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Between the heat and the hardships.
Climate change and mixed migration
flows in Morocco
a
b
Papa Sow , Elina Marmer & Jürgen Scheffran
c
a
Centre of Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn,
Bonn, Germany
b
Department of Education, University of Hamburg, Hamburg,
Germany
c
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Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Hamburg,
Germany
Published online: 15 Apr 2015.
To cite this article: Papa Sow, Elina Marmer & Jürgen Scheffran (2015): Between the heat and the
hardships. Climate change and mixed migration flows in Morocco, Migration and Development, DOI:
10.1080/21632324.2015.1022968
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Migration and Development, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2015.1022968
Between the heat and the hardships. Climate change and mixed
migration flows in Morocco
Papa Sowa*, Elina Marmerb and Jürgen Scheffranc
Downloaded by [Universitaetsbibiothek Bonn] at 05:01 22 April 2015
a
Centre of Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; bDepartment of
Education, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; cInstitute of Geography, University of
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
(Received 21 January 2014; final version received 23 February 2015)
As a sending, transit and destination country, Morocco is in many regards a hot spot
of human migration. Moroccan emigrants living abroad strongly contribute to the
country’s economy, supported by emigration policy. In regions stricken by droughts,
migrant social networks can be resourceful in increasing resilience and adaptive
capacities of the communities of origin. Migrants can trigger innovations across
regions through co-development activities and the transfer of knowledge, technology
and remittances, preventing conflicts by linking strategies for development in the
communities of origin and destination. Incoming migrants from West Africa and the
Sahel, whose livelihoods are at stake due to a complex nexus of cultural, economic,
political, environmental and climatic factors, are facing major hurdles in Morocco,
with additional challenges in the aftermath of the ‘Arab Spring’. The transitory settlement of West Africans in Moroccan cities has led to noticeable changes in the appropriation and degradation of spaces and places in the absence of interventions by the
Moroccan government to offer legal protection and institutional support for most of
African immigrants, while Europe increases its measures to prevent them from entering. West African immigrants become trapped in this situation and most often experience hostility, racism and violence. This paper addresses the multiple challenges,
with a particular focus on ex-fishermen who, because of resource depletion in their
origin countries due to climate variability and overfishing, have decided to migrate to
Morocco. It also examines the initiatives and capacity development undertaken by
West African migrants in Morocco to protect themselves in the absence of effective
legal and social systems. To diminish the hardships, reduce environmental vulnerability and create new opportunities, West African immigrants in Morocco take issues in
their own hands, build resilience to transform their realities and improve their
livelihoods.
Keywords: West African migration; climate change; Morocco; racism
1. Introduction
In the context of climate change, migration is usually seen as a potential security threat.
Speculations about hundreds of millions of so-called climate refugees flooding the countries of the North in the near future frequently occur in the media and academic literature. These threatening scenarios however lack empirical evidence and may lead to
misguided responses as security-driven anti-migration policies are usually costly and
very likely to fail (De Haas, 2009). Such policies contribute to xenophobia and inhibit
*Corresponding author. Email: papasow@uni-bonn.de
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
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2
P. Sow et al.
the opportunities migration has to offer to the regions of origin and destination.
Historically, African people have developed different strategies and methods to adapt to
changing environmental conditions, including climate change (Brown & Crawford,
2008; Freier, Brüggemann, Scheffran, Finckh, & Schneider, 2011; Nzuma, Waithaka,
Mulwa, Kyotalimye, & Nelson, 2010; Schilling, Freier, Hertig, & Scheffran, 2012;
Tacoli, 2011), for instance seasonal migration, which in some areas even became a part
of culture. In West Africa, particularly, migration is a traditional adaptive response to
changing climatic conditions (e.g. McLeman & Smit, 2006; Perch-Nielsen, Bättig, &
Imboden, 2008; Tacoli, 2009). In several parts of Africa, climate variability has amplified since the twentieth century with an increased tendency of extreme events like
droughts and floods, irregular seasons, generally higher temperatures – all factors that
affect African ecosystems (IPCC, 2014a). There is some evidence that the degradation
of ecosystems due to climatic effects has influenced people’s decision to migrate (IPCC,
2014b).
Migration however can also constructively contribute to the solution of the problem.
On the one hand, migration is an adaptation strategy: it reduces pressure on scarce
resources in the regions of origin, diversifies income and spreads the risks. On the other
hand, migrant networks can increase the resilience in the destination and home countries
to the impacts of climate variability. In the recent literature, migration is increasingly
being discussed as an adaptive measure to climate variability and environmental change
(Black, Bennett, Thomas, & Beddington, 2011; Foresight, 2011; Marmer, Scheffran, &
Sow, 2011; Scheffran, Marmer, & Sow, 2012). Growing remittances and donations
(Bollard, McKenzieb, & Mortenc, 2010; Licuanan, Mahmoud, & Steinmayr, 2015),
investments in communities of origin, co-development activities and return migration
have been mentioned in the West African context. Some studies were undertaken in
order to address ‘positive’ as well as ‘negative’ effects (McKenzie & Rapoport, 2004;
Smits, 1999). Besides being a possible coping strategy to environmental change, migration is a component of the demographic transition and related to broader processes of
development (Clemens, Özden, & Rapoport, 2014).
Migrants who live and work in countries with strong economies and currency usually remit more and hence increase their families’ income, improving their livelihoods
even if they often occupy low sector jobs below their actual qualifications (ADB,
2007). If the migration is successful, and migrants managed to somehow realize their
potential in the country of destination, investments in their communities of origin tend
to increase (De Haas, 2006b). Many African migrants are organized in migrant
organizations, which support and empower their members in the destination countries
but also carry out developmental projects in the communities of origin (ØstergaardNielsen, 2010). As investments and know-how flow back to the communities, which
have initially lost resources due to outmigration, it also contributes to the communities’
social resilience and adaptation to the negative impacts of climate change (Marmer
et al., 2011; Scheffran et al., 2012).
Among the different types of migrants, West African artisanal fishers have a long
tradition of migration. ‘Movement and migration are an integral part of most West
African fisheries and fishing populations, be these inland, coastal or maritime fishing’
(Randall, 2005, p. 4). Their mobility patterns vary widely: fishers migrate seasonally,
temporally and permanently, individually and in communities, internally and internationally. The reasons for mobility are mainly economical (Njock & Westlund, 2010).
