Since last weekend at least twenty foreigners have been expelled from Morocco for alleged proselytizing. 20 of them are Christian aid workers who worked in an orphanage at 70 kilometers from the city of Fez, giving a home to children who are abandoned by their own parents. Now the 33 children have been abandoned for the second time, simply because their caregivers are Christians.
The Village of Hope weeps. The orphanage that was legally established in Morocco for ten years, is now the scene of unbearable anguish. Herman Boonstra, the director of Village of Hope lived in Morocco for 11 years. Together with his wife they received eight foster children whom he loved as his own. He had to leave them behind. For him, as well as for other families evicted, this is a pain without end.
In a Dutch television broadcasting called ‘Netwerk’, Herman Boonstra expresses his sorrow and pain with a broken voice sharing: “My children came running out of the house crying. They screamed that I should stay. I did not want to go, but I had to! They pulled me on my trousers and came running after me, screaming that I should stay and should not leave them. At that moment my wife was not present, she did not even had the chance to say goodbye to the children.”
Boonstra adds: “they confiscated the cars and some 350,000 dirham [about € 30k] and also the building. But I don’t care about the money. It is the children who are my concern and hurt me most! Who will take care of them and who will stand up for them?
Right from the start, the Village of Hope has been clear about their vision; preparing young Moroccans to integrating in Moroccan society. In agreement with the Moroccan government, the children were attending the national schools and learned the Quran, as any other Moroccan child would do.
The parents had agreed not to teach the Bible, but only give them a home. The orphanage was regularly audited and accepted by the authorities since an approval recognizing the orphanage as a welfare institution was in the pipeline.
Open Doors deplores the discrimination against these families for religious reasons and is concerned about the rising anti-Christian acts in the Kingdom of Morocco in recent months and questions Moroccan commitment to openness and respect for human rights.
Next to those expelled from the Orphanage, several other families have been expelled since last weekend: a Venezuelan family and a Columbian, Malcomm Williams from the city of Tangier. A Brazillian, Fanjo, from El Jadida. The British family of Peter Solomon from Essaouira. An American citizen, Steve Bownman from Fez. A Korean was evicted from Rabat and two South African teachers from Casablanca.
