Rabat - More Moroccan children in the diaspora, unable to talk to their loved ones in Morocco, are sending King Mohammed VI a message: lift the ban on VoIP-enabled services put in place by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT).
On Thursday, a picture of a 4-year-old British-Moroccan girl, made its way around the social media for portraying the effects that the recent regulatory ban on Whatsapp, Skype, and Viber has had on Moroccans living abroad.
“We live in the UK and we used to Skype grandma (Lmima) and grandad (jeddi) in Morocco everyday,” Layla’s message reads on a standard piece of paper she used to cover her face. “Now we can’t and we miss them a lot. I am 4 years old, I am half Moroccan, and I love my grandparents. Please help us.”
Angela Arigoni-Mesfioui, an American woman currently living with her husband and four adopted children in Casablanca, said the ban has hindered her children’s ability to maintain relationships with their grandparents and birth parents.
“We are a family that uses Skype, Facebook, FaceTime, etc..,” Arigoni-Mesfioui said. “I have a large family back home and my children need to stay in touch with their birth families. All four of my kids are adopted and it is important that they can call home when they want.”
Her child, Jaqueline, age 9, and her friend's child Leon, age 2, shared similar messages imitating Layla’s style.
“We used to be able to Skype our family [in the US and France] everyday - and for them to see my brother who is 6,” Leon said. “But after the blockage of Skype by Moroccan companies, we can’t see our grandparents and they can’t see us either...Please whomever is responsible for allowing these people to keep our family from speaking to each other, can you please change your mind?”
Like Layla, Jaqueline directed her message directly to the king: “I am an American girl living in Morocco with my Moroccan dad and American mom. The problem is I can’t call my birth mother or birth grandmother because Skype and Facebook [Messenger] are blocked. I live so far from America and I love my family back home, please help!!!”
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