Morocco-Algeria – When will the land border between our two countries, neighbours, brothers and cousins, reopen, closed since… 1994? A wish and a hope, -which will long remain pious for a long time to come, – called for by the majority of Moroccans and Algerians! Let our respective leaders take it to heart!
On the occasion of the Fennecs’ victory against the valiant Lions of Terenga in Cairo on June 19, the popular jubilation was as palpable in Algeria as it was in Morocco. In Algiers, Tlemcen, Oran, Tizi Ouzou, all over our eastern neighbours. As in Casablanca, Rabat, Oujda, Tangier, Marrakech and all over the Kingdom.
And King Mohammed VI, in his message to the Algerian people, “on this historic occasion”, warmly welcomed this victory of the Algerian team. “I am pleased to share in My own name and on behalf of the entire Moroccan people, feelings of pride with the brotherly Algerian people,” the sovereign affirms. “Especially since it is a Maghreb country, a neighbour and brother whose consecration is that of Morocco”, specifies the message of King Mohammed VI.
But what happened on the land borders, before and after the Fennecs’ deserved victory? A most moving scene, if ever there was one! A fervent Moroccan supporter of Djamel Belmadi’s team took the fraternal initiative to pass the green and red flag to the Algerians gathered on the other side. This is a sincere expression of the Moroccan public’s unconditional support for the Fennecs.
This Moroccan supporter tried to send the Moroccan flag to the other side, despite the distance separating the two banks of the Kiss river. It separates the Moroccan city of Saidia from the Algerian city of Marsa Ben M’Hidi, at the mouth of the Mediterranean.
His gesture was to express the strong bonds that unite the two peoples. But also to compensate for the absence of the national flag on the Algerian side, while the flag of Algeria was more than omnipresent on the Moroccan side.
It should be noted that the Moroccan-Algerian land border, near the city of Saidia, has seen a record number of Moroccans and Algerians, fervent supporters of the Fennecs, on both sides of the Kiss river. This was well before the start of the Egyptian Cup of Nations final, between the Algerian and Senegalese teams.
In any case, no further evidence is needed to testify to the fraternal and ancestral ties that unite the Moroccan and Algerian peoples! On both sides, we are aware that the common points (religion, language, customs and traditions, blood ties…) bring them closer together than can separate them from regional vicissitudes or supposed geo-political supremacy. And the common fervour on the occasion of the African Cup of Nations, the beautiful course of the Fennecs, without any defeat, not even a draw, without conceding a single goal, from the beginning to the end of the competition is proof that sport can achieve osmosis, fraternity and active solidarity. Where other issues, so far, have failed miserably!
Glory to the winners of the continental trophy for this second title on their list, after the one obtained in 1990! Sincere congratulations from Le Site info to Fennecs and the Algerian people! And congratulations also to the Senegalese team, which has not deserved anything and has nothing to be ashamed of for its fine performance, having given its opponent of the day some footballing difficulties, on the narrow score of a small goal to zero!
Article complet Morocco-Algeria: the incredible gesture of a supporter at the border (VIDEO) Sur L'Express.
