Between discouragement and hope in the Moroccan Oriental region

On the periphery of the Sahara desert, bordered by the rocky coast of the North of the Maghreb where it meets the blue of the Mediterranean, lies the Oriental region of Morocco. Nestled in a region that is often green, essentially mountainous, Oujda is the largest city in the North of the Kingdom and the administrative capital of the region, with a population of approximately 550,000 inhabitants. Oujda has known prosperity under various rulers throughout the centuries thanks to its strategic location at the crossroads of a complex network of trans-Saharan caravan routes, near the border with Algeria, and at the junction of the Algerian and Moroccan railway networks. This has given the city a cosmopolitan, progressive and adaptable character. It remains a lively metropolis despite the difficulties, the Rif being in fact the most economically disadvantaged region of Morocco and the closur…