Moroccans Living Abroad Are All Ambassadors of the Kingdom

By Abdellah Boussouf

Rabat – Migrating from Morocco abroad has never been a source of pessimism or a point of weakness to the country.

Morocco has long considered its diaspora to be ambassadors, an essential pillar of sustainable development, and a cultural and historical extension of the country. This has been so since the first migrations, which were trips to explore, to seek knowledge, to visit holy places, and to make diplomatic visits, as well as the economic migrations seen from the first half of the last century, for people seeking job opportunities, especially in Europe.

The situation of Moroccans all across the globe and their social and economic specificities has made the Moroccan legislation to enshrine their fundamental rights in chapters 16, 17 and 18 of the constitution adopted in July 2011.

in addition,Moroccans living abroad are an important part of Morocco’s intangible wealth and symbolic capital, which flows everywhere in the world.

The fact that Moroccans have made it to the third and fourth generations in more than one European country stands for the formation of a generation of highly educated elite, an elite that knows the language, traditions, and civilization of their countries of residence, an elite that occupies sensitive and influential positions in politics, economy, finance, business and scientific, and university training.

In other words, every success that Moroccan living abroad achieve represents a positive promotion of the image of the country. We can imagine the size of the achievements and scientific and professional successes achieved by the Moroccan diaspora every single day.

Scientists in the scientific research centers, university professors in the world’s top universities, doctors specializing in different fields, lawyers, writers, filmmakers, musicians, athletes and journalists. These are the Moroccan elite abroad, which is what Morocco needs to improve its image, and which has made many researchers in the field of sociology emphasize that Moroccans play a key role inf improving, polishing and crystallizing the history, geography and heritage of our great country.

Morocco’s shares in the tourism and investment stock exchange are rising due to names of young Moroccans working in space agencies in America, Japan, and France. Among Moroccan who shone abroad are Kamal Oudrhiri of the US space agency NASA, Rachid Amrousse of the Japan space agency JAXA, Ahmed Basha who works at the National Center for Scientific Research, Nasser Benabdeljalil who raised the Moroccan flag at the Everest summit, astronomer Merieme Chadid, the first Arab woman to set foot on Antarctica in a scientific and exploratory mission, Asmae Boujibar who is said to be the first Arab woman to join NASA, and Salwa Rushdie who works in the American research laboratories. On top of these names is the Moroccan inventor Rachid Yazami who invented the “electronic chip.”

Khalid Rahilou, Badr Hari, Mustapha Lakhsem, and other world champions in martial arts achieved international championships. On the podiums, they shed tears of allegiance to their country as the national anthem was played for them. Before them was Radi Abdessalam in the cross-country and El Arbi Benmbarek in football. Other Moroccans led European, American, and Asian teams to podiums in various sports, such as Abdellatif Benazzi, the dean of the French rugby team.

Gad El-Maleh, Jamal Debouz, Said Taghmaoui, and RedOne are names that have shone in the seventh art, music, and comedy. Their names were engraved in many international festivals across the globe.

There are also Rachida Dati, Najat Belkacem, Myriam El Khomri, Ahmed Boutaleb, Samira Al Awni, Fatima Hoda Biban, Munir Mahjoubi, in addition to dozens of deputies and advisers in the offices of ministers and mayors of European cities, international institutions, and think tanks.

There is no room to mention all the great names of Moroccans living abroad, but in recognition of our migratory birds, we must stop for a moment to give room for the sad memory of two of our best abroad: engineer Mohamed Amine Benmbarek who died in the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, and photographer and human rights activist Leila Alaoui, who was the victim of the 2016 Ouagadougou terrorist attacks.

Morocco has a great legacy and an intangible capital from great journalists who work in international networks, to distinguished writers who contribute every day to the development of the world. They represent the face of Morocco and its image in the world, especially within the framework of ”parallel diplomacy,” with the potential to plead and defend territorial integrity and a new perception of Morocco’s human face. Many Moroccans are also human rights activists in international non-governmental organizations, which makes them truly the ”hard and winning figure” in promoting and marketing the image of Morocco worldwide.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent any institution or entity.