Moroccans living abroad: revenues and challenges

As the flow of Moroccan expatriates towards their country of residence peaks in the last weekend of September, questions arise not only about their contribution and potential role in the Moroccan economy but also the programmes the government has prepared to meet their changing needs and challenges. Most come from Europe where the economic crisis hasn’t been overcome fully, their situation triggers both hope and fear, given the growing economic, political and cultural problems they face, the extent of dependence on their savings and the specific infrastructure Morocco prepares for their annual visit.

Recognising the changes in Moroccan expatriates’ demography and geography three official institutions have been set up to address their demands. The first is the Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs. Its main role is to provide legal, technical and administrative services and similar formalities. The second is Hassan II Foundation for Moroccans Residing Abroad (MRA). While it focuses on the same population, it aims to provide more communicative, media, cultural, social and economic activities. It also owns the Moroccan Expatriates’ Observatory, a research centre that collects and analyses information about MRA and their situation. The third is the Council for the Moroccan Community Abroad (CMCA). The council has a consultative role in representing MRA on immediate concerns that include challenges of language, culture, religion, identity, integration and legal rights. It also helps review public policies that tackle facets of emigration and their effects on MRA.

While the three official bodies serve similar purposes, they have different links to political players in Morocco. The ministry, the only part publicly accountable for its activities, clings to the programme of the government towards MRA and emigration issues. The foundation, on the other hand, is related to the king and partakes in a set of foundations managed to provide public services. CMCA’s president is king appointed, while council members include representatives of 11 ministries and seven high councils and foundations in domains related to preserving MRA’s cultural, political and economic bonds to Morocco.

According to recent statistics, five million Moroccans live abroad, in around 100 countries. With a clear concentration in Europe, 80 per cent of MRA live in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Germany. In France alone, for instance, the number of MRA soared from 678,917 to 1,131,000 between 1993 and 2007. One key difference from the past is that 47 per cent of MRA today are women. Another is that at least 44 per cent hold dual-nationalities mainly including third – or fourth – generation expatriates who were born abroad. Unlike the first generation that participated in WWII and the second generation that filled Europe’s post-war need for unskilled workers (miners, farmers, builders, etc), the third wave of expatriates included university graduates who emigrated to further studies or seek better living condition. Today, the socio-economic structure of MRA has changed with more than 16 per cent attaining diplomas, working at high calibre institutions and functioning at critical decision-making levels in their host countries. Despite their wide involvement in political, economic and local authority activities abroad, the problem the three bodies fail to solve for MRA is representation in the Moroccan Parliament.

Only a few MRA are entrepreneurs inside Morocco. The main sectors where they invest are housing, commerce, tourism, and information and communications technology recently. Bureaucracy, a lack of transparency and mistrusting the local economy hamper others from engaging in the economy. Besides, they contribute to the development of the country via direct remittances. This year, due to the economic crisis in Europe and its resulting job shortage, hard currency revenues reduced by 1.4 per cent compared to last year’s figures; in the first third of 2013, MRA sent 18.22 billion Moroccan dirhams, while in the same period in 2014 only 17.96 billion Moroccan dirhams were recorded at the Office of Exchange. Yet, MRA remittances in the two recent years were stable: 58.8 billion Moroccan dirhams in 2012 compared to 58.4 billion Moroccan dirhams in 2013, making up around seven per cent of Morocco’s GDP.

Apart from economic contribution, Moroccan expatriates face problems they hope their home country helps solve. Being absent from parliamentary discussions, they depend on civil society to voice their concerns.

The foremost problems are cultural. Expats face difficulties in learning Arabic and Islam. That is why, for the sixth year, the ministry is organising three summer courses in universities in Casablanca, Tetouan and Agadir. Some 222 students, aged 18-25, living in 20 countries benefited from them in the first half of August; the programme presents content courses the ministry deems important such as Moroccan history, culture, language in addition to field trips to historical sites.

Retired MRA have their own woes with difficulties in receiving their retirement benefits. Finally, Moroccan expatriates mostly come back home in the summer. In addition to the insufficient ministry programmes, cultural NGOs and the media need to present social, cultural and economic programmes that address third and fourth generation’s expectations.

Parliamentary representation is a must to change the stereotypes that emigration necessarily results in wealth, that their wealth is vulnerable to exploitation and that Moroccan women, especially in the Golf States, work in bars and as prostitutes. By providing them the possibility of influencing public policies, Morocco can benefit from the economic capacities and social expertise MRA have gathered elsewhere. Otherwise, MRA’s dissatisfaction with official services will continue to increase and hope in the 2011 constitution and government will wane.

Abderrahim Chalfaouat is a researcher in media studies and MENA politics from Morocco.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.