Sub-Saharan
struggle in Morocco
BY:
Ouhemmou Mohammed
1. Introduction
The
fact that Morocco has been for a long time a country of emigrants leads us to
make the assumption that the Moroccan people and state would be much more tolerant
toward immigrants who arrive to the country.
Surprisingly enough many Sub-Saharan migrants who arrive to Morocco are
facing a great deal of difficulties that start with violence, discrimination of
all kinds and don’t end with racism. Sub-Saharan migrants have not got the
chance of experiencing what is called the Moroccan hospitality. After arriving
in Moroccan, exhausted from the long journey, Sub-Saharan migrants start
another chapter in their epic of survival.
Morocco
has always been known for being a country that welcomes anyone who in need. In
the past few years Morocco seems to have lost its sense of hospitality, the
sentiments and the reactions Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco get are very far
from being welcoming. Discriminatory treatment and comments are at the
forefront of the problems Sub-Saharan migrants face. Discrimination on the
institutional level is also one of the major problems the migrants have. Sub-Saharan migrants are denied access to
services offered by state institutions such as healthcare
2. Personal Statement
It is very important to state that this
research stems from my frustration about the existing literature regarding
migration in general and Sub-Saharan migration in particular. First the topic
of migration has always been treated as an abstract concept, mainly in terms of
statistics, numbers and dates. The problem with this method is that it fails to
grasp the fact that migration is a human phenomenon. After all migration is
about human beings moving from one place to another, and it is about their
experience their pain and their hopes and so every work should focus at least
on one of these aspects. Second very few are the works that dealt with the
phenomenon of Sub-Saharan migrants either when it comes to their journey or
even their stay in Morocco. Even in the rare cases when Sub-Saharan migration
was treated, it was treated in term of push and pull factors, trends and other
things.
What is different about this paper is that
it focuses on something that has been ignored for a long time, which is the
human side of migration. The paper focuses on the suffering, the pain, the
resistance and resilience of Sub-Saharan migrants.
3. Methodology
This paper attempts to examine the
hardships and the difficulties that Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco face.
Conducting a series of extensive interviews with the migrants living in Morocco
was the adopted method. The study is based on interviews I conducted with Sub-Saharan
migrants in Morocco specifically in the cities of Rabat and Kenitra. The
interviewed migrants were 15in number both male and female between the ages of 20
and 35.
A series of questions was posed on the
interviewed migrants. The questions were not meant to stimulate a certain
reaction but rather to help the interviewees to open up and talk about their problems.
The content of this paper was generally directed by what migrants themselves said.
The variety of
topics covered in this paper is attributed to the type of questions I presented
to encouraged migrants to talk about the problems they have. For example women
stated that they have problems that are different from those of men. Racism was covered not because we saw that it is interesting
but rather because many migrants insisted on it. The only interference was in
putting those complaints and stories in a "subjective" academic way.
4. The
Historical Context of the Sub-Saharan Diaspora
4.1 Pre1990Migration Patterns
For the last twenty years Morocco has
surprisingly turned from a country of emigration to a country of transit to
become finally a country of immigration. For a long time Morocco has seen
migration as an outlet or a way out of from economic and social difficulties.
Sending young displeased men to Europe to earn some good money and send some
remittance back home was the strategy the government adopted to face difficulties
in places like the Rif region. Migration was always seen as an opportunity, but
no one could have expected that it will turn into a burden.
Up to the mid-1990s Sub-Saharan migrants were
not numerous nor visible in Morocco for many reasons. First most of the transit
migrants who arrived in Morocco managed to get away to Europe. Second there
were many migration poles within Sub-Saharan Africa that attracted migrants
from other less prosperous countries.
From the colonial period up to the late
1990s most Sub-Saharan migrants were more likely to travel within the continent
rather than to Europe. The Sub-Saharan migration patterns were more focused
within Africa, people moved from poor countries like Senegal, Togo and
Mauretania to more prosperous ones like the Ivory-Coast. Up until the 1970s the prosperous economies
of Ghana and the Ivory-Coast were major migration poles in the area, people
from countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea were more likely to migrate to Ghana
and the Ivory Coast (De Haas,
2007) .
The post-colonial Sub-Saharan migration
patterns shifted radically in the years1969 because of the political turmoil in
Ghana. The increase of repression and instability that followed the coup of
1966 led to a great economic set back.
Politicians found it useful to play on the nationalistic sentiments and
use the migrants’ community as a scapegoat. Politicians started blaming
migrants for the entire social and the economic difficulties the country was
facing. In 1969 the Ghanaian government started enacting the Alien Compliance
Act, which led to massive waves of migration out of the country. (De Haas, 2007)
In the 1970s the Ivory Coast and Nigeria
took over the place of Ghana as a migration pole and thousands of migrants
headed to these countries to seek opportunity. The prosperous economies of
Ghana and the Ivory Coast did not only offer economic opportunity for many Sub-Saharan
migrants but they also released the pressure on Europe. By attracting a great
number of migrants seeking better opportunities, the Ivory Coast and Ghana
played the role of migration out let for many Sub-Saharan countries. (De Haas, 2007) .
Ironically the tragedy of Ghana repeated
itself in Nigeria and so migrants were in trouble again. The notorious oil
crises of the 1970 struck hard the heart of the Nigerian economy, which in turn
resulted a lot of political repression and violence. By the 1990s Nigeria
turned radically from a country of immigration into a country of emigration,
thousands of Nigerians started immigrating to countries like Ghana and Cameron (Van hear, 1998) .
The year1991 was a very decisive year in
the history of the Sub-Saharan migration for three major reasons. First, civil wars
in countries like the Ivory-Coast created massive waves of migrants and
refugees heading to Europe. Second, the outbreak of anti-migrant sentiment in
Libya also led thousands of migrants who were working in farms to run out of
the country for their lives. Third, Europe has become in lesser need for
migrants and so became less tolerant towards migration. The European Union set
strict migration and refugee regulations that made it almost impossible for Sub-Saharans
to get to Europe regularly or even irregularly.
