More than 4.13 million Moroccans living abroad travelled through the Marhaba operation this summer, up 1.8% from last year, according to the final tally released by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity.
The operation, which ran from June 10 to September 15 under the effective chairmanship of King Mohammed VI, handled 4,137,594 travelers over the three-month period.
The busiest days brought nearly 80,000 arrivals and more than 87,000 departures, with the Foundation saying the flows were handled without significant congestion.
Firm tickets and holding areas were introduced during the heavier departure period, while special arrangements were made for coach passengers travelling through Tanger Med and Algeciras.
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The Foundation says 66,993 travelers received direct assistance during the operation. That included 14,089 cases involving administrative, customs or legal procedures; 787 requests for transport assistance; and 8,495 people who received medical care, emergency first aid or hospital treatment.
In July, Foundation teams were called in after a coach carrying 45 Moroccans living abroad from Italy crashed on the Tangier-Kenitra motorway.
Twenty-five passengers required assistance. Five seriously injured people were taken to El Idrissi provincial hospital and followed for 10 days, while transport was arranged for the other passengers to continue their journey.
Another large operation came in August, when nearly 1,000 passengers found themselves stranded at the port of Algeciras. The Foundation arranged coach transport so they could continue their journeys.
That month, teams also helped with the boarding of 25 vehicles bound for Genoa after a problem with the ship’s vehicle-deck management left them stuck at the quay.
The most serious incident came in September, after two people died when their vehicle fell into the water at Algeciras port. Foundation teams assisted relatives sent to Spain with administrative procedures and arrangements for the transfer of the bodies.
“In several emergency situations, the Foundation’s teams intervened quickly to reassure families, guide them and facilitate the necessary procedures so that they could continue their journey,” said Omar Moussa Abdellah, a project manager at the Foundation.
The operation deployed 1,134 social workers and 236 doctors, paramedical staff and temporary personnel, coordinated through a central office.
They worked across 26 reception points in Morocco and abroad, including the ports of Tangier Ville, Tanger Med, Nador and Al Hoceima, the Bab Sebta and Bab Melilia crossings and airports across the country. Six overseas reception points operated at Genoa, Sète, Marseille, Motril, Almería and Algeciras.
