Moroccans often boast about their sense of hospitality and the country often presents itself as a tolerant and welcoming land. But to what extent is this true? Morocco receives millions of tourists each year, welcomes a growing number of expats, students, short-term contractors, and increasingly more would-be immigrants, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa. Many initially intend only to transit through Morocco, but end up settling in its largest cities for various reasons. Moroccan society is, for the first time, facing the problems of integration of this migrant population, and instances of racism and xenophobia are no longer alien to Morocco. At the same time, foreign migrants cannot become citizens of Morocco, and are often left in limbo, able to stay legally in the country only if they can secure a job. How do Moroccans see foreigners who settle in their country? Are fears about the negative influence of this foreign population on Moroccan culture, economy and religion ever justified? Do instances of racism and exclusion of foreigners in Morocco occurred? Should immigration laws be revisited? And what about emigration from the West? Is it beneficial to the country? Are there any justifications for making it virtually impossible for a foreigner to acquire the Moroccan nationality?

بخصوص الجالية المغربية والإسلامية وموضوع الاندماج ،فأعتقد أنه من الأحرى بنا أولا أن نقف عند مجموع الأمور التي باتت تؤرق الرأي العام الأوربي والإسلامي وتصور المسلمين كمضطهدين و مقموعين لا يتمتعون بحرياتهم الفردية في اللباس من برقع وغيرها من الأزياء التنكرية( لأخفاء الكدمات والجروح التي يخلفها الزوج أو الأخ على جسد الأنثى المسلمة)، و لربما نسمع منهم غدا مطالب جديدة من أجل إغلاق البارات ومنع القبل في الشارع العام وممارسة الحب، فقط لأنها أشياء تتعارض مع معتقدهم وتمس شعورهم الديني والأخلاقي، مادام هم أصحاب الحقيقة المطلقة وكل من خلافهم وجب عليه غضب الاههم الواحد الأحد.

رغم كل هذا إلا أننا نربط كل العداء الذي يكنه بعض الأجانب للجاليات الإسلامية بمسميات كالعنصرية
وكراهية المهاجرين، وننسى أو ربما نتناسى سلوكيات وأفعال هؤلاء المهاجرين التي تتقاطع بالمطلق مع قيم الدول المستضيفة التي دفعت من أجلها دماء وسنوات نضال طويلة من أجل تقديس القيم الإنسانية وحقوق الإنسان في كونيتها وضمان استمرارية أساليب الحكم الديمقراطية…
احد هذه السلوكات المتخلفة والتي هي نتاج العقل الإسلامي المهاجر، هو ما تقوم به مجموعة من الحركات الدينية الإسلامية بالكثير من الدول الأوربية كفرنسا وبلجيكا وغيرها… والتي تنشط تحركاتهم خلال الحملات الانتخابية للقيام بتوجيه رسائل لكل المسلمين تدعوهم لمقاطعة الانتخابات والمطالبة بتطبيق الشريعة، معتبرين أن ارقي ما وصلت إليه أوربا من أشكال الديمقراطية والتي تسمح لأبسط مواطن بالحق في الترشح لرئاسة الدولة، كفرا وأمرا مخالف لشريعة الاههم الجميل.

معظم المهاجرين المغاربة المستقرين حاليا بالخارج لم يهاجروا من أجل التحصيل العلمي أو الالتحاق

مباشرة بوظائف خاصة، بل هم بشر يبحثون عن من يشتري جهدهم العضلي فقط مقابل المال، يجهلون كل شيئ عن البلدان المستضيفة، لغة، معتقد، عادات وتقاليد….. يكون مصيرهم في أفضل الأحوال الاستقرار في أحياء كبرى تأوي غيرهم من المهاجرين، يستمرون على نفس الوتيرة لمدة سنوات وهم غير مندمجين، فقط يلبون رغباتهم من الأكل والجنس وبيع الجهد العضلي، أطفالهم لا يلجون المدارس أو ينقطعون في سنوات مبكرة، فيكونون بمثابة جيش احتياطي من أجل العمل وممارسة الشغب الدعارة والسرقة… كل ذاك ما هو إلا حافز للآباء من أجل دفع أبنائهم نحو التدين: وبالتالي التطرف وكراهية ثقافة البلد المستضيف!

أسلمة أوربا أيضا من المشاكل التي تزيد من حجم العداء ضد المهاجرين المغاربة والمسلمين، حتى بتنا نسمع ونقرأ على بعض المواقع الالكترونية للجالية العربية المقيمة بأوربا ب ( جمهورية أوربا الإسلامية) التي تفتخر بدنو موت الحضارة الأوربية مستشهدين على ذلك بانخفاض معدل الولادات لكل أسرة أوربية مقابل نسبة الهجرات الإسلامية المرتفعة نحو بعض الدول الأوربية! وكذا تحويل مجموعة من الكنائس القديمة إلى مساجد… فما هي حدود صبر هذا المواطن الأوربي العلماني يا ترى؟

انتشار الحركات الإسلامية الراديكالية، والتي هي في الأصل لا تمثل سوى حقيقة الدين الإسلامي كونها لا تعتمد على التأويل أو التفسيرات التي تراعي مصالح أطراف معينة بل تعتمد في توجهها على نصوص دينية من القران والسنة قطعية الدلالة وواضحة لا تقبل أي تحريف أو تبرير، هذه الحركات لا تنشط علنا وتتخذ من الانترنت المدونات والشبكات الاجتماعية بوابة لها من اجل نشر خطاباتها ودعواتها الدينية لمحاربة الديانات والمعتقدات الأخرى والمطالبة بتطبيق الشريعة الإسلامية…

من هنا فإن مجموع ما يطالب به المسلمون بأوربا لا يمت لهم ولا لثقافتهم المبنية على الحقائق المطلقة وكل من خالفها يعد كافرا وجب فيه العقاب الرباني ونظرات الاحتقار والشفقة بأية علاقة. فالاههم هو الذي أنعم عليهم بنعمة النور والمعرفة، وبالتالي وجب على الكل احترام خصوصيتهم الدينة حتى وان كانت تتعارض ومبادئ حقوق الإنسان الأساسية، كالحق في الحياة والاختلاف، وإلا فإن السيف الإسلامي جاهز لتلبية نداء الله!

