Economic decline drives many Moroccans to return home
2009-05-20
The impact of the world economic crisis is becoming more evident among the Moroccan community in Europe. Unable to make ends meet, the best option many have is to return to Morocco.
By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 20/05/09
 [Hassan Benmehdi] Border crossings with Spain are busy with traffic from unemployed Moroccans returning home. |
Moroccans may have noticed more European-registered cars in the streets lately. Also apparent is the number of returned expatriates now sitting in cafes, sipping tea and telling stories from a different life; or maybe managing new businesses.
The global economic crisis is weighing heavily on the Moroccan community abroad. People are losing jobs and find no options other than returning home with whatever is left in their saving accounts.
Countries in Western Europe host the highest numbers of Moroccan expatriates: 1.2 million in France, 800,000 in Spain, 350,000 in Italy and 250,000 in Belgium. With businesses in these countries cutting labour costs, the Moroccan community is often hit hard.
In Spain alone, more than 30,000 Moroccans have lost their jobs, according to official figures from the Moroccan consulate.
Younès Ben M’jid left his home in Kelâat Sraghna province five years ago, heading to Spain. He left behind a family of five to work as a builder in Marbella and provide for them. Six months ago, M'jid lost his job to a declining real estate market. He returned home.
"I couldn't find another job, because the situation of the Spanish property market is a real disaster," he said. "For four months now, I have been unable to help support my family in Morocco."
In Khouribga, where many Moroccans have left in the past to settle in Spain and Italy, Abdellah and Khalid sat in a café, sipped tea and swapped stories. They both left for Italy in 2007 to find jobs.
"We were working in a tyre recycling depot in Turin for 25 euros a day," Khalid said. "But since the start of 2009, we have seen our wages fall by half because of the difficulties in the industry."
Unable to make ends meet, they decided to return home. "Given the cost of living in Italy and the fear of exhausting our savings, we thought it would be better to return to Morocco and wait for better times."
Their waiter in the café, Said, said he has seen many expatriates return to the city. Some of them invest their savings in small projects such as cafés, phone centres, car washes and other businesses, he said. But that applies to the older ones, with enough cash to start a business.
For many in the younger generation, the situation is no better in Morocco. It's already hard for Moroccans to find jobs, so many expats are now digging into their saving accounts to make a living. This takes its toll on the Moroccan economy too.
According to Treasury Director Zouhair Chorfi, job losses among Moroccan expatriates have translated into a significant drop in the funds sent back to Morocco by expatriates. In 2008, these funds dropped 2.4% to 53.65 billion dirhams. As of March 2009, records show another 15% drop compared to the same period last year.
"Worse still," Chorfi said in a news conference earlier this month, "some Moroccan expatriates who have lost their jobs are now drawing on the savings they have with the Moroccan banks so that they can survive in their host country."
Chorfi said that the situation can have damaging socio-economic consequences, since many Moroccan families rely on the money sent back by the expatriates.
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AHMED ABDALLAH Posted 2009-05-20
Returning to your country is better for you. Reconstruct your villages, deserts and contribute to the development of your Arab countries. The Arab proverb says “If Bouzid Amar were Omar, he would have reformed his country”. The proverb also says “The bird says quack, quack even on a dry branch”. Stop living in strangeness abroad, racism, cleaning the streets of the west, building its roads, buildings, bridges and railways while your country has no infrastructure. The Baghdadi is Baghdadi and the Shami is Shami.
bouaziz Posted 2009-05-20
The only alternative for Morocco and the other countries of the Maghreb is to open their borders with Algeria. With $144 billion in foreign reserves, a stabilisation fund of $56 million, more than 20 million euros in Algerian banks, more than 174 tonnes of gold, and - let us not forget - oil reserves amounting to 1.2 trillion barrels. Indeed, I said 1.2 trillion barrels if oil and gas. And, there are gold, diamond, iron, phosphate, uranium, lead and steel deposits, fertile agricultural lands, fish, and so on and so on and so on. With all of this wealth, we could build a very very powerful Maghreb. Long live Algeria! Long live Morocco! Long live Tunisia! Long live Libya! Long live Mauritania! Let us unite!
