crossing borders

By: Montse Hervás Gamero, Jofre Jara Torres,

Gabriela López González, Sandra Llopart Babot

El Món Postcolonial Anglòfon

Isabel Alonso Breto

January 16th

2015

Crossing Borders, Constructing Identities

Morocco

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Process of Work . . . . . . . . . 3

3. Interviews

3.1 Interview 1: Ismaïl Aloeui . . . . . . 8

3.2 Interview 2: Karima Abad . . . . . . 24

4. Interviews Analysis

4.1 Gender and Religion . . . . . . . 30

4.2 Language and Education . . . . . . . 31

4.3 Racism and Stereotypes . . . . . . . 34

4.4 Identity, Heritage and Integration . . . . . 36

5. Complementary Materials

5.1 Migration Data . . . . . . . . 40

5.2 Documentary: Crossing Borders (2011) . . . . . 44

5.3 News Analysis . . . . . . . . 48

5.4 Photo Gallery . . . . . . . . 53

6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . 61

7. Works Cited . . . . . . . . . 63

Document Autorització Publicació Entrevista: Ismaïl Aloui

Document Autorització Publicació Entrevista: Karima Abad

Document Autorització Publicació Portfolio Estudiants

Crossing Borders, Constructing Identities 1

1. Introduction

To begin with, our project is structured around the study of the experiences of

two persons that have a strong link with Morocco, although they are currently living in

Spain. More precisely, the main focus of the project is the study of how migratory

experiences affect the creation of an individual identity, specially taking into account

factors such as language, religion, gender and heritage. To do so, we have had two

persons that bear a strong link with the Moroccan culture and country talk about their

experiences as immigrants in a foreign country, and how they have been able to use

their links to both Morocco and Spain (concretely Catalonia) to shape and build up their

personal identities. Thus, our first interviewee is a 23 year old boy who was born in

Morocco but came to Barcelona at age 12 . In contrast, our second interviewee is an 18

year old girl born in Barcelona, although her 5 younger brothers are all Moroccan, just

like her parents and grandparents.

However, in order to provide the interviews with a consistent framework, we

have decided to adopt a journalistic approach. Indeed, we have tried not only to provide

two consistent, meaningful interviews but also to contextualize and analyze them from a

critical perspective. In addition, this portfolio also includes a set of documents that help

to support and frame the context for and the content of both interviews. Each of these

documents is formed by two parts; first, a first-source document such as a piece of

news, a documentary, photographs or statistics about Morocco, and second our

comments about each document, including positive and negative critiques, analyses,

contributions as well as an explanation of how do they relate to the interviews. By

adopting this perspective, we aim at comparing and contrasting approaches from the

inside (the interviews) and the outside (the complementary materials), so as to account

for the complexities and difficulties of identity construction in a foreign country.

Regarding the aims of this project, one of its major aims is to get to know more

about an African country (Morocco, in this case), and concretely about the Moroccan

experience in Barcelona and the construction of identities of first and second generation

immigrants. However, the process of construction of this portfolio and the problems that

we have had to face until we were able to carry out the two interviews that are now the


center of our work have caused a broadening of the focus of the project. Indeed, with

our work we have tried not only to account for the reality of some migratory

experiences from Morocco to Catalonia, but also to illustrate the diversity existent in the

African continent and the differences and similarities that currently separate and link

African countries. Thus, although the interviews and the complementary materials and

documents are structured around Morocco, with the description of the process and the

steps followed before establishing Morocco as the center of our research we have also

tried to express the duty to acknowledge the current situation of other African countries,

as well as their representation in our own country.

However, as regards Morocco, it is a country located in Northern Africa,

bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and

Western Sahara, and its capital is Rabat. It has a population of 32.987.206 inhabitants

(data from July 2014), and the 99% of them are from Arabic and Berber origin. The

official languages are Arabic (taught at schools) and Tamazight (Berber dialect), while

French is often used as the language of business, government and diplomacy. However,

Moroccan Arabic (Darija) is also widely spoken. In Morocco, 32.9% of the population

is illiterate, the literacy rates being higher for males than for females. As regards

religion, 99% of the population are Muslims (Islam the country’s official religion), and

the resting 1% includes Catholics, Jews, and Baha’is).

Morocco’s government type is a

constitutional monarchy with an elected

parliament, the chief of state being the

King Mohammed V since 1999.

Moreover, since 2006 the state’s Prime

Minister is Abdelillah Benkirane, who

belongs to the Party of Justice and

Development (PJD). Indeed, the PJD

advocates Islamism and Islamic

Democracy. Some significant cities in

addition to the capital, Rabat, are

Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakech, Nador,

Agadir and Kenitra.


2. Process of Work

Before deciding to focus on Morocco, we did research about some other

countries, and lived some enriching experiences in some of their consulates in

Barcelona. Within our initial options we chose countries such as Togo, Senegal, and

Chad. In this section, we relate the process of work from the beginning until we

definitely established Morocco as the country on which we would focus the portfolio.

To begin with, we did a little research about Togo because it was the country

that we wanted to focus on. When we went to the consulate, they were highly surprised,

as they asked us if we already knew that Togo was a French colony, not an English one.

After that, the secretary explained Togo was a small country and unfortunately there

were not many native people living in Barcelona. Thus, we decided to try in Chad’s

consulate. In that case, although there are few Chad citizens living in Barcelona as well,

when we explained our project to the secretary she immediately thought that the

representative console could be a potential candidate for us to interview: Javier Nart.

Thus, having agreed to keep in touch, we decided to do some research about the console

so as to prepare a consistent interview.

Although Javier Nart was born in Cantabria, he spent all his childhood living in

Bilbao. As he grew up, he started being a war correspondent in places such as

Nicaragua, South Yemen, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Palestine, Camboy, Laos, Iran, Iraq or

Chad, among others. Later on, he assessed the Spanish Government about international

political issues from 1984 until 1988. Since the late eighties, he has been appearing in

television as a fellow member in TV programs such as Crónicas Marcianas (Telecinco)

or currently Espejo Público (Antena3). He is now a member of the European Parliament

representing the Ciutadans party’s interests. Since we

realized that he was in fact the person we got in touch

with, we started investigating about his career, reading

his book Sálvese quien pueda! Mis historias e histerias

de guerra (2003) and we also discovered that he played

a crucial part in the so-called Zoé’s Ark controversy.

Indeed, he helped to liberate the crew members that

were arrested in Chad. Javier Nart

Picture published in his twitter page


Whatsapp capture from Monte’s phone

We mainly wanted to focus on his experience living in Chad, since the years he

lived there were highly remarkable from a historical point of view. At the same time, we

were intrigued by the dichotomies that surrounded his public image; that is, for instance

he erroneously received 31,000€ from Fèlix Millet versus the fact that Chad is one of

the most corrupted countries in the world, and he has publicly claimed that this situation

needs to get better. We spent a lot of time trying to think how to ask him about these

problematic issues without making him feel uncomfortable. However, the first time we

got in touch with him we were really motivated to fix a date for the interview, so that

when the secretary gave us his number Sandra called him. He rapidly agreed to

collaborate with us, telling her which days he was going to be in Barcelona so that we

could meet, as well as a little bit about his background in relation to the country, that is,

among other things, that he lived there until 1975.

However, after having sent more than three e-mails to Mr Nart, and having

phoned Mr Nart’s secretary to confirm the meeting, she kept coming up with the same

excuses “Nart is busy working now in Brussels and has no time for interviews”, “Please

write to his e-mail address given that I can’t do anything else”.

Before concluding that in fact the interview was not going to be carried out

because we never got a concrete answer, we went to Senegal’s embassy in order to get a

further subject to interview in addition to Mr Nart. A 33 year-old man called Fode

contacted us wanting to collaborate. We thought then, –since we did not completely

know for sure about Mr Nart’s interview– that the two interviews could have been

linked by the important fact that the former dictator of Chad Hissiène Habré is currently

living in Senegal. As far as we investigated, the UN’s International Court of Justice

(ICJ) requested Senegal to give Habré his due,

because under his rule he created a secret police

force called the Documentation and Security

Directorate, through which Habré’s opponents were

tortured and executed. ICJ estimates that more than

40,000 persons have been killed during his regime.

Thus, we wanted to combine and contrast both

experiences –one being more citizen-like and

another being more govern-like– in the interview.


The interview that we prepared for Mr Nart is presented below.

