VIDA DE MORO {AN ARAB'S LIFE} {SPANISH} (TV)
Summary
This documentary explores the life of a group of Moroccan immigrants in Spain, in the mountains near Almeria.Ê The program follows their everyday life in a rudimentary hut called the Red House, in which during summer they fight the heat, flies, and mosquitoes.Ê Their main goal is to obtain papers to enable them to work legally in Spain; without the papers, they will continue to live in poverty. A hidden camera follows them as they seek work from local farmers, who offer them minuscule salaries; the camera also documents their treatment at local pubs, where the special Arab price lists charge double the fees paid by Spaniards. The local people hate Moroccans, the narrator explains, because once a Moroccan attacked a young local girl; ever since, they have been persecuted.Ê One of the worst parts about the immigrants' situation, viewers learn, is that they have water only once a week for a couple of hours, if that often.Ê The reporter asks Nicolas, one of the men in charge of the Red House, why the group doesn't seek more water, and he replies that water is expensive.Ê He adds that his people often receive poor treatment because they steal vegetables and are vandals.Ê Two other Arabs, Hasan and Hasis, live in very poor conditions.Ê The farmers steal from them, they claim, by underpaying them.Ê Others, although they come from Morocco with university degrees, also have to work at manual labor. Those who have been in Spain long enough may eventually afford a room with a shower.Ê The worst time for the immigrants comes during the months of July and August, they explain, when it is impossible to find work.Ê The documentary moves on to the struggle of the immigrants to solve their legal situation, depicting an organization that fights for their rights,Êthe Association of Progressive Women.Ê The program notes a recent initiative to legalize the situation for clandestine immigrants:Ê if they can prove that they have been in the country since June 1991, viewers learn, they can get papers.Ê This effort is complicated by the existence of forged documents. Even when immigrants have the proper documents, the program explains, the process is a long one.Ê The program depicts a protest of the immigrants' situation in the streets of Almeria.Ê After fifteen days of protests and hunger strikes, no response comes from the government.Ê Finally, a few of the workers obtain their papers; they celebrate by drinking and dancing.Ê Others are not so lucky, however.Ê One of the men sadly concludes the program by explaining that he does not know that he will ever find the life of which he has dreamed. Commercials deleted.
(This program is in Spanish. Some material is in Arabic or French with Spanish subtitles.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by Sogecable, S.A., 2001/2002.
Details
- NETWORK: Canal+ (Spain)
- DATE: November 30, 2000
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:68018
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: International Collection - Spanish - Zone 1 - Spain; Moroccans - Spain; Spain - Emigration and immigration
- SERIES RUN: Canal+ (Spain) - TV, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Franck Duprat … Executive Producer
- Montse Mur … Producer
- Elena Fox … Production (Misc.), Delegated Producer
- Josep Serra … Director, A documentary by
- Maria Ruiz … Director, For Canal+
- Gat … Music by
- Jose Javier Serrano … Narrator
- Josep Serra … Reporter