Papers and money
If your papers are lost or stolen, you will need to take two steps at the same time: report the theft and lodge a complaint with the Moroccan police station, and apply for “temporary and emergency” papers from your consulate in Morocco. Having a copy of your lost/stolen papers at hand will speed up the process considerably.
But how can you do this, given that they (and perhaps all your luggage) have been stolen?
A good tip is to scan them before you leave, and send the scan to yourself via an online email, such as Yahoo, gmail or similar. All you need is a cybercafé.
In this way, you can put your telephone numbers and details of how to stop payment on your credit card, your contacts and insurance details – in short, everything you’ll need if you find yourself in this situation – online (but on an account where only you have the password).
Unless you are registered with the consulate in Morocco (and therefore resident there), you will not be able to obtain a real passport. But the consulate can give you a temporary laissez-passer, which you can use to return home.
Please note that this temporary pass is only valid for your return to your country of origin. If you need to continue your journey to another country, you will have to return to France to apply for a new passport.
However, the consulate will not be able to help you financially. If you are totally destitute, Western Union transfer is still an extremely quick, but fairly expensive, way of obtaining money.
Health problems.
Traveller’s diarrhea is unfortunately quite common. In general, it does not cause much discomfort, and if properly treated with Imodium, it will at most be a nuisance. But in the event of prolonged illness, don’t rely on local remedies and consult a doctor.
In the event of an accident involving injuries, the first thing to do is to call your travel and repatriation insurance representative. Regardless of the seriousness of the accident, it is your representative who will be able to quickly refer you to the right hospital and the right doctor. They will also be able to mobilise an ambulance or other means of evacuation, if necessary. So this is the first number to call (the second being the police).
Legal problems.
If you are not in the wrong (police officers sometimes stop cars on the road that have not committed an offence, for example), stand your ground, be firm and courteous, but refuse to pay.
If you are in the wrong, remain courteous too. If it’s a simple fine… you’ll often be offered the chance to solve the problem by paying less, out of hand. Doing so is encouraging corruption.
If the problem is more serious, contact a lawyer immediately. Then go through the consulate. They will not defend you at all costs because you are French, but they can direct you to professionals who can help you.
Try to avoid dealing with the Moroccan administration, which is complex.
(This article was first published on the website of the Oasis de Mezgarne, our former travel agency. It is still up to date).
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