Why did you come to Morocco?

I’m studying in Rabat and I came to Morocco on a scholarship program for foreign students. The most brilliant students with a Bachelor’s degree receive a grant from the Moroccan government. Personally, I have been informed about the Moroccan government’s grant and this is the reason behind my presence in Morocco today.

What strikes you the most about Morocco?

It is the cosmopolitan character of Morocco that challenges me the most. Morocco hosts annually more than 500 students from different backgrounds, either from Africa or Asia. We are 250 to 300 Togolese students in Morocco, with about 40 in Rabat.
This is an opportunity for all of us (students) to be in contact with other cultures in a spirit of brotherhood and friendship. But the picture is not completely rosy. There are all those little difficulties one might encounter in a multicultural society. Our destiny though is forged daily from experiences we get while being away from our families.

What’s the most obvious difference here in comparison to Togo?

In Togo, you have less opportunities to interact with students of other nationalities and you gain less in terms of maturity, because back home, the family is always around to help if need be. In Morocco you are more responsible. We live thousands of miles away from the family, therefore we develop skills to support ourselves. That’s my point of view and the experience I live through.

Do you have any hobbies in Morocco?

I love football and I practice after school when I can afford time for it. We sometimes organize tournaments and even a mini African Cup of Nations. Our results as a football team are a reflection of those of our national team. As the Hawks (nickname of the Togo football team), we often get eliminated in the knock-out stages. Besides football, I participate in activities organized by the Coordination of Students and Interns of Togo in Morocco (CESTOM) http://cestom.free.fr/index.php/accueil, which is also the diplomatic representative of Togo in Morocco since the closest Togolese embassy is in Libya. Since 2007, CESTOM helped organize annual cultural events where we have the opportunity to show our talents as dancers, singers and so on. … We meet between Togolese around our national dishes.
During the holidays we go out, visit the tourist sites, go to the beach etc …

How easy was it for you to integrate into the Moroccan society?

I will not lie to you, integration is not easy. The population of Morocco is mostly Arab and Muslim. This differs greatly from the environment in which I was raised. If you are a Christian, it is also more difficult to live his faith and evangelization is prohibited in Morocco. Without foreigners, the churches would be empty.
From my side, I can not speak of full integration. I still can not understand certain practices and habits not to mention racism that is unfortunately a reality in Morocco. This concerns foreigners in general and sub-Saharan Africans in particular. We do not hang around a lot of Moroccans. Some are very nice but others just want to take advantage of you.

In Morocco, there are many clandestine African immigrants. What is your relationship with them?

Our relations are not particularly positive. Let’s say it is simply an entente cordiale. Clandestine immigrants are sometimes involved in illegal activities and the students do not take the risk by being friends with them for fear of being arrested. We’re not in Morocco for the same reasons. Our brothers live in hiding, waiting for an opportune moment to try to immigrate to the other side of the Mediterranean. The students are here legally. Moroccans do not make the difference. It distorts the idea they have of us.

Will you stay in Morocco?

If I’m staying in Morocco, it is because I really have no other choice. The living conditions of students here are not the best in the world. I deplore the lack of equal treatment of students. All students are not housed in a university campus. Some, if not the majority, live in apartments often located in areas deemed dangerous. These students do not have the financial means to live in the city.

Others are relatively well established in the dorms. They pay a sum 6 or 8 times lower than that paid by other students living in neighborhoods. Students living in dormitories are paying about 50 dirhams (US$5) to 200 dirhams (US$20) per month while the rent for those staying in the rooms (often two or three) is 750-1000 dirhams (US$75-100) per month and for those who live in apartments (often 3, 7 to 8 people) it ranges between 1800 and 3500 dirhams (US$180 and 350) a month. The housing is relatively cheaper in most small cities but more expensive in large ones like Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Fez and Rabat.

Those who deal every day with the harsh realities of the neighborhoods are torn between paying their rent (which gobbles up almost all of the 75 euros, equivalent to 97 US dollars, allocated every two months by the Moroccan State) and paying for studies. In comparison, the minimum wage is 10.64 dirhams per hour (about US$1.30) or 2110 dirhams per month (US$260). Students struggle as they can to minimize daily expenses.

The likelihood of finding a scholarship for studying outside of Morocco is minimal. Basically, life is far from being good in Morocco for students who come from poor families. In addition, after graduation, we do not get the same wages as the nationals.

What are your plans for this summer?

I was planning to leave for the holidays but plane tickets are expensive. In addition, the Togolese government is cutting the vacation subsidies enjoyed by students so far after the first two years. My promotion has not had the chance to benefit from them. This will soon be three years since I have not seen my family, my relatives and friends. I miss them all. I commit myself to finishing before returning definitively to see my family.

Christophe, thank you for this interview and good luck.

Pourquoi êtes-vous venu au Maroc?

