User:Mlotfi134/2018–2020 Arab protests

Timeline by country[ edit]
Morocco [edit]

The Moroccan protests from 2018-2020 were not isolated and stemmed from problems that have existed since the Arab Spring came to Morocco. The riots and civil unrest today are specifically resulting from the Hirak Rif Movement in 2016 and 2017 followed by a lack of reform on behalf of Mohammed VI of Morocco. The aftermath of the Hirak Rif protests in 2016 and 2017 has led to the imprisonment, detainment and trial of what is thought to be more than 400 protesters, journalists and political activists. After a lengthy trial period, which took until April 2019, to uphold the prison sentences of dozens of activists for up to 20 years. Several activists were sentenced to 20 years in prison including the leader of the protests Nasser Zefzafi. The upholding of these sentences sparked outrage among the relatives of the accused and brought thousands to the streets in protest of corruption and government indifference for the current standard of living. In May of 2019 after renewed protests and demonstrations over the sentencing of Hirak Rif protesters the King pardoned an unknown number of protesters as a part of a royal pardon. It was the Kings way of marking 20 years on the throne but many see this as an excuse to suppress demonstrations and cool tensions with the protesters but give the impression that he is not making any concessions.

The internet has allowed Moroccan citizens to express their discontent with the government and recently soccer stadiums have become a major outlet for the expression of discontent. One such chant: ' Fbladi Delmouni' has gone viral since erupting from numerous stadium protests and has gained worldwide attention. The mostly young football crowds gather in the tens of thousands in Moroccan soccer club stadiums. Football stadiums offer protesters a sort of free haven to voice their cries for the injustices they face. Fbladi Delmouni literally translates to: "In my country they oppress me." There are a number of different chants with lyrics that sometimes change significantly from one parody to the other, however the reoccurring them of criticizing the government and the poor standard of living is present.

These issues at its core, while they were exacerbated by the Death of Mouhcine Fikri, are due to the lack of a suitable standard of living for the Moroccan people. Massive projects have been taken underway to improve the infrastructure and development of the country but the young and poor people feel that their needs are still being ignored. One such project is to be Africa's first high speed train running from Casablanca to Tangier. The extensive renovations in the Rabat airport is another such project. The problem with these recent developments is that the majority of Moroccans that live in poverty do not benefit from them. Many of the nations poor live in rural areas in the countryside and do not benefit from flying in new airports or using high speed trains. Many still suffer from the poor quality of transportation within major cities like the bus system in Casablanca. and connecting smaller cities and towns within Morocco. Moroccans lack basic access to food and water and 22% of the country is unemployed. These ambitious recent projects have only exacerbated the economic disparity between social classes in Morocco and generate more social unrest among the poor. One recent protest started in late 2017 and continued strong into 2018 over the lack of food and water. In Sidi Boulalam, a small village outside Essaouira, a stampede occurred when supplies arrived to the marketplace which resulted in the trampling and death of at least 15 people. It is even worse in the interior of Morocco in places like Zagora, a small village in the southeastern desert of Morocco, where for the past 15 years people have been surviving off drinking imported bottled water.

Jordan[ edit]
Main article: 2018 Jordanian protests

The 2018 Jordanian protests started as a general strike organized by more than 30 trade unions on 30 May 2018 after the government of Hani Mulki submitted a new tax law to Parliament. The bill followed IMF-backed austerity measures adopted by Mulki's government since 2016 that aimed to tackle Jordan's growing public debt. Although Jordan had been relatively unscathed from the violence that swept the region following the 2011 Arab Spring, its economy had taken a hit from the surrounding turmoil and from an influx of a large number of Syrian refugees into the country. Jordan also hosts a large contingent of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees, further straining its finances. The UNHCR places Jordan as the world's second largest host of refugees per capita.