History repeated itself again in the case
of the Ivory Coast. The fact that the country was one of the most prosperous
countries in West Africa didn’t make it immune to political turmoil. In 1993
the situation of the Ivory Coast changed from that of a prosperous country that
attracted a considerable number of migrants and a great amount of investments
into a country that was saddled with war and difficulties. The economic and
political turmoil again tempted politicians to play on the Ivorian
nationalistic sentiments and blame migrants for everything. The military coups
of 1999 and 2002 and the violent events that followed forced thousands of
migrants to seek a better alternative (Van hear, 1998) .
4.2 Post 1990Migration Patterns
The number of Sub-Saharan migrants arriving
in Morocco started to rise in the beginning of the 1990s. The number increased
mainly because of the outbreak of massive civil wars in many Sub-Saharan states
and the absence of any African pole that would attract the migrants and
refugees. The outbreak of civil wars in many Sub-Saharan countries, and the
massive deportation campaign by the Libyan authorities led many Sub-Saharan
migrants to arrive in Morocco. Assuming their lawful right to use space the
transitional Sub-Saharan migrants started sailing to Europe with their small
fishing boats (Van hear, 1998) .
The 1990s were very decisive years for Sub-Saharan
migrants, since in these years many civil wars broke out in many African
countries resulting waves of desperate migrants. The year 1995 was also the
year in which Schengen agreement was ratified. The European Union became in
lesser need for migrants from African and consequently it became less tolerant
towards irregular migration. The strict migration and refugee policies were posed
by the European Union and the arrival of great numbers of migrant to Morocco
made the issue a new concern for the Moroccan society. Sub-Saharan Africans became
more and more visible in the Moroccan community and so the official and the
public reaction to them became less welcoming.
The European tendency to stop migration was
reflected in many legal and security measures. Starting from the treaty of
Amsterdam of 1999 to the Hague program of 2005 the European Union tried to
construct legal barriers that would stop migrants on the African shores (GADEM., 2010) . Europe also
established an expensive and advanced surveillance and monitoring system named
SIVE (integrated system of exterior vigilance) (Van hear, 1998) .
Accordingly with the anti-migration legal
procedures, the European Union adopted a strict if not hostile border control
measures. In 2003 Europe released about 40 million dollars to finance a project
entitled by Border Control Management.
The European Union didn’t only enact strict
border control measures that blocked migrants on the door step of Europe,it also
aimed at pushing its bordered outside Europe in what is called externalization
policies and the creation of the so called buffer zones. By using the policies
of “the stick and the carrot” the European Union pushed countries like Morocco
to embrace the European anti migration policies (GADEM., 2010) .
Morocco’s compliance to the European
pressure was clearly reflected in adopting laws like the law02-03. This law which was implemented in 2003
doesn’t only work to strictly regulate immigration but also emigration. The law
imposes strict measures on migrants arriving in Morocco by legislating the
creation of (retention centers) and it also makes illegal to leave the country
without advanced notice (GADEM., 2010) .
5. The Struggle of Sub-Saharan Migrants in Morocco
5.1 Living Conditions
After arriving in Morocco from the Algerian
border many Sub-Saharan migrants find themselves in the outskirts of the city
of Oujda. Not being able to continue the journey up to the major cities of Morocco
the migrants are forced to stay in the area of Oujda for a certain period. The
reason why some migrants choose to stay in Oujda varies from one migrant to the
other. Some migrants stay because they cannot afford the cost of the trip or
because they are denied public transportation. The arriving migrant chooses to
live in small camps that are spread all over the area. The reason why migrants
chose to live in those isolated places is that the rides and the deportation
campaigns are organized against them in the major cities. Sub-Saharan migrants
have chosen to lay low and become invisible by hiding in the jungle waiting the
chance to get to the European soil.
Doctors Without Borders states that those migrants
suffer a great deal of health problems, because of the condition of the places
they live in. The area around the city of
Oujda is filled with migrant camps, most of the camps lack the most basic
necessities of human life. The migrants also suffer many injuries because of
the violent attacks they are subjected to by many parties including Moroccan
gangs (doctors,
2003) .
In one of its reports published in 2003 Doctors
Without Borders vividly demonstrates the health problems Sub-Saharans livings
in the camps suffer from and the impact of mass raids on the migrant camps. The
report contains information about a great number of cases treated by the
organization. Most of the injuries covered are claimed to be the result of the
violent dissuasive measures used by the authorities to block Sub-Saharan
migration.
Since
most of the migrants I met were living in the cities of Rabat and Kenitra I
shall restrict myself to life in those cities. However just because some migrants
I interviewed have lived for some periods in those camps I felt obliged to
share such points
One
surprising aspect of my interviews with the migrants is that I came to discover
the fact that Sub-Saharan migrants are sometimes forced to pay double the price
that Moroccans would pay for a house. Very few are the migrants who stated that
they were renting a house with a reasonable price. One migrant from Mali stated
that he was renting a small house for 2000 DH. Personally I still couldn’t
believe the prices some migrants said they pay, such prices can only be
described as ”shockingly unaffordable”
“I live with seven of my friends; we are
renting a small house with two rooms and a small kitchen with 1200dh. Each one
has to pay 150 DH every month. Life here is hard even for Moroccans we barely
get to pay for the house and the food. When I cannot get money I have to ask of
one my friend to pay for me or I get replaced by someone who could pay.”(Saliho)
The
fact that Sub-Saharan migrants are obliged to pay high prices for their houses
makes their lives harder in two ways. First they are forced to be crowded in
large numbers to save money and make life easier. Second they have to work very
hard just so they can manage living considering that they have to work and
attract no attention.
It
is certain that we cannot claim that all migrants are suffering under the hands
of the evil, greedy Moroccan landlords. I also met migrants who were renting
house for reasonable price, although it is quite difficult define what a
reasonable price is. One of the migrants I interviewed was very comfortable
with the house he rents.
“The woman who rent me her house is very
nice. She even prepares me lunch sometimes. The only problem I have with the
house is with the crazy neighbors. ” (Abdullah)
One
of the migrants I interviewed invited me to his house. Before going he told me
that he was living with many other migrants so I could interview a lot of them.
