My loyalty Veers Solely Towards My Flag!

By Abdelaziz Jrida

After watching the world cup finals in which Spain snatched a victory over Netherlands and in which Algeria was the only Arab nation representing North Africa and the whole Arab world, I realized the goodness and the kindness of the Moroccan people. I realized the love that the Moroccan people bestow upon their close yet distant neighbors; even if the love is not apparently mutual!! After the game was over, in which Spain beat the Netherlands 1 to 0, the majority of the Moroccan population was so elated to the point that some Moroccans carried the Spanish flag high in the air, the same flag that is currently flying proudly and defiantly in the sky above Ceuta and Melilla, the two Moroccan cities controlled by the Spaniards for more than 500 years. Moroccans even carried the Algerian flag to show support to Algeria—the sole Arab Muslim country competing in this world event—even if the same flag is shielding the atrocities committed by the Polisario rebels against the Moroccan Sahrawis and against the Moroccan Kingdom. Isn’t it time for Moroccans to hold only the Moroccan flag high in the sky and claim back what their brave forefathers fought for throughout history? The green land is my land, the golden sand is my sand, the two blue seas are my seas, the red star-sealed flag is my flag and my flag and only my flag should fly proudly and freely above my green land, my golden sand, my two blue seas and above my two beloved cities—Ceuta and Melilla!

I can’t help but ask myself why all this devotion that some Moroccans are bestowing upon their sulky and aloof Northern neighbor, Spain! Isn’t Spain the apparent twenty first century occupier of our two dear Moroccan cities? Isn’t Spain the same country that is looking down upon Morocco with eyes of suspicions and dread? Spain is working diligently around the clock to shut Moroccans out of their occupied territories—Ceuta and Melilla. Moreover, the Spaniards are supporting Algeria and the Polisario hoping to win their historically unjust case against the Moroccan kingdom. To add to the complexity of the issue, Algeria, the so called “Muslim neighbor” is supporting the Polisario financially, logistically and politically in the desperate hope of building a strong case against Morocco’s claim for its Western Sahara territory. The Algerian government is using all its political power and consuming billions of dollars to segregate the Western Sahara from the sovereignty of Morocco. It is also helping them militarily to wage war against Morocco hoping to weaken the Kingdom economically and militarily. In a Nut shell, the Spanish and Algerian governments are holding Morocco and the entire Maghreb’s development back. These two countries that my fellow Moroccans are cheering for are creating economic and social problems for the Moroccan people; the same people who opt to wave the Spanish and the Algerian flag as an expression of support! Well, are they supporting our cause?

It seems that many Moroccans are detached from their past and it seems that the majority lost access to their historical records. The majority seems to forget that the same Spanish flag that which they are waving in the sky is the same flag that is forbidding them from claiming their territorial rights and hampering their economical development. The same country they are cheering for in the world cup victory is the same country that is beating up their brothers and sisters in the Melilla borders. The Spaniards are beating up Moroccan citizens for the sole reason that they are carrying the Moroccan flag through Ceuta and Melilla and in return, we are carrying their flag in our own country high above our own sky. Isn’t this an alarming paradox? Spain is well aware of the powerful emblem that a flag represents! Are we aware of that too? Go ahead my fellow Moroccans, cheer for them and raise their flags; but know that they are not cheering for you in return!

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