Increasingly, depleting fishery resources are associated with changing climate, among
other factors. In many cases, establishing the role of climate change in the decision to
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Migration and Development
3
migrate can be difficult (Sow, Adaawen, & Scheffran, 2014). ‘Most migration and
climate studies point to the environment as triggers and not causes for migration
decisions’ concludes the IPCC-Report (2014b, p. 15).
Since the late 2000s, most of the migrants (among them African fishers) have
arrived in Morocco from different parts of the World, but particularly from West Africa
with mixed migration flows. They are looking for new sources of income in Morocco
or planning to continue to Europe. Moreover, immigrants who have moved with these
mixed flows do not have a legal status or social protection, and therefore live in precarious conditions and suffer from different types of vulnerabilities. Morocco, as a destination, sending and transit country, lacks efficient measures to handle incoming migration,
resulting in lack of legal protection and institutional support. Instead, institutional
racism, hostility and violence against sub-Saharan Africans are increasingly reported.
Exposed to such inhuman conditions, West African immigrants in Morocco tend to
forge networks and, supported by local organizations, work towards compensating for
failed institutions to provide support and demand protection.
2. Conceptual approach and methodology
This paper explores the issue of migration related to mixed flows and climate
change/variability. We define ‘mixed flows’ here as ‘complex population movements
including refugees, asylum-seekers, economic migrants and other migrants’ (International Organization for Migration [IOM], 2004, p. 42). To a large extent, ‘mixed flows’
concern irregular movements with all the consequences that they evolve: transit migration, where persons move (or not) without the requisite documentation, crossing borders
and arriving or not at their final destination in an unauthorized manner. Such movements have started to attract considerable public attention as they are occurring in all
parts of the world. They are especially visible when serious tragedies occur (like the
Arab Spring, violent conflicts, increasing depletion of natural resources, etc.). Their
direct consequences manifest themselves in the fact that migrants can face dangerous
living conditions while being in transit, at sea or in border areas (airports, ports, inland
frontiers). Because of their complexities, irregular mixed migration flows can pose hardships, human rights violations and discrimination for the persons involved in these
mixed flows, but also present challenges to NGOs, states and local authorities dealing
with these problems. These kind of dramatic situations require often special, specific
and individualized assistance at several levels evolving multiple actors.
The assessment of migration from West Africa, and particularly to Morocco, in the
context of climate change is in its infancy and has largely focused on theoretical issues.
Few studies have been looking at the migratory paths of West African migrants to
understand the role of environmental and climatic factors and the various strategies and
initiatives they develop (Marmer et al., 2011; Scheffran et al., 2012; Sow et al., 2014;
Sow, Marmer, & Scheffran, in press). Of concern are not only the causes and conditions
of migration in the countries of origin, but also the economic, legal and societal effects
and conditions in the destination countries. One focus continues to be how migrants
from different ethnic backgrounds develop constructive approaches to strengthen
resilience in home and destination regions.
Migration may also offer new opportunities for climate adaptation where migrant
social networks can help to build economic, cultural and social capital to increase the resilience in the communities of origin and trigger innovations across regions by the transfer
of knowledge, technology, remittances and other resources (Scheffran et al., 2012). The
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P. Sow et al.
initiatives often increase the flexibility, diversity and creativity of communities in
addressing climate stress and open new pathways for action in the countries of origin.
Transnational migrant networks can help to set-up capacity development in the destination countries and/or across regions. In order for the migrant organizations to be able to
contribute to adaptation, certain conditions in the countries of destinations need to be met
to ensure basic human security and human rights of immigrants.
Far from claiming to provide a comprehensive picture of the migration phenomenon
to and from Morocco, we use multiple data approaches to highlight essential relationships in Morocco as a country of origin, transit and destination. Due to limitations of
each individual data source, we used a mix of primary and secondary types of data collection (blog opinions, policy briefs, specialized web pages and newspapers, in-depth
interviews, reports, etc.) to analyze the problem from diverse perspectives.
Interviews and secondary data analysis are mainly employed to analyze the current
situation of West African migrants, in particular the declining fish resources in West
Africa, the situation of West African migrating fishers and issues of mixed migration
flows in Morocco. Authors undertook several field trips to Dakar (Senegal), Rabat,
Casablanca and Marrakech (Morocco), Barcelona (Spain) and Roma (Italy) between
2006 and 2013 to scrutinize and follow the trends of those West African migrations,
and to collect data from interviews and observations. For the purposes of the study, 35
in-depth interviews were conducted in four countries (Senegal, Morocco, Spain and
Italy) and a part of these interview excerpts are exemplary presented for the purpose of
this paper. Authors interviewed several migrants coming from different countries (Ivory
Coast, The Gambia, Guinea and Ghana) and others as well as Senegalese fishers who
had taken the decision to leave Senegal for Morocco. The questions asked revolved
around causes and motivations to emigrate, different strategies and tactics used by
migrants to reach Europe, as well as issues of security and spatial segregation. For the
migrant fishers, the questions asked were related to the decline of fishery resources in
Senegal and the social and environmental consequences of migration to Morocco for the
families back home. Newspapers and journal articles as well as books have been consulted for the literature review, specifically concerning the changing dynamics of
international migration and particularly the migration trends of Moroccans and West
Africans. The sources consulted offered new evidences on issues of so-called ‘irregular
migration’ and its relationship with environmental factors. The literature review from
secondary sources has enabled the authors not only to establish the context and
significance of the problem of emigration in the region as a whole, but also to place the
addressed topic in a new perspective and scientific approach that applies to environmentally induced migration.
3. Climate and emigration in Morocco: trends and policies, adaptation and
co-development
Morocco is located in the north-west of Africa spanning through two climate zones –
the Mediterranean in the north and the Saharan in the south. In the northern heights, the
annual rainfall can reach 2 m while in the desert planes in the South it can be below
25 mm (SNC Morocco, 2010). The country has two coastlines – the Mediterranean of
ca. 500 km and the Atlantic in the west of over 2500 km, both potentially threatened by
sea-level rise. Substantial water reservoirs originating from the snow in the High Atlas
Mountains have been observed to decrease since 1970 (Boudhar et al., 2007), while the
frequency and intensity of droughts have been observed to increase. Climate models
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Migration and Development
5
project a significant drying along the African Mediterranean coast and the northern
Sahara by the end of the twenty-first century (IPCC, 2014a) (see Table 1).
