Gibraltar marks 40 years of discrimination against its Moroccan
community
16 June 2010
In a small corner of what was the British Empire, 1,200
Moroccans continue to experience 40 years of multi-layered
discrimination at the hands of the Gibraltarian authorities.
The Moroccans, who were invited to Gibraltar to boost the
workforce when Spanish dictator Franco closed the border in 1969,
continue to be denied such basic human rights as the right to vote
and access to affordable public housing.
This is because very few Moroccans have been successful in
gaining citizenship rights because of the adoption of an unclear
and arbitrary immigration policy by the Gibraltarian government,
according to Unite, the largest union in the self-governing
territory.
Unite, which is revitalising its campaign for equality of
treatment for the Moroccan and other non-dom workers in Gibraltar,
has pinpointed five areas of discrimination.
- Naturalisation – Moroccan workers, many of whom have been
resident for several decades, have struggled to obtain
naturalisation.
- Family rights – the families of the Moroccan workers are not
allowed to live with their loved ones – families are only permitted
to visit during the summer.
- Civil rights – despite paying taxes they are denied the right
to vote.
- Housing – they have no access to affordable public housing and
thus are reduced to staying in hostels or sub-standard private
accommodation.
- Public sector and welfare benefits – the family members of
workers are denied many public health services when visiting their
working husbands and wives. There are also problems regarding
access to education for the children of migrant workers, and
limited rights to employment benefits.
The hardline stance of the Gibraltar government contrasts with the
position if a Moroccan was living in the UK – if they had been
working continuously in the UK for five years or were resident
lawfully for 10 years, they could expect an ‘Indefinite Leave to
Remain’ (ILR) to be granted.
Kevin Coyne, Unite’s national officer leading the campaign,
said: ”It is clear that the Gibraltar government exercises its
residency and immigration laws in a whimsical and arbitrary manner
– the result is a cocktail of inhumanity that shames the standards
that the UK purports to stand for.
”Unite will be revitalising its campaign to achieve the justice
and basic human rights that they have been denied these last 40
years.”
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
For further information, please ring: Kevin Coyne 07798 531
006; Liane Groves07793 661 657; Shaun Noble, communications
officer 020 7420 8951 or 07768 693 940
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