I spent few days trying to imagine the number of migrants living in one small
house, but I came to discover my mistake. The house contained almost 20
migrants.
I first thought they were all living in
this small place because they have nowhere else to go, but later on I found out
that the reason was not only financial but also organizational. The reason why
migrants were crowded all in one small houses was not just because they
couldn’t afford having houses but it was something else. Migrants started
forming small states inside their houses as a mean of protection. I was greatly
surprised by the way the migrants organized their small independent, democratic
state inside a small house in Rabat.
The
migrants have formed all the institutions needed for a state (except prisons and
armies of course). The migrants have their own judge who is supposed to settle
arguments among migrants. They have their police who should break up fights if
there are any. In case there is a fight, the people involved would be taken to
a judge who would decide whose fault it was. The party that loses the trail
usually pays a fine that doesn’t exceed 200Dh. The money is used to buy food
for the whole house. It is very fascinating how migrants have managed to form
their niche as to survive in a difficult place.
Collective
housing was very common among migrants. The number of migrants living in one
house is more likely to vary from six to almost twenty. Sometimes the migrants
split the cost of the rent and sometimes they don’t. For example Maria lives
with three migrants who let her and other two migrants to live with them.
“I live with other five migrants, three of
them are students. They pay the rent, but they let us stay with them. We also
help we bring food sometimes if we can.”(Maria)
Collective housing is not always the choice
of the migrants. Not all migrants would be crowded in one small house since
many individuals choose to have their own solitary houses. The first reason is that the linguistic and
the cultural differences force some migrants to take the risk of living alone
and not with other migrants. The second reason is that there are migrants who
have managed to integrate in the Moroccan society and make good money.
5.2 Finding Work
The activities Sub-Saharan migrants embrace to make
living is also something that is interesting to talk about. The environment
where Sub-Saharan migrants live in is very hostile which did not only make it
difficult for them to earn their living, but it also made it hard to meet them
and get them to talk. Most of the Sub-Saharan migrants are living in
neighborhoods with high concentration of their fellow citizens. The migrants
are doing lots of odd jobs, they work in construction business, and some of
them live on begging.
A short visit to neighborhoods like (hay al
Nahda) in Rabat in the morning may tell you a lot of things about how Sub-Saharan
migrants manage to make their living. Migrants would go to a known place and
wait for the work to come. If anyone needed some worker then he would go to that
place and employ one the tens of worker lined up there every morning. The kind
of jobs this place offers is not encouraging as the work last for only one day,
so the migrants will have to fight for another job the next morning. The prices
of the jobs offered are not fixed so the chances of being taken advantage of
are very present. I managed communication with some of the migrants in this
place and their major complaint was that they cannot go in such fight every day.
“The place here is very competitive , if
you tell someone you are going to help with that job for 80 dh someone will
jump from somewhere and say he is ready to do it with 70. It is like we are
betting against each other. Other than the price the work here is very hard,
you work the whole day and break your back for few Dirhams.”(Jamal)
Alongside
with the daily fight to gain a living ,some migrants have been very creative in
generating their income, either by taking the chance of doing business inside
the migrant community or by out reaching to Moroccans. The number of Sub-Saharan
migrants in Morocco is said to be 20.000. Such number certainly offers the
migrants who want to run small business like selling African products a wide
range of customers, especially in cities like Rabat and Casablanca. Migrant’s
economic activities vary between working in shoe repair, selling African
products, cuisine, hair styling, and house cleaning along with many other
activities (Pickerill,
2011) .
For
the migrants I personally met, the activities they used to make living by were
very diverse. The practiced activity varied between begging, working in call
centers or retail. Three migrants I interviewed were working in call centers in
Rabat. Other ten migrants were mainly shifting between jobs or begging. The
reason those ten migrants couldn’t have good jobs can be attributed to two main
factors. The first is the education level, migrants who have low educational
level found it hard to get good paying jobs. Even for those who have high
education their diplomas or professional credentials are likely to be refused.
“I have handed my file to the ANAPEC office
and I haven’t got any answer for almost two months. I have good and useful
diplomas but I don’t think it is all about having a diploma.”(Pierre)
The
second reason for not having was not having the right documents. As in the case
of Maria who lost a lot of work opportunities because she doesn’t have a
passport and can’t get one.
“One day a woman came to me and offered me
a hob in her small shop. I was happy and said yes .she asked me for my
passport, but when I told her I don’t
have it she apologized and said she can’t give me the job if I don’t have any
documents. ”
The
money migrants earn can barely help them manage pay the rent and get some
decent food. Most of the migrants cannot save enough money to pay for the trip
to Europe so they are more likely to live in Morocco for longer periods. The
migrants I interviewed stated that they were living by their own or with some
partners. A considerable number of the interviewees said they could live by
their own but they wouldn’t be able to pay for any food, so collective housing
was their choice.
6. Racism
and Discrimination
6.1 Individual Discrimination
Racism or discrimination is something that
is difficult to tackle in the Moroccan context since many people say that there
is nothing called racism in Morocco. However, discriminatory treatment and
comments are something that is not difficult to notice in the Moroccan public
sphere. As a matter of fact one would really be surprised by the great amount
of derogatory terms Moroccans use to refer to Sub-Saharan migrants or even to
Moroccans with dark skin. As a Moroccan, I tried for a long time to find a word
for the way Moroccans behave with Sub-Saharan migrants. I tried hard to find a nice word for the
comments Moroccans use to refer to Sub-Saharan migrants, but I couldn’t. After a lot of thinking I couldn’t find any
word but the word racism. What else but racism could be behind the treatment Sub-Saharans
get from Moroccans? What else but racism could be behind the attacks and the
derogatory comments used to demean Sub-Saharan migrants?
Some Moroccans are not working hard to hide
their contempt of Sub-Saharan migrants. The first thing some Moroccans would do
when seeing a Sub-Saharan migrant is to start laughing and utter words like Azzi.
