During our first week at CCCL, we learned about sub-Saharan migrants and the issues surrounding their status in Morocco. Currently, there are between 10,000-20,000 sub-Saharan migrants living illegally in Morocco, particularly in the major cities such as Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Oujda and Marrakech. These young men and women travel hundreds of miles by foot through incredibly perilous conditions in order to find work and money to provide for their families back home, however Morocco will not recognize them as refugees or asylum seekers. If caught by the police, they are usually brought to “no man’s land” without food, water or clothing near the Algerian border. They are very often abused by the police and are given no rights by the Moroccan government. The UN Council on Human Rights will recognize them if they register, but many are too afraid to seek help or give their information for fear of being deported. Most migrants come from Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Nigeria, and because they are identifiable by the color of their skin, they are victims of extreme racism in Morocco, although almost all Moroccans deny there being any strains of racism here. Furthermore, it is federal law that any Moroccan who “helps” an undocumented alien is subject to legal repercussions as well.
On Thursday, we visited Le Foundation Orient Occidente, a community-based NGO for sub-Saharan migrants in Rabat. Because this organization is funded by the UN, the Moroccan government cannot shut it down. The center provides resources, counseling services, and training seminars for migrants in order to help them assimilate into Moroccan society and avoid some of the racism tied to their characteristics. They do this by teaching arabic to adults and providing educational services to children in order to help them assimilate into Moroccan public school, which many migrants are able to enroll in if they have UNHCR status. We visited 4 year olds in nursery school and also learned about the variety of services the center provides.
On Friday, 3 sub-Saharan migrants came to our school to participate in a discussion with us. This was incredibly moving and emotional because of the stories and experiences these individuals underwent in order to get into Morocco, which wasn’t any of their final destinations - they all want to get to Europe but are currently stuck in Morocco, one for over 5 years. The hardships and dangerous methods of transportation across an entire continent as well as begging for money for the next step of the journey was incredibly difficult to comprehend just by reading, so it was very beneficial to have these individuals come and share their experiences. There is hope, however, because NGOs and scholars are bringing this issue to light to the Moroccan public, especially the human rights violations and inhumane treatment of these human beings. Additionally, these migrants are forming social networks and personal relationships with each other in order to organize and provide for each other. It is difficult to learn about these types of issues among fellow human beings, especially because their experiences are so different than the conditions in which we American students are blessed to live in at home. It was truly a remarkable week of learning that will stick with me for a very long time.
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