Creating a Culture of Emigration

While for the entire first half of the 20th century Morocco was a country of immigration, taking in relatively large streams of immigrants from certain European countries, it has now become a country of emigration. By Mohamed Khachani

Emigration from Morocco to the European region has become a major social phenomenon since the 1960's. These days the various economic, political and social dimensions of the migration question feature almost daily in the media. The streams of migrants are the result of a high propensity for migration, especially among the young in Morocco. This high propensity for migration is the product of the combined effect of three types of factors:
– Economic factors – the result of differences in the level of development and the employment situation, the income gap as well as the hope of earning money more quickly in the countries of destination.
– Enticement factors that are primarily of a psycho-sociological nature.
These factors breed the mechanisms of emigration and have the effect of turning a latent desire to emigrate into the actual act of emigrating. Here the image of the emigrant enjoying social success when he/she returns to his country of origin on annual vacation plays an important role, as does the positive portrayal on radio and television. The disadvantaged classes are transported every evening via dozens of television channels into a magical world which cultivates their desire to emigrate.

Profit from "legal fragility"

But the idea of emigrating is also stimulated by factors associated with the target countries where there is a demand for a specific sort of work which, for reasons of costs and flexibility, meets the criteria of a secondary labour market characterised by precarious and socially undesirable jobs.

This demand for labour comes mainly from the black economy, which is highly developed in the countries of the European Union, especially in the Arco Latino countries. Here employers are increasingly employing illegal immigrants and profiting from their "legal fragility".

All these factors have supported this high propensity for emigrating and have even helped create a culture of emigration.

Network of economic links

The Moroccan expatriate community maintains very solid economic links with Morocco. The effects of this can be seen on two levels: income transfers on the one hand, and the utilisation of these on the other.

The money transfers, which are a major factor of the migration problem both on a macroeconomic and a microeconomic level, represent a considerable source of foreign exchange for the country's finances. These transfers take different forms: there are the "visible" circuits and the "invisible" or "underground" circuits, which don't pass through official channels.

In 2006 official transfers amounted to more than 3.8 billion euros (almost 9 % of GDP) and constituted the primary source of foreign exchange for the state's finances. Because they are so ample they have a decisive impact on financing growth and on the financial equilibrium of the national economy.

The main investment sector for migrants remains the real estate sector. But increasingly we are seeing the economic field occupied by migrants expand into other sectors such as the purchase and use of agricultural land, the creation of modern cattle-breeding businesses, investments in tourism, especially in the hotel and restaurant sector, shopping centres, small and medium-sized industrial enterprises, especially in the clothing, food and building materials industries, and so on.

Rethinking migration policy

But this development remains stinted when one considers the opportunities offered by the Moroccan economy. The ultimate problem is knowing how to steer the potential in terms of finances and know-how to the countries of origin more effectively. This should be a major goal of Moroccan migration policy.

It is all the more important in light of the serious socio-economic constraints Morocco is confronted with and the crucial deadlines it faces, particularly the creation of a free-trade zone with the European Union. This project denies people the freedom of movement in the European Mediterranean Region, even though this possibility is envisaged in the new neighbourhood policy.

In fact, European migration policy continues to focus on the security aspects, constructing the relations between Europe and the Mediterranean Region much more on the basis of the "potential capacity to cause damage" of the neighbours in the South than on the many shared interests.

The migration issue must not be externalised

However, this policy has shown its limits and has produced the opposite effect: it has not stopped the streams of illegal migrants and at the same time it has led to the development of mafia networks which offer their services at exorbitant prices. It helps perpetuate negative images, clichés and stereotypes and helps cultivate rejection of "others" among the public.

Therefore, this policy, which is tending to become ever tougher, preferring to externalise the migration issue and put pressure on the countries of origin to sign re-entry agreements, needs to be rethought.

They furthermore need to be incorporated into a global and integrated approach which gives a more tangible dimension and a more real purpose to the dialogue and the European-Mediterranean partnership, the declared goal of which is to make this "Mare Nostrum" a place of peace and shared prosperity.

Mohamed Khachani

Mohamed Khachani heads the Moroccan Association for the Study and Research on Migration, Université Mohammed V Agdal, Rabat.

Translated from the French by Marsalie Turner

Qantara.de

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