Moroccan climate change adaptation policy is mainly focused on the water sector
since water resources are already reaching the limits of supply needs (SNC Morocco,
2010). The adaptive measures include water management and saving, alternative water
use (e.g. use of treated wastewater for irrigation), alternative water collection (e.g. collection from precipitation and desalinization) and protection of water resources (ibid).
Adaptation in agriculture involves changes in irrigation strategies and in farming practices, like intensification of dry farming (date palms and olive trees) and introduction of
salinity-tolerant plant species; it includes capacity-building programmes for the farmers
(Schilling et al., 2012). Research and introduction of new species resistant to water
stress is suggested in order to protect forests. In the coastal zone, adaptation choices
have to be made between withdrawal of coastal activities and settlements in cases where
the destruction is unavoidable, and technical protection measures where they seem to be
sound and possible. Furthermore, early warning systems for extreme events like floods,
droughts and severe storms need to be developed and improved. In the health sector,
Moroccan policy propagates maintenance and development of public health infrastructure as the most immediate strategy to adapt to climate change (ibid).
Over three million Moroccans resided outside their country in 2007, constituting
about 10% of the country’s population (CARIM, 2009) (see Table 2). Since the independence in 1956, large-scale migration of mainly low-skilled workers was directed
towards France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In the last three decades, Spain
and Italy became important countries of destination. The majority of these migrants
went to Europe as guest workers, but tightening migration policies often led to permanent migration. Initially, most Moroccan migrants originated from the regions of Rif
and Souss as well as southern oases (De Haas, 2009). Since the 1990s, international
emigration has nearly doubled and spread across all regions of the country. The
Moroccan economy greatly benefits from financial transfers remitted by emigrants
(Khachani, 2009). In 2007, remittances by international migrants contributed 9% of the
Table 1.
Main climatic changes (present and future) and their impacts in Morocco.
Climatic changes
Main impacts
Temperature rise
Increased evapotranspiration and vegetation water requirements
Extinction of some crops and tree species
Deforestation
Forest fires
Spread of vector-borne infections, proliferation of malaria in high altitudes
Droughts
Decline of water resources
Decrease in cereal yields
Reduced biodiversity
Desertification
Conflicts between water users
Development of waterborne diseases
Disruption of the wadi stream flows
Reduced precipitation
Reduced snow cover
in the mountains
Sea water-level rise
Coastal floods and erosion
Salinization of water and soil
Source: Combined sources: SNC Morocco (2010), IPCC (2007), Boudhar et al. (2007), and Marmer et al.
(2011).
6
P. Sow et al.
Table 2.
Emigration and immigration from/to Morocco.
Net migration rate per 1000
(2010–2015 estimates)
Moroccans living abroad (2010)
Immigrants living in Morocco
(2010), minimum estimate
Immigrants living in Morocco
(2010), maximum estimate
−2.2 migrants
3.016.631 (10% of the
total population)
49.098 (0.15% of the
total population)
63.000 (0.2% of the
total population)
International centre for migration
policy development (ICMPD)a
World Bank (2011)b
World Bank (2011)b
International Centre for Migration
Policy Development (ICMPD)a
a
http://www.imap-migration.org/index.php?id=299#CountryInfos.
Ratha and Shaw (2007) updated with additional data for 71 destination countries as described in the
Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011.
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b
national GDP, reducing poverty by 4% (CARIM, 2009). According to De Haas (2009),
migrants’ investments in agriculture, real estate and business have considerably
contributed to the development in the regions of origin.
In terms of migration policy, the Moroccan government had early recognized the
benefits of emigration to the national economy. For this, it had implemented policies to
support and encourage transfer of remittances and investments. And recently as irregular
migration is now gaining weight, the government is turning more and more towards
NGOs and other organizations working in the field of migration to co-manage the problems. In 2008, for example, the Moroccan government requested the IOM to assess the
current policy and to propose new tools to encourage Diaspora investments and knowledge transfer (IOM, 2008). Since the late 1960s, the Moroccan government has tested
several initiatives in order to stabilize and enhance the remittances flows (Collyer,
Cherti, Lacroix, van Heelsum, 2009). The state-controlled Banque Centrale Populaire,
created in 1968 and designed for emigrants’ transfers, investments and savings, is
making the remittances available for the governmental development activities (Iskander,
2010). Collaborations with Diaspora organizations in rural co-development projects are
undertaken. The first minister in charge of Moroccans abroad was appointed in 1990
(Collyer et al., 2009). The mission of the Ministry of Moroccans Residing Abroad
(Lacomba, 2004) is to strengthen the links with Diaspora communities, and to facilitate
remittances and investments by emigrants (CARIM, 2009).
Co-development projects implemented by the Moroccan Diaspora have been supported by the government for decades (Iskander, 2010). The participatory approach
applied by co-development is explicitly promoted by the Moroccan adaptation policy
(SNC Morocco, 2010). It calls for integration of climate change with socio-economical
phenomena on the political level. Rural development in regions vulnerable to climate
change already significantly contributes to climate adaptation, especially in regions
affected by droughts or in the coastal zones (De Haas, 2006a). Diaspora is also active
in constructing and sustaining health care infrastructure along with contributing to
education and research, all of them defined as adaptive measures in SNC Morocco
(2010). One example is the Diaspora organization Migrations et Développement
(M&D), which was founded in 1986 in France by the immigrants from the Souss
region. Whether or not they can be called environmental migrants, climate change
played a role in the decision to migrate for many Moroccan emigrants from Souss.
Since its creation, M&D has become one of the most prominent African Diaspora
organizations promoting development in the country of origin (De Haas, 2006b, p. 78f).
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Migration and Development
7
The activities of M&D are based on a participatory approach, implying joint decisionmaking of migrants and local population, which also partly provide the project funding.