It is not strange that many of the Sub-Saharan migrants feel that Moroccans are
discriminating against them (De Haas,
2007) .27%
think that the Moroccans consider them as inferior,22%think they are treated
with contempt,29%think that Moroccans receive them as menace. (AMERM, 2008)
“It wasn’t until I arrived in Morocco that I felt
different. yes I felt that I had black skin, I felt that black is inferior. It
is only here that I have felt that.” (GADEM., 2010)
Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco are living
double tragedy, the first tragedy stems from the fact that they are irregular
migrants while the second stems from their ethnicity. The world now is
witnessing a great rise of nationalistic and xenophobic sentiment which creates
hostile and aggressive sentiments against working migrants. In our world the
migrant is seen as an invader, a job thief and a cultural threat, and Sub-Saharans
are not an exception. The fact that Sub-Saharan migrants have black skin makes
them clear victims of some racist people who see them in terms of their
otherness.
A sample of testimonies gathered by GADEM
shows us a small part if the great amount of racism that Sub-Saharan has to
face.
“I was living work with a Moroccan collogue. I was
driving on Oqbaa Avenue, (…) during rush hour. I heard somebody honk and I see
a vehicle pull up in front of my car and I saw a man about 30 years old, the
driver, get out of his car. I looked at him and he started insulting me;
"dirty negro Azzia get the hell out of here and go back to your own
country”. When he was insulting me he mixed French with Darija so I dint
understand everything but I understood that he was saying those sorts of
things.
I got out of the car and he continued to insult me,
threatening to kill me. My colleague from work got out of the car to try to
talk to him gave him the number of the national security office so that he
could call an agent.
At that moment, he took off his license plate and put
it on the hood of my car, "telling me this is my home, it is not yours
"I took the number of the license plate. There were lots of people around
us and what shocked me the most was that the people were laughing.” (GADEM., 2010) .
What is interesting about those testimonies
is that they demonstrate the fact that Sub-Saharans are targeted with attacks
not only because of their skin color but also because of the fact that they are
migrants. In the first testimony it is clear that the man used many racist words
to refer to the lady, referring to her as “Azzia” or “dirty black”. The man
also kept refereeing to the lady as a migrant saying that it is his own country
not hers and so she should do what he likes.
“It is very hard with Moroccans, they are aggressive
with us (….). I was frequently assaulted with a knife sometimes for no reason
due to racism. They treat us as Azzis ,black person go (…..)” (GADEM, 2010)
The problems Sub-Saharans face get even
more serious during football matches. Football which has always been a source
of pleasure, socialization and dialogue between individuals and nations is
nothing but a source of suffering and pain for Sub-Sahara migrants. While in Morocco
Sub-Saharan best wish is that there will not be any match between the Moroccan
national team and any Sub-Saharan team. A number of the migrants I interviewed
stated that their lives get very hard during football matches. Whenever there
is football match between the Moroccan national team and some Sub-Saharan team
like Ghana the hostile sentiments towards Sub-Saharan migrant gets very high.
Some Moroccan youth tend to show their enthusiasm about their team by picking
on migrants. The day when there is a football match is not the best day for Sub-Saharan
migrants in Morocco.
Camera says:
“Whenever there is a football match we suffer a
lot. Moroccan youth get very aggressive
with as, they keep attacking us and calling us the enemy or Azzi.”
Racism or discrimination is something that
is difficult to tackle in the Moroccan context. For some reason Moroccan people
always keep referring to Sub-Saharan migrants as Africans. It seems that some
Moroccans don’t want to wake up on the fact that they are also African, so if
Moroccans started considering themselves as Africans then it would be a good
thing to start with.
It is also certain that not all Moroccans
are culturally intolerant since many of the migrants I met stated having good
relationships with Moroccans, but as they say every family has a retarded cousin.
One of the migrants I met had a very interesting testimony. He was very positive
about Moroccans he said they are generous and welcoming the only problem is the
keep calling him “hey Africa or hey Mamado ”come here.
“They would be the best people if they just stopped
calling us with those strange names and call us with our real names.“(Alpha)
Many migrants especially those who were
living on begging insisted on the presence of the Moroccan generosity. Of
course the picture is not completely good since they also stated that they can
get rough treatment from time to time, but for them the general view is that Morocco
is good.
“Moroccans are very nice they give as many food they
help us, sometimes I meet some student who are violent, but I tell you Moroccans
are very nice.”(Maria)
The perception of the migrants about Morocco
is very much constituted by their experience. Each migrant told what he
believes based on what he lived rather than any already made assumption about Moroccans,
either positively or negatively.
6.2 Institutional Discrimination
The state of denial or the failure to realize
that racism exists in Morocco is not something that is restricted to the
individual level but also the institutional level. The same way individuals
refuse to admit that Moroccans make comments that are racist, the institutions
of the state follow a similar pattern.
Omar Diao who is an active member of an
association that works to defend the rights of foreigners and migrants in Morocco.
The association also works to promote understanding between people and fight
racism and discrimination against migrants. The name of the association is
GADEM which stands for Anti-Racist Group for Accompaniment and Defense of Foreigners
and Migrants.(Groupe Antiraciste d’Accompagnement et de défense des estrangers
et Migrants).Omar says when we filed to register as an association, the
reaction we got from the state was that "the word anti-racism should be
deleted from the acronyms of the association, since racism doesn’t exist in morocco."
Sub-Saharan migrants are also facing
various kinds of institutional discriminations, for instance they are denied
health and educational services many times. Police protection is not something
that extends to Sub-Saharan migrants, which makes them vulnerable victims. For
example, when a migrant is a victim of assault in the street he/she can’t file
a complaint because of their legal statues.
The 2004 Cimade Report mentions the
situation of two Sub-Saharan migrants who “said that they were taken under
arrest when they went by themselves to the police station to file a complaint
regarding an assault that had been carried out against them”, (Cimade, 2004)
Many of the migrants I met said they feel
like they are dangerous criminals and try as much as they can to avoid any
contact of the police, although they represent no harm to public safety. Amine
said,
“I was stopped by the police they searched me and
ceased all I have including my passport, now am afraid I get arrested for not
having it.”(Hassan)
Discrimination in health institutions is
also something that Sub-Saharans suffers from since Health institutions are not
very accessible for Sub –Saharan migrants. Migrants are always in need to be accompanied
by members of Moroccan NGOs so they can enjoy the service hospitals offer.
