Moroccans Protest Fishmonger’s Death

Moroccan youth protest in the Arab Spring, 2011. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Thousands of Moroccans in Rabat protested the death of fishmonger Mouhcine Fikri on November 6, several days after the vendor’s death in a garbage truck sparked national outrage and demands for social justice. An estimated 2,000 protesters packed the streets, holding pictures of Fikri and chanting in the country’s largest rallies since the Arab Spring. Just as in 2011, a singular tragedy has illuminated broader grievances in Moroccan society.

Moroccan authorities in the northern city of Al-Hoceima, located in the Rif, had confiscated Fikri’s swordfish stock under a ban on the fishing and sale of this particular species. When a garbage truck arrived to destroy the 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of swordfish, Fikri dove into the truck in an attempt to salvage his wares and was crushed to death in the compactor.

Days after the incident, Moroccan authorities arrested 11 suspects, including garbage collectors and interior ministry, fishery, and veterinary officials, on charges of involuntary manslaughter. An investigation concluded that a garbage worker had directed the truck driver to activate the crusher, while activists insisted that a police officer on the scene was responsible.

Meanwhile, a photo of Fikri’s body in the crusher went viral on social media, sparking a Twitter hashtag translated as #CrushHim. Beginning on October 29, the day after his death, protests broke out in Al-Hoceima, and activists waved yellow, green, and blue-striped Berber flags in the ethnically Berber region. The rallies soon spread to Rabat, Marrakech, and Casablanca.

The movement soon drew comparisons to the 2010 self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, an act which ultimately brought down the Tunisian president and ignited the Arab Spring. As in Tunisia, the death of one man struggling to make a living highlighted larger socioeconomic issues. One protester bemoaned that “the Rif is completely abandoned by the authorities. It’s very hard to live here, to find a job… I am for a revolution.” Morocco struggles with an estimated 9.7 percent unemployment rate and poverty. Additionally, 68.5 percent of the country is illiterate, including 78.6 percent of men and 58.8 percent of women.