UNIVERSITA’DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA
FACOLTA’ DI LETTERE E FILOSOFIA, SCIENZE POLITICHE,
GIURISPRUDENZA, INGEGNERIA, ECONOMIA
Corso di Laurea Interfacoltà In
Comunicazione Interculturale e Multimediale
MOROCCAN MIGRATORY FIELD: THE ROLE
OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
Relatore: Prof. Leonardo Terzo
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Correlatore: Prof. Barbara Berri
Tesi di:Sarah Ferhane
INTRODUCTION
The world we live in is often unfair and difficult:
emigration is sometimes the only chance for
surviving. Being today a global phenomenon it has
met the need for development, integration and
resolution of communication problems.
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These new communication technologies encourage
the exchange of knowledge, opinions, social
identities and values. In the Moroccan context the
increase in communications and their means of
spreading was very high:
TELEPHONES
INTERNET
RADIO
TELEBOUTIQUES
/
CALL SHOPS
SATELLITE
TELEVISION
CYBER CAFE/
INTERNET
POINTS
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MIGRATION
WHY DO PEOPLE
MIGRATE?
HOW DO PEOPLE
MIGRATE?
•Economic reasons
•Social reasons
•Political reasons
•Environmental reasons
•Nearness and colonial
history
•Networks and families
•Labor brokers
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MIGRATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
Since the early nineties the
Mediterranean is crossed
by several migratory
routes, whose flow have
increased with the closing
of the borders of European
states. The main routes are
a dozen, the oldest
connecting the coast of
Morocco to Spain.
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THE CIRCULATION OF MOROCCAN MIGRANTS
Moroccan migration forms a genuine migration system.
It is no longer appropriate to image relations between
“here” and “there”: there is the need to construct a
continuity with the appearance of spaces in between.
The development of new technologies of information and
communication (ICT) allows migrants to extend their
geographical space, encouraging connections with the
homeland.
ICT created this way a new geographical space where
different times and costs, different forms of accessibility,
become interlinked . This marks also the birth of a new
term, in contrast of “geospace”: CYBERSPACE.
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THE RELATION BETWEEN MEDIA AND
MIGRATION-GENERAL
For many years now, the
media in some European
countries developed
disparate initiatives to
make “the other” seen
and heard. This is the
case of the so-called
specific programs,
developed and
broadcasted by the
public television.
However even if we
agree to recognize that
the visibility of ethnic
minorities increased, a
high degree of
dissatisfaction seems to
persist.
WHY?
There is still prejudice
and people coming
from minorities and
recruited by the media
are still not considered
as professionals. They
are often confined in
the role of spokesman
for these groups.
HOWEVER at the end
of the 90s, public media
start to show examples
of “successful
migrants”, even if
limited to the
dimension of spectacle.
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THE RELATION BETWEEN MEDIA AND
MOROCCAN MIGRATION
All evidence suggest that the fast technological
and commercial evolutions in the communication
do not serve just to communicate. They are
moreover means of remodeling space. Technologies
now establish a major element of the interrelations build across the space.
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RADIO AND MOROCCAN MIGRATION

Radio is very well
established and has
always been popular
among North African
emigrants. Even in the
early 80s radio kept on
being the main resource
of information to
maintain contact with
motherland. Many
sellers who now are
involved in satellite
dishes business,
previously sold radios
able to receive programs
from Morocco.
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TELEPHONE AND MOROCCAN
MIGRATION

The role of telephone is a
major one because it is the
means of communication
more used to overcome
distances and keep in
touch with motherland.
For a long while its use
was preserved to relatively
few privileged people or
associated with
government
administration. Nowadays
we witness the birth of
another reality linked to
that of telephone:
CALL SHOPS.
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This composed name
indicates a specific kind of
commercial activity that
involves first
communication via
telephone and recently the
internet too.
TELEBOUTIQUES
/ CALL SHOP
• Telephone boots
•Internet service
•Fax service
•Sale of prepaid cards
•Sale of soft drinks and
typical motherland
food
They are very important elements in
socialization: they help migrants feeling
accepted, integrated, and avoid a feeling
of loneliness and neglect becoming a
point of reference for every emigrant.
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INTERNET AND MOROCCAN MIGRATION

Even if a rapid
development of this
means is witnessed,
Moroccan migrants are
still unable to use the
internet properly and
communicate among
themselves and with the
motherland. As for the
telephone media, also
for the internet there is
a growing reality linked
to it:
CYBER CAFE.
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A cyber café is a place
where
there
is
the
possibility
to
use
a
computer with internet
access fee, usually hourly
or minutes. It can also be
a normal bar where food
and beverages are served.
CYBER CAFE
An internet point is a
multiservice
center
designed as a place to
offer a full range goods
and services for all types
of consumers.
=
INTERNET
POINT
• Training courses
• Job search
• Chat
• VoIP
• Chat
• Photo printing services
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SATELLITE

TELEVISION AND
MIGRATION
MOROCCAN
Satellite television
plays an important
sociological role: it
helps maintaining up
to date with Arabic
language and with
habits and major
events, such as the
holy month of fast:
RAMADAN.
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Nonetheless the spread of satellite
television has been presented as a dilemma
It helps the spreading of
radical Islamist
ideologies, even
terrorism.
It has a deleterious influence caused
by images from elsewhere where the
possibility to bring scenes of lax
morals, against Muslim morals, is
high.
THE CASE: Al Maghribya
A newly created public satellite channel from Morocco. This new
channel is dedicated to the Moroccan community residing abroad.
The programming genres will vary, from economic and news
magazines to cultural shows. Al Magrhibya is a joint venture of
RTM (Radio Télévision Marocaine) and 2M, under the guidance of
the Ministry of Communications of Morocco.
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CONCLUSION
Moroccans abroad have been left out of
consideration for a long time in the development
of communication technologies and media.
Nowadays, nevertheless, new media offer
Moroccans abroad another way of experiencing
and living their migration without crossing the
distances necessary. They now have the
possibility to live “here” without being cut off
from their “there”.
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THANK YOU
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