Sub-saharan residents in Morocco on their new chosen home

Oftentimes, Moroccans seem to forget the continent they are part of. From varied classifications such as North African and Arab to steril debates around the myriad of social differences splitting the continent into two separate, distinct hemispheres, Moroccans have long looked more north than south.

But February 6 constituted a much-needed reminder of Moroccans’ attachment to their continental identity.

Hundreds of Senegalese nationals flocked Casablanca’s streets that day, to celebrate their country’s first-ever AFCON cup, waving their homeland’s flags alongside Morocco’s. The Kingdom’s nationals shared their “brothers and sisters’” joy, as they rejoiced at the historic title.

Across Moroccan media, a great deal of conversation is held around sub-Saharan migrants transiting through Morocco as a pit-stop before migrating to Europe for a better life.

But what isn’t talked about enough, are the thousands who chose Morocco as their new home, with no intention of leaving.

Alex Kombila first arrived in Marrakesh from Gabon at the tender age of 18, to pursue his studies in law. At first, his eyes were set on France but had to settle for Morocco after having missed application deadlines to the European country’s universities.

But once he arrived, “he fell for Morocco’s charm,” which he now describes as “the ideal place for young African visionaries.”

Kombila’s first impression of the country was that “it’s truly an extremely developed African country, in stark contrast with others.”

“Impeccable infrastructure, universities, a large African community of youth and students and an overwhelming sense of continuous joy,” are among the main motivators behind ever-growing groups of sub-Saharan Africans’ choice for Morocco as a dream destination, as Kombila told Hespress EN in an interview.

Morocco has been attracting more and more foreign students to its universities and colleges in the past 20 years.

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of National Education, there are over 20,500 foreign students across Moroccan universities today, 10,000 of which are benefiting from scholarship programs, 85% of which are of sub-saharan origins.

Most of these foreign students come from Gabon, which has almost doubled its flow of students to Morocco, the Ivory Coast and Senegal.

Many chose to stay way beyond graduating. This is the case for Senegalese Abdoulaye Wane, a 30-year-old graphic designer, who decided to extend his stay after earning a bachelor’s degree, “to take advantage of different professional opportunities” the Kingdom has to offer.

When asked about why he left Senegal, Abdoulaye cited various reasons, namely a “high unemployment rate and rough socio-economic conditions,” which make it harder for him to seriously consider returning to his country.

Abdoulaye describes Morocco as “a welcoming country for foreigners, especially the Senegalese who constitute the largest African community in the country.”

He told Hespress EN that the Kingdom “is accessible, and offered the training he wanted at an affordable price,” before amusingly adding it is “also a good country to live in.”

But beyond higher education, for which Moroccan universities are often ranked in the African top 5, young African entrepreneurs increasingly chose Morocco to invest and launch their business.

27-year-old Marie Okoro came to Morocco from Nigeria “for the food,” telling Hespress EN that while on a trip with a group of friends, she “fell in love at the first bite of a lamb tagine.”

With plans to open a restaurant in her hometown of Uyo, she uprooted her life and settled in Tangier, where she now owns a small at-home Nigerian food catering service and is enrolled in culinary school.

When asked if she would ever consider going back to Nigeria, Marie smiled and went pensive, “to see my family while on vacation, of course.”

“Its beautiful, peaceful, and opportunities are multiplied here,” she says of Morocco, “my hairdresser is from Cameroon, my Moroccan landlady is married to a Senegalese man, it was hard to make friends at first, but the community was very friendly and welcomed me with open arms.”

“Open” is an adjective that was recurrent among the migrants Hespress EN interviewed, even more, surprising was the frequency with which the sub-Saharan community kept referencing King Mohammed VI’s “vision of furthering Morocco’s involvement in Africa.”

Kombila, a socially active student at the prime of his optimistic youth fueled ambitions, highlighted the “King’s procedure,” a procedure that was established at the request of the monarch, to give leeway to residents who have overstayed their academic period in the country, to establish their resident permit with ease.

The law student additionally pointed to the difficulty of being able to both pursue studies and work in Morocco while on a student visa, telling Hespress EN that it constitutes a primary disadvantage here.

The administrative steps to obtain a residence permit, which would make it possible for the students to work on the side, are very difficult for some people whose student status expired.

Administrative hurdles are often not the first disadvantage that comes to mind when discussing the sub-Saharan community’s experience in Morocco.

Racism, although covert, remains a central issue in the debate surrounding the communities’ lives in the Kingdom.

Across social media, people, Moroccans especially, are often criticizing the blatant and institutionalized racist tendencies some nationals have towards “the foreigners with darker skin.”

From landlords putting up signs banning rent to “Africans,” to racist slurs uttered under someone’s breath in the street, it would be untruthful to say that sub-Saharan Africans are not subject to racism. But Kombila insists that “there are bad apples everywhere,” and that racists are “isolated incidents” and not an overarching problem to the community.

Marie, however, disagrees. “I don’t think discrimination and racism towards sub-Saharan Africans are very prevalent in Morocco, but it is definitely worse for women,” she says.

She recounts incidents where she was dismissed in some establishments, “hotels, restaurants, they seem to undermine you when you walk through the door without a man.”

She also said that “after learning a little bit of the lingo, street harassment became more obvious” to her.

Nevertheless, Marie maintains that “the overall experience is extremely pleasant,” and that once she acclimated to the social scene in Tangier, her move proved to be the right decision.

As Morocco continues to push for a bigger economic, social and diplomatic leadership role on the African continent, Moroccans themselves are noticeably becoming more attached to their greater motherland.

With the growing debate over the accuracy of an “Arab” adjective to Cerne the Moroccan identity, Moroccans are increasingly turning south for both business and pleasure, with the rise of jointly appreciated art and entertainment, joint economic endeavors and expansions, and a sense of “binding brotherhood,” the kingdom’s “openness” may soon bear the fruits of its ambitious rapprochement strategy, as currently lived by the migrants who chose Morocco as their new home.