Since September 9th when the earthquake occurred in Morocco, leaving a toll of fatalities of over 3,000, a figure that could easily double when the final balance is calculated, the humanitarian disaster produced in the High Atlas region has gradually given up some of the news space it occupies to the shameful story of a country that has its king, Mohammed VI, as one of the reasons for its enormous poverty. The French king, as he is known in the most elite circles of the country, due to the long periods he spends in Paris.
He has only been seen once in recent days, and that was four days after the earthquake, apparently donating blood. It has also been said that he spent a few hours in the earthquake zone, coinciding with the official photo handed out of him donating blood, since no images were seen of his trip to the High Atlas. An unmoving tyrant who has restricted freedoms, and amassed a great fortune, but who is widely protected by Western powers due to Morocco's strategic location and its role in supporting peace and stability in the Middle East. That has given him a sheen of global shielding beneath which his fortune has done nothing but grow, while his subjects become increasingly poorer.
The French newspaper Libération published a cartoon this week in which, under the title "There was an earthquake in Morocco", he is seen without any concern, sitting on a throne that is not in his country, and responding: "Personally, I haven't noticed anything." The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, with greater cruelty, drew the king on top of a huge mountain of money that is crushing his people. Forbes magazine has published that Mohammed VI's fortune is more than 5.7 billion dollars and this makes him one of the richest people in the world. His announcement of having donated 100 million euros, according to local media, is almost an insult, since his ludicrous fortune will not have even noticed it.
This whole situation, which to a lesser or greater degree has been circulating via social networks and some conventional media, has brought the shame of the Moroccan regime to the surface and has sparked irritation among the people of the country. Some lukewarm demonstrations of protest have even occurred with photos of the king thrown on the ground, but admittedly, they have been very small in scale. The country's de facto police regime ensures the control of any movement that may arise, although, without a doubt, a situation like the current one opens a significant faultline in the population's confidence in their king.
So much so, that the periods that Mohammed VI spends in his enormous 80 million euro Parisian palace in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower, which in recent years has tended to be his usual residence, will be increasingly contested, and it remains to be seen what will end up happening with the ghost king who can be spotted more often in uncomfortable situations in the French capital than acting as head of state in Rabat.