Introduction

We have been told that you arrived to the Republic of Chad in charge of the Partido

Socialista Popular’s international relations. You decided to join FRONILAT, a Chadian

Popular Struggle Front, which truly represented Chadian society’s reality after

Tombalbaye’s death. What was exactly that “reality” at the moment of your arrival?

How were the rebel factions organized?

In relation to journalism

Which are the main mass media journals and how are they managed? Are they

sponsored by the Government? –i.e. being non-objective and politicized, if so, to what

extent?– Does international press help the population to understand better the current

situation of their country? And also, to what extent it is word-of-mouth determining in

order to spread information about politics in the country?

The American photographer Susan Sontag has theorised about the use of war

photography with politic purposes. Do you think that image spreading through social

networking services must be necessary in order to raise awareness about the reality of

Chad?

What is the difference between Tombalbaye’s autocratic mandate and a dictatorship in

the country? Taking into account Chad’s political history, is ‘autocratic mandate’ only

an euphemism to refer to a dictatorship?

In relation to tribes

During Hissiènee Habré’s regime, what were the advantages of being a member of the

daza tribe? To what extent are there remains of that so-called beneficial system

nowadays?


Is there any identity feeling that takes precedence within the country, bearing in mind

the differences between tribes? Do you believe that reconciliation among them can

occur?

As far as we know, according to an interview carried out in 2009, in the official web

page Solidaridad en el Chad, you visited Moussoro, Gouro, and Badai and you felt that

they treated you “like a comrade”. Which were the tribes you spent more time with?

How did you deal with communication? Do you remember any tradition that amazed

you to discover?

In relation to the current government

What do you think of Déby’s reform that took place in 2006? Is Chad closer now to

reaching a sociopolitical stability than it was during the seventies? Could you please

explain to us what are the main problems that block the path to progress in the country?

The non-governmental organization Transparency International (TI) qualifies Chad as

one of the highest corrupted countries of the world. As the English web page Irinnews

explains, a great part of the impoverished population complains about the unauthorized

use of oil production funds. Their reasons are that a much more isolated president is

investing those funds in armament to assure his own security. What is your opinion

about this issue? Do you imagine that these specific circumstances are probably one of

the main causes that lead the country to be in the 5th position among poorest countries

in the world?

You spent a lot of time in Chad during the seventies. Nowadays, in 2014, as a Member

of the European Parliament and your tight political schedule, how do you combine both

activities?

From 2003 to 2010 approximately, Chad has been directly confronted with Sudan. Do

you believe that the Chadian population is aware about the real state of the country?

As your personal Facebook account and periodistadigital.com explain, your

participation in the Zoé’s Ark case was crucial to liberate the crew members arrested in

Chad. Could you please briefly talk about that experience?

http://periodistadigital.com/


Finally, we decided to ask to a childhood friend of Gabriela’s to help us with the

interview, since time was running out and it was already November. His roots being

found in Morocco, Ismaïl pleasantly accepted to collaborate and explained to us his own

migratory experience. After finishing this interview, we considered that having a female

point of view on the same questions could be of interest as well, since in his interview

Ismaïl had drawn upon concepts related to feminism and the role of Muslim women in

society. Thus, we got in touch with L’Associació d’Estudiants Marroquins de Barcelona

(AEMB). The secretary contacted us because someone who was willing to collaborate

as well. Her name was Karima.


3. Interviews

3.1 Interview 1: Ismaïl Aloeui

Our first Interviewee is Ismaïl, he is 23 and was born in Kenitra, Morocco. He arrived to

Marbella in 2004 when he was 12. His family moved to Barcelona that year and he has

lived there for the last 10 years. Ismaïl attended to secondary obligatory and post

obligatory education during 6 years in a high school near the neighbourhood of Nou

Barris where he started to learn how to speak a new language and live in a new

country. He was kind to tell us in detail his personal experience here in Catalonia and

his impressions about Morocco and the society and the country he considers his own.

What is your relationship with Morocco? Have you ever lived there or only visited

the country occasionally? Do you have contact with friends and/or relatives there?

I have many friends, relatives that live there, especially my two grandmother and that’s

it… More contact? Well friends…

But were you born there?

Yes, and I lived there until I was 12 years old.

And do you remember Morocco?

Of course I do, I go there every year! I’m leaving this Thursday…(laughs).

Oh, we didn’t know! You know there are many people that never go back to their

native countries after living in Spain for so long...

Oh, I go every year yes.. and you know, it isn’t that far, I can go by car.


Are you planning to stay there?

No. It’s only a holiday trip, I’ll be back in 3 weeks.

So, you are very connected to Morocco.

Yes I like to keep in touch, I have my friends, cousins, well there is also Facebook, and

my family. I like to know what’s going on in my city and with the social networks it’s

easier.

Some people leave the country and they also forget about it, you clearly don’t.

Well it depends, I think it depends whether you had a nice time in your country or not...I

mean, if you have good memories there you are going to want to know more about that

place, but if you had a tough time there, I think you won’t be wanting to know anything

else about it. But I love it. When I go there in summer it’s even better, I mean is not like

there is a big difference, I can’t tell the difference, the people, the social life, it’s the

same. I am there with my friends, we go to the beach, partying... everything.

Many people would think of Morocco as a country very different from Spain or

any other country in Europe…

No, not at all, well...of course people are more traditional, I think it is also because of

the Islam there, so there is certain things that are restricted. For example, you can’t go

around kissing a girl and stuff like that, you just can’t. But the rest is more or less the

same.

What did you (or your parents) decided to come and live here in Spain? and in

Catalonia specifically?

Well, we came first to Marbella because my mother had her sister there, my aunt, and

she suggested that there were more opportunities here in Barcelona, because its is a big

city, etcétera. So we came.


Would you say it was only for work then?

I wouldn’t say that...My mother worked already on Marbella, we came because it was

bigger and moreover...it’s Barcelona (laughs). And we were very used to city life there

in my country, and the beach, everything. We just came, it wasn’t my decision of

course, but when they I asked me, I said yes.

To which culture do you feel closer, Spanish or Moroccan?

Well, to be honest, I feel very integrated here, culturally, I have always found a job and

the places where I have worked they have never treated me like a stranger or anything

like that, I can’t complain… I don’t know if I have been lucky but it’s been always like

that. I have worked in different places and it’s been always fine, as long as you speak

the language it’s ok. And I always try feel integrated with everyone, if they go out or

something I’m not like: ‘Oh I can’t… I’m from Morocco... you know’ (laughs). I speak

with them, we go out, it’s fine.

And regarding the food, well, there is no change, I eat the same as everyone else except

that I don’t eat pork because of my religion.

And with people of your age, do you feel you are restricted in any way? Is there

any kind of pressure? When they do some things you don’t...

Not really, not at all.

About the holidays and other festivities, like Christmas and other, do you celebrate

them?

To be honest, there are many festivities we don’t celebrate anymore, we celebrate the

religious ones, but there are many other national festivities that we don’t. I live in a

place where there are not many Moroccan people, at least we don’t know anybody so

what we celebrate is only religious and we do it privately, at home with the family. For

example the Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) or the Ramadan.


So, you wouldn’t say that you and your family are part of any isolated community

here in Spain.

I know there are certain places where Moroccans gather like Glòries and Santa Coloma

but honestly I’ve never been into it. Where I lived before there weren’t any Morrocan as

well, and I lived 8 years in that neighbourhood. At the beginning most of my friends

were Latin American, some of them were Spanish, from the high school.

When you first got to Spain, in the high school you attended, were all of your

friends foreigners as well or you mingled with everyone?

When I first got there, I attended one month there and then they sent me to another high

school, so I attended to two different high schools, one in the mornings, and the other

one in the afternoons.

So in the mornings I learnt Catalan, and Spanish of course, I didn't spoke any at the

beginning, and other students didn’t know me very much, because they only saw me

part time, this lasted for a year, and I passed everything! (smiles).

So, was it very difficult to learn Spanish and Catalan?

Look, I started to date a girl, back then I already knew a bit, but with her I learned a lot

more (laughs).

Do you feel Spanish or Moroccan?

Moroccan, obviously. When I’m there I don’t feel any change, my friends, everyone

treats me the same, I don’t waste much time in my old neighbourhood, I prefer the city

now and everything is the same, I still speak the language, I haven’t lost it so..


Do you feel more part of Spain or Catalonia? In which one do you feel more

comfortable? Are they both the same?

Well, I think I agree with the Independence of Catalonia, especially in terms of

economy, the income that gets in, what goes away… I think that if Catalonia becomes a

state, maybe we would be better, like Andorra or Monaco.

