The Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) organized on Monday, June 6, 2022, a round table on the issue of “Migration and Social Sciences”.
Mr. Abdelkarim Marzouk, PhD in geography from Clark University, Massachusetts (USA) and professor at Al Akhawayn University, Mr Ahmed Cherak, sociology professor at the University of Fez and Mr Jamal Boutayab, anthropology professor at the same university, conducted this meeting which was animated by professor and Sociologist Mr Abderrahim El Atri.
Mr. Abdelkarim Marzouk said in his opening speech, that several studies on the return migration, especially in the Eastern region of Morocco, qualify the immigrants’ return to their country of origin, mainly as retirees or investors who return to their country of origin with a cumulated capital in the host countries.
He believes that there is a story that is not currently being told because the geographical approach to migration is unavoidable, since “geography is a human science and the human being is the living element of all migration”.
According to the expert, this approach has two components: a quantitative geography, which takes into account migration as a burden, as a dimension to be calculated, and a geographical approach from a social point of view (focus group), which studies the family environment and relations in society.
Mr Ahmed Cherak explains for his part that the classical treatment of migration is “outdated” because of the profound and rapid changes it has undergone.
According to him, the new migration paths raise different questions from a sociological and cultural point of view, and question the concepts of identity and universalism. The concept of insertion and integration is increasingly being diluted in the light of the positive interaction between the host and home cultures, which is taking place more and more easily, as debates on both sides of the border are becoming more common, particularly regarding individual freedoms.
The anthropologist Jamal Boutayab questioned the pertinence of ” the dictionaries ” in apprehending the Etymology of Migration in the light of the major mutations it has experienced.
He said, If migration used to be defined as the movement from one place to another, today this displacement can take on several forms.
“The observation of the discourses and symbols produced by migration, from a semiological perspective, makes it possible for us to measure its evolution”, pointing out that for the past 10 years, the CCME has published a work on the anthology of migration based on literary works.
On the other hand he added, the follow-up of the paths can inform us on the migratory evolutions.
CCME
