Morocco # English board

hello everyone, I came upon this forum by pure fluke and am quite impressed by the quality and variety of the discussions.

However...I notice that most people here are Moroccans living abroad. that was my case until about 6 months ago, when I decided to move TO Morocco. (I am bi-cultural, probably like many of us) and am interested in meeting new people here (Casablanca-Rabat area mostly).

I am often told that there are increasingly more Moroccans returning to the homeland after years spent abroad.
Any suggestions on how to meet internationally minded people here (Moroccans and/or foreigners). Forums are great, but it's nice to be able to chat over coffee or share dinners once in a while.

A bientôt,
Kore

hi kore,

if you don't mind me asking: what's life in morocco really like for a western raised moroccan (as i like to call us)? because even though i don't know in which country you've been living so far,i'm pretty sure that you must have heard all those scary stories about morocco,of how it suddenly turns into a cut throat kind of country as soon as the supposedly heavenly period of the summer holidays is over.... seriously, what would you say are the upsides and downsides of living there? i've been seriously considering making the same move as you and others like you, but would like to know excatly what to expect.... thanks, and like they say "marhaba bikoum fi bledkoum".

hum, excuse me, just a second, but what is the meaning of "Western raised Morrocan"...
you forget the Western influence...

but i personnaly accuse these people without identity... they fell for the colonized symptom... just because our countries are poor that we think that our culture is inferior...

I'm living abroad right now to study (will be back soon, dont get too confortable ), and i live following my own culture, the berbere + Muslim culture, and i learn but never adapt...

LeMask, I suppose he means people who were and raised in Europe, there is a noticeable difference between MREs born and raised back home who came to Europe/North America to finish their studies and those of us who were born and raised in Europe/North America.

We sometimes struggle with addarija, our parents may have practiced at home but it's not enough. Now with moroccan TVs being broadcasted everywhere, it's easier to pick up the nuances of our language but the generation before us didn't have that chance.
I'm ok with addarija now, thanks to the broadcasts, but my tachelhit is disastrous.

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LeMask
hum, excuse me, just a second, but what is the meaning of "Western raised Morrocan"...
you forget the Western influence...

but i personnaly accuse these people without identity... they fell for the colonized symptom... just because our countries are poor that we think that our culture is inferior...

I'm living abroad right now to study (will be back soon, dont get too confortable ), and i live following my own culture, the berbere + Muslim culture, and i learn but never adapt...

Lemask, I agree with Chelham. You read Khadija's post as a negation of her culture and origin, when infact, there are many moroccans who were born and raised OUTSIDE of Morocco. That does NOT mean they have less appreciation for Morocco, the culture and traditions, nor that they are "bad" muslims... it just means that they have a different starting point from the people who were raised IN Morocco then, for whatever reason, ventured out.

And then there is yet another category of Moroccans, such as myself, who are dual nationals; meaning our parents were from two different countries. Does that make us appreciate Morocco less? I really don't think so because if that were the case, I wouldn't have moved TO Morocco. I could have stayed where I was, but I CHOSE to Move here. And that is what Khadija is asking about.

To assume that anyone who is "westernized" has, as you put it "fallen for the colonized" is a very very narrow viewpoint, as the assumption that "just because our countries are poor that we think that our culture is inferior..." is, in a way, reversed intolerance. It's a big thorn in your side which, I hope, you will someday remove and join the very big, generous and hospitable society that, by and large, gives Morocco it's stregnth.

This is a theme were we are talking about moving TO Morocco, which implies that we LOVE it, cherish it, respect it...

hi there

please allow me to clarify what i meant by "western raised moroccan": any person who was born of moroccan parents, but raised (and/or born) outside of morocco, generally in a western country (be it the uk, france, spain, holland...etc).now i do not forget the western influence at all, quite the opposite: i claim that us, western-raised moroccans, are the product of our moroccan upbringing (because for most of us, our parents did work hard at raising us like moroccans,in the respect of moroccan values), coupled with the fact that we grew up in western countries, which, needless to say, have a culture which is radically different from the one that has been passed on to us from our parents. i think there's no point in arguing with the fact that the western environment we grew up in has contributed to a large extent to turn us into what we are today (most of us, anyway): moroccan-looking, european-thinking moroccans. like chelhman rightly pointed out, there are other factors to take into account: whether or not one can speak darija or tachelhite, whether or not they're familiar with morocco....etc. but the fact remains that our mentalities are just not the same as that to be found in moroccan people who were actually raised in morocco.hope this makes some sense. and le mask, please, stop saying that we feel superior to you just because we were raised in western countries: since when does this make us superior to you or to anyone?

Hi Kore;

let's meet up for a coffee. [email protected] ciao

Hello everybody,

What makes difference between moroccan raised in morocco and moroccan raised in western area ? even tought the most part of moroccan around the world don't speak their homeland language, they remain moroccan and muslims. And I don't decline exceptions. As long as they recognize their attachement and traditions, Moroccans will be moroccans anywhere they live.

We can be moroccan and muslim in morocco or elsewehere, we have 6 millions of muslims in france. All of them are from maghreb. I don't have statistics about other countries but I think the there is the some thing in UK,USA and other western countries.

I hate the use of MRE and western moroccan expression. I don't accept the melange of culture. Surely we discover other cultures but we have not the right to claim that we are from. We remain moroccan.

A good thing we have to do is not to forget our country. We have to think together in the developement of our homeland. Whey not be back to morocco for investing.

a good one who immigrate and discover other experience without having influence of other cultures. And then return to deploy this experience in our lovely country.

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almo3tassim
As long as they recognize their attachement and traditions, Moroccans will be moroccans anywhere they live.

I don't accept the melange of culture. Surely we discover other cultures but we have not the right to claim that we are from.

Hi Almo3tassim,

where does that leave people who were born of parents from two different countries?? does what you say mean that, if we are part X nationality, part Moroccan, we are not "true" moroccans? Or that we have to "give up" the other culture in order to become a "true" Moroccan?

would you be willing to clarify?
thanks,