The organization closely cooperates with local authorities and governmental institutions
in Morocco and is supported by Moroccan institutions, the French Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, international funding bodies and the EU. M&D emphasizes intra-community
solidarity assuring financial assistance for poor community members to pay for the provided services. Over the years, M&D has implemented projects in 420 villages serving
over 100,000 people in the sectors of electrification, drinking water and irrigation,
education, health and agriculture (ibid). An important activity of the organization is the
so-called ‘Program against drought’.1 The region of Souss was severely affected by
droughts since the 1970s. In many villages, the wells have dried up forcing women and
children to travel several kilometres to collect water. The ‘Program against drought’
includes rainwater collection and storage, construction of wadi dams, water resource
management and improved hygiene and sanitation practices. The evaluation of M&D
activities commissioned in 2003 by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs found most
infrastructures and institutions implemented by the organization sustained in a good
condition after the projects have been finalized.
Co-development projects initiated and run by migrant organizations in water, food
and energy, infrastructure and education can be successful if jointly supported by
institutional frameworks, involving governmental and non-governmental organizations
and companies in countries of origin and destination.
4. Climate in West Africa and mixed migration to Morocco
4.1. Mixed migration flows to Morocco
Morocco ‘attracts’ African migrants, both regular and irregular (Elmadmad, 2008), due
to a number of factors: the proximity to Europe, the country’s stability, the quality of
Moroccan Business Schools and Universities, and the few job opportunities offered by
the tertiary and informal sectors. In 2009, the authorities of the Kingdom of Morocco
estimated the foreign population of over 51,000 people and most live in urban areas,
nearly half (47.9%) in Casablanca and Rabat (HCP, 2009). A more recent study (Salmi,
2014) estimates that the ‘irregular or undocumented migrants’ on the Moroccan soil are
up to 40,000 individuals. In these numbers, one must also take into account the West
Africans whose exact number of ‘irregular or undocumented’ is unknown:
The number of irregular migrants currently in Morocco is not known with certainty, but
estimates range from 4,500 to 40,000. On November 11, 2013, the Ministries of Interior
and Migration Affairs jointly announced a one-time program to regularize six categories of
migrants during 2014, at which time they estimated the population of irregular migrants to
be between 25,000 and 40,000. Previously, the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior had estimated the number of undocumented migrants to be between 10,000 and 15,000 as of 2012.
Others have considerably lower estimates; Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) determined in
a 2010 survey that there were approximately 4,500 undocumented migrants in Morocco.
According to 2013 MSF figures, there are between 500 and 1,000 migrants in Oujda and
between 500 and 1,000 migrants in Nador. (Salmi, 2014, p. 3)
However, one could have reservations with these numbers, knowing that since 2010,
the media reported a considerable increase of West Africans who immigrated to Morocco.
Morocco offers an array of indicators on the profile of the foreign population in the
country (HCP, 2009), indicating greater or lesser presence of nationalities from all
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P. Sow et al.
continents. Among the Europeans, there is a fairly strong net presence of French and
Spanish; from the neighbouring Maghreb countries, it is mostly Algerians and
Tunisians. There is also a Middle Eastern community, especially nationals from Syria,
Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, as well as a couple of other countries of
Asia, Americas and Australia. Nationals from Sub-Saharan Africa present around 10%
of total migrants, mainly West Africans from Congo, Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea,
Gambia, Nigeria, Mauritania and Togo (Recensement Général de la Population et de
l’Habitat de 2004, cited in HCP, 2009).
Data are incomplete because it is difficult to clearly identify and approach the foreign population. Two main data collection sources exist in the Kingdom: the General
Census of Population and Housing, which is done in long intervals and the Register of
residence permits. The latter is kept by the General Directorate of National Security.
The nature and specificity of these sources, as well as differences in methodological
approaches most often lead to different results. Also, having a residence permit does not
necessarily mean to reside or actually to fully stay in the country. Most migrants from
West Africa tend to make Morocco a transit country, many of them to reach Europe
although a big number remains in Morocco and opens up various types of businesses
(HCP, 2009). This parameter also makes this segment of the irregular population
difficult to take into account in census records.
Morocco has ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention relating to the status of the
refugees and its 1967 Protocol. In 1957, a Royal Decree was adopted which defined the
modalities for implementing the Convention by establishing a Refugee Office and an
Asylum Instance ruled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Kingdom passed a
migration law which also refers to illegal foreigners, who sometimes seem to be referred
to the laws of the 1951 Geneva Convention and sometimes to severe penal provisions
(fines, convictions, imprisonment and perpetual imprisonment) as stated in the Title II
of the Act.
The country is a transit area to Europe, the Persian Gulf countries and to the rest of
Asia. For West Africans, Morocco can be a country of temporary settlement, the place
to look for work, mostly informal, before reaching the next temporary or final
destination, especially for migrants exempted from visa to Morocco from Senegal,
Niger, Mali, Libya, Ivory Coast and Guinea Conakry. In 2005, over 21,000 Africans
were intercepted in Morocco trying to reach Europe (MJRM/IOM, 2009). In 2008, there
were over 14,500 (CARIM, 2009).
Given the scale of migration from Africa and the rest of the world in transit to
North Africa, the European Union has quickly signed a memorandum of action with the
states from the Maghreb, including Morocco. In 2004, Morocco has signed the agreements of the European Neighbourhood Policy, implemented to renew the basis of a
commitment to the values of democracy and human rights, good governance and the
free market. The agreements are engaged around the fight against illegal immigration,
strengthening border controls, criminal conviction and the return of ‘illegal aliens’. Data
of FRONTEX are based on monthly statistics exchanged between member states within
the framework of what is called the FRONTEX Risk Analysis Network (FRAN). The
European Commission defines ‘risk as a function of threat, vulnerability and impact’
(FRONTEX, 2014, p. 13) and emphasizes ‘risk analysis as a key tool in ensuring the
optimal allocation of resources with the constraints of budget, staff and efficiency of
equipment’. The Schengen Border Code stipulates that third-countries’ nationals who
arrive at the external borders may be refused entry into the EU territories if they do not
fulfil the entry conditions. Nationals who have been refused of entry in the EU (at land
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Migration and Development
9
and air borders) rose by 11% between 2012 and 2013, and can be estimated to nearly
129,000 individuals in 2012 (ibid., pp. 6 and 8). More than 9700 detentions of migrants
using fraudulent documents to illegally enter the EU or Schengen States have been
reported.
