• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, March 1, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Blocked from Europe, Migrants Settle in Morocco

Staff Writer with AFP by Staff Writer with AFP
12/26/17
in World
Morocco

Jemaa el Fna Square in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo: Juan Antonio Segal, Flickr

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Unable to reach Europe in search of a better life, Aliou Ndiaye settled in Morocco instead, giving up on his original goal like thousands of other sub-Saharan African migrants.

“Everyone has the right to go to another country to try their luck,” the 31-year-old former fish exporter from Senegal told AFP.

“Lots of people are trying to reach Europe, but some end up staying to make a living.”

Seven out of 10 West Africa-born migrants stay on the continent, according to a December study by the Moroccan think tank OCP Policy Center.

Discouraged by the danger of passing through countries such as Libya and by harsh policies aimed at preventing migrants going to Europe, many settle in “transit” countries including Morocco.

Mr. Ndiaye said he gave up after he realised reaching Spain was “too hard.”

He took on several informal jobs and finally set himself up as a street vendor in Rabat, where he expects to remain.

His story illustrates a trend that has gained increasing attention from Moroccan politicians, civil society and researchers.

Morocco has turned from a transit country into a host country for immigrants, according to the government’s High Commission for Planning.

“The Moroccan authorities have switched from a security approach, which criminalised illegal immigration, to a discourse of integration,” said Mehdi Alioua, former head of a group that helped migrants.

He said the new approach involves moving migrants from border regions to the country’s big cities, taking them further from their ultimate goal — reaching Europe.

That has meant that many stay on in Morocco.

Rabat has become home to many sub-Saharan Africans who work at informal markets in the capital, while others, still hoping to make it to Europe, live in informal camps near bus stations and eke out a living by begging.

But their growing numbers have created tensions. In November, residents clashed with sub-Saharan youths living in a camp in Casablanca.

“You can’t be welcomed with open arms everywhere you go,” said Olivier Foutou, a 34-year-old Congolese.

But he called Morocco “the most welcoming country in Africa” and criticised fellow migrants “who think only of Europe and do not want to integrate.”

Like many West Africans, he originally headed to Morocco for study, attracted by the quality of the education system and the possibility of scholarships.

He has stayed ever since, and sings in the choir at Rabat’s cathedral, a meeting point for the city’s small Catholic community.

Another choir member, Jean Baptiste Dago-Gnahou, fled war-ravaged Ivory Coast years ago and ended up in Rabat by “destiny.”

In his 40s, he is teaching French and currently has no plans to return to his homeland.

Papa Demba Mbaye left his job as a teacher in Senegal seven years ago to “live the adventure in Morocco.”

He was attracted by promises of work at a call centre, a growing sector in need of French-speakers.

He soon discovered that it was a “job with no future,” and has since established himself as a French teacher.

He has written two books — “The life of a Senegalese in Morocco” and “Seven reasons why I love Morocco.”

Keen to build links between sub-Saharan Africans and Moroccans, he also runs a theatre troupe on the outskirts of Rabat.

Despite Morocco’s new migration policies and the kingdom’s efforts to re-integrate with the African Union after decades outside the bloc, it is hard to gain permanent residency.

“I heard the king say on the radio that it would be a lot easier, but I have the impression that he was not heard,” Mr. Mbaye said.

The authorities are currently processing some 25,000 residency applications. A similar “regularisation” campaign in 2014 saw around 23,000 people gain renewable residency.

It is hard to estimate how many African migrants are living in Morocco, especially as many are clandestine.

Official statistics show that around 35,000 had residency in 2014, according to the OCP Policy Center.

That is slightly above the number of European migrants who came for work or seeking a retirement home under the Moroccan sun.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer with AFP

Staff Writer with AFP

Related Posts

Tunisian civil protection workers
Refugees

Bodies of 20 Migrants Retrieved Off Tunisia, Ministry Says

by Staff Writer
December 24, 2020
Smoke and flames rise from a forest area near Samos migrant camp.
Refugees

Thirteen Detained After Fire Near Second Greek Camp

by Staff Writer
September 16, 2020
Greek migrants in the camp of Moria on the island of Lesbos
Refugees

First Coronavirus Case in Greece’s Main Migrant Camp

by Staff Writer
September 2, 2020
African migrants seeking to cross to the Canary Islands typically travel in small wooden boats like these
Refugees

27 Dead in Mauritania Migrant Boat Disaster: UN

by Staff Writer
August 7, 2020
Central American migrants arrive in Ciudad Hidalgo in Chiapas State, Mexico, after illegally crossing the Suchiate river from Tecun Uman in Guatemala on a makeshift raft, on June 10, 2019
World

US-Guatemala Migrant Deal ‘Dead End’ for Rights: Report

by Staff Writer
June 15, 2020
Refugees and their children wait in the buffer zone at the Turkey-Greece border
Opinion

Don’t Make Refugees Political Pawns in Turkey-EU Game

by Raluca Bejan
April 17, 2020
Next Post
al-aqsa friday prayer israel

A Generation That Has Never Seen Homeland: What Does Palestine Mean To Them?

Chinese Activist Jailed for 8 Years After Major Crackdown

Chinese Activist Jailed for 8 Years After Major Crackdown

Recommended

Hatice Cengiz delivers a speech addressing the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Capitol Hill, May 16, 2019.

Khashoggi Fiancée Demands Punishment for Saudi Prince

March 1, 2021
People lay flowers in central Moscow at the site where late opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot, February 27, 2021.

Russians Mark Sixth Anniversary of Kremlin Critic’s Murder

February 27, 2021
What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

March 1, 2021
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Khartoum, last August

Sudan’s Normalization With Israel Is a Win for Everyone

February 26, 2021
Ethiopian refugees who fled the conflict in Tigray gather to receive aid at the Tenedba camp.

Eritrean Troops Killed ‘Hundreds’ in Ethiopia Massacre: Amnesty

February 26, 2021
COVID-19 vaccine

Syria Health Workers to Receive Covid Vaccine From Next Week

February 25, 2021

Opinion

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

What President Biden Should Do About the Uyghur Genocide

March 1, 2021
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Khartoum, last August

Sudan’s Normalization With Israel Is a Win for Everyone

February 26, 2021
Stolpersteine in Greifswald, Germany.

I Can’t Mark Where My Grandfather Is Buried, but I Want to Mark Where He Lived

February 26, 2021
Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley

Trump’s Acquittal and Republican Senators: Not Setting the Bar Low Enough

February 22, 2021
Why Not Equality for America’s Puerto Rican Men and Women?

Why Not Equality for America’s Puerto Rican Men and Women?

February 19, 2021
Refugee child holding up a sign reading 'we are human like you'

US Asylum Laws Must Catch up With the Reality of Today’s Refugees

February 18, 2021
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post