Je suis étudiant à Rabat et je suis venu au Maroc dans le cadre d’un programme de bourse d’études à l’étranger. Les élèves qui ont décroché avec brio leur baccalauréat bénéficient d‘une bourse du gouvernement marocain. En ce qui me concerne, je n’ai été informé que de l’octroi de cette bourse marocaine. Ce qui explique ma présence au Maroc aujourd’hui.

Qu’est ce qui vous marque le plus au Maroc ?

C’est le caractère cosmopolite du Maroc qui m’interpelle. Le Maroc accueille chaque année plus de 500 étudiants venus de différents horizons que ce soit d’Afrique ou d’Asie. Nous sommes 250 à 300 étudiants togolais au Maroc dont une quarantaine à Rabat.
C’est une aubaine pour chacun de nous (étudiants) d’être en contact avec la culture des autres dans un esprit de fraternité et de convivialité. Le tableau n’est pas totalement rose. Il y a toutes les petites difficultés qu’on peut rencontrer dans une société multiculturelle. Notre destin se forge chaque jour à partir de l’expérience qu’on acquiert, étant loin de sa famille.

Quelle est la différence la plus flagrante avec le Togo ?

Au Togo, on a moins de chance de côtoyer des étudiants d’autres nationalités et on gagne moins en maturité parce que la famille est toujours prête à nous venir en aide en cas de besoin. Au Maroc on est plus responsable. Parce qu’on vit à des milliers de kilomètres de la famille, on développe des facultés à se prendre en charge. C’est mon point de vue et c’est l’expérience que je vis.

Quels sont vos loisirs sur place ?

J’aime le football et je le pratique après les cours si mon temps me le permet. Nous faisons parfois des tournois et nous organisons même une mini Coupe d’Afrique des Nations. Nos résultats sont à l’image de l’équipe nationale. Comme les Eperviers, nous nous faisons souvent éliminer en phase d’éliminatoire. Outre le football, je participe aux activités qu’organisent la Coordination des Etudiants et Stagiaires Togolais au Maroc (CESTOM). C’est aussi en quelque
sorte la représentation diplomatique du Togo au Maroc. L’Ambassade du Togo la plus proche est en Lybie. Depuis 2007, la CESTOM organise chaque année des journées culturelles où nous avons l’occasion de montrer nos talents de danseur, de chanteur etc.… Nous nous retrouvons entre togolais autour de mets du pays.
Pendant les vacances nous sortons, visitons des lieux touristiques, allons à la plage etc…

A–t-il été facile de vous intégrer ?

Je ne vais pas vous mentir, l’intégration n’est pas facile. La population du Maroc est majoritairement arabe et musulmane. Cela diffère profondément de l’environnement dans lequel j’ai été élevé. Si on est chrétien, il est également plus difficile de vivre sa foi et l’évangélisation est interdite au Maroc. Sans les étrangers, les églises seraient vides.
De mon coté, je ne peux pas parler d’intégration totale. Je ne comprend toujours pas certaines pratiques et habitudes sans parler du racisme qui est malheureusement une réalité au Maroc. Cela concerne l’étranger en général et ceux venant de l’Afrique subsaharienne en particulier. Nous ne côtoyons pas énormément de marocains. Certains sont très gentils mais d’autres souhaitent seulement vous utilisez.

Au Maroc, les clandestins africains sont nombreux. Quels sont vos rapports avec eux?

Nos relations ne sont pas particulièrement au beau fixe. Disons que c’est simplement une entente cordiale. Les clandestins sont parfois trempés dans des activités illégales et les étudiants ne prennent pas le risque d’être amis avec eux par peur de se faire arrêter. Nous ne sommes pas au Maroc pour les mêmes raisons. Nos frères vivent dans la clandestinité en attendant un moment propice pour tenter d’immigrer de l’autre coté de la Méditerranée. Les étudiants sont installés ici légalement. Les marocains ne font pas la différence. Ca fausse l’idée qu’ils ont de nous.

Pensez-vous rester ?

Si je reste au Maroc, c’est parce que je n’ai vraiment pas d’autre choix. La condition de vie des étudiants ici n’est pas la meilleure du monde. Je déplore l’absence de traitement égal des étudiants. Tous les étudiants ne sont pas logés dans une cité universitaire. Certains, sinon la majorité vit dans des appartements souvent situés dans des quartiers réputés dangereux. Ces étudiants ne disposent pas des moyens financiers pour vivre en pleine ville.
D’autres sont relativement bien installés dans les cités universitaires. Ils payent une somme 6 ou 8 fois inférieure à celle que paie les autres étudiants logés dans les quartiers. Les étudiants logés dans les cités universitaires payent à peu près 50 dirhams (dhrs) à 200 drhrs/mois tandis que le loyer de ceux qui sont logés dans les chambres (souvent à deux ou trois) est de 750 à 1000 dhrs/mois ou ceux qui habitent dans des appartements (souvent de 3 à 7ou 8 personnes) déboursent entre 1800 et 3500dhrs/mois. Le logement est relativement moins cher dans la plupart des petites villes et plus cher dans les grandes comme Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Fès ou Rabat.
Ceux qui font face chaque jour à la dure réalité des quartiers sont partagés entre le paiement de leur loyer (presque la totalité de la bourse de 75 euros par mois allouée tous les deux mois par l’État Marocain) et les études. En comparaison, le SMIG est de 10.64 dhrs/heure (environ 1Euro), soit 2110 dhrs/mois (environ 200 euros). Pour les dépenses courantes, les étudiants font comme ils peuvent pour les minimiser.
La chance de trouver une bourse pour des études à l’extérieur de Maroc minime. En gros, c’est loin d’être la belle vie au Maroc pour les étudiants issus de familles moins aisées. De plus, après les études, nous n’obtenons pas les mêmes salaires que les nationaux.

