On 16 May 2003, just ten years ago, 12 suicide bombers from Sidi Moumen carried out a series of bomb attacks in Casablanca, killing 33 people. The targets were a large hotel, an Italian restaurant, a Jewish community centre and its cemetery, as well as the Belgian consulate.

The lack of prospects for young people, then pointed out, is still relevant in this shanty town of 400,000 inhabitants located in the heart of the metropolis.

“The changes we want are job-creating projects for the young people here, so that they don't take the wrong path,” continues Hamid, 42, father of twins, who shares a small makeshift dwelling with eight members of his family.

The Rhamna zone, inside the shanty town, is a collection of dilapidated corrugated iron shacks, criss-crossed by narrow alleys devoid of infrastructure. Further on, a small herd of sheep and cows rummages through a pile of rubbish.

“In every neighbourhood you have good and bad. This area has been totally excluded from the map, and the people, left to their own devices, have been easily trapped by extremists.”

Boubker Mazoz, President of a cultural centre in Sidi Moumen.

According to him, “the integration of young people into society is a necessity, and we must act in this direction”.

In 2007, another attack in an internet café in Sidi Moumen was also carried out by a young suicide bomber from the shanty town. Other attacks have taken place since, but the 2003 attacks particularly left their mark on people in Morocco, because they shattered the image of the Kingdom as a stable country, spared from Islamist terrorism.

“Between 2003 and 2009, many associations were created to promote development in Sidi Moumen, but the results remained limited,” regrets Hassan, 36, an unemployed activist.

“At the beginning, we had the impression that things were going in the right direction (...). In 2011, (King) Mohammed VI declared 'I no longer want to see people living in shanty towns'. We are in 2013 and the shanty towns are still expanding. The housing promises were just words...”.

Hassan, unemployed activist.

Moreover, ten years after the attacks, the stigmatisation of Sidi Moumen as a “nest of terrorists” and prejudices die hard. According to the Moroccan authorities, who say they have “dismantled” 123 terrorist cells since 2003, the terrorist threat remains present.

Commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 16 May 2003 attacks

On the occasion of the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 16 May 2003 attacks, a screening of the film “The Horses of God” (Les chevaux de Dieu) by Nabil Ayouch took place on Wednesday in Sidi Moumen. The screening, which was to be followed by a debate, was also intended to allow the meeting, for the first time, between the families of the victims and those of the suicide bombers.

This Thursday, an auction of paintings, graciously offered by Moroccan painters, will take place at the Hyatt Hotel at 6:00 pm. The proceeds are intended to launch the construction of a cultural centre in Sidi Moumen.