Moroccan Patriot Posted 2009-05-20
This is just the beggining. When the savings of these x-pats are drained dry, then they will resort to liquidating assets. Look for real estate values to begin their drop in Late August. Look for crime to skyrocket this summer, banks have already been closed because of security concerns... look for everything that has happened in Europe and the US to begin happening here. The only good news is that all of this will force change. Hopefully, it will force accountability and real work ethic into people. Local govt. is being set up to take the fall... the reason local municipalities are being given more power is that when there are no more funds available to pay phantom workers and welfare recipients (people who claim to work for the govt. for life) it will all be blamed on the local politicians... while the members of parliment continue to embezzle money unobstructed and education continues its steady decline... One thing is for certain, Police will get raises... Police are the goons that society uses to enforce the status quo through fear and oppression, and when people feel like their future is bleak.. these goons will be in high demand and at a premium.
BMF Posted 2009-05-21
Notice: Moroccans Returning to Your Country- Avoid Casablanca. The city is under foreign occupation. Even just parking your car in front of your home means paying away your change - and quite a lot of change at that - to "foreigners". In fact, the latter are just frontmen for the "native colonisers" of new design. Choose a city that is freer from the local ravenous appetite under the guise of the cover companies and their foreigner frontmen. This is a shameful scam in its fullest and truest form, and not even the countries courts have any say in it!!! And, imagine, the infamous gangsters responsible for this aberration are planning to run in the elections without the slightest shame!? What elections can there be in a city under foreign occupation and in the clutch of the new native colonisers!?
Kenitra Posted 2009-05-23
Why should anyone return to Morocco who is living in Europe with a German, French or Dutch passport married to a German, French or Dutch having children who are born in Germany, France or the Netherlands? In our Family returning to Morocco is no option at all.
rami Posted 2009-05-23
The proverb says “tar of my country is better than honey of other countries. But now, the tar of their countries is better than the tar of our country, sorry the tar of their country because we don't have a country. We only have God.
Rachid Posted 2009-05-24
While the situation is quite chaotic in Europe, many are the people who still do not want to continue living in the Maghreb and still think of leaving for Europe. They would do better to get a move on here in order to change the daily lives of everyone. Europe is done with and the only alternative is building up the Maghreb.
Jamal Morelli Posted 2009-05-27
"The only alternative for Morocco and the other countries of the Maghreb is to open their borders with Algeria." Ameen.
AbouNussayr Posted 2009-06-03
The poet says “My country even when unfair to me is dear”. In front of this terrible event with the crippling economic crisis, the feeling of foreignness is getting worse accompanied with its problems and dilemmas. The common denominator for many Moroccans who immigrated to different parts of the world is getting out of Morocco at any price. They thought that they will find a better substitute to their miserable reality which many of our young people endure. Our main concern was individual salvation by getting out of the country. However, the new reality was bitterer and more difficult. In that situation, most of these young people had no other choice but to embrace all forms of depravity, decadence and vice for a moderate living. So he has not achieved the wealth of his dream. Even worse, some young people found themselves in prisons for a futile theft or for selling drugs and illegal items. So they have left the political arena empty to be manipulated as we see today. They have not participated to building their country in any way. The result for these young people is more psychological ordeals, schizophrenia and alienation. So he no longer knows to which side he belongs. This is the worst that can be experienced by an individual to the point of loss and forfeiture. We hope this forfeiture won't be a loss of this life and the afterlife. To avoid being pessimistic as this is not one of the characteristics of Islam to be pessimistic, I call upon all Moroccan immigrant young people to think quickly of returning to their country no matter what this costs and sacrifices. I call upon young people who intend to leave the country to remain their, contribute actively to building the country with all their powers and capabilities. We must all work for the change for a strong Moroccan nation with which we will restore for Morocco its historical reputation and cultural constituents, push it to the rank of developed countries armed with determination, will and hope. Young people are the basis of every change. So let's all work for our nation, change our living conditions, contribute to building our country instead of the nations of others. This is a call to all Moroccan young people inside and outside the country. Saidi Mostafa.
RCA Posted 2009-06-03
What does Morocco have to offer to returning immigrants? I hope we can take advantage of our migrating genuis brains and build our country so that people from other countries would wish to reach our land and seek jobs. Yes we can do that if government will listen.
Moroccan Patriot Posted 2009-06-05
Morocco is essentially an open air prison because of the lack of Justice. When you are drowning in corruption, due process does not exist, and nepotism and favoritism are the norm; ambition gives way to criminality; Work Ethic gives way to bribery and Accountability is something reserved only for those at the very lowest rung of the ladder. There is no accountability; there is no viable fourth estate. There is no effective desire nor capacity for education. The influx of MRE's will have the following results: 1. Increased unemployment rates 2. Higher crime rates 3. Lower real estate prices At least we can look forward to a drop in Real Estate values.
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