Quels sont vos projets cet été ?

Je projetais de partir pour les vacances mais les billets d’avion sont hors de prix. De plus, l’État togolais a couper les droits de vacances dont bénéficiaient les étudiants après les deux premières années. Ma promotion n’a pas eu la chance d’en bénéficier. Cela fera bientôt trois ans que je n’ai pas vu ma famille, mes proches et amis. Ils me manquent tous. Je me suis résigné à finir avant de rentrer définitivement et de revoir ma famille.

Christophe, merci pour cet entretien et bonne continuation.

As a young woman starting her career in international development, I can certainly relate to young Che’s situation, and I know for a fact that many of my peers feel the same way. I am far from wealthy, but I’ve been university-educated in a Western country with a gracious social net, strong health care system, and a great record for women’s rights in comparison with the majority of the world. Yet this same education has made me curious about the developing world, and it is my goal to one day work in Morocco, as I’ve spent many years studying the nation. Firsthand experience seems to be the natural next step.

Of course, I am not the first to want to do so, and despite the legendary Moroccan hospitality, life can be downright hostile if you present yourself the wrong way – in other words, if you’re not a tourist. And why shouldn’t it be? Though large NGOs and “volunteer tourism” organizations are present and profitable in Morocco, the fact is that many ill-trained foreigners looking to move to there for paid work may be taking work away from a native Moroccan who desperately needs the money. Additionally, while it may not be easy for a Westerner to live and work in Morocco, it is even harder for a struggling Moroccan to secure a visa to Europe or North America simply to look for a job. In my experience, welcoming as they may be, Moroccans are quite wary of Westerners moving to their nation. They are willing to deal with the influx of tourists who choose to stay a week in Marrakech, but much less welcoming to the possibly naive Western immigrant who has exoticized their country. For all they know, this person may be wealthy and has better opportunities at home, but chose to come to Morocco to live out his or her camel-riding, Casablanca dreams – far from reality for most Moroccans. And after all, even in aid work, aren’t Moroccans more qualified to develop their country than any foreigner would be?

While it’s true that unfortunate and ignorant creatures do exist, there are a growing number of people who have pertinent skills, a healthy curiosity, and good intentions at heart. The problem is that misinformation exists on all levels and on both sides of the fence. As is often mentioned on this forum, Morocco is quite the shlada, and so one account of Moroccan life can differ greatly from another, regardless of whether the story comes from a Moroccan or Western mouth. Truth in communication is also lacking on both ends: each side wants to present their country in a favourable light, while failing to understand that what one person considers positive may not been seen as such by another. The need to be defensive can also arise, especially in terms of religion and culture. A Canadian may boast to his newly-immigrated Moroccan friend that Canada is an open, free, and understanding country; the Moroccan may not see it that way when his Canadian friends invite him out for a beer during the month of Ramadan. An American woman conversing with a female Moroccan exchange student may not realize that in parts of Morocco, some women are disempowered and illiterate, and will never have the chance to attain such education; in her Moroccan friend’s mind, this is not the case. It is scarcely any wonder, then, that so many Western-developed aid projects fail horribly, and take Moroccans down with them. Additionally, just as how some close-minded Westerners believe that immigrants will insult and degrade their country, there exist Moroccans who feel that their culture, religion, and beliefs will be eroded by Western immigrants with a pompous attitude who will eventually try to take power. It is indeed a personal affront to have an outsider come into your homeland and tell you what to do, if that is the case. Even worse may be the fact that arguments can arise among Moroccans themselves about whether or not the Western world really is better educated and more affluent, as this can create divisions about who should lead projects.

Thankfully, the world of development work is beginning to smarten up and realize that aid projects tend to work best when they are locally driven, run by not only development experts but by locals who can keep the project running long after their Western coworkers depart. However, keeping an open line of communication and lowering hostility is the key here. Privilege is relative, and does not have to be a bad thing – developing relationships and mutual understanding will lead to progress rather than exploitation. It is dangerous to let fear and anger become pervading emotions in any population, as it so often is when it comes to migration issues. While it is clear that migration laws take time to change, whether in North America, Europe, and Morocco, keeping lines of communication open and not treating Western workers as rich tourists will go a long way in terms of educating both sides. These days, knowledge travels quickly, but so does misinformation. Increased cooperation will simply make sure that the message is clear and complete.

First, empires succeeded to each other: Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans. Law and Philosophy flourished, major cities were born as well as countless Gods. Ensued Rome and Carthage, then Islam that finally marked the arrival of a power in the Eastern territory.

The Arabs who converted to Islam lived through a Golden Age thanks to scientific knowledge and dexterity in martial art. And soon, the powers of the West and East enter an era of hostilities. The Crusades were launched. Meanwhile the fall of Byzantine opened the doors to six centuries of Ottoman rule. Two World Wars later, the Mare Nostrum still knows no respite: an Arab Revolution that has failed, followed conflicts in the Gulf and the Balkans, conflicts for oil, and the confirmation of the American influence.

Then when Man invented powerful means to communicate, to move and to migrate, cultures were forced to interact. The foreigner was ultimately to be considered as equal in rights in one’s own land. But tensions accelerated and spread with a frightening domino effect. Nevertheless, and despite some lurking disputes over territories here and there, the world rejoiced while watching the planet transform into a Global Village. Samuel Huntington warned of a war of civilizations, and the attacks of September 11th confirmed that prediction. This tragedy, the work of extremists, was witnessed live the world over, triggering simultaneous reactions from all sides and marking, by its violence, the end of the truce.

