the Art of self expression

Rabat, June 2-3, 2007

Abstract

Moroccans who live abroad, and in particular those who reside permanently in Europe, are more and more inclined to think of their future as inextricable from the reality of their host countries. One main reason behind this tendency is that the host country provides the context where the emigrant’s everyday life unfolds. This reality can be seen in the Moroccans’ drive towards massive naturalization and their involvement in the social and political spheres of their host countries: collective involvement in political, associative and syndicate life etc. However, beyond its massive and irreversible nature, the integration process in their countries of adoption does not sever the links and (the emotional and legal) attachment Moroccan expatriates feel towards their home country. The strength of their commitment and attachment to their home country continue to be renewed. In the same way, the Moroccan state is not exempt from its commitments and obligations to its nationals simply because they are temporarily or permanently “out of home.”

This seminar seeks to address the manifold issues of participation and citizenship of Moroccan expatriates. The status of this group’s children who were born, schooled and socialized in the way of life of the host country requires even a more innovative approach so as to understand the underpinnings of the problematic of their belongingness.

As a first step, there is the urgency to collect, process and interpret data on the status of double belongingness which is the attribute of a large segment of the Moroccan population. A fair, rational and objective analysis of this data should help in the reconstructive process in the areas of citizenship and public policies.

Moroccan residents abroad are now in the most part first class citizens in their host countries. In a way, their host countries continue to be ‘foreign’ only in the eyes of Morocco. Even when they do not opt for the nationality of their countries of residence, Moroccan expatriates take full advantage of the democratic process in their host countries and actively participate in public life by voting in local elections, electing union leaders and joining associations. In such a democratic context, residence citizenship takes on a more concrete meaning.

The question of the exercise of political citizenship by Moroccan expatriates, be they dual nationals or not, should be discussed in the light of this new configuration. The approach should also be fine-tuned to address the specificities of the host countries (Arab countries, Africa, Europe, America, etc.). These are sample issues to consider:

   How to practise one’s right as a Moroccan national while living abroad and having one’s future tied to the future of another society and to another national political, cultural and social order?

   How to remain a citizen of one’s home nation without disrupting or jeopardizing the integration process in the host country?

   Can one be an immigration deputy, that is a deputy belonging to a population that lives permanently outside the home country, with specific realities and legitimate aspirations that make sense only in the country of permanent residence, while ensuring general interest and common good? But what are the meaning of general interest and a vision of common good in such context? Do they have the same meaning here and there?

   Can one be at the same time and in the same way a citizen and if need be an actor in political and public life here and there? Finally, how to acquire and implement this right without complicating or harming the diplomatic relations between states and which could in the final term harm the interests of the community one seeks to serve? In fact, each nation is right to claim the exclusive allegiance of its nationals and their full exercise of civil and political rights prescribed in the legal national order.

Hence, the objective of this seminar is to get participants to start thinking about issues of belongingness and citizenship from three different perspectives:

   A legal perspective: this level should address the problematic of the double nationality and the principle of allegiance

   A political perspective: this level should explore forms of attachment and civic participation of Moroccan expatriates both in Morocco and in their states of residence.

   An institutional perspective: this level should help think through an institutional framework and stable rules to mediate interaction and reassure both the populations and the states.

It is within this scope that the creation of the imminent Council of Moroccan Residents Abroad should be viewed. This seminar should also help in determining the field of action, prerogatives and missions of this institution. To succeed in its mission, the structure of the Council of Moroccan Residents Abroad should meet the recommendations of competence, representativeness, effectiveness and credibility outlined in the Royal address of November 6, 2006.

On one hand, this seminar would be then an occasion to tackle the issue of rights in light of the new challenges resulting from international mobility and the unprecedented challenges that face both the states and international institutions.

On the other hand, the seminar is also about rethinking these rights while remaining sensitive to the constraints experienced by groups and individuals faced by the same challenges. In other words, it is also very important to examine how Moroccan expatriates develop different ways of thinking about citizenship and participation through associative, political and syndicate action and through their involvement in humanitarian and development projects both in their countries of residence and in Morocco.

It is worth mentioning that all actors are confronted with the changes in the concept of citizenship in both the host countries and in Morocco.

In the host countries, the challenges of integration are homogenized by the impact of globalisation and ongoing constructions of new meanings of citizenship in the old nation-states of Europe. In Morocco, a country that aspires to strengthen its democratic transition, the concept of citizenship is also open to debate in a context of emergent cultural identities and a state of flux between political and institutional actors.

For more information visit: http://www.ccdh.org.ma/migration/index.php?lang=en