“Falling sick in this place is not a choice, if I felt
sick public hospitals would be my very last choice.”(Mario)
Sub-Saharan migrants are not only denied the services of hospitals but
they are even prohibited from approaching them. Migrants can surely get
arrested when getting to a public hospital. The Cimade Report of 2004 also
states that there are situations in which two Sub-Saharans were arrested “while
in a hospital in Nador”.
The migrants who had a regular statute
suffered other types of difficulties, for them entering the hospital is not the
problem but rather what follows. Many of the migrants with residency cards
stated that they could manage to get to the hospitals but they had to face a
great deal of problems after getting in. The difficulties Sub-Saharans face
start from the moment they inter the hospital until they see the doctor.
“I arrived to the hospitals, there were a lot of
people so I took my turn and waited. The nurse thought I didn’t know Arabic so
she started talking about me in racist way. I couldn’t make sense of all she
said but I was sure it was not nice. The nurse kept saying something about the
Africans and how dirty they are.”(Philip)
When Sub-Saharan migrants are not refused
health services, they are given the worst treatment possible. It seems that the
oath doctors take to help and aid the sick doesn’t extend to Sub-Saharan
migrants. If the migrant is lucky and manages to get to the hospital and live
with the comments he/she may hear from the nurses or anyone else the migrant
has to go a different stage and mistreatment. Camera clearly described the way
doctors treat him and other migrants in Moroccan hospitals.
“Doctors refuse even to touch me ,because am black and
dirty. When I get to a doctor he would just stay away from and prescribe me
whatever he can just to get red of me. Sometimes a doctor would prescribe the
same sleeping drug for other ten migrants. For them our only problem is being
sleepy, so whatever we suffer from it must be being sleepy.”
Although the migrants are doing all they
can to service and better their lives, the Moroccan community doesn’t seem to
pay attention to that. The migrants are working so hard to pay for their
houses, food and even get some kind of education and yet they feel that all they
are getting is discouragement.
“You can be a simple worker, a writer, a journalist,
you can be even an ambassador but you will always stay Azzi.”(Camera)
Even those who have the courage to go to
hospitals and have a residency card can be denied hospitals services. One of
the activists stated that many Sub-Saharan migrants went to hospitals and were
told that the hospital was for Moroccans not for "Africans ".As a
reaction against this kind of institutional racism especially on the level of hospitals,
activists are mobilizing migrants to know about their right to access health
services. Many migrant collectives sensitize their fellow migrants about their
right to access hospitals.
“Before we have founded our collective many migrants
used to go to hospitals, but they would be kicked out. They would be told that
the hospital is only for Moroccans. We informed them that they should insist no
matter what the answer was.”(Omar)
What I admired most of the migrants I met
is their resilience and sense of stoicism. All the migrants are doing all they
can to better lives although the difficulties they face in their everyday
lives. Some of them are taking French courses or Arabic or English courses,
others are taking courses in agriculture or other things. One of the migrants
is writing a book, another one has already finished one.
Some people may say that such incidents
that can be described as racist are only individual events. Personally, I think
they are not and even if they were they should not be tolerated. The tragic
situation in countries like Egypt and Libya started by individual events, but
turned into mass attacks and riots against migrants. In Egypt it started with
individual events and ended up with anti-immigrant storms and riots that resulted
the death of many migrants like what happened in 30 December, 2005. The last
episode in Libya was seen during the revolution when migrants were put in zoos
and accused of being mercenaries.
6.3 Media Discrimination
When I asked Omar Diao about why the pictures
Moroccans have about Sub-Saharan migrants is always negative and what would be
the reason that prevents Moroccans from better understanding Sub-Saharan
migrants and sympathize with them. The answer I received was quite interesting.
“It is the media” Omar said.
“The Moroccan media always give bad images about us,
they never say a single good thing about us. Whenever you read the word Sub-Saharan
migrant in a Moroccan newspaper be sure that the whole article will be about
crime and prostitution. All the Moroccan media does is showing how evil and bad
we are.”
Am not saying that all Sub-Saharan are good
people, there are bad people everywhere as well as good people, the only thing
is that the media shouldn’t over-generalize. Not just because one person did
something bad you stigmatize his whole race. The fact that the Algerian young
man in France committed an act of terrorism and killed many innocent people
doesn’t make all the Arabs or Muslims terrorists. It is only the media that
creates problems by making biased over-generalizations. If a Muslim did
something bad that doesn’t make all Muslims bad, the same thing for sub-Saharan
migrants.
The same as Omar many of the migrants I met
especially the educated ones complained a lot about the media. Many migrants
said that the media is giving the wrong idea about them. Indeed it doesn’t take
a lot of time or work to discover the negative representation of Sub-Saharan in
the Moroccan media. Below I present some samples that demonstrate the negative
and stigmatizing representation of Sub-Saharan migrants in the Moroccan media.
Regiments of prostitutes spread HIV in the
streets of Morocco. (Al Massae ,issue 1719)
Black grasshoppers invade northern Morocco.(ashama,6
september2005)
The hidden world of Sub-Saharans who are
trafficking in cocaine in the streets of Rabat. (Al Massae 2009/07/31)
Fraud and scams run on Moroccan citizens by
Sub-Saharan migrants.(al massae.Issue 1620)
Sub-Saharan migrants , a sexual booms
waiting to explode. (Tizpress 2012 January 23
)
In the case of vulnerable people like Sub-Saharan
migrants, media representation is not a luxury but rather a matter of life or
death. Headlines that are biased against the migrants can certainly create a
lot of hostile sentiments against them.
The article “Regiments of prostitutes spread in the
streets of Morocco .Issue 1719” is about Sub-Saharan prostitutes working in Morocco,
the places they go to and the efforts authorities make to stop them. The
article clearly has an interesting word choice, since the word “regiments” gives
the impression that there is an invasion on the country by those alleged
prostitutes. Second there is no need to emphasis the ethnicity since there are
Sub-Saharan prostitutes the same way there are Moroccan prostitutes. It is also
important to note that not all Sub-Saharan prostitutes have HIV the same way
not all Moroccan prostitutes are HIV negative.
