Migration in Morocco: History, Current Trends and Future ... - MGSoG

discrimination. Giving young men the opportunity to work abroad and earn good money
was seen as a means to reduce rebellious tendencies and contribute to prosperity (de Haas,
2007a). Those early departure zones of international migration have also been the regions
with established traditions of seasonal and circular migration within Morocco and
towards Algeria.
The Sous is a dry region in which traditional economic activities are based on
different irrigation technologies, and it is inhabited mostly by a Berber population
(Berriane and Aderghal, 2008). Next to the strong tradition of internal migration, the
Soussi migrated to Algeria very early and later on oriented their migration activities
mainly to France, the former colonizer. Migration from another important Moroccan
sending region, the Saharan oasis, has been mainly oriented towards France and, to a
small extent, to the Netherlands and Belgium. Moreover, cities of Atlantic Morocco were
destinations (de Haas, 2007b). Both the Sous region and the oases southeast of the Atlas
belong to areas where inhabitants were relatively independent from the sultan’s power
prior to colonization and tribes were only dominated by state power in the 1930s (de
Haas, 2007a). This explains the concern for political tensions in these areas and the
government’s intention to stimulate migration from those regions.
The Rif area is, from a quantitative point of view, the most important region for
migration to Europe. This very densely populated and dry rural region was colonized by
the Spanish, and the population thus does not generally speak French. History helps
explain why migration from the North East of Morocco was mainly directed towards the
Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium rather than to France. The Moroccan state had
directed Dutch, German, and Belgian recruiters to this northern region after low harvests
at the end of the 1950s and a rebellion in one of the cities in 1958-59 (de Haas, 2007a).
In sum, until the mid 1970s the Moroccan migration to Europe was characterized
by male migration from only some selective regions and by efficient migration networks.
Migrants typically had relatively low educational/skill qualifications and a strong
attachment to their families and their home country (Berriane and Aderghal, 2008 with
reference to Simon 1979).
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