How bus ban reflects Morocco's broader migration policy
The well-known Moroccan bus company CTM denies accusations that it prevents "Africans" from boarding some of its buses.
Earlier this month, images circulated online of a poster in a Moroccan bus station. Apparently hung by the major transport company CTM, it announced it would be "strictly forbidden to sell CTM tickets to Africans" traveling to cities near Europe if they couldn't produce a valid Moroccan residency permit.
It was clear “African” referred to black sub-Saharans and not Moroccans.
The images caused an uproar. A flurry of critics denounced the measure as a discriminatory and unethical attempt to limit the movement of black migrants. They also bemoaned the fact that it would turn private bus employees into migration police.
Though the poster’s words came as a shock to most, the policy behind them has been in practice for several years, migrants say. And rather than the intended effect of curbing migration, such policies have only cultivated illegal trafficking networks.