There are many other examples that demonstrate the negative
representation of Sub-Saharan migrants in the Moroccan media .The Sub-Saharan
migrants are always associated with crime and diseases. They are represented in
a way that gives the impression that all they bring with them is more problems.
It is true that some of the articles were censored by the Moroccan authorities
but some of them were not. Even if they were censored the damage is already
done and after all the media need to raise to the challenge and take up their
responsibilities by making more balanced, culturally sensitive and accurate
reports.
The way in which biased media coverage
affects the lives of migrants can be seen in the problems Sub-Saharan women in
particular face. The media create the
general view that all Sub-Saharan women are here in Morocco for prostitution. Such
perception directly affects the lives of migrants. As Iva states it clearly
“We have a bad reputation .They all think we are here
to work in prostitution, Moroccan men are generally aggressive. There those are
who treat us bad because they think we are prostitutes, and there are those who
treat us bad because they find out that we are not prostitutes I think it is
the media that give people such a wrong information about us.”
Iva described how a Moroccan man
would come to her thinking she is a prostitute, but when she refuses to talk to
him he starts calling her names. It is really sad if people who don’t want
prostitutes in their country treat her bad because they think she is prostitute
and those who want prostitutes also treat her bad because they find out that she
is not a prostitute.
Even on the world level it is very
difficult to trace any media reports that represent Africa in a positive way. In
the world media, Africa is always associated with violence, wars, disease and
failure. The Moroccan media discourses that negatively represent Sub-Saharan
migrants are not the exceptions, but it should be the case especially that
Moroccans have always thought of their country as being exceptional.
I am not trying to draw a dark picture concerning the Sub-Saharan
representation in the Moroccan media, since there are some balanced reports
that cover the difficulties Sub-Saharan face in Morocco. For example the newspaper
(news of the day) made a quite fascinating article about Sub-Saharan
migrants in Morocco. The article was based on live testimonies by migrants
complaining about the difficulties they face in Morocco. The articles also
dealt bravely with the racism Sub-Saharans complain about with an impressive
objectivity.
On 15 April 2012 The Moroccan TV channel midi1 made a documentary about
Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco. The aim of the documentary was to present the
hardships Sub-Saharan migrants face in Morocco.
Personally speaking the documentary was not very successful because the
reporter was culturally insensitive. One could only laugh when seeing the woman
reporter go inside a tent and grab a small baby without his/her mother’s
permission and show here/him on the camera.
I managed to meet one of the Sub-Saharan activists who were interviewed
for the documentary, but he complained that most of what he said was censored.
The activist stated that documentary producers cut all the parts where he was
complaining about the difficulties Sub-Saharan face and they showed only what
was good. The objective of this censorship was to say that Sub-Saharan are all
having a nice life in Morocco and it is all nice and happy.
7. A View from Within
It is very difficult to claim that the
migrant society in Morocco is all about that unified body trying to survive in
a new difficult place. After all Sub-Saharan migrants are humans, and humans
tend to disagree sometimes and even fight sometimes. While conducting my
interviews I could not overlook the fact that there was some kind of animosity
between the migrants themselves. Such animosities can result from the fact that
they belong to different cultures, countries and also because they had
different experiences.
For instance migrants from Cameron or Ghana
complained a great deal that the migrants from Senegal and Mali are privileged
by the Moroccan state. Some migrants stated that their lives could be easier if
they had different citizenship. Camera who is from Cameron and Pierre who is from
the ivory-coast expressed how being Senegalese could have made their lives a
lot easier.
“A Senegalese
citizen can travel to Morocco with no visa all he needs is a passport, while us
from Cameroon, we need a visa to get to Morocco. While in Morocco a Senegalese
can easily get a job simply because he can easily get a residency card.
Personally it took me six years to have my residency card, I applied for it in
2004 and I didn’t get it until 2010.”(Pierre)
For Sub-Saharan migrants the residency card
is not just a document that you can do without, residency card means that the
migrant can move freely and get a job. If a migrant doesn’t have a residency
card it will be difficult for him even to get a roof on his/her head.
Another view was given by another migrant
who states that the Senegalese are not really privileged in Morocco. For him the
fact that the citizens of one state can be privileged is all about state
conventions. For example in Morocco a French person would certainly be privileged
to another person from Italy. When it comes to Sub-Saharan migrants it is the
same thing. Senegalese are privileged in Morocco, the Malians are privileged in
Algeria and the Gabonians are privileged in Tunisia.
It has to be clear that when we talk about
privileges it is not about any kind of special treatment but rather the
elimination of certain obstacles of bureaucracy. Even if some migrants were spared
from going through some bureaucratic procedures, that doesn’t make Morocco a
heaven because they will still have to face many kinds of problems.
Besides the nationality-based problems that
Sub-Saharan migrants have there are other language based problems. The migrants
from Anglophone countries like Nigeria are unlikely to mix with migrants from
francophone countries like Mali. Nigerians also find it hard to integrate in Morocco
since it is a francophone country unlike migrants who come from countries like
Mali.
Sometimes there can be fights between two
teams of migrants and so another team has to interfere. The Cameroonians
usually play the role of peace maker within the society because they came from
a bilingual country. The Cameroonian’s ability to speak both French and English
helps them communicate and understand the two parties and make reconciliation.
“Of course there must be problems we are humans after
all. We belong to different cultures, we speak different languages and most
important we live in a hostile environment. I had a problem with some Nigerian
migrants when I was in Oujda they almost killed me, but I forgive them. The
condition we live in are difficult, everyone is fighting for his own life.”(Pierre)
The difficulties Sub-Saharan migrants live
are something that can create shifts within the community but in some cases it
is something that brings migrants together and unifies them. For instance
migrants share houses and host other migrants regardless the country of origin
or anything else. The sense of otherness and isolation is something that plays a
big role in bringing the migrants together and encouraging them to stick to
each other.
