December 8, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the mass expulsion of Moroccans from Algeria in 1975, a date that brings to the forefront one of the most painful chapters in the region's history. Thousands of families relive the scenes of separation and forced displacement on this day, while the International Collective for the Support of Families of Moroccan Origin Expelled from Algeria calls for confronting the erasure of memory and upholding the legitimate rights of the victims.
In a statement received by the newspaper "Abir," the Collective noted that approximately 45,000 Moroccans legally residing in Algeria were abruptly expelled on December 8, 1975, without prior notice or legal procedure. They were taken from their homes and workplaces and dumped at the Moroccan border in harsh conditions described as degrading and inhumane.
The expulsion affected entire families, including mixed families where husbands were separated from wives and children from their parents. Those expelled were deprived of their belongings and personal effects and transported in bitterly cold winter weather just days before Eid al-Adha, exacerbating their material and psychological suffering.
The statement emphasized that fifty years have failed to erase the scars of this tragedy from the collective memory, and that the victims and their families remain steadfast in their pursuit of the truth and await official recognition from the Algerian state of its responsibility for what transpired. It asserted that the absence of such recognition obstructs the course of justice and leaves the wounds festering.
The group reiterated its fundamental demands, foremost among them a formal and public apology to the victims, the return of unjustly confiscated property, and the provision of material and moral compensation to those affected for the various damages they suffered as a result of the arbitrary expulsion.
As a non-governmental human rights organization founded on February 27, 2021, the International Gathering emphasized its continued advocacy work at the international level and its engagement with relevant UN mechanisms for redress and reparations. It also affirmed its commitment to implementing the 50th anniversary program, as outlined in the vision announced in Geneva in October 2025, with the aim of raising global awareness of what happened and keeping the memory alive.
The statement concluded by stressing that achieving justice for the victims of the 1975 expulsion is a collective responsibility, and that preserving memory and ensuring the non-recurrence of such violations remain fundamental to justice, a justice that endures regardless of the passage of time.
