The file of Moroccan children who are in hotbeds of tension, specifically in Syria and Iraq, is a source of concern for their families here in Morocco, and is of interest to the Moroccan authorities who are seeking to find a solution to return them, taking into consideration the humanitarian aspect of the case and at the same time the file requires security caution.
Hespress sources talked about the presence of orphaned children in these areas, which may represent an obstacle to their return in the event that Morocco and the countries concerned reach an understanding in this regard, in the absence of parents and documents proving their Moroccan nationality.
In this context, Muhammad al-Tayyar, a military and security expert, said that the return of orphaned children to Morocco “does not constitute a major problem in depth, but there are a set of necessary procedures related to verifying their identity and some matters that fall within the framework of judicial understandings between the two countries, which will be done.” work to solve it.”
And in the absence of documents and parents who can provide them, the same security expert indicated, in a statement to Hespress, that “the families of those children in Morocco will have to assist the authorities in verifying identity.”
He added, “Morocco will not abandon its children, but there are difficulties related to Syria due to the absence of an official interlocutor that can be negotiated with, given the current situation in Damascus, in addition to what is known about the Moroccan-Syrian diplomatic relations.”
The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also working on resolving this file, Al-Tayyar reports, and it is interested in following up the situation of Moroccan women and children who are in war-torn areas, whether with regard to Syria or Iraq, and the same is related to the Ministry of Justice, which also attaches importance to this file.
In this regard, the spokesman reminded Hespress of the visit that Abdul Latif Wehbe made to Iraq during the month of March, where he “was briefed on the situation of Moroccans in all Iraqi prisons, and agreed with his Iraqi counterpart on many issues of a judicial nature, with the signing of bilateral understandings regarding the handover of prisoners.” Also, the reopening of the Moroccan embassy in Iraq after years of its closure will facilitate the process of identifying the private data of these children.
And after Morocco is able to return these children, Al-Tayyar says: “They should be accompanied medically, psychologically, legally and socially, and provide services to take care of them.” There are plans to deal with these cases, and a number of children have already been brought back from these hotspots, and they have been smoothly integrated into society.”