Globalization stimulates intercultural tensions. Our means of travel, discovery and communications are faster and powerful: the South moves to the North in search for work, for an increase in standards of living or looking for knowledge and learning in leading academic institutions; the North moves down to the South for investment in emerging fresh economies or simply looking for a sun bath. And as if these two opposite movements were not complex enough, the South now moves often towards the South. Sub-Saharan Africans now migrate towards North-Africa, a territory that is slowly but surely transforming from a land of transit into a territory for residence and education. This has forced a country like Morocco, already beset with a deep identity crisis, to consider the new sub-Saharan element in an already complex equation.

Migration flows and directions are manifold. Morocco, long famous for its hospitality, seems it wants to keep that stranger away; most likely a reaction that is reminiscent of ingrained anti-colonial sentiments, a chauvinistic reflex or even a protective reaction that wants to preserve Muslim morals.

Shaken by the Western Sahara conflict and affected by claims from ethnic minority Berbers, national unity is threatened. The arrival or foreigners therefore only exacerbates these tensions.

Morocco’s opening of its economy and the launch of major projects has made the country more attractive: “The kingdom has become the preferred destination for job seekers in Europe. With the economic and financial crisis looming, European managers are seeking new opportunities.” (Excerpt from TelQuel weekly magazine, published in Morocco from June 26 to July 2nd, 2010.)

The integration of European employees in Morocco is not occurring easily. Those Europeans are often French, and Morocco, formerly a French protectorate, maintains a strong French tradition. The language of communication and even certain customs are already there to make the French resident’s stay comfortable. But the constraint comes from elsewhere. Westerners are increasingly idealized but if they fail to respect certain rules they risk heavy consequences. However, Western transgressors are only dealt with by parliamentarians, or populist journalists like Nini* who propagates the voice of the average bitter, anti-colonial Moroccan citizen, but in the same token, assumes that the European residents are de facto gifted by virtue of their origins, implying some kind of human superiority.

The African student is the new foreigner. Sociologists and journalists are looking very little into the subject given that it is a rather recent phenomenon. From my point of view, I noticed that many of them choose to live within their own community. I also noticed, unsurprisingly, that the few who had Moroccan friends were mostly Muslim girls, often veiled, forming a circle of Akhawates (Sisters).

Then came the worst of all: proselytizers, hiding in NGOs. Busted then expelled for proselytizing, which is illegal in Morocco, these foreigners were teaching Christianity in a country very attached to its own religious values. The U.S. Secretary of State who said that Morocco should respect freedom of worship is completely missing the point. For the eviction did not sanction a religious practice, but religious acts of propaganda, which are improper regardless of the territory and the dominant religion.

Despite the fact that politicians reiterated the importance of making clear the legal obligations of residents and also those regarding their employers, Morocco does not make the reform a priority, since it still perceives itself more a land of transit than a land that offers residence, education and investment. Moroccans roar their anger each time traditional values are touched and this anger manifests itself when the non-Muslim West attempts to export its morals and dogmas into the country. Among citizens, as in the legislature, the rule is the same: secular globalization from the North will not pass. Neither will it pass from the South.

In neighboring Europe, the problem is quite similar, but a bit more violent: the killing of a “blasphemous” filmmaker; extreme reactions to a caricature of a man considered perfect, prophet Muhammad; the banning of the full face veil in the countries of freedom of worship.
Then there is Al Qaeda, the crowded suburbs of immigrants in the outskirts of major cities and the burden of a heavy past that pressures and produces the social exclusion of a whole generation of young European Muslims. Foreign workforce was extensively exploited in the 70s and while workers were supposed to help local industries flourish, hopes were that they would leave their religious and cultural values at the borders; a grotesque miscalculation given the current social outcome. Humans migrate but their values do make the journey as well. Thinking that both can be dissociated, led to irreparable damage.

The complex history of the Netherlands for example, is interesting given the migratory movements that the country has witnessed: the Golden Age and the VOC, then Spinoza, Marrano philosophers, Calvinism, the advent of free painting expression and the arrival of Protestants and Jews who took refuge there. And since the 20th century, everything that was considered sinful started to embrace legality in the Netherlands: the consumption of cannabis is tolerated to a certain limit, prostitution has his temple in the Red Light District, the prostitutes pay for retirement, pass interviews and benefit from social security.

When the Netherlands started experiencing its first modern waves of immigration – mainly Turkish and Moroccan- no foreign resident had the obligation to speak the Dutch language. The model of integration was Communautarism and was not at its beginnings. Verzuiling, a system that encourages the segregation of different communities, was still an institution. Each community was defined by its religious, political or ethical thinking. There were Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, secularists, socialists, conservatives… Individuals from different communities had the right to attend Arab, conservative, Jewish or secular schools according to their affiliation. It went even further: public broadcasters split their air time between different communities. Whether on TV or on the radio, each frequency was divided into time slots whereby each group gets air time according to the size of its population.

So everyone lived in its own cultural mold, without really being encouraged to meet the Jewish or atheist neighbors.

With the massive influx of Muslim immigrants, many facilities were put in place to accommodate them. In 1967 the first mosque was built in the Netherlands. Today there are 500. The call to prayer is allowed once a day and more frequently on Fridays and holidays. The veil is not banned in public institutions such as schools, unlike in France.

Tolerance was therefore real. But the frail Dutch model collapsed like a crumbling dam.

The Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, known for his insulting stance against Islam and the Jewish community, was murdered with incredible violence by a young Moroccan extremist. (Pim Fortuyn, leader of the far-right party suffered the same fate at the hands of a “green militant”.)