And what do you think about the integration programs that La Generalitat carries

out? Have they been useful for you (Aules d’acollida) ?

Let’s see, what programs? (laughs). I’ve never been in any of those, maybe the ‘Aules

d’acollida’ started just one year after I arrived because they never sent me there. As I

said before, I only took Catalan courses in a different high school, maybe after that they

opened this new classrooms. In this high school, I was in a mixed class, with Chinese

students, Moroccan, everybody, and we did some literature and some language learning,

but that’s it, I don’t think it worked as the ‘Aules d’acollida’ that do not necessarily help

integration that much.

Have you ever thought about going back to Morocco to live there?

Honestly, I have not. I wouldn’t stay there, now it’s different, I’ve grown up here and

the time I’ve spent here left me a mark, it’s different.

But you see there is a certain contradiction there, because you said you feel

Moroccan but you don’t want to live there.

Yes, of course I am Moroccan but I have all of my family living here, thats why I don’t

even think about that, I have my sisters here and they are married here, my parents live

here.. so moving there again would be like being alone. Well I would have some

relatives there, but it wouldn’t be the same.


How many sisters do you have?

You don’t want to know! (laughs). Five. The youngest one was born here, she’s 8 years

old now. She would tell you ‘I’m Spanish!’ (laughs). And it’s true, she is, she was born

here and you are from where you are born, if you grow up somewhere else, that’s

another thing, but you are from where you were born.

So, looking forward to the future, if you start a life or get married or anything else,

would that be here in Barcelona? or…

In Spain, certainly. I like Barcelona very much and I wouldn’t change it.

Do you feel connected with Catalonia specifically?

Not really, I’ve visited other cities like Zaragoza or Valencia, Málaga as well, they are

different, but I think what differentiates them it’s the change from a big city to a smaller

one, that’s all, I don’t know. They are similar; I’ve been to Paris, Netherlands,

Belgium... etc.

What aspect of the Spanish/Catalan Culture has been more difficult for you to

adapt to? Besides language of course.

I think everyone lives their own life here, there is not any certain aspect that is difficult

to assimilate, besides, I can’t really tell the difference between here and Morocco… of

course there are certain things like… gay couples, it’s different from here, it’s taboo,

everyone knows they exist, but it’s banned there, they can’t ‘come out of the closet’

(laughs).

When I went to the beach for the first time when I was a kid I was also impressed to see

naked people or girls doing topless, I was like: ‘wow’, that was the thing that shocked

me the most as a kid. But the rest is similar, there is the same passion for sports, soccer

in particular, and again, people aren’t that different.


How’s your parents’ experience here? Do they feel as comfortable as you? Do they

want to come back?

Well I don’t think it’s the same for everybody but my father, for example, doesn’t want

to come back, he lost contact with his family and he doesn’t want to come back, but it’s

due to family issues. Then there is my mother, she’s got her mother there, my granny,

she’s wonderful, so my mom needs to see her and she goes there once or twice a year,

but in the end they still want to live here.

What about your sisters?

Yes, for the two youngest I think it would be very complicated to go back… they were

very young when they came here. And because of the language of course.

Really? Why?

Yes, let me tell you, Moroccan Arabic is a language spoken all over the country and in

the streets, but the language spoken in the schools, high schools and similar it’s Arabic.

This Arabic language is the one that all Arab countries have in common, so... Moroccan

can be written but it is usually oral only, you only speak it on the streets, it’s like a

vulgar tongue, it is not form a tiny region, it’s used all over the country, but only on the

streets. [referring to Darija dialect]. But Arabic is the language spoken in the classroom,

institutions, administration and everything.

What about French?

Well French is very dominant but the Arabic is more used, French is the second

language here, it’s similar to English here, but here people does not really care about

English, they don’t learn to speak it, there in Morocco they do learn French, they take it

more seriously.


So do you think Arabic language is the only thing that keeps your sisters from

coming back to Morocco?

I don’t know, I don’t think so… I think it is the most important thing, but not the only

thing. We are a family where there isn’t any problem, we get along pretty well, we

always want to be close to each other, and for us living outside would mean leave the

family behind, and we don’t wanna do that. So, you see, it’s more of a family thing, as

long as I have my family I don’t mind living here or in Morocco.

Have you noticed any change in your parent’s mentality when you moved here?

Are they different from other families back there in Morocco?

Well I was a kid, I couldn’t really tell if there was a change, of course in Morocco

families are more traditional, they really hold on to religion, I would say my parents are

more liberal, I don’t know how to tell you but... yes, they are more liberal.

In fact, the mere fact of moving here implies that they had to be ‘open-minded’

right?

Absolutely, you have to try to integrate, you have to take into account what other’s

think and the country where you are going so you can know how they live, if you don’t

know how they live you can’t be a part of them.

Obviously, you’ve grown up here and you have no problem being part of this

culture, but what about your parents? Do they feel discriminated?

Not discriminated, but they don’t speak Spanish very well, that’s the big problem they

have. My father worked but... I mean they both have friends, but all of their friends are

Moroccan.

And what about Catalan?

Not either.


How do they feel about living here? Do they complain about their lifestyle, about

anything regarding Spanish/Catalan culture?

Not at all, we talk about this all the time, they know that even being outsiders or

whatever, they have their rights. If you do everything legally you have no further

problem, if you know how legality works and you follow it, you won’t have any

problem.

So you have never faced any legal problems? You know not having papers is an

issue that affects many immigrants here, have you had any difficulties to be a legal

resident here? What do you think about it?

Yes, the truth is I’ve always had my papers in order and if you have that is alright.

Police has never stopped me, even if it’s hard to believe, they've never stopped me, not

late at night or anything else. Sometimes when I’m driving, of course they do, because

of the controls, but besides.. they’ve never stopped me.

Well, there was one time, I was in my motorcycle, I believe it was around June… it was

May, and I was with a guy that had no papers. We were around Trinitat Vella, you

know that neighbourhood is not really good and the Undercover Police stopped us, they

followed us first, I don’t know what they were thinking… and they stopped us as if we

had done something, they asked some questions, they asked for my papers and then I

told them the guy had no papers... they didn’t do anything to him, I told them: ‘He has

no papers, really, he hasn’t any.’

So were they nice to you?

They thought we were selling drugs or something, I thought it was normal because we

were around that neighbourhood, but yes, they were suspicious about us.

And does that bother you?

Well on the other hand, there are people that do that so it’s normal that the police is

suspicious about all of us and does more surveillance on everybody.


So it really does not bother you to be put in that cliche?

No, because it exists, there is many people that sell drugs and when you know they do

it.. I know it’s bad that they put you on that group, but it’s their job in the end… I guess.

If you have done nothing wrong, you don’t fear anything.

In fact, that time, they didn’t register me or anything, they just asked if I was carrying

something, so I joked and I said: ‘What am I gonna be carrying? My phone, I carry my

phone’ and that was it, they asked me: ‘Do you have anything else, something like hash

or marihuana?’, I said no and that was it.

Do you think that living here has influenced your religious beliefs?

Not really, the truth is that I don’t feel any pressure from my parents or anything to

follow the Islam; I do it because I have faith in it. However, it is too long to explain now

but Islam is very complex, and it has nothing to do with terrorism. In fact, the word

“Islam” means “peace”, and then in the Quran it is said that you don’t have the right to

decide over anyone’s life. Terrorism has nothing to do with it, in fact if you kill

someone that is a sin, the Quran forbids it. Terrorism is exclusively politics, it is only

related to politics, not to religion. If you truly read the Quran you would realize it is

wrong, the only thing that it allows you to do is defend yourself if you are going to be

hurt, but killing? No, you cannot take somebody’s life. Actually, I don’t like to talk

about this very much, but I feel the need to correct this mistaken believes, to ask people

not to mix terrorism with religion.

But the problem is that many people do believe that these two concepts are related.

Do you think that Islam is stigmatized in this sense?

I’ll answer with an example. You meet someone that is a Muslim, and he does

something wrong, he kills someone, and he says “I did it for my religion”. Since you

don’t know very much about Islam, you will believe him. Many people have those

beliefs because of things like this, there is a lot of ignorance in this sense.


So, you don’t have any external pressure to follow your religion.

No, not at all. As I told you, I do it because I believe in it.

Do you talk with friends or people that you know from Spain about your religion?

Or do you consider it something more personal and private?

I think it is personal. However, I also think that religion should not limit or determine

the type of people to whom you relate, I mean, you mind your business and the others

mind theirs, you may have things in common but religion is very personal. I’m quite

liberal in that sense (laughs).