But most of these policies also suffer from severe problems and are often not taking
into account the new phenomenon of migrants from the rest of Africa. The difficulties are
indeed more experienced in the urban centres that have become receptacles of migrants
and host most of the undocumented migrants, thus creating problems related to security
and environment. Among West Africans who are living legally in Morocco, almost nine
out of ten migrant households live in rented homes against only 5.9% that are owners or
co-owners of a house (HCP, 2009). The labour market in Morocco is very selective.
Where Moroccans are reluctant to take the most difficult tasks (especially with construction and agriculture), West African migrants in transit today find not only these tasks as
an opportunity to gain a new qualification, but also to accumulate money in order to continue their routes to Europe. Transitory settlement of West African migrants in Moroccan
cities has led to noticeable changes in the use and appropriation of spaces and places.
The sudden concentration of migrants in confined areas with already under-equipped
infrastructure and networks has increased social and environmental degradation.
4.2. Environmental degradation, endangered livelihoods and migration from West
Africa: the case of fishers
In West Africa, climate change negatively affects marine and inland fisheries: on the West
Atlantic African coast, changes in upwelling patterns mostly associated with climate variability, lead to unpredictable alterations in abundance and distribution of fish species, and
can seriously affect the fisheries (Badjeck, Katikiro, Flitner, Diop, & Schwerdtner Máñez,
2011). If the ocean continues to warm as projected, warm and acidified, water will affect
the coral ecosystem which can contribute to the reduction in fish stocks (Barnett &
Webber, 2009). Declining precipitation in the tropics is a significant cause for shrinkage
and drying of some African rivers and lakes (Barange & Perry, 2009), the most studied
example here being Lake Chad (Coe & Foley, 2001; Onuoha, 2010). Some climate–
hydrology model scenarios suggest that climate change will negatively affect 25% of
inland aquatic ecosystems in Africa by 2100 (De Wit & Stankiewicz, 2006).
These situations often drive people depending on these ecosystems to emigrate,
including those who have made fishing activities a living. Among those who have
migrated in recent years, there are quite a large number of former fishers from Senegal,
Mauritania and Guinea Bissau (Lafraniere, 2008; Perry & Sumaila, 2007; Sow et al.,
in press). However, there is not only climate at stake (see Table 3). While climate
change can be seen as an indirect human impact, there are also direct human activities
that contribute to the depletion of fish in the region. In the ocean, overfishing of coastal
waters by foreign fishing lodges, mostly from EU and other ‘industrialized’ countries,
destroys marine ecosystems and impoverishes the fishers (Failler & Binet, 2010;
Greenpeace, 2012; Seret & Opic, 2011). Also, fishers from West Africa, mainly Senegal,
Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and Ghana, are accused of depleting the sea resources and
fish stocks by organizing intense and crowded migrations along the West African coasts
with less concern for the protection of the marine ecosystem (Binet, Failler, & Thorpe,
2012; Cofrepêche, Neds, Poseidon, & Mrag, 2013). These studies argue that migrating
fishers are the ‘biggest predators’ who fish all around the West African coasts, from
Dakar to Sierra Leone, which in the long run could cause overfishing and disappearance
10
P. Sow et al.
Table 3. Main pressures (present and future) and their impacts on West African marine and
inland fisheries.
Causes
Main impacts
CLIMATE → ocean warming
Changes in upwelling patterns
Unpredictable alterations in abundance
and distribution of fish species
Affect the coral ecosystem
Reduction in fish stocks
Shrinkage and drying of some rivers
and lakes
Reduction in fish stocks in inland
waters
Destruction of marine ecosystems
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CLIMATE → reduced precipitation
Overfishing of coastal waters by foreign fishing lodges,
mostly from EU and other ‘industrialized’ countries
Intense and crowded fisher migrations along the West
African coasts
Water use and drainage
Depleting the sea resources and fish
stocks
Shrinkage and drying of some rivers
and lakes
Reduction in fish stocks in inland
waters
Sources: Own work and combined sources: Badjeck et al. (2011), Barnett and Webber (2009), Barange and
Perry (2009), Coe and Foley (2001), Onuoha (2010), De Wit and Stankiewicz (2006), Perry and Sumaila
(2007), Failler and Binet (2010), Seret and Opic (2011), Greenpeace (2012), Binet et al. (2012), and
Cofrepêche et al. (2013).
of fish stocks in the subregion. Direct human impacts in the form of water use and drainage was also found to be the main causes of the shrinkage of inland waters leading to
fish depletion (Barange & Perry, 2009).
Fishers who worked for several years in artisanal fisheries along the West African
Coast or in the inland fisheries sector, for example, in the southern and western region
of Lake Chad (Ngalame, 2010; Onuoha, 2010; Werz & Conley, 2012) are affected by
severe fish depletion and destruction of the aquatic ecosystems. For example, in a
country like Senegal, the small pelagic fish provides work to more than 15,000 canoes,
comprises 80% of the catches and makes a living for more than 600,000 people
directly or indirectly employed in the sector. Sea fishing accounted for 1.4% of real
GDP in 2011 and fish products sum up to nearly 90 billion FCFA, equivalent to 136
million Euros (Cofrepêche et al., 2013). About 40,000 tons are annually exported,
mainly to the EU, contributing about 12% of total exports of Senegal (ACPFish II,
2013). Therefore, lack of fish causes severe food problems and falling incomes, which
affects, in addition, the expenses on health and education of fishers who emigrate
towards other countries.
Since the late 2000s, most of the migrant fishers arrive in Morocco from West
Africa looking for new sources of income in Morocco or planning to continue to Europe
(Mbolela, 2011; Schapendonk, 2012). It is now possible, for these migrants, to enter
Morocco by car and by road from Senegal. A new road runs along the entire Atlantic
coast, to Nouadhibou (in Mauritania), the Mauritanian Arguin Park, Agadir, Essaouira,
Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier in Morocco to finally connect with the European cities.
From Senegal to the Moroccan border, there is 660 km. Now, most of the West African
migrants and those from other African subregions, who want to join Morocco by road
pass through Senegal and Mauritania.
