IMIDER, MOROCCO - Imider is a very small community, but a world record has set it on the map. Here, in the South Moroccan Atlas Mountains, under a colorful Berber flag, the longest sit-in in the world is ongoing.
Inspired and strengthened by the Arab Spring, young people from Imider started protests in 2011. They not only protested against the disastrous ecological impact of the mine but also fought for employment at the mining company, which kept the door shut for local workers. The tap of one of Managem's largest wells was shut down, a camp was set up and occupation began. Under the name Movement Route 96, taken from the protest campaign of 1996, young people, under the Berber flag, started a social movement that defends the right to water, land and decent life.
Text: Tine Danckaers
Photo's: Filip Claus
MAGAZINE
De berg tegen de koning, MO*, zomernummer 2019. (in Dutch)