So for you living in an occidental country is compatible with having an oriental

culture?

Yes, I mean, religion is something yours to practise, you can follow it, but people who

don’t share your beliefs also have to carry on with their lives, you cannot do anything

about that.

For example, it is true that there are some ignorant muslims who force their wives to

wear the veil even if they are not muslim, but then you have to think of the sentence

“Your freedom ends where the other’s starts”. So, the veil, women are not forced to

wear it; they wear it because they want to, so no one should force other people to do

something that they don’t want to.

That’s very nice, but what about other men that you know that are Muslims like

you? Do they share your views?

Uh… (laughs) (silence) Some do, others don’t. Some believe that women should do

what they are told… But I don’t see it like that, I have my religion, but I won’t impose

it.


So... you would consider the possibility of marrying a Spanish girl, and having a

life…

A normal life here, yes, absolutely.

Well, I wasn’t going to say that. It’s not like Islam is not normal.

Do you think that in Spain/Catalonia there is discrimination against foreigners?

It’s not the country, it’s certain people. In general, I wouldn’t say so... I don’t think that

there is much discrimination here. I think that while you respect their rights and fulfil

your duties you shouldn’t have any problem. I mean, you cannot be here and say “no

no, in my country we don’t do this”, no, you are not in your country, you are here, you

are the one that has to adapt.

But, when you talk about your origins, where you come from, etc. you see that

people try to understand or that they laugh at you?

Many people do laugh or mock me, but that’s only because there is a lot of ignorance. I

mean, I have come across people that think that Morocco is a desert. But I know that

those are a small group of people that just don’t care about what happens outside their

country.

Do you have more friends from here or from there?

From here. Well, I mean, from here when I’m here, then when I go to Morocco I have

many friends there too (laughs).

And would you say that your friends are open minded?

Yes yes, moreover, when you explain things properly, they understand, and they realize

that they thought of it in another way. For example, many of them thought that Islam

was a bad thing, or that it wanted to impose violence… But when you talk to them, and

you even tell them some sentences from the Quran, they see that their beliefs were

based on the actions of some people that act wrongly.


And you know that there is always this debate about sexism in the Muslim

culture… Have you been asked about this before?

I have. I was working with a colleague and he told me that my religion promoted

sexism, but I tried to explain to him that that is a personal ideology that has nothing to

do with religion. For me, these concepts are not related.

So, you would say that the so-called sexism in the Muslim or Arabic cultures is not

motivated by religion at all.

No. In fact, all religions were created in a historical period where there was sexism in

society, and it’s like it continued to be like that in religion, although it has nothing to do

with it. That was another moment, you cannot stick to that, and we have to move

forward. However, I think that things have changed a lot for women; they almost have

more freedom than men! (laughs)

Have you lived any episode of racism?

Not really, I don’t see that any more in society. Well, sometimes at school… but that

was because they were kids, they didn’t know what they were saying, they said things

because they heard them in the streets. But I used to defend people like me at school, I

got into some fights but I usually won, so they respected me. I have the hope that these

people will think differently now, when we grow up we learn more about life, about

other cultures, about respect…

And what about your family? Have they felt discriminated in any situation?

Yes, well, I wasn’t there but my mother once was going out of the supermarket and an

old couple began to shout at her “go back to your country”.

Really? And what did she do?

Well, she was really shocked. After so many years living here… she couldn’t believe it.

But, I mean, they were old people… I think they are a minority, that racist people are a


minority nowadays. Moreover, I think that these people they must have lived

something… something must have happened to them… like a trauma with a foreigner,

and now they think that all of us are like that. It’s a shame that they found the bad

people first because then we have no opportunities…

And do you think that some foreign people may develop a feeling of resentment

against Spanish people because of episodes such as the one that happened to your

mother?

Not really, again, I think that this may happen because you meet one or two people that

are racist, and then you think that everyone is like that. Even my mum has not

developed this resentment against Spanish people, she knows that what happened to her

was an isolated episode, nothing to do with Spanish people in general.

And your parents, do they have Moroccan friends here in Barcelona?

Yes, actually most of their friends are Moroccan, but I think that’s because of the

language, because they don’t speak Spanish perfectly, they prefer to associate with

people that speak their language.

Do your parents feel nostalgia for their country?

Not really. But that is because Morocco is quite near, so every year we go there on

holidays. Actually, when my mother first came here, she didn’t settle down, she was

coming and going every now and then because we still have family there, my two

grandmothers. Moreover, my parents are old now, my father is 53, and he realizes that

his youth has passed now; he’s more concerned about being with his family, his

children and his wife.

Do you think that Spanish people perceive a wrong stereotype of Moroccans?

Again, when you meet one person from there you already form a perspective about how

everyone from that country is. But it is true that there is a lot of ignorance, more than

ignorance, I would say that many people are just not interested in knowing, for example,


people say “the moors”, people call that to Pakistanis and they are not. “Moors” are

only Arabic people.

How would you feel if you were called that?

Well, it depends on how you say it. If you say it meaning that I am from an Arabic

country it’s ok, but if you mean to insult me… Well, I don’t like to take it as an insult,

many people get very offended but I don’t, I mean, yes, I am a moor. But you know, it

depends, if they say “fucking moor” that is another thing.

And has it ever happened to you?

(Pause) Not really, the truth is that I don’t get insulted so often. Well, sometimes as a

joke, yes, but I don’t get offended.

What language do you speak with your parents? Moroccan, Spanish…? Do you

mix languages?

With my parents, only Moroccan. But for example, with my eldest sister I speak

Spanish and Catalan, and with my other sisters we keep mixing languages a lot.

Because sometimes we are speaking Moroccan and then you cannot think of the right

word and you say it in Spanish or Catalan. It is normal for us.

What facilities have you had to learn Spanish and Catalan?

It’s been a bit difficult because they are two languages, not just one. When you learn

something in Spanish then you realize it is different in Catalan and viceversa. But when

you get in touch with people, for example, with my girlfriend I used to speak Spanish,

and that was good practice for me, I learnt a lot of things. It is easier with company.


So, you first learned Spanish and then Catalan?

Well, actually, I spoke only Spanish. I knew Catalan and in exams and in school I could

use it, but I only spoke Spanish. But then you realize that with a small effort you can

also master Catalan, so I also tried to practise it.

And you think that you learned the language because you made an effort to do it

or because since you were in Spain and were surrounded by Spanish it was easy

for you to learn it?

No, not at all. I was the one who knew that I had to make an effort to learn the language,

because it was the only way to integrate and to meet new people. And moreover, for me

it is a respectful thing. You are in a foreign country, so you have to learn the foreign

language to integrate; you have to live like them. It is an effort to adapt better.

Actually, I went to a kind of “aula d’acollida”, but what it did actually was the opposite

thing, it separated me and other foreigners from Spanish people. It is true that there we

could focus more on learning the language, but I think that it did more wrong than right.

And you went to school in Morocco. Would you say that the educational system

was more serious than here?

(Pause) yes, yes. For example, here kids speak out loud in class, they get up… they

shouldn’t, but they do it. There it’s not like that. Here you also treat your teacher more

respectfully, you see him as a superior.


3.2 Interview 2: Karima Abad

Our second interviewee is Karima, she is 18 years old and she was born in Barcelona,

although her family moved here from Morocco 27 years ago. Karima attended

secondary obligatory and post obligatory education in Barcelona and made an

undergraduate course in the care of dependent people. She speaks Spanish, Catalan and

Tamazight (a Moroccan dialect from her parents' birthplace). She explained to us her

views about Morocco, Spain and Catalonia, and how sometimes it is better to live in a

society without labels.

How is your relation with Morocco, have you visited it before? Or do you have

family or friends there?

I am closely linked to Morocco even though I am not from there (I wasn’t born there). I

have family and friends that are living there. So, we visit them every now and then since

we have a house in Nador.

Why did your parents come here? Is there any reason why they chose Catalonia

instead of any other part of Spain? Would you be able to live anywhere else in

Spain?

Mostly, because of work, 27 years ago my father went to France because some friends

told him that there was work there. After that, he went to Holland (which is where my

grandparents live), then to Reus because my uncle told him so, and finally to Barcelona.

There is no apparent reason, it could have been anywhere.

No, I would not go anywhere but Catalonia now because I feel I belong here, since I

was born and raised here.

What culture do you think is closer to you? And why? Do you celebrate any

spanish traditional holiday such as Christmas or Easter holidays, etc.?

