African Migrants’ Children Face Obstacles Joining Morocco Schools
(AWP) - African migrants residing illegally in Morocco complain of hardships they face in merging into Moroccan society and claim it is not easy to find a place for their children in schools in the North African kingdom.
Morocco represents one of the transit stations for thousands of African migrants annually in the hope of moving northward to Europe in search of living conditions better than their own countries may offer.
A total of 80,000 Africans are legal residents in Morocco, according to estimations, but there are no accurate statistics about the actual number of illegal immigrants who keep watching for a chance to make it to Europe.
In the light of Moroccan measures to curb illegal migration to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, the African residents stay for quite a long time and consequently they would search for a job to pay their pills and get their children into school.
“I come from Cameroon and live here in Morocco. I arrived here via Nigeria, Niger and then Algeria. This is my son Daoud. He is studying in Morocco but it is not an easy thing without documents or legal residence. Studying is not always guaranteed,” said Abdulaziz Mubarak, who resides in Morocco illegally.
Katchie Olendi, another African migrant, said although she has lived in Morocco for 11 years now, she felt like she had lost everything as if she had been a newcomer.
“My children do not go to school. When I apply for a school, it is always met with rejection because I do not have a residence permit. I cannot do anything for them. I have documents proving that I am a taxpayer. I had a store but unfortunately it was shut down by municipal officials during the COVID-19 crisis,” she added.
Hassoumi Miramo, a Cameroonian woman, was in a better situation as she has a legal residence permit.
“I am from Cameroon. I entered Morocco in 2017, coinciding with orders from the king to legalize the status of African migrants. The status of myself and my child was legalized. I managed to get her into school. I work in a restaurant serving African dishes so I may be able to help my child complete her studying,” she noted.
For his part, Frank Emandou, a representative of African migrants in Morocco, said the African migrants face some hardships, particularly during partnership with a vocational training office or employment, for instance.
“They request that the migrants should enjoy a sound legal status. Unfortunately, this is not available, because many of the migrants could not renew their residence permits after the novel coronavirus crisis. We are trying to convince the competent authorities to ease procedures on the migrants and support their merging into Moroccan society,” he explained.
Civil society organizations in Morocco work on educationally-merging the African migrants’ children by providing lessons at home or the children’s attendance of special sections attached to schools.
In 2015, Morocco had announced a plan to legalize the status of African migrants on its soil in order to help them enjoy all rights, including education, health, housing and employment.