Morocco's GenZ protesters share what drives them

Organised online by the so-called GenZ 212 collective, the protesters have taken to the streets almost every night since last month -- unrest that has rocked the usually stable north African country.

Demanding education and healthcare rights and a government overhaul, the group has planned a larger rally for Thursday, on the eve of a highly anticipated annual speech by King Mohammed VI.

The group insists on anonymity and says it is leaderless. On the Discord web platform, members discuss each decision before putting it to a vote.

Several of them, refusing to give their full names for fear of repercussions, spoke to AFP about what led them to demonstrate.

- 'Already dead' -

Aymane, 21, recalled how his family took his sick aunt from one public hospital to another, only to be told she "had nothing".

One hospital finally agreed to carry out a scan, but her appointment was set so far in the future that when it was time, "she was already dead", he said.

His partially paralysed father was also shuttled between different hospitals without proper care "until we had to take him to a private clinic", where service can be swift but expensive.

"It cost us 80,000 dirhams (some $7,700) and we went into debt," said Aymane, whose country's minimum wage barely reaches the equivalent of $320.

This, and his aunt's death, already proved "revolting". Then the deaths of eight pregnant women admitted for Caesarean deliveries at a public hospital in Agadir pushed Aymane, and many others, to take to the streets.

- 'No pharmacy' -

In the village where Fatima, 23, lives near Taroudant in the south, she said there was "no hospital, no pharmacy".

Yet access to education and healthcare in Morocco "is a right, and not a privilege", she said.

"We have nothing to do with stadiums," she added, echoing a major frustration over public spending as Morocco pushes ahead with major infrastructure projects in preparation for the 2030 World Cup, which it will co-host with Portugal and Spain.

Fatima also spoke about residents of the Al Haouz province, which was heavily hit by a deadly earthquake in 2023.

Some have received "almost nothing" in aid to rebuild their homes. "Yet stadiums are built and finished quickly."

- 'Failure' -

Mohammed, a 30-year-old cook sporting dark sunglasses because of an eye issue, said he was "neglected" by public hospitals for two years, causing his condition to worsen.

For him, too, one last option was to go to a private clinic.

"My mother had to sell her jewellery, but that was not even enough to cover the fees," he said.

Mohammed -- who has taken part in protests in Casablanca to demand "health, education and social justice" -- said all Moroccans can see "the government's failure after four years in power".

- 'I'm poor' -

Abderrahmane, 28, recalled every start of the school year as a financial burden for his family. "We were four brothers, and our father did not have the means to afford it."

"I dropped out because I'm poor," he said.

Since 2018, Abderrahmane has taken on a string of small jobs, often as a waiter and without a contract. Even when employed, he was vulnerable.

"Some bosses took advantage of my situation," he said, denouncing a "system that exploits people".

- 'Majority decides' -

While the protests also came to demand a sweeping change in government, 27-year-old Younes believes that reforms would amount to nothing "without accountability".

"Officials must be tried and forced to return stolen money," he said. "That's the only way to end impunity."

A law graduate, Younes explained how the collective operates: "We discuss, we vote, then the majority decides."

He said moderators on the chat platform make sure to remove racist comments, insults and bot accounts.

But he insisted the group does not have formal leadership: this "prevents us from being co-opted by the state or political parties".

It also meant that "authorities can't identify figureheads, negotiate with them, intimidate or prosecute them".

Many have been waiting for the king to address their demands in his speech on Friday, but Younes wondered: "Will he acknowledge our demands, or will he act as if nothing happened?"