3.2 From Morocco to Europe

• Aardrijkskunde
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

3.2 From Morocco to Europe

Learning objectives

After studying this section, you will be able to:

• Describe push and pull factors for economic migrants.
• Describe the pattern of how Moroccan migrants have come to Europe.

What is a seasonal worker?
Use one sentence and give an example

Morocco

Village in the desert of Morocco

Noura’s grandfather migrated from Taznakht to Casablanca.

Casablanca

Cities have lots of pull factors, what could be a push factor?

From the village to the city

Push factor: A reason for somebody to move away from a place

Pull factor: Factors that attract people from where they live

From the village to the city

For example you move for a job

Economic migrant: Someone who moves to another country for a better standard of living

Family reunification

When a migrant worker has his or her partner and children move to the country where he or she works.

Family formation

If a migrant worker seeks a partner in his or her home country and has the new partner migrate to the country where he or she works.

Many Moroccan former guest workers and their families are still living in Europe.

Remittances

A remittance is a transfer of money, often by a foreign worker to an individual in their home country. 

Essence

Guest workers from Morocco arrived in the Netherlands at the end of the 1960s. Most of them first migrated from the countryside of Morocco to its bigger cities, before then migrating to Europe. At first, the guest workers went without their family, but family reunification took place for many, a few years later. Other guest workers found a wife in Morocco and then brought her over. Many migrated Moroccans, as well as their families, still live in the Netherlands. The pull factors of a better economy, job opportunities and facilities attracted these economic migrants away from their homes. Where they used to live, push factors triggered them to leave.