Moroccan culture is closer to me because of our way of life, our traditional food, our

customs and because I am an Islam practitioner.


No I do not, it would be a contradiction to my religion, because Christmas is the

celebration of the birth of God's son, and in Islam the God (Allah) does not have neither

son nor associates. It happens the same with the Easter holidays that represent the

rebirth of Jesus. Because of Christians seeing Jesus as a God and Muslims as a prophet,

if I celebrated these holidays I would be contradicting Islam.

Do you feel Spanish, Moroccan or both?

I do not feel more one than the other, both cultures define me. I am Moroccan because

my family is Moroccan, I follow Moroccan customs and traditions, but I am also

Spanish because I was born here, I speak the language and my friends are from here. I

feel both cultures define me.

I think that even if I live in Spain my roots are Moroccan because they represent my

origins, my parents, my grandparents and I feel I could not let it aside, it is something

that I have inside of me.

Do you feel homed in Spain/Catalonia?

Usually yes, since it is a society in which almost everybody accepts you for what you

are, whatever country you come from. It may be partially because I am not ashamed of

my roots or of having a different religion from Spanish society. I am who I am and

people must accept it.

Would you go to live to Morocco? What do you think you would feel there?

No I would not, it is here where I was born, and where I have lived, although coming

back to Morocco would make me feel illusion, nostalgia, something new. However, my

life is here, my family is here and I think I wouldn't be able to let go of that to live there.


What is the most shocking issue or custom you have found difficult to accept of

Spain?

Nothing, since I have not felt compelled to live in a certain way or to adapt to anything

in special. I have my way of life and people accept is just like I accept theirs.

How does your family see living here? Is your vision different from theirs? Do you

live a different life here than in Morocco?

We accept it, and share it. Otherwise, we would not have lived here for 20 years. We

understand that we are living in a country where the majority of people do not share our

beliefs and customs, and that we have to respect that and integrate within the Spanish

society. One thing is not incompatible with the other.

It is true that the life here is different than the one we would be living in Morocco, but it

is just like the one we would be living in China or America because every country has

their customs and culture. We accept the culture of this country and celebrate it, but I

have my religion, my beliefs and my roots. I live in accordance to Moroccan culture and

Islam.

Did you notice any change in your parents' mentality before and after arriving

here?

No since I was born here and I do not know how they were before. However, I don't

think that living here has influenced their beliefs or their way of thinking. If at all,

maybe it has influenced our lifestyle (although we don't celebrate Christian holidays,

they are the official holidays here, for example).

Do you think living here has influenced your religious beliefs? If so, how?

No, living here has nothing to do with Islam. I have my religion and my traditions, and I

follow them as if I lived in Morocco.


Are there any religious aspects you feel you are obliged to do? Would you do it

without your parents' pressure?

No, if I am an Islam practitioner, I'm supposed to obey and follow the whole of it,

without being obliged, not because my parents say it, but because I want to.

My family does not compel me to do anything, I have the right to decide what I do, I am

willing to do what my religion tells me because I like Islam and I would do it without

anyone asking me to do so. For example, I decided that despite living in Spain I wanted

to wear the veil, because it is part of the islamic tradition, not because I feel pressured or

obliged to wear it.

Do you think Spain or Catalonia is a society that discriminates foreigners?

Not in general, although there are some cases in which one feels displaced. Because of

some people's look, or swear words. There are many people that curse you because you

wear the veil, or they try to put you in a pinch at critical moments. In the end, it looks

like a foreigner does not have any right to talk about this society, not even the ones who,

like me, have been born here. Just because my appearance is different from theirs and

they can see that I come from another culture, people may put me in a certain

stereotype, and that is very wrong.

Have you experienced any episode of racism?

Many times, unfortunately it is something recurrent, even in a society like ours.

Perhaps, before wearing the veil it was not so evident but since I began to wear it, many

people have looked at me as if they were going to kill me, making disconcerting

gestures and even disgusting faces. I think this is because there are many people that do

not see beyond a veil or dark skin. In my case, it does not matter because thanks to

those people I am stronger every day. Moreover, I am trying to prove that your religion

or culture does not really matter, those things cannot define you as good or bad. What is

important is the actions that you do, what you think and how you act. That reminds me,

why is it that every time a foreigner enters a shop, the owner always follows him/her

because of fear that they might steal something? Why is it? Are foreigners the only ones

that steal?


Have you or your family developed any kind of resentment towards Spanish

people to live here?

No, I think that there are different people, and some people (because life happens) might

treat others badly whatever their culture or race. For example, I think that there are

people that act wrongly but I am not going to think that everybody that is like them is

also bad... It is dangerous to generalize.

Do you think that Spanish people perceive a certain stereotype of Moroccan

people?

I think so, unfortunately, in this country (and in any) there are many people who

underestimate Moroccan people, just like any other that comes from an underdeveloped

country. Many people may think that we are lazy or that we have come here to 'steal

their jobs', but that is offensive and wrong. As I have said before, it is very dangerous to

generalize, you cannot classify a whole country of people under one or two labels.

What language do you speak with your family? Do you mix languages?

With my parents I speak Tamazight (the dialect of Nador) and sometimes we mix it

with Spanish, and with my brothers we mix Spanish and Tamazight. You know,

sometimes it is easier to express an idea or a concept in Spanish than in Tamazight, so

we just use the Spanish word and then keep talking in Tamazight.

How many siblings do you have?

I have 3 brothers and a sister, I am the younger one.

What facilities / advantages have you had when learning Spanish and Catalan?

Because I was born here, it is something innate for me. Sometimes, I feel I know better

Spanish than my mother tongue, since there are some words that even now I have

problems to pronounce, because Tamazight is quite a difficult language to write and to

pronounce, for me, even more than Spanish sometimes. About Catalan... I understand it


and I can use it, but I am more used to speaking is Spanish with my friends and people I

know from here.

Does it represent any difference for you to be living in Catalonia instead of any

other place in Spain?

No, but I would not change it. It is hard to explain... As I said, when my parents came

here it could as well have been anywhere else in Spain, but now that I have lived here

for so many years, I consider this place part of who I am, I have my family here, my

friends here, my work here... I am too used to this city to go and live anywhere else.


4. Interviews analysis

4.1 Gender and Religion

One of the main issues we were concerned with was how our interviewees

talked with us about their views on religion and gender. We would like to analyse how

they see the fact that Muslim women use to wear the veil or hijab and contrast it with

the general opinion shared in Catalonia or Spain. Sirin Adlbi, postdoctoral researcher in

El Taller d'Estudis Internacionals Mediterranis de la Universitat Autònoma de Madrid,

explains in an article published in El País on the 10th of January 2015 that

islamophobia specially affects women: “ser musulmana, ser dona i viure a Espanya o

Europa, a més de decidir portar hijab és sinònim de patir certa discriminació i sentir

com el dia a dia es troba marcat per un ambient hostil i de rebuig”. Karima explained to

us that she began to feel intimidated from the moment she started wearing it: “many

people have looked at me as if they were going to kill me, making disconcerting

gestures and even disgusting faces. I think this is because there are many people that do

not see beyond a veil or dark skin.” Nevertheless, she does not hesitate in order to make

us see her point: “[by wearing the hijab] I am trying to prove that your religion or

culture does not really matter, those things cannot define you as good or bad. What is

important is the actions that you do, what you think and how you act.”

Taking into account this, probably, two main stances have been discussed

against the use of veil in Spain or Catalonia. The first one is exposed by the Arabic

studies professor Dolors Bramon working at Universitat de Barcelona. In an interview

found in El diario de Navarra published the 18th of February of 2014, she states: “es

una moda desgraciada que se va imponiendo, pero no por cuestiones ideológicas.

