report
The Moroccan metropolis of Casablanca is dressing up for the 2030 World Cup and also wants to fix its traffic problem. Donkey carts no longer fit into the concept. Poorer traders in particular are now worried about their existence.
Ayoub makes no secret of his desperation: the fact that the city of Casablanca has recently banned donkey carts from the streets has destroyed his livelihood, the young man says. Until recently he was able to support his family in the country – now he doesn’t even have enough for himself. “I don’t even contact my mother anymore because I can’t offer her anything,” he says. “I sometimes don’t eat for a whole day because I don’t have enough money anymore. Then I sleep one day and eat the next.”
Ayoub has to make ends meet as a day laborer at the wholesale market.
Ayoub is sitting in a café with a down jacket that is torn at the sleeves and dusty when he tells this story. He also wears a long robe to protect him from the cold. Being invited to tea is too unpleasant for him – he refuses. In order to make a living, Ayoub borrowed a donkey cart every day to transport goods or people around the city. That’s all over since the ban.
“They took everything from me”
“One day they took away my cart of vegetables. That was all I had. They took everything from me.” Now, says Ayoub, he has to make ends meet as a day laborer at the wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Casablanca.
Pretty much everything in this market is gigantic, not just the hustle and bustle. Crates of onions, eggplants and peppers are stacked meters high into the sky, and entire truckloads of orange-brown pumpkins are laid out. Families rarely shop here for their dinner – here the wholesalers stock up on kilos, hundredweights and tons of goods.
The largely penniless Ayoub helps here and there with carrying, hauling, loading and unloading. The Moroccan complains that it’s not enough to pay his rent. That’s why he wants to spend the night somewhere in the market in the future.
Wholesalers buy their goods at the wholesale market in Casablanca.
Congested streets, many accidents – and a change in image
While Ayoub hardly sees a future for himself, from the city’s perspective the donkey carts are a thing of the past – they clog the streets. “There is a problem with traffic. There is a problem with accidents,” explains Moulay Ahmed Afilal, vice president of the city council. “We have received complaints. Recently an old man fell off a cart that was not insured.”
The donkey cart face is also not the one that the economic metropolis of millions wants to show the world – especially not when the world comes to Casablanca soon: Morocco is hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but above all parts of the 2030 World Cup : “Casablanca will be ready for the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup. And that is very important for us.”
Wooden carts pulled by animals simply do not fit into the smart city concept that Casablanca is pursuing. Environmentally friendly electric buses have been running here for a long time; the red tram cars seem to glide on the rails rather than roll.
But men like Ayoub see it from a different perspective: what use is the Smart City if they don’t know how they’re going to get through the next day, is their question. The authorities did not offer them any compensation or help after the donkey ban, Ayoub complains – and concludes with the words: “Life means suffering for us – and at some point we die suffering.”