Children and small children of the first Moroccan workers who were so far accustomed to live within their community with no requirement to merge into the Dutch society, are finding themselves more and more excluded from the labor market. Crime is becoming more prevalent among immigrants compared to natives.

The Netherlands, who preferred to continue on their double standard tradition of Verzuiling are now facing a deadlock. They subsequently decided that tests should be passed by every would-be immigrant before becoming a resident. Elections had to be canceled recently following a sweeping victory of the far right, certainly the result of social frustration. While in France, the land of secularism, a similar model to that implemented in Holland is to be followed: no religion will prevail in the public sphere where Republican values of equal rights and therefore responsibilities, are to be shared.

The impasse was however the same for these two distinctive models of integration.

Language and individual freedoms are as essential to social harmony as common history. The identity of a people seems to be defined by its past, and unfortunately, not only by the present or the future that is being built.

For Europe, the identity is built around Christian morals, cultural revolutions and, for more recent generations, the trauma of World War II. In France it’s all about the French Revolution, Marianne, Gastronomy, local folklore, and regional specificities. In the Netherlands it is about the history of West Indian docks, the polders, the impressive artistic heritage, national mastery of agricultural, commercial exports etc.

This identity is structured around traditions, but especially around a common history.

The foreigner, in this case the Moroccan, is the holder of a different set of values and a different past. Born in a family of Arab Muslims, he or she is free to attend an Islamic school**, had little opportunity to embrace contrasting values when adulthood requires him or her to live and interact with the natives. The exclusion is then fast.

With this torn identity, some young people fall into the hands of Islamist networks. Islam being open to all and especially in perpetual quest for new followers, becomes the last refuge. For, apart from faith, Islam does not require a specific language or folklore from its followers. This openness is therefore very attractive to people who feel doubly rejected both by their country of birth and their country of origin, leaving their personality in shatters.

In Morocco, the story is almost similar. Nobody, not the students from Sub-Saharan Africa, nor the investors nor the proselytizers disguised as NGOs, nobody is welcome unless they silence their own values, even if they are living in a country where identity is multiple and rich.

Finally, it is paradoxical how the origins of all these conflicts of civilizations constitute also an asset on which to build. The Global Village wouldn’t exist without globalization. Insisting on complete integration is counter-productive, even suicidal because it leads to conformism and goes against diversity which is the essence of survival. Unfortunately, the problem of migration is much more complex and is in need for a consensus. The question that needs an answer is: when will that happen?

* Rachid Nini is a controversial figure in journalism in Morocco. He is the founder of As’sabah newspaper where he writes a column prized by his readers. Critics accuse Nini of populism. He managed however to make his publication the “first title of the Moroccan press.”
** In the Netherlands public non-secular schools are also subsidized by the state.

The thing is, that if you’ve grown up ethnically white in an American or Dutch middle class neighborhood, Otherness is probably not a feeling you are accustomed to. I’m not talking about that sense of ‘being different’ that we all experience from time to time, or that feeling of just not being able to ‘connect’ to any other individual in our environment. What I am referring to is not an internal feeling, but rather an externally imposed sense of difference. A perception of Otherness in the eyes of our social environment that is based on unchangeable (and often inborn) aspects of our appearance, and that we ourselves are unable to control or change. That sense of Otherness that anyone who has grown up as part of an ethnic minority will be overly familiar with.

-Charlotte, a Dutch-American anthropologist/blogger in Morocco

Morocco has long been traversed by others. Passed over by Phoenicians and Romans, Jews, Carthaginians, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, Morocco is full of outside influences, yet has still managed to remain fairly insular. Morocco has been described as “proud and unruly”, and in terms of resistance, it always has been. Despite centuries of colonization, there is still a strong Amazigh identity. Despite attempts to crush it during periods of pan-Arabism, it remains, as does a uniquely “Moroccan” sense of identity, despite how different the coast is from the interior, the Atlas from the Med.

That Moroccanness is often at the expense of inclusiveness is an understatement. Talking with other foreigners who have lived there, and with Moroccan friends born elsewhere, or who have lived abroad for a long time, there is one common thread: Everyone speaks of feeling like an outsider.

Of course, this manifests in different ways. For some, it’s a matter of personal feeling, of a sense that they can never quite grasp Morocco’s intricate culture, its complicated language. For others, it’s literally public mocking. Walking down the street with a Chinese-American friend who was teaching in Fez, I witnessed this firsthand: No fewer than three teenagers shouted “Jackie Chan!” at him. No harm meant? Perhaps, but harm most certainly felt. For Indians, it’s shouts of “Sharukh Khan”, and for white women, it’s constant sexual harassment.

For me, however, it wasn’t the sexual harassment–however prevalent–that bothered me as much as it was feeling like an outsider, both from Moroccans, and in a way, from other foreigners.

As to the latter, the issue is this: Morocco has a lot of wealthy European expatriates who essentially live in enclaves of whiteness. Few learn Arabic, bother to understand Islam, or otherwise assimilate. Happy to live amongst themselves, the problem with these expats, for me, is twofold: I don’t have the money to fit into their world, but more importantly, their legacy means that I am automatically assumed to be like them–wealthy, unconcerned with local problems, and unable to speak Arabic–by many Moroccans. That means I get spoken to in French, no matter how many times I insist on Arabic. That means I am skinned alive by salespeople who think I can afford to spend 100 dirhams on their useless trinket, and it means that, for some young men, I am easy prey.