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11
Omar (personal interview, 29 years old, Male, Dakar (Senegal), July 23, 2010), a
Senegalese emigrant, explained the multiple adventures along the route Dakar–Tangier
by land and highlights the difficulties encountered:
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We were often assaulted there when we became disoriented […]. Police is present everywhere and there are many bribes here and there before reaching your destination well. […]
In the no-man’s-land, it is not uncommon to fall into falseroad signals that indicate places
where, at the end, you will find individuals, a kind of guides, that offer to show you the
right direction in exchange of money.
While the contribution of changing climate vs. direct local human impacts such as
overfishing has not yet been established, the fact remains that fishery is an endangered
resource in West African coastal and inland waters. Facing these changes that negatively
affect their livelihood, many fishers decide to migrate and look for an income elsewhere,
which reduces the pressure on once abundant but now depleting resources. As Alassane
(personal interview, 32 years old, Male, Casablanca (Morocco), May 17, 2008), a
Senegalese migrant fisher, met in Casablanca indicated:
Well, I’m here [in Casablanca], because I am unable to catch good fish in Senegal. I did
not manage to earn anything […]. I followed my boss and migrated to fish in West African
waters. The boss, his entire team and me, we followed the shoals along the African south
Atlantic coast, but increasingly, fish was becoming scarce. In Senegal, I came to meet a
Spanish fisher and worked with him temporarily at the sea; then when he left, he proposed
me a job offer for fishing with him in Galicia [North west of Spain]; but I had a problem
of visa refusal and I was not able to reach Spain.2
Like Alassane, most of West African migrants end their migration journeys (temporally or permanently) in Morocco. Because of its close location to Europe, Morocco is a
country of transit and destination (De Haas, 2009), particularly for migrants, asylumseekers and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa. Some Moroccan newspapers and blogs
have reckoned that the country became an ‘African Hostel’ (Mafhoum, 2007). It is quite
common to find West Africans ex-fishermen trading in the big markets of Casablanca,
Fes and Rabat. The ex-fishers from different West African countries and regions have
arrived there in mixed migration flows. They arrive as asylum-seekers, refugees, students and migrant workers (Elmadmad, 2008), and most of them came to Morocco
before and after the events of the ‘Arab Spring’ developing a complex mixture of flows,
practices, motivations and reasons for migrating. In the sections that follow the paper
will no longer concentrate specifically on migrant fishers, but consider the general situation of West African migrants in Morocco.
4.3. Vulnerabilities of West African migrants in Morocco
Most West African migrants who moved with mixed flows to Morocco do not have a
legal status or social protection. They suffer from different types of vulnerabilities, trading in for the vulnerability in their home country. They live in precarious conditions,
often in fear of being expelled, without any social protection in place, suffering from
exploitation and racism. Morocco, as a destination, sending and transit country, lacks
efficient measures to handle incoming migration, resulting in lack of legal protection
and institutional support. Instead, institutional racism and hostility and violence against
sub-Saharan Africans are increasingly reported.
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P. Sow et al.
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Many arrive in Morocco without visas, unable to get a residence permit and left on
their own by their governments without any protection outside. There are no efficient
policies to satisfy the needs (documents for travel, marriages, adoption of children,
requests for assistance in case of illness, sudden deaths, crime, etc.) of those who travel
abroad. Policies of consular assistance like those implemented by the EU are often lacking. Therefore, these migrants find themselves outside all social and legal protection
systems. They find it hard to get a job, as Gnamien (personal interview, 25 years old,
Female, Casablanca (Morocco), October 9, 2009), a female immigrant from Ivory Coast
stated:
Life is hard in Morocco. Finding work is difficult because there is a lot of unemployment
in the country. […] It is thanks to a French friend that I obtained the work permit. He
offered me to work as a seller of luxury products over the Internet and by telephone in the
call centres. So my job is, from Morocco, to sell online to the Europeans. […] My African
colleagues and I are fortunate to have this kind of job because we arrived knowing the
French language. […] But Moroccan authorities […] prefer to give work contracts to their
fellow citizens rather than us immigrants.
A major problem of the West African migrants who arrive in Morocco is related to
the lack of employment and housing. According to Karam and Dacaluwé (2007, p. 12),
‘[…] an increasingly important number of sub-Saharan migrants are now opting for settlement in different Moroccan cities (most of them urban)’. Most of the migrants thus
tend to settle in the already overcrowded coastal cities, where urban-environmental
conditions are difficult. Becoming ‘ecological refugees’ in a new Moroccan life they are
slow to fully integrate, migrant fishers for example do not find the same type of
employment they had before in their countries of origin. For them, migration is now to
move for the lack of better and to mobilize a strong resilience:
I’m here. I do not fish and I do not work. To survive I became a street peddler waiting to
hold on to something else. Although being a fisher here in Morocco, I see my chances to
work on fisheries very low because our fisheries in my country are different from their
own. Almost everything is different. And besides, I do not see how I can fit in their fishing
practices here. For now I am a peddler. [Fadiga (personal interview, 35 years old, Senegal
Migrant, Casablanca, March 12, 2007)]
The bad housing conditions affect most West African migrants to Morocco. This has
enabled the phenomenon of spatial segregation, which is so intense that many of the
migrants sometimes live in the abandoned places or in the forests. The location of
immigrants shows thus an emphasis on the socio-spatial segregation, which nevertheless
nourishes the deficiencies of the Moroccan public action. This spatial segregation is not
only alive because of the origin of the migrants, but also to the fact that African new
comers in Morocco do not readily come to integrate into the labour market. Forests and
abandoned places become ‘ecological risk areas’ that are seriously taken into account
by the Moroccan authorities, hence the frequent raids being done by the Gendarmes at
these places:
I lived for six months in the forests of Moussakine and SidiMaafa (near Oujda). I wanted
to join Melilla. We were about fifty Africans and Asians, but Moroccans have denounced
us by calling the Gendarmes. They came, we were beaten and they destroyed our makeshift
shelters and our tents that have been offered to us by charity organizations. The Gendarmes
accused us of degrading the forest; they did not see how we are human beings. They care
Migration and Development
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about forests, and we ask to live! During the raid of the Gendarmes, I managed to escape
and took a bus and back to Rabat. [Marcel (personal interview, 31 years old, Gambian
Migrant, Rabat, December 27, 2011)]
In addition to precarious housing, job conditions and legal status, West African
migrants in Morocco suffer also from violent racist attacks and institutional racism.