Quieren imitar a las señoras riquísimas de Arabia Saudí, que llevan el abaya (túnica

negra). Pero el velo no es lo más terrible. Hay que sacar los velos de las mentes, no de

los cuerpos.” By revising the Qur’an, she concludes that the word “hijab” appears only

seven times, instead of which another words are used to refer to it. For instance:

O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to

bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable

that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and

Merciful. (Quran, 33:59)


In this ayah, the translation of ŷalābīb is, as it can be seen, ‘garment’, which,

according to Bramon does not mean that women have to wear a veil. Other women do

not go so far into examining what sacred texts say but simply adopt a supposed feminist

view about it. Such is the case of Pilar Rahola. In an article published in La Vanguardia

called ‘Las delícias del velo’ (2010), she states: “detrás de una chica con velo existe una

cultura que socializa el concepto de dominio, que la señala para recordarle su rol social,

que la estigmatiza en su condición femenina.” To generalize about the use of the veil is

dangerous. First of all, we should not to try to impose our Western view on other

cultures, and consider our own ignorance. We need to agree that what is found to be

impetuous in one culture might not be so in another; because it is quite hypocrite to

affirm that wearing a veil symbolizes women oppression while not wearing it will make

you free. Western societies are tired of demonstrating that Eastern culture stigmatizes

and imposes misogynist views on women’s clothing. What should prevail is that women

have the right to decide on their own clothes, like Karima explains, she has the right to

decide what she wants to do. Karima’s use of hijab is a cultural and religious

vindication in a hostile society. In another article published in El Periódico, Rahola

explains: “No olvidemos que detrás de una mujer esclava hay un hombre que ha sido

educado en el desprecio a su madre, a sus hermanas, y ello se convierte en la piedra

angular de una sociedad enferma. Una sociedad que, con la opresión a la mujer, acepta y

aplaude ideologías de opresión.” Once again, we should not generalize, since we have

Ismaïl’s report explaining that he does not share the common view that women should

do what they are told.

4.2 Language and Education

Following this idea of creation of identity that both interviews posed, we asked

ourselves whether creating an identity is a matter of nature or nurture. That is, whether

the creation of identity is influenced – or determined - by the education received and the

language or languages learned. In fact, our interviewees had some problems when

defining themselves. As we have said, Karima when asked what she felt, said that she

did not feel that she belonged to one culture more than to the other, but rather that both

cultures defined her. Indeed, the Moroccan culture represents her family traditions and

her origins, and she lives it from the inside. That is, it is the culture that is respected and


followed at home by her whole family: they speak Tamazight (a Berber dialect), they

are Muslims, they dress with clothes and eat food typical from Morocco, etc. However,

she has also been quite involved with the Catalan culture, since she was educated in a

Catalan school and she has Catalan friends.

As regards their education, we noticed that both families, Ismaïl’s and Karima’s,

are open-minded and have let them choose how they prefer to live. Indeed, as Karima

said in her interview, they understand that they are not in their country and that each

place functions in a different way. Thus, Karima chose to become a Muslim because of

her strong relation with Morocco, while at the same time she went to school in

Barcelona and developed her education as any other student. On the contrary, Ismaïl

was not born here, he came when he was 12 years old, so he attended classes in a

Moroccan school in Kenitra and then continued his education in a Catalan school in

Barcelona. However, although when he came to Barcelona he was already used to

speaking Arabic at school, he learned Spanish quite quickly and also Catalan, although

he admits that he is more proficient in Spanish.

Regarding their integration at school, and the differences between being

schooled here and in Morocco, Karima had no problem in learning Spanish and Catalan

customs since from the beginning she was in the Catalan educational system, so that

from an early age she learnt to follow the local customs at school (speaking Spanish or

Catalan, relating with the classmates and the teacher, etc.) and then speak her mother

tongue at home. Nevertheless, since Ismaïl came here when he was 12, he had to work

hard to adapt to the educational system in Barcelona, which was quite different from the

one in Kenitra. To help him in this process of adaptation, the school offered a program

similar to the “aules d’acollida” about which he talks in the interview. However, as

regards the “aules d’acollida” and other integration programs such as the one that Ismaïl

experienced, he states that they do not necessarily help to integrate foreigners to society.

Indeed, he talks about his lack of motivation to go to an unknown school with other

foreigners from countries around the world, and learn Catalan when he did not have to

use it in his daily life, since he spoke Spanish most of the times. Thus, in contrast to the

main aim of the “aules d’acollida”, Ismaïl claims that he learned the language mostly by

interacting with his classmates and teachers and in real and meaningful situations, rather

than in the special programs that the school held for foreign students.


The problems generated around the “aules d’acollida” make evident the link

between education, integration and language learning. Indeed, the main aim of these

adaptation and integration programs is to help foreign students learn the local

language/s. Indeed, language seems to stand as one of the main points that help our

interviewees define their identities and the identity of their relatives and the people that

surround them. For instance, he thought his sisters would have a hard time going back

to Morocco for several reasons, although the main one was that they did not speak the

language like him, so that they would not be able to communicate or understand other

people there. As a matter of fact, the other reason was that that they have been raised up

here, and they have learned the customs and habits of the Catalan culture, so this change

in the conception of daily life would also be difficult for them. These two reasons are

also a good example of how language constitutes a crucial part of the education of an

individual, and how this education shapes and shifts one’s conceptions of our own

identity.

Thus, from the answers Karima and ismaïl have given us about the languages

they speak at home and how do they speak them, we may state that rather than a barrier

or a limit, language has served as a bridge where the Moroccan and Spanish/Catalan

cultures have merged. Indeed, both interviewees mix languages at home, and use to

shift from Moroccan or Tamazight to Spanish when they cannot find the right word to

express their thoughts in their mother tongue. However, it is also true that Ismaïl admits

that his parents have more limited relations in Spain – only Moroccan people –

precisely because they cannot speak Spanish or Catalan. Thus, through these examples

we can get to understand both sides of the same coin, that is, how language can limit

and also expand social relationships. Indeed, as Ismaïl states and “as long as you speak

the language everything is ok”. Actually, both Ismaïl and Karima agree that speaking

the language is a required condition in order to be integrated in a community.

Unfortunately, as Ismaïl explains, the educational system does not fully succeed to

integrate newcomers, rather the opposite, it serves to separate foreigners from Spanish

people, it creates ghettos, which, in Bauman’s words are “the impossibility of

community” (2001: 138). Thus, for Ismaïl, the will to offer foreign students special help

to learn the language does not justify or compensate the risk taken by separating them

from the community of the classroom.


Although both interviewees diverge in the fact that Karima is a native Spanish

speaker, whereas Ismaïl had to learn it, they both feel integrated in the ambivalent space

between both cultures, proving that it is possible to have a third attitude towards the

dichotomy between cultures, that is, to belong to both cultures, Spanish and Moroccan.

Indeed, being born in the country that one lives in is a huge advantage regarding the

learning of the local language; in the case of Karima she feels she knows better Spanish

than Tamazight sometimes, and she uses it with her friends and sometimes even with

her parents (shifting between Spanish and Tamazight). In contrast, for Ismaïl learning

the language “was the only way to integrate and meet new people (…) you are in a

foreign country, so you have to learn the foreign language to integrate, you have to live

like them”. However, what they do share is the feeling of belonging to both the Catalan

and Moroccan society, so that no matter their background or experiences in this country,

they feel part of its culture, history and society.

4.3 Racism and Stereotypes

In both interviews issues of racism (mostly caused by pre-conceived

stereotypes) have been discussed. However, each interviewee seems to have different

views on the issue. Indeed, while Ismaïl believes that there is not racism in society, but

rather individual punctual cases of intolerant and ignorant people, Karima is quite

convinced that there is indeed racism in the Catalan society, and she discusses how

these limitations that have been imposed to her because of her religion or culture may

have influenced the creation of her identity.

On the one hand, in her interview, Karima denounces certain episodes of racism

that she has lived in Spain. Indeed, rather that talking about specific moments, she refers

to people looking at her “as if they were going to kill me, making disconcerting gestures

and even disgusting faces”. Moreover, she argues that these episodes became even more

evident when she began to wear the hijab (when she was an adolescent), since it served

to make her sand out as an evident “other”. Indeed, she talks about the Catalan society

with some glimpses of resentment, posing rhetorical questions such as “That reminds

me, why is it that every time a foreigner enters a shop, the owner always follows

him/her because of fear that they might steal something? Why is it? Are foreigners the


only ones that steal?”. However, she seems to have used all the disgusting and unfair

experiences through which she has had to go to become stronger and wiser, and go

grow personally and emotionally. Indeed, she is convinced that thanks to these episodes

she is much stronger, and she can face reality with a different point of view. Thus,

Hall’s definition of “cultural identity” as “a matter of becoming” (1990: 236) suits quite

well Karima. Indeed, from her words it can be understood that she has been through a

constant process of changing and evolving, from being “innocent” to becoming aware

of the difficulties she will have to face during her whole life because of her cultural

heritage, ethnicity, costumes, and physical appearance. However, she has refused to let

these difficulties limit her life and aspirations, so that nowadays she recognizes herself

as a Spanish Muslim girl living in Barcelona, who does not imagine her life far from

Barcelona, because she belongs here, and for her, that is stronger and more valid than

any stereotype or unsubstantiated belief.