Of course, this predicament is possible to get out of, at least mostly: You learn Arabic, then insist on it. You wear a caftan to the occasional wedding. You learn how to bargain, fiercely. You treat those young men the way Moroccan women do, with a turn of the head or a tfoo.

Then there is the other issue: As a foreign woman, no matter what you do, you are outside of the rules. You are not bound by the rules of your parents, who might insist you marry a certain man or be home by a certain time. You are not bound by the rules of society, which might pressure you not to drink or to dress more conservatively. You are not bound by gender roles, which means you can sit in whichever cafe you wish and smoke a cigarette if you want to. You are free, but at the same time, if you do those things too much or too overtly, you run the risk of remaining an outsider, impossible to gain respect from certain friends, or at least from their parents.

And so, being a foreigner in Morocco–or at least, a foreigner who wishes to fit in–is a balancing act between being yourself and assimilating. It is rejecting those things that don’t fit (for me, Islam, conservatism, and evening tea) and trying on those things that do (Arabic, djellabas, and cheap buses). It is essentially an experience of being the Other, something that makes a lot of Americans and Europeans infinitely uncomfortable, but which is the daily experience of so many who have moved from East to West.

Post-script: For some background information, I moved to Morocco at 23, alone and living on a Moroccan teacher’s salary. Young white women in Morocco are not entirely uncommon, but they are usually tourists, or Peace Corps volunteers in mostly rural areas, or students who come for a year to study Arabic or on Fulbright scholarships. Therefore, as one of perhaps three young white women in Meknes at the time, my experience will likely be different from others’.

Moroccans are known for their hospitality, their openness and understanding, their tolerance and virtues. Moroccan women however are not known for their love of foreign women who marry Moroccan men. It started as a few stares here and there when we would go to visit Morocco, but when we befriended many Moroccans it became obvious that there was something else there. Out of a handful of 10 couples all of the men had married an American woman first, and only my husband and one other were still married to that woman. The eight other Moroccan women didn’t have to verbalize what was apparent to the two of us remaining.

Perhaps it was an anomaly however it was clear that we were looked at as starter wives and that eventually our husbands’ would divorce us and find the “real” wife from home. This might sound like paranoia but I’ve heard this tale and seen it countless times on my own. It has also made me realize that as an outsider I will never be fully accepted into the circle. Even if I speak perfect Darija, am a Muslim and do stay with my husband I will always be an outsider and the inner sanctum that Moroccan women inhabit will forever elude me as an outsider.

Moroccans are generous, hospitable, open armed and tolerant of others, but that is a layered reality. On the surface there’s the reception and drinking of a the’. A little deeper is the sharing of a room in a home, or a meal. Further yet is a marriage to a non-Moroccan and even children with them. Deeper is full acceptance into a household and a culture, the final step, and one I dare say simply isn’t done-no matter what the circumstance.

During that visit I had the privilege of meeting tons of people everywhere we
went. Some were hucksters wanting money for a “tour” or to take us to a trinket
shop, however most were genuinely nice people who seemed to enjoy meeting
and talking to American tourists willing to spend time learning instead of gawking.
A couple of experiences stand out in my memory and were instrumental in a later
decision to move to Morocco.

Deep in the Southern Souss plain, in the town of Tiznit, I sat in a public area in
the shade during a hot part of the day. A young man, obviously a student, came
and sat next to me and began practicing the English he was learning in school.
We had been enjoying a nice conversation for only about 10 or 15 minutes
when I found myself invited to bring all of my friends and have a meal at the
young man’s house. We gratefully accepted and found ourselves escorted to the
modest home of a typical, lower-economic-status working class family. We were
treated like royalty with a huge, multi-course dinner and hours of gracious and
friendly hospitality.

As the sun was setting, we were asked where we planned to stay that night and
we gave the name of a local one star or unclassified hotel we had found in the
guidebook. Our hosts insisted that we not check in to the hotel and that we stay
at their home, even after we refused multiple times. Finally, we assented and
accepted their kind offer, the five of us staying the night sleeping on the couches
in the main room of the house and sharing the squatty potty with the family next
door as well as the family with whom we were staying.

This scenario was repeated several times all over Morocco, in big cities like
Marrakech and Fes as well as smaller towns. We were always treated with great
deference and kindness as our hosts offered us food and housing, which we
always refused the first and second times they were offered, but those offering
were usually so insistent that we gave in and were humbled to watch Moroccan
families sacrifice to treat us like kings.

The next year I returned with a different set of friends and we toured new areas
of Morocco using the same method, self-guided “let’s see how real people live
and meet as many as we can” flexible-schedule travel following our interests
and fate. We never failed to meet kind and friendly Moroccans everywhere we
went and, even though we sometimes stayed in hotels and ate in restaurants,
we always went away from a town thrilled that we had visited and we again went
home with great stories of kindness and hospitality.

It was at that time that I was looking for a change in my life, a new adventure. I
packed my bags and moved to Morocco, thinking I would study Arabic for a while
and see where that led. I stayed for seven years, first working at a language
school and later starting and running a consulting firm working with foreigners
looking to do research or business in Morocco.

In some ways, Morocco was consistently hospitable to me the entire time I lived
there. It was different than when I was traveling, perhaps because in the earlier
instance people knew they wouldn’t be hosting me for a long time, but just a day
or two, whereas once I lived there, once you open the door and allow someone
in your home, you don’t close the door to them again unless you want to break
off the relationship. Even so, people consistently treated me with gentleness,
kindness and respect and for me, Morocco was an easy place to make friends
and live (it helped when I learned Arabic, and especially became highly proficient
in the local dialect).

