commitment, despite the alarming conditions, saying “we are still here, carrying out our mission and duty. But we refuse injustice and any assault of our dignity.”
The MITSM expressed its support for the victims of this attack and stressed its determination to bring justice to the victims through all forms of protest, both local and national.
The MITSM is holding the Ministry of Health responsible for this “moral outrage,” due to its negligence in protecting its officials and executives working tirelessly to make the national vaccination campaign a success.
In addition to the sit-in organized this Thursday in Rabat, the MITSM announces a national 24 hours strike on Friday, August 13, in all hospital departments, with an exception for the emergency and resuscitation departments.
The National Federation of Health (FNS), affiliated to the General Union of Workers of Morocco (UGTM), also called for a national strike on Friday to protest against the assault.
In a statement, the Federation criticized the health ministry for its inability to protect health executives, bringing to mind their sacrifices during the crisis.
The FNS demanded an investigation be launched to prosecute local authorities.