Sub-Saharan migrants are facing discrimination in several spheres of Moroccan society,
which trickles down to the streets, schools, and labour markets. Numerous cases of
police violence with deadly outcome against West African immigrants have been
reported in the recent years, but also violent racist attacks by angry mobs, often in front
of the passive gaze of authorities (H24info, 2013, 2014), including looting, setting
houses on fire, chasing and beating, etc. Everyday racism becomes evident and is
fuelled by some major media. For example, the November 2012 cover of a Moroccan
periodical MarocHebdo, depicting a Black man titled ‘The Black Peril’ (De Haas, 2014)
and suggesting that African migrants increase unemployment and crime. The newspaper
Fair Observer (5 September 2014) reported a series of violent attacks which made
international headlines:
Human Rights Watch chronicled the cases of young men who were forced to cross over the
Moroccan border into Algeria by Moroccan security authorities. Police raided unofficial
migrant camps in the areas outside of Oujda and Nador in northeastern Morocco where
migrant’s temporary housings were destroyed, their belongings looted, and lots of them
arrested then forcefully deported. (Elboubkri, 2014)
End of August 2014, a Moroccan citizen beheaded a Senegalese migrant in the
popular quarter of Boukhalef in Tangier after ‘some clashes’ between African migrants
and Moroccans (Yabiladi News, 30 August 2014). The Yabiladi newspaper adds that it
‘[…] was the second death of a sub-Saharan African migrant registered in the suburb of
Tangier within just nine months. In December 2013, a Cameroonian was killed after a
raid by the Police’.
In the beginning of 2014, the Moroccan government finally established offices for
the regularization of migrants. The new Amnesty law stipulates that migrants from the
rest of Africa (basically from sub-Saharan Africa) will be able to obtain residence permits as well as access to education, health care and other public services like Moroccan
citizens. But efforts from the government are slow and further inclusion of migrants as
productive members of Moroccan society is hindered by the frequent abuses that West
African immigrants are daily facing.
As it stands, the situation that migrants in Morocco are facing is caught between the state’s
efforts to legally integrate the African community into Moroccan society, and the state’s
complicity in permitting societal discrimination. (Fair Observer, 5 September 2014)
In order for the migration to become an effective adaptation strategy, migrants need
to be able to live and work in a stable and protected milieu in the country of destination. Institutions in the place need to accommodate migrants and to guarantee their
rights. This part of the paper wants to explore how West African migrants in Morocco
respond to environmental and other challenges through forging social ties and networks,
and organize themselves to compensate for the lack of social protection system and
institutional support.
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P. Sow et al.
5. Social networks, adaptation, resilience and capacity development of immigrant
organizations in Morocco
Radical changes have been accepted after the ‘Arab Spring’ upheavals that have been
associated with climate change according to some sources (Johnstone & Mazo, 2011;
Werrell & Femia, 2013), which is subject to debate. The changing circumstances
brought new challenges to local or international organizations that help to protect
migrants and refugees. The most dynamic are Conseil des Migrants Sub-Sahariens au
Maroc (CMSM) and Groupe Antiraciste d′Accompagnement et de Défense des Étrangers et Migrants (GADEM). Very active on the ground, GADEM and CMSM are working on raising awareness about the rights of migrants. They have a number of important
activities such as pleas, several observation missions in areas where migrants live in
harsh conditions and written reports (CMSM & GADEM, 2012; GADEM, 2011). In
Morocco, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been the sole organization
with big means, undertaking major efforts for determination of refugee status. The biggest challenge is to establish a responsive national asylum system. There is a lack of
protection-sensitive management, when it comes to mixed migration flows. Because of
this gap, only a limited number of refugees and migrants are registered and protected by
the existing social system, and a few lucky ones received an opportunity to hold a legal
residence permit. Migrant organizations, NGOs and other entities of the civil society
create management alternatives and invent original solutions. They often consist of
expanding partnerships with local authorities, providing targeted training as well as
technical support or participation in discussions on joint policies and planning.
Since the late 1990s, Africans began to self-organize in Morocco because of the
insecurity they experience, unenviable lives and lack of social protection. Most of them
who had come to study preferred to stay in the country after graduation, seeking
employment in the tertiary and informal sectors. They are often the ones who organize
themselves to assist ‘undocumented migrants’ and those who have a need for social
protection. Indeed, in its issue of 15 April 2006, a Moroccan newspaper (Opinion,
2006), reports that Africans living in Morocco in precarious and vulnerable situations
have managed to create the Council for sub-Saharan immigrants in Morocco, thanks to
the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (MAHR). It was created in Rabat, in
November 2005 with 20 members, residents of the capital and Casablanca. As the first
of its kind, it seeks to represent all immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in Morocco
and assist victims of sub-Saharan immigration. The Council works closely with the
MAHR to defend human rights, but also invests in creating a network with other
organizations for communication and information, such as CARITAS Morocco and
Confederation of African students and interns Morocco (CESAM). It cooperates with
migrant communities, and especially with those who suffer violations of their rights
while managing the bottom of subsidies to support members of the Council. The
organization has had to intervene several times in various locations in Morocco and
especially in Oujda (border with Europe) to help asylum-seekers who often get arrested
by the police.
The Organization of Congolese Refugees and Asylum-Seekers (ARCOM) was
founded in 2005. Led by the Congolese community, it aims to protect human rights,
promote culture and the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity between the refugees. It is
fully involved in debates and cultural activities, organizes sit-ins outside the headquarters of UNHCR to protest against the expulsion of foreigners and asylum-seekers. Their
activities include supporting women in hospitals who suffer from serious illnesses,
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15
training unaccompanied minors refused in Moroccan schools and organizing outreach
activities in churches and NGOs.
Other types of organizations have been distinguished by organizing cultural events,
festivities and entrepreneurial actions. Most active in this field are ARSEREM
(Senegalese Residents Association Nationals in Morocco), ASEESIME (Association of
Ivorian pupils and students in Morocco) and ACOREM (Association of Congolese
living in Morocco). According to the members of these associations, the festive atmosphere is much appreciated by Moroccans as well as by the migrants mostly living in
precarious situations. In a country where Africans arriving from the rest of the continent
are marginalized, excluded and discriminated in access to housing, jobs and residence
permits, these kind of activities allow them to escape even for just a while the harsh
realities and conditions of their everyday struggle for survival. These organizations play
an intermediary role between members already ‘integrated’ and those who are suffering
from the lack of social references. These organizations have become carriers of actions
and societal effects.
