Silence on the Shore
Amidst a crackdown on the media, two Belgian filmmakers go undercover to expose injustice in the Rif region
In 2016, a Moroccan Rif fishmonger was crushed to death after a run-in with police. The incident sparked the Hirak Rif protests, which were violently suppressed - years later, the security in the region remains tight and the protests continue.
'[The police] threw his fish in a garbage truck. He went after the fish. Then [the police] activated the garbage truck press,’ explains Mohammed, a protestor, on the origins of the Hirak Rif movement. Demonstrators called for the community’s basic needs to be met - they wanted hospitals, universities, and employment opportunities. The authorities responded with mass arrests and heavy sentences. Years later, security is still tight in the Rif region, and informers are everywhere. ‘There is no free speech. The government appoints certain people to keep an eye on everything,' says one resident. Many Moroccans are now desperate to leave. ‘All they think about is going to Europe … These young people have come to the point where they no longer have faith in this country,’ says Hassan, a teacher.
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