“We say hello, although we may not know each other .we
share our sense of otherness. It is our otherness is what unifies us.”(Fatou)
8. Morocco as Point of Transit or Final Destination
In order to understand the conditions of
the migrants in the first place we need to know is their migration tendencies,
that is to know wither those migrants are planning to transit to Europe as soon
as they can or they consider Morocco as their final destination. One of the
findings of my interviews is that the general view that migrants are only in Morocco
to transit to Europe is not accurate.
When asking the migrants wither they
consider Morocco as a country of transit or a final destination, the answers, I
received varied from one person to the other. Contrary to the general perception
the Sub-Saharan migration tendencies are more complex. Based on the general
perception about Sub-Saharan migration tendencies we have two groups of
migrants. The first group came to Morocco considering it only as a transit
space. The second are those migrants who come to Morocco considering it as
their final destination. Surprisingly enough the situation is not that simple. Based
on the answers we got from the migrants we could make also other two groups.
The first is made of those migrants who come to stay but when they face a lot
of hardships and they see other migrants live to Europe they change their
opinion. The second group is made up of those migrants who come with all the
intentions to go to Europe but they stay in Morocco because they can’t transit.
As stated before the old, general perception
of the Sub-Saharan migration tendencies are no longer relevant. The choices of
Sub-Saharan migrants are very complex, since it is very difficult to state that
the migrants are in Morocco just to transit to Europe or to stay permanently.
The first general views that Sub-Saharan
are in Morocco just for transit is expressed by many migrants. For instance two
active members of different collectives in Morocco stated that migrates are in
Morocco just for transit.
“Morocco is not our final destination we are only here
to go to Europe. We came here with only one purpose which is going to Europe.
We are only forced to stay here for long period; we need to have a descent life
while we are here. We can’t just live this horrible life because we are
irregulars.”(Camera)
As it was clearly expressed by Camera Morocco
is only a waiting room for Sub-Saharan migrants. The sole purpose Sub-Saharans
have is to go to Europe and not settle in Morocco. Sub-Saharan are only forced
to wait in Morocco because they can’t transit to Europe. Camera expressed his
worries about the migrant’s life while they are in Morocco.
On the other hand Omar gave a different
answer. He stated that many Sub-Saharan migrants are considering Morocco as a
final destination. The migrants find it very difficult to go to Europe because
the border control measures are very strict, and they can’t get back to their
home countries because there is nothing for them there. The only choice the migrants
still have is staying in Morocco.
“Sub-Saharan migrates are here to stay, it is just the
Moroccan state doesn’t want even to hear this. Stating that Sub-Saharan are in
Morocco to stay may tempt the European Union to cut its support on Morocco. The
Europeans may say now they are your problem and you better solve with your own.”(Omar)
Indeed there are many indications that Sub-Saharan
started considering Morocco as their final destination. The cases of marriage
between Moroccans and migrants might be a good indication for these tendencies.
Only in the year 2010 the embassy of one Sub-Saharan country witnessed 300 case
of marriage between Moroccans and Sub-Saharan migrants. The cases of marriage
don’t only indicate that some Sub-Saharan migrants are considering Morocco as
their final destination but they also indicate that they are integrating in the
Moroccan society.
In addition to the two views expressed by Omar
and Camera as well as other migrants we can also include more complex views.
One of the views states that there many migrants who come to Morocco with full
intention of staying, but they change their opinion as they arrive. There are
many migrants who come to Morocco to settle and work and don’t even think of
going to Europe. Those migrants tend to change their opinion after arriving
because of two main reasons. The first is that life in Morocco is very difficult
for them, they can’t find any jobs and they suffer a great deal of hardships.
The second reason is that they see other migrants who managed to go to Europe
so migrating to Europe becomes a choice.
“Before I come to Morocco they told me that it is a nice
place and I can easily get a job. When I arrived I was shocked, I felt like I
was deceived. Life here is not easy you
can hardly keep a job, besides Moroccans are not very welcoming I saw many of
my friends migrated to France or Spain so I got more motivated to migrate to
Europe.”(Adam)
The forth and most interesting view is
expressed by another category of migrants’ group of migrants claimed they came
to Morocco with the intention to transit to Europe but they ended up
considering Morocco as their final destination. The choice of staying in Morocco
was generally attributed to two factors. The first factor is ability to find a job
and integrate in the Moroccan community, while the second factor is attributed
the difficulty to migrate to Europe.
“When I arrived to Morocco all I was thinking about
was going to Europe, it was like obsession, I couldn’t
live a day without reflecting on the idea. Now I realized that Europe is not
the paradise and that I can have a descent life down here in Morocco.”(Omar)
As it has been stated before, Morocco is no
more a country of transit for Sub-Saharan migrants in the strict sense.
Migration tendencies for Sub-Saharan are very complex and they can vary
depending on the each individual.
9. Different Places Different Troubles
After the interviews I conducted with a
number of migrants in the cities of Rabat and Kenitra I came to discover that
the problems Sub-Saharan face are not related only to their gender or country
of origin but also to the place of stay. The problems migrants in Kenitra
complained about were relatively different from the problems migrants in the
city of Rabat complained about. Many migrants stated that they had to leave
Rabat because it was not safe. As Maria puts it
“In Rabat you could earn some money by begging or
selling things, but the problem is that you can easily be arrested if you don’t
have papers.”
For some unknown reason migrants are less
tolerated in major cities like Rabat, although there are a lot of migrants in Rabat.
Associations like GADEM have documented many mass arrests campaigns and raids
on neighborhoods where migrants lived. Hay Nahda ,Hay Takdoum,G5 and many other
neighborhoods witnessed many raids against Sub-Saharan migrants . For example
during the nights of 22 and 23 of December 2006 more than 200 Sub-Saharan
migrants were arrested in the streets of Rabat and deported to the Algerian
borders (GADEM, 2010)
In February 2007 other arrest campaigns
were launched against migrants within Taqadum and Hay Nahda neighborhoods.
Organized mass arrest campaigns have become a policy that the police forces
adopted to fight migrants .Some records talk about 15 migrants deported daily
from Morocco to the Algerian borders (GADEM, 2010) .