However, not everything was sunshine and roses. Systematically, Morocco is
not hospitable to foreigners. It is unusually difficult to get a work visa (you must
first prove no Moroccan is qualified to hold the position for which you were hired).
Starting a business is a bureaucratic nightmare; for me this involved trips to
multiple government offices in more than one city, interviews with people in each
one to explain what I was doing in the country and why, a background check
with the police and extensive questioning that was occasionally uncomfortable
and weird in its implication that I might be up to no good, and I couldn’t apply for
a resident visa until the process was complete…a process which outlasted my
tourist visa by 4 months, so I had to travel out and back in to Morocco several
times just to stay legal.

Most people I met in Morocco, when I told them I lived and worked there, had
one of three reactions. Some were thrilled and expressed joy at my presence.
These became my friends as time went by. Others acted glad but soon asked
me for a job, either for themselves or relatives or friends. I can’t blame them
as I could easily see how difficult it can be to find work, but I could only hire a
limited number of workers and the constant barrage was sometimes taxing.
The third group looked at me with suspicion or derision, either because I was
a foreigner who may be taking jobs from Moroccans (even though I was doing
things impossible for locals to do, according to the paperwork I had to provide the
government demonstrating so), because they thought I was there for nefarious
purposes as a spy or a missionary, or in a few cases because I was a dirty infidel
who didn’t and couldn’t live up to their conservative-fundamentalist religious
standard of morality. Thankfully the last group was the smallest by a large
margin, and I should also interject that I ended up becoming friends with some
people who started out in our relationship as members of that group.
In each government office I was forced to visit, from the Ministry of Education
in Rabat to local bureaus in Fes or Casablanca, workers were apologetic and
kind. Some even asked me why my dossier was sent to them and why anyone
thought their signature should be necessary as they smiled, sighed, and signed.
I was given the impression in one or two places that processes would be faster
with a little money to grease the wheels, but I was never explicitly asked and
never paid a bribe. I know this has not always been true for foreigners, but was
never an issue for me. However, the detail and expense made starting and
running a business in Morocco something I do not wish to repeat. Even closing
my business took time, visits to many offices, and lots of signatures. This is
what made Morocco less than hospitable for me as a resident foreigner. It was
near hostility in the midst of one of the most welcoming society I have ever
experienced and another example of what makes Morocco such a difficult place
about which to generalize. I’ll go back and spend time with the people and culture
I fell in love with, but only to visit. I don’t expect ever to live in Morocco again.

Concerning the Moroccan and Muslim communities and the issue of integration, I think it is better to look at the arguments that irritate most European public opinions and that constantly try to depict Muslims as being persecuted and oppressed victims; -as a communist that does not enjoy individual freedoms, like the freedom to wear the burqa and other fashionable cloaks (probably to hide the bruises and wounds left by the husbands or brothers on the body of Muslim women). As long as they (Muslims) are the owners of the “absolute truth,” any encroachment that is susceptible to anger their one and only God may tomorrow lead to new demands asking for the closure of bars for example or for making kissing in public or making love unlawful, under the pretext that their beliefs, religious and moral senses have been hurt.

Despite all this, hostility directed against Muslim migrants is explained by things such as racism or xenophobia. We often forget (perhaps voluntarily) that the behavior and actions of these migrants are absolutely in opposition with the values of the host countries who paid heavy prices and long bloody years of struggle to consecrate human values and universal human rights and to ensure the continuity of the democratic system of governance.

One of these behaviors that are backward and the product of the Muslim migrant’s mindset are the activities of Islamist groups operating in many European countries such as France, Belgium and others. They are mostly active during election campaigns directing messages at all Muslims, urging them to boycott elections and ask for the Sharia Law to be implemented, considering that Europe’s democracy, which allows for the common citizen to run for the highest office for example, is blasphemous and contrary to the law of their Beautiful God.

Most of the Moroccan immigrants now settled abroad, did not migrate there initially for educational purposes and did not enroll directly into particular jobs. Most of them instead went there looking to sell hard labor for money and with little knowledge about the host countries’ language, belief, customs and traditions. They at best ended up cramped in huge neighborhoods with other migrants. They clung to a rigid lifestyle for years without integrating. They just kept answering their bodily desires while selling their labor. Their children do not seek to enter schools or if they do, drop out early, constituting a backlog for the work force. Some of them practice prostitution, theft and rioting. This serves as an incentive for parents to push their children towards religion, and therefore extremism and the rejection of the host country’s culture!

The Islamization of Europe is one of the problems that increases the size of hostility toward Moroccan and Muslim immigrants at large. It is such that we now hear and read on some websites belonging to the Arab community living in Europe terms like the “Islamic Republic of Europe,” and comments that announce the near death of the European civilization, citing the low birth rate among European families as opposed to the massive amount of Islamic migration into European nations! A number of ancient churches were transformed into mosques… How far will the patience of secular European citizens go?

Radical Islamic movements represent the true nature of Islam, given that they do not take into account the interests of any parties and rely instead on the interpretation of unambiguous religious texts from the Koran and the Sunna (the Prophet’s tradition). These movements do not act in the open and spread most of their messages through blogs and social networks, calling for a confrontation against other religions and beliefs and demanding the application of Sharia Law.

The demands of Muslims are incompatible with the European culture. These demands are based on an “absolute truth”. All those who differ shall be called kaafir (infidels) upon which the divine retribution and the contempt of the whole community shall fall. God bestowed knowledge and light upon Muslims, therefore their religious specificity is supposed to be respected, even if it contradicts the most basic human right principles, such as the right to life and to difference, otherwise the Islamic sword is ready to answer the call of Allah!