An American diplomat's view of Sebta and Melilia

Dan Simpson, is a retired diplomat and a member of the editorial boards of The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has just published an op-ed piece in the Toledoblade about Morocco. His article is an interesting perspective and worth a read. Of particular interest to THE VIEW FROM FÈS, in light of recent posts and comments by Foulla and Hujaina is his view on Sebta and Melilia.

... another odd phenomenon of Morocco, odd in the context of the 21st century.

There are still Spanish colonial enclaves on the Mediterranean coast, including port cities, one named Ceuta and another, Melilla. They are relics of the period when Morocco had been sawed into colonial territories and spheres of foreign influence by France, Spain, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, the United States.

The Spanish enclaves are small. If the Moroccans were to decide one fine day to walk into them as they did into the Spanish Sahara in 1975, the Spanish would be too embarrassed to fight, and, if they did fire on the Moroccans for their anti-colonial, liberating action, would be roundly condemned by virtually the whole world.

But the Moroccans don't act. They seem in some ways comfortable with the presence of the Spaniards at these gateways to their country. Spain greases the wheels with substantial aid to Morocco, supplementing the country's earnings from agriculture, tourism, remittances from workers abroad, and mining. In the days of the Barbary coast, the Moroccans would have called it tribute.

Tags: Morocco, Fès, travel, Fez,