Two other highly active organizations are the already mentioned CESAM and the
General Union of Senegalese Students and Trainees in Morocco. According to the
Moroccan Agency for International Co-operation, in 2007, there were over 7000 foreign
students living in Morocco. The number of West African students, however, is officially
unknown. Some members of the CESAM mentioned 3500 students and trainees that
may currently reside in the Kingdom. Nearly all of them suffer from low scholarships
and lack of access to housing and work.
In Morocco, the West African migrant organizations are mainly concerned with
implementing capacity development for vulnerable migrant communities, and by doing
so they help immigrants to meet their own basic human needs. They fill the gaps and
compensate for the failed Moroccan institutions, offer support and advice and promote
solidarity among those marginalized individuals and groups.
With regard to migrations induced by ecological conditions, since the Rio Earth
Summit in 1992, an increasing awareness has grown in Morocco. The issue received a
new impetus with the adoption of the new Moroccan Constitution in 2011. Initiated
policies and legislative measures have strengthened the mandate and legitimacy of civil
society that now seems to be committed to the protection of the environment, the fight
against global warming, the building of resilience and adaptive capacity. Climate change
directly affects the native population as well as migrants, who also have influences on
the environment, as highlighted, in a recent study on Morocco (Zeino-Mahmalat &
Bennis, 2012, p. 37):
Climate change could cause migration there where people adaptation margins would be
exhausted. Morocco would be doubly concerned because of the increased internal migration
and sub-Saharan migration.
A Moroccan National Action Plan for the Environment has been set-up since 1996.
It now seems to be the policy response to the observation made by the state of the environment in Morocco. This raises indeed the natural resource degradation levels and
violations of the already endangered livelihoods that are of concern. If one refers to this
plan, it is imperative and urgent to uphold the need to initiate an exercise in
collaborative and integrated environmental planning for the improvement of livelihoods.
According to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Water and Environment, more than
30,000 organizations that are active in the topic of environment and climate change
16
P. Sow et al.
were counted at national level (HCP, 2006). These numbers seem to be very high, but
only few of them work on the environment-induced migration. More than 3500 of them
are based solely in Casablanca. Most of these organizations work on climate and
environmental awareness projects, local development and conservation of natural
resources in different regions of the country. They are considered effective communication vectors between people, communities and/or the Moroccan government to address
the environmental concerns.
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6. Conclusion
Migration is often viewed as a threat to security, economy, employment and/or cultural
cohesion. Such views ignore the facts that migrants provide for the needed labour (De
Haas, 2009), bridge gaps in the market, contribute economic, cultural and social capital
and compensate the negative effects of demographic transition in their destination
communities. Such thoughts also fuel institutional and individual racism that threatens
migrants’ security, economy and employment, possibly raising hostility, discrimination,
violence and conflict.
This paper highlighted the complex relationship between the climate and environmental changes, mixed flows migration and migration policy and impacts on sending
and receiving societies in the case of Morocco. The example of the emigrants from the
drought-stricken region of Souss in France demonstrates how transnational migrant networks can successfully contribute economic, social and cultural capital to build resilience in their community of origin, thus adapting to climate change. Among the mixed
migration flows from West Africa, the paper has studied particularly fishers from various
regions, who lost their livelihood due to depletion of fishery resources and set off to
Morocco to find new income sources. In spite of the intense migration dynamics following the popular uprisings since the end of 2010, which spread across Morocco and the
whole North Africa, the country has not yet set-up an efficient system of procedures;
hence it is not capable to guarantee the basic rights of refugees and asylum-seekers. In
the absence of a legislative and institutional framework on refugees and asylum, from
the last forty years, some of the tasks have been given to the UNHCR, which is undertaking refugee status determination in the country. According to UNHCR, some
confidence-building measures have been launched in Morocco that aim to address the
effects of prolonged separation between refugees and their families who remain in their
countries of origin. What deserves further discussion is how the events of 2011–2012
changed slightly the way that Morocco treats migrants, refugees and displaced people.
But still, neither Moroccan institutions nor West African consulates give those
immigrants adequate recognition, treatment and services. Mostly treated as ‘aliens’, they
simply cease to exist as any nations’ responsibility.
Therefore, West African immigrants in Morocco take issues in their own hands and
build their resilience to survive such harsh living conditions. Marginalized victims of
hostilities, they become actively involved in shaping and sometimes transforming their
realities. The ‘Arab Spring’ has not accelerated the issues of social protection of refugees and migrants, in any case, for the Moroccan example. To compensate for such deficits, immigrant organizations and NGOs are trying to replace some activities by
initiating large-scale public programmes and action plans designed to alleviate the suffering of immigrant and refugee populations established in Morocco (Mbolela, 2011).
One can then argue that the mixed migration flows are not always negative, and may
enable migrants and refugees to reveal other identity markers that give coherence to the
Migration and Development
17
multiplicity of social experiences in situations of vulnerability. Even those living legally
in the country say that they suffer from moods of the administration when it comes to
the renewal of residence cards.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interests was reported by the authors.
Notes
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1.
2.
Migrations et Développement homepage http://www.migdev.org/.
All interviews translated by Authors.
Notes on contributors
Papa Sow is a senior researcher at the Centre for Development Research, University of Bonn,
Germany. He is currently working on the WASCAL project – West African Service Center on
Climate Change and Adapted Land Use – funded by the German Ministry of Education. His
research focuses on Population dynamics issues with special links to African migrations (Senegal,
The Gambia, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Morocco) and climate variability/uncertainties.
Elina Marmer is a lecturer at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany. She is a
meteorologist and a social scientist. Elina is particularly interested in the study of post-colonial
racism, how it operates through policy, institutions, education and media as well as how it effects
interpersonal relations, focusing on African-European migration dynamics.
Jürgen Scheffran is a professor at the Institute of Geography of Hamburg University, Germany
and head of the Research Group Climate Change and Security in the CliSAP Cluster of Excellence. His research interests include: climate change and energy security; environmental conflict
and human migration; complex systems analysis and human–environment interaction; sustainability science, technology assessment and international security.
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