Moroccan women in Spain's fields : ANAPEC’s acting director reiterates the Ministry’s stand

After the release of an investigative paper revealing the abuse Moroccan women working in agricultural fields in Southern Spain are subjected to, the ministry of Employment and Vocational Training reacts. After breaking down a communiqué issued earlier this month by the ministry and which turned out to be based on a misunderstanding, Yabiladi tried to reach the National Agency for Employment and Skills Promotion's (ANAPEC) acting director.

On Wednesday, 16th of May, Noureddine Benkhalil spoke to Yabiladi, giving the ministry’s version of the story.

A communiqué, reacting to Chouf TV

«The communiqué was answering the videos and information relayed by Chouf TV, which quoted the German platform», ANAPEC’s acting director told Yabiladi, retreating the content of the statement released on May the 9th.

«I would like to remind you that the latest operation (organized to send Moroccan women to work in farms located in Southern Spain) dates back to 2008. It means that if the woman who claims being sexually assaulted is 25 years old, she would have been underage in 2008-2009 and that makes it impossible for her to be part of the program set by the Spanish and Moroccan authorities», he argued.

Noureddine Benkhalil also stated that it «is too bad the German outlet and the journalists who conducted the investigation did not contact them».

When confronted with the revelations Yabiladi managed to get, the official stated that «the authorities have reacted to the circulating allegations anyway».

«Today, we have made it clear that every time we have a complaint from an identified person, we immediately transfer it to the Spanish embassy, which urges the Spanish authorities to launch an investigation», he argued. «We cannot be held accountable for something that has not been identified or communicated», he added.

Doing harm to the program

Noureddine Benkhalil explained the ministry’s reaction, stating that the program creates an opportunity for so many women, helping their families and loved ones. «Around 15,000 families benefit from the program and there should be no disruption», he added.

The Acting Director told Yabiladi that «scoops and articles like that do not help Moroccans make a living». «There are families who live of that. We have conducted surveys and it turns out that people have been able to raise their children, rearrange their homes, buy equipments and carry out income-generating activities thanks to these opportunities. That's what interests us», he recalls.

Before hanging up, Noureddine Benkhalil stressed that ANAPEC received «nothing from the Moroccan women sent to Spain». «You can contact the German newspaper that published the investigation and ask them to send us a copy of this complaint so that it can be sent to our consul general in Seville», he concludes.

For the record, the ministry said in its communiqué that it is sending a delegation to Spain to determine the circumstances in which Moroccan farm workers live and to check the facts relayed by the investigation published April the 30th on Buzzfeed news and Correctiv.