It is needless to say that most of the
campaigns violate the most basic human rights of the migrants as well as many
Moroccan and international laws. Both the Moroccan law and the international
law guaranty some basic rights for migrants and refugees. For a start the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and
Members of their Families prohibits all kinds of collective deportation. Morocco
signed this convention in the year 1991 and ratified it in 1993 (GADEM, 2010) .
Article 22 of the Convention states the
following “migrant workers and members of their families shall not be subjected
to measures of collective expulsions. Each
case of expulsion shall be examined and decided individually.”
In the case of women and children the law
02-03 states that “pregnant foreign women and foreign minors can not be removed
from the country”. A member of a migrant collative I met stated that in April
2012 a woman who was pregnant and had two children was deported to the Algerian
borders and was left alone. Members of the collective knew about her and
managed to get her in contact with Doctors Without Border and get her some
help. The woman was later brought to Rabat where she was provided with help.
I am not mentioning such violations to get
involved in a direct critique of the government policies (God forbid) but
rather to draw attention to one source of suffering migrants have to live with.
Living in a constant fear of deportation is not really a nice way to live.
When it comes to the incidents of mass
arrest of Sub-Saharan migrants, the city of Kenitra has no records of such events.
It is either there are no mass arrests of Sub-Saharan in Kenitra or those arrested
are not documented because of the absence of associations concerned with
migrant in this city. Since no mass arrests or campaigns were launched on
migrants in Kenitra it would be very fair to conclude that migrants are more tolerated
in small cities like Kenitra. The reason why migrants are tolerated in kenitra
might be attributed to the fact that it is a smaller city.
The migrants of Kenitra complained that
they are not getting any help from any one. For example Maria who is pregnant
said that she went to Rabat for help but she was told that there many migrants
who also need help.
“They gave me an address of an association in Rabat,
when I went there they said there are too many people and I should get back
next day. The next day I come back but they told me the same thing I had to
give up I could not keep spending money on transportation without getting
anything.”(Maria)
I have managed to locate more than 30
organizations and associations that are concerned with Sub-Saharan migrants.
What was interesting about those organizations is that they were concerned with
everything that is related to migrants from health to social and legal matters.
What is also interesting is that they are all focused in the city of Rabat and
none of them function in Kenitra.
I find one of the migrants I met whose name
is Maria as a source of admiration. One can only respect her patience and
resistance. She had to run away from her country and take all the risks of the
trip. She lost most of her family members, her father and mother died in war
her brother is lost. She simply has no reason or motivation to get back home. Although
all the difficulties she has to live with you can’t but notice the confidence
optimism she enjoy
“Most of my family died and those who are still alive
are scattered all over. I don’t even know where my brother is”
10. A Call for Brotherhood
One of the migrants I met told me a story
that I think it clearly manifest how people can easily abandon their prejudice
just if they get to know each other.
“I know a Moroccan person who told me that he would
never marry a Sub-shoran woman, because they are dirty and they eat dogs, so one
day I invited him to my place. When he came I made him some delicious
Senegalese food, the Moroccan guy was so crazy about the food that he eat the
whole plate and asked for more. The new friend was so happy with the food
although few days ago he was saying that we eat dogs and snakes. Few days later
I noticed that there was something changed about this friend, at least he
started making discriminatory comments against Sub-Saharans.”(Mohamed)
Life can only be easy when people overcome
their prejudice and try to know the other and understand him/her. It is only
the promotion of understanding between the migrants and Moroccans that can make
the problems go away. Some people have paid attention to the fact that if
people knew each other and tested there prejudice the way they view the other will
change. If Moroccans stopped looking at Sub-Saharans with prejudice and
already-made judgment they may be able to co-live with them. Associations like
GADEM organize many activities that promote understanding between Moroccans and
Sub-Saharan migrants. The association organizes activities like football matches
between Moroccan teams and Sub-Saharan teams. The objective of those games was
to help people forget about all their prejudice, about their skin or race
differences and just play some football.
It is very true that Morocco is a great
advance in comparison to other countries. It least here in Morocco migrants can
talk and form collectives while in other countries, migrants can get killed if
they dare to complain. Morocco is more advanced than many Arab countries when
it comes to human rights, and all we want is to get more advanced so we can
have a better life. In the light of the events the Arab world is living and people calling
for democracy and human rights our deepest wish is that the human rights of
those migrants be included in such events. We would like also to see those
people included in the process of reform this country is going through.
11. Conclusion
For the last twenty years many Sub-Saharan
migrants started arriving in Morocco with the full intentions to transit to
Europe. The migrants were either running away from wars and political
persecution or just seeking a better life in Europe. The European reaction to
the waves of the migrants was not very welcoming. Europe enforced strict migration
and refugee laws and established even stricter border control measures. The
arriving migrants couldn’t transit to Europe and so found themselves obliged to
stay in Morocco for longer periods.
The migrants who found themselves obliged
to stay in Morocco had to face a great deal of problems and difficulties during
their stay. Among the difficulties Sub-Saharan migrants face is racism both
individual and institutional. Migrants have to face a great deal of
discriminatory comments in the public sphere. The institutions of the state
also discriminate against the migrants by denying them some services like
health service. The negative media representation that maintains biased images
about the migrants and creates hostile sentiments against them is also one of
the big problems migrants have to live with. In most of the cases the
differences within the migrant community brings migrants together and unifies them,
but in some cases it can turn into a source of suffering.
Understanding the situation of Sub-Saharans
cannot be achieved without understanding their migration tendencies. Contrary to
the general perception that Sub-Saharans in Moroccan are only transit migrants,
migration tendencies of Sub-Saharans are more complex. There are many migrants
who found it difficult to go to Europe or go back to their home countries and
so started considering Morocco as their final destination.
We can conclude that solving the problems
of Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco is not as complex as solving the problem of
famine in the African horn or the Iranian nuclear program. Fighting the already
made judgments and the biased ideas about those migrants can be a good start.
By making such a small step it is very certain that the lives of Sub-Saharan
migrants in Morocco will improve.
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