Spain Trains Staff for Moroccan Diaspora
June 13, 2024 – 06:00 –
In preparation for the start of Operation Marhaba on June 13, the Spanish Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies, in collaboration with the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA), organized a training for the staff involved in the summer operation on June 11 and 12.
During the opening ceremony of this training program, Blanca Flores recalled that “last year, 2,346,671 Moroccans from the diaspora traveled through the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa.” She emphasized that these numbers “demonstrate the importance of Operation Marhaba for the province of Cádiz and raise concerns among the staff responsible for its organization.”
To ensure the safety of passengers and smooth traffic flow during this mass migration to Morocco, “interinstitutional cooperation is essential.” “Collaboration and coordination of systems contribute to a more peaceful flow of waiting time and transit, allowing us to respond to any unforeseen events,” said the government delegate in Cádiz and member of the board of directors of the APBA.
“I hope that the operation, with the participation and efforts of everyone, will be a success this year, just like last year, in terms of organization and results. […] There are no two identical Operation Marhaba, so knowledge and experiences need to be updated, and we must face each edition together,” added Blanca Flores. This year, large flows are expected between June 14 and 16, due to the celebration of Eid ul-Adha on June 17 in Morocco.
Other peak moments are expected in the last weekend of July and the first weekend of August and the end of August, according to Blanca Flores. She expressed her gratitude to “the institutions, operators, and professionals supporting this important event. The good preparation of the organizations and the individuals involved benefits everyone, and our goal is to avoid incidents during the course of Operation Transit.”