Moroccans enthusiastically participated in the celebrations commemorating the Green March and"Unity Day" amidst an atmosphere brimming with patriotism and pride, coinciding with the latest UN Security Council resolution on the Moroccan Sahara. Cities and regions transformed into festive spaces highlighting the deep connection citizens have with their territorial integrity and reflecting the diverse ways in which Moroccans express their profound sense of national belonging.

The variety of celebrations

In this context, a number of members of the Moroccan community residing abroad chose to organize group car trips that started from European countries towards the city of Dakhla, in a symbolic initiative that confirms their constant attachment to their motherland and embodies the cross-border dimension in commemorating the Green March as a unifying national event that brings Moroccans together wherever they are.

Various Moroccan cities witnessed celebratory marches that traversed main streets, with citizens of all ages and social backgrounds participating. The convoys included trucks and cars adorned with national flags, alongside groups of participants who chose to walk, in a display of widespread popular participation in this national occasion.

Several training institutions were keen to give their celebrations of this occasion a distinctive national character; among them was the Regional Center for Education and Training Professions in Casablanca, which interacted with the new national holiday “Unity Day” and with the memory of the glorious Green March, by organizing a celebration during which it was announced that the name “Unity Group” would be given to the group of trainees in the educational administration training program for the 2025-2027 season, in an initiative that embodies the values of belonging and strengthens national awareness.

Various public and private spaces witnessed a surge of decorative initiatives, with streets and shops adorned with national flags and pictures of King Mohammed VI, transforming cities into festive scenes that embody national pride and express the cohesion between the throne and the people, in a scene that combines joy and deep national symbolism.

Public and private associations and institutions also organized intellectual seminars and cultural, artistic and sports activities to celebrate this national anniversary, which focused on the values of citizenship, development and unity, stressing that commemorating the Green March is not limited to the historical recall of the occasion, but extends to being an opportunity to strengthen collective awareness of the need to continue mobilization in order to preserve national gains.

Psychosocial motives

Regarding the motives that make Moroccans strongly engage in celebrations of national occasions in general, and current ones in particular, Zakaria Akdid, a professor of sociology, said that “the intensity of the celebrations these days is due, firstly, to the exceptional decision issued by the Security Council; a decision that can be described as historic, because it constitutes a new stage in dealing with the issue of national unity.”

Akdhih emphasized, in a statement to the Hespress electronic newspaper, that “these celebrations cannot be separated from the deep symbolic dimension that the land occupies in the collective Moroccan consciousness.”

The university professor specializing in sociology explained that “the land in the Moroccan collective imagination is not just a geographical area; rather, it is a symbol of social construction, as social and kinship ties are formed through it. It also represents a link between the various parts of the country from south to north and from east to west, thus becoming a pivotal symbol of the unity of Moroccan society.”

The same spokesperson added that “the recovery of the land in the Moroccan consciousness means the completion of territorial unity; the land here carries a symbolic significance that is represented in the unity of the common identity, because belonging to the land expresses a collective, not an individual, belonging, which gives Moroccans a firm sense of belonging to a national identity that is distinct from other peoples.”

Akdhi concluded his statement by saying, “The land holds a deep collective memory, through which we recall the sacrifices of the martyrs who struggled to complete the territorial unity. The land connects the past and the present, and makes us recall the memory of the Moroccan resistance that sacrificed itself for the homeland. Therefore, it can be said that the intensity of the celebrations this year reflects the collective Moroccan awareness of the symbolic status of the land, and the recent Security Council resolution has further strengthened this strong national sentiment compared to previous years.”