Eviction and Displacement from the Neighborhood of Douar Wasti in Casablanca, Morocco

Guest essay by Stefano Portelli and Loretta Lees, University of Leicester

On Friday, September 21, 2018, a huge police operation evicted the entire neighbourhood of Douar Wasti, in the middle of the former industrial area of Ain Sbaa, on the northern shoreline of Casablanca in Morocco. Residents of the circa 1,500 houses of the douar were forced to collect their belongings at very short notice and to leave, as the bulldozers began the demolitions. Two days later, only the ruins remained of a neighbourhood of 5,000 people, until then a thriving area. Most residents had to find accommodation in the houses of parents and friends, while several camped on the area to manifest their anger, surrounded by mountains of garbage and ruins, their personal belongings scattered around the demolition site. The demolition and expulsions were for the most part uncovered by the Moroccan press and TV.