On the other hand – and quite surprisingly – Ismaïl’s approach is somehow

different to Karima’s. Thus, according to his beliefs, there is no racism in Spain or

Catalonia. Indeed, he states that it is not possible to talk about racism in the city or

country in general terms. Contrarily, he talks about the existence of individual instances

of ignorant or old-fashioned people that are racist, although he certainly refuses to

accept the existence of racism in society. However, when asked about episodes of

racism that he may have lived, he does admit that although he has never been treated

badly because of his ethnicity or religion, the police once decided to register his car

because he was Moroccan. However, he argues that since he knows that there is a

certain group of Moroccan people that tend to carry, sell and buy drugs, he understands

that the police wanted to register him, given that he could have belonged to that

collective. In addition, he also recalls the episode his mother had to go through at the

supermarket, although he uses it to reinforce his thoughts about particular people being

racist, rather than racism in general.

Thus, in Manuel Castell’s terminology, Karima’s is a resistance-based identity,

which is created by “groups who feel they are pushed to the fringes of society in

cultural, political, or social terms [and] react by constructing an identity that allows

them to resist assimilation by the system that subordinates them” (2006: 63). Indeed,

Karima has undergone some disgusting experiences that have pushed her to react


against the racism that she sees in society, so that she has built up an identity that is

impermeable to the harm that her younger self had to go through. However, as regards

Ismaïl, his identity could be defined as project-based, that is, “based on self-

identification, albeit drawing upon cultural, historical, and geographic components for

this purpose” (2006: 63). Indeed, while Karima, to some extent, seems to be resentful

towards a society that has marginalized and discriminated her in some occasions,

Ismaïl, on the contrary, seems to have overcome these feelings and begun expanding his

thought to further horizons. That is, although he points out the ignorance of some

people – that causes misjudgements and creation of stereotypes – he does not accept that

racism is still present in society, and he refuses to let misconceptions and

misjudgements limit and frame his life and life choices.

All in all, the point of our questions was not to try to determine whether there is

racism in society or not, but rather to see what our interviewees had to say in relation to

this delicate issue. However, what is true is that from an early age, both Karima and

Ismaïl have developed a kind of “race-consciousness” that has played a part in the

framing of their identities in this global and diasporic world.

4.4 Identity, Heritage and Integration

After listening to both of our interviewees, we started to ask ourselves how the

Moroccan communities in Spain are and how do they face the challenges of migration.

What is it that defines the identities of the newcomers and the second generation

immigrants? Is Spain a country that accepts ethnic diversity or does it force a process of

‘Spanishalisation/Catalanisation’ for newcomers to be fully accepted?

We took the answers of Ismaïl and Karima as our referent although we consider

the individualities of their experience. Starting up with a very simple concept, but at the

same time very complex: nationality, we asked them about their feelings on their

identity and how do they define themselves in terms of it. Ismaïl defined himself as

Moroccan and manifested no interest in having a Spanish nationality, at the same time

he said he would not go back to Morocco to make a living. On the other hand, Karima

gave us quite a more balanced opinion saying that she was both defined by Spain and


Morocco, by the former because she was born here and all her friends were Spanish,

and by the latter because she lives according to Moroccan culture and to Islam.

Although being into the same age range and having spent most of their lifetime

in Spain, both of our interviewees define themselves in very different terms. For Ismaïl

the thread that links him to this country lies exclusively in the language, a few friends

and his work, for the rest, he feels more related to Morocco. For Karima, as she states,

is hard to define, she feels part of this community, although very sensitive of her state of

second generation immigrant, she respects her origins. These differences lead us to

think, do we have a concrete program of integration? How does our society deal with

newcomers and the diversity of ethnicities? Héctor Cebolla and Miguel Requena argue

that ‘España se ha mantenido hasta el momento ajena al debate sobre los macro-

modelos de gestión pública de la integración’ and it is true that the Government of

Spain has not declared a concrete action for the integration of immigrants, but the

Government of Catalonia has now become one of the pioneer countries in taking some

actions in this regard.

For instance, the Government of Catalonia approved in 2010 a ‘Llei d’acollida’

which specifies the government intention, instruments and resources regarding the

welcoming of newcomers. The government states “Catalunya es reconeix a si mateixa

com una societat diversa en la que el flux migratori ha tingut un caràcter estructural en

el temps. Un fet que s'ha de gestionar a partir de la regularitat i oferint oportunitats per a

la integració de forma sistematitzada”. Catalonia has then progressively unfolded an

integration program that includes linguistic immersion, giving the newcomers tools and

information that guarantees their equality in the Catalan society and prevents social

exclusion.

As we will see in the statistics in the next section, Moroccan immigrants

constitute the larger group of newcomers in Catalonia, this has also motivated other

moves such as ‘Pla Catalunya-Marroc’ (2014-17), which was approved this year in

order to propel the coordination between both countries. This plan should help the

newcomers to promote their culture, language and religion and maintain it, an initiative

meant to acknowledge and value the presence of Moroccan immigrants in Catalonia. In

this respect, we could be hopeful about the fact that Immersion programs of Catalonia

could be starting to mutate; from a model that forces newcomers to adapt themselves to


the majority’s costumes and lifestyle, to a more multicultural model of immigration that

defends the interests of other communities. The last would stimulate the country's social

harmony between the Moroccan Community and Catalonia, but also among the

different ethnic groups that configure its current society.

Both Karima and Ismaïl do not consider impossible to live in Catalonia and keep

the Moroccan culture in their lives, although they do recognize to face difficulties when

it comes to the society’s understanding of their origins. Both of them also acknowledge

language as a key issue in their integration as well as their religion, which they both

define as a way of life (we have already discussed religion in detail). Contrary to what

western societies could conclude, Ismaïl and Karima do not feel restricted in any way

because of their culture or religion, which they define as something completely

personal, they keep a regular life as any other person of their age. For their parents, the

situation appears to be a bit different, they feel less connected to this country, they tend

to relate more with other Moroccans and are fonder of their family as their source of

relationships.

It was interesting for us to discover again that trying to define ourselves and our

identities is a very complex process, especially when having such a rich heritage as it is

the case of our interviewees. With their answers we concluded that most of the time our

birthplace is not the only relevant aspect to have into account, nor is the place where we

grew up exclusively, but the customs and beliefs to which one decides to live according

with. Karima and Ismaïl consider very important to respect their cultural heritage and

their roots but also to balance this with the culture of their country of adoption, or in

Karima’s case, her home country. Also, they acknowledge that the ignorance around the

Islam and Moroccan culture in general is the first factor that contributes to the creation

of boundaries and the stereotypes about their lifestyle.

Although the new actions taken by the government (mentioned before) seem

very promising, and taking into consideration that Moroccan Immigrants constitute the

largest group of immigrants in Spain, both our interviewees do not recognize a strong

effort from our country when trying to reintegrate immigrants into our society. Both

Ismaïl and Karima recognize that their integration in the country has been a difficult

process which they have assumed and faced the best they could all by themselves.

Again, as they have pointed out, this collective ignorance about non-Western cultures


stimulates intolerance and other misunderstandings and could be easily prevented with

the redesigning of our policies in culture and education. We have concluded that

sensitize and educate societies about cultural, religious and ethnic diversity must

become a priority in any society in order to reach equality and a mature collective

consciousness that respects and acknowledges differences of any kind.


5. Complementary Materials

4.1 Migrations Data

Estatistics of the register of inhabitants on the 1st of January of 2013. National

data, “Comunidad Autónoma” and province.

Foreigner people (Moroccan Immigrants)

We decided that it was interesting to look for some statistics about Moroccan

immigration and we found some at the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística). Indeed,

this data was obtained in January 2013, and although it is from two years ago, all the

information provided is rich and complete. Thus, in 2013, there were 792.158 Moroccan

people registered in Spain. In fact, from those 792.158, 236.074 people were registered

in Catalonia (more than one third of the total amount). More specifically, 138.815

Moroccan immigrants were registered in Barcelona during 2013 (more than half the

Moroccan people that were registered in Catalonia). Indeed, this illustrates how

Barcelona is one of the Spanish cities towards which more immigration is directed.

Data from 2013

Looking for statistics of Moroccan people living in Spain, we found a document

in the INE web page that explained that in 2013 there was a negative balance of

migration in general. That is, more people left the country than those who came to

Spain. This statistic shows that this balance is a 50% higher than the year before in

which there was an 11% less immigration arriving to Spain and a 10,7% of population

emigrating. Nevertheless, the numbers show that there were 10.216 people that

migrated to Spain during the second half of 2012 and 11.253 arrivals to Spain during

the first part of 2013 (see Figure 1). As it is possible to see in the graphic above,

Moroccans are the second largest group of immigrants arriving to Spain during the first

half of 2012, Romanians being the first ones, whereas on the first half of 2013 it is just

the opposite, the first group of immigrants arriving to Spain is the Moroccan and the

second one is the Romanian. In both the last place is for Peruvian immigrants with

2,442 inhabitants during the second half of 2012 and 2,425 inhabitants during the first

half of 2013.


Figure 1

To give continuity to the statistics we have discussed, we looked for the statistics

of 2014 to see the current progression of migratory fluxes (see Figure 2). During the

first half of the year 2014, the number of immigrants from Morocco in Spain is higher

than that of the second half of 2013; we see that 11,680 people arrived to Spain during

the first half of 2014, a higher number than the 9,903 people that arrived during the

second half of 2013. So, it is possible to see that more and more people are

progressively arriving from Morocco to Spain. And also, like in the previous graph, the

country with more arrivals to Spain is Romania with 12,597 inhabitants on the second

half of 2013 and 16,323 on the first half of 2014, followed by Morocco which is the

second one. In the last place Paraguay with 1,874 of people during the second half of

2013 and 2,584 on the first half of 2014.


Figure 2

In addition, the graph in the following page (Figure 3) portrays the difference

between the migration of men and women, and how men migrate to other countries,

generally, in a greater degree than that of women. As an example, Karima’s father came

here alone, settled down and then brought his family from Morocco. This pattern is kept

until a certain age, which is 60-64, we think that at that age this pattern is reversed

because women live longer than men and usually have a better health, so that they may

have more opportunities at this age.


Figure 3


5.2 Documentary: Crossing Borders (2011)

Crossing Borders is a seventy-minute documentary directed by Arnd Wächter

that was released in 2011 as a part of a project called Morocco Exchange. This project

offers the possibility for American and European students to travel to Morocco and

“experience Islamic art, thought, and daily life, through visits, lectures and homestays”

(Morocco Exchange, 2009). Therefore, the film documents the journey of four

American students that travel to Morocco, where four Moroccan students are waiting

for them to spend some days living together and experiencing the clash between the two

cultures.

Indeed, by documenting the subjects’ reactions and reflections before,

while and after the journey, Wächter draws attention towards the necessity to

deconstruct stereotypes about both the West and the East, which are based on ignorance,

fear and lack of information. During their time together in Rabat, the eight students go

through a series of sessions or meetings dedicated exclusively to talking about and

sharing their impressions, experiences and concerns at the Darna Women’s Centre. In

addition to this, they also visit some popular places in the city, as well as mosques,

markets, and other places that are representative of parts of the Moroccan culture.


However, it is mostly through the talking sessions where issues of gender,

religion, politics and language are explicitly discussed. Thus, although as can easily be

seen at the beginning of the film, both groups of students do have some preconceived

ideas about the ‘other’ culture, as the documentary advances spectators may perceive a

shift in the structure of their debates from Americans against Moroccans to people from

the same background disagreeing and trying to reach understandings about issues within

their same culture. This, as one of the students states in the documentary, proves that

“conflicts are human”, rather than culture-specific.

The issues addressed in this

documentary, which, as a matter of fact,

was shot right after the terrorist attack of

9/11 , relate quite conveniently to some of

the topics analyzed in Karima’s and

Ismaïl’s interviews. Indeed, the fact that the

documentary is about Morocco is not the only nor the most significant similarity with

the interviews. Indeed, it should not be considered mere coincidence the fact that our

two interviewees recurrently make reference to people’s ‘ignorance’ as the main cause

of contemporary problems such as racism or islamophobia. Similarly, many Moroccan

students in the film also talk about the ‘Western ignorance’, and the barriers and borders

that are sometimes established by the media or by governments between the East and

the West, reinforcing the differences (most of the times based on stereotypes) between

cultures, rather than celebrating the similarities as places of convergence and

communion.

However, among the various issues dealt with in the film, one of the most

prominent, just like in the interviews, is religion. However, both in Ismaïl’s interview

and in the Moroccan students’ discourse Islam appears inevitably linked to terrorism,

although curiously, the possibility of the existence of this link is not made explicit or

verbalized by the Western interlocutors (either the American Students or the interviwers

in the case of Ismaïl), but it is addressed directly by the Moroccan Islamic parts, who

feel the need to make clear the lack of connection between this two different matters

(especially in the case of the documentary, which was shot just after the attack at the

World Trade Center). Actually, both Ismaïl and Fatah, one of the Moroccan students,


make reference to a specific verse in the Quran that reads “and do not kill a soul that

God has made sacrosanct, save lawfully.” (Quran, 6.151) to explain how Islam’s Holy

Book explicitly forbids killing other people except in self-defense. Indeed, these

controversies need to be foregrounded in order to understand the complexities of

shaping an individual identity that needs constant justification and defense.

Another link between the film and our interviews is the comment on the veil or

hijab spoken in both cases by women themselves. Thus, from the Moroccan students in

the documentary, there is one girl that wears the veil (Manal), and one that does not

wear it (Hamida) although she is also Muslim. However, when American students try to

use their stereotypes about how Islam makes women submissive and forces them to

wear the veil, Manal makes clear that it was her personal decision, just like Karima does

in her interview. In contrast, Hamida explains that her family also offered her the choice

between wearing it or not, and she decided that she preferred not to: “Here’s the thing. I

am a woman, I am a Muslim woman and I chose not to wear it [the hijab]. Did anybody

attempt to kill me or tell me ‘you are not a good Muslim’? None!”. However, while the

Moroccan society has not discriminated this girl for having chosen not to wear the veil,

in her interview Karima does explain how she has felt reprobating looks within the

Catalan society for wearing the veil. These parallel facts should help us debunk

stereotypes and reconsider the images of reality that we have been given by default.

In conclusion, the issues of identity and stereotypes dealt with in Crossing

Borders complement, and in many cases coincide with, the topics around which

Karima’s and Ismaïl’s interviews are structured. This illustrates how Western

conceptions of the world can affect and even determine the way in which others frame

and give shape to their identities. Indeed, the constant necessity that young people such

as Karima, Ismaïl or Fatah feel to justify their life decisions or to defend their beliefs

and culture is just a consequence of the weight of Western stereotypes in our world.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to do away with these preconceived myths and ideas,

and to begin to destroy boundaries and cross borders.


5.4 Photo Gallery

When looking for pictures of Morocco, we happen to find many photographers

trying to portrait Moroccan reality. Many of the pictures we get to see on the media are

meant to encourage tourism or simply freely expose the inequalities between Morocco

and other developed countries. We decided to include some photographs in this

portfolio that could contrast the different aspects of Moroccan society and not merely

fuel stereotyping and expose the country to what many call ‘Poverty Pornography’.

Marruecos, by Marcos Moreno.


National Geographic Travel and Expeditions Photo Gallery

Sahara. Photograph by Veronique Fleury

Place Mohammed V, Casablanca. Photograph by Scott E. Barbour


Jemaa el Fna Square, Marrakech. Photograph by Peter Phipp

Moroccan Bride. Photograph by Alexandra Boulat


Menara Gardens, Photograph by Sergio Amiti.

Other artists such as Tamara Abdul have started projects to try and neutralize the

Arabian stereotype, such as Picture and Arab Man (Started in 2009), in which, as the

title states, she shoots semi-nude arab males from different nationalities. The aim of her

project in her own words is ‘trying to uncover and break the stereotypes placed upon the

arab male, and providing an alternative visual representation of that identity’. Abdul

tries to neutralize the Arab stereotype and show Arab males as human beings.

Omar, Syrian


Mohamed – Palestinian

Yassine, Moroccan

KK – Jordanian


Daffy, Kuwaiti

Ghazwan, Iraqi

Hisham, Lebanese


Catalonia also started a campaign to sensitize the society about the issue of immigration

which includes advertisement, expositions, short films and other audiovisual materials.


6. Conclusions

In conclusion, with this portfolio and all the different documents that it includes

we have tried to account for the difficulties and complexities that first and second

generation immigrants have to face in order to create, shape and define their identity in

as citizens of the world. Thus, with the help of Karima and Ismaïl, we have been able to

dive into their realities, which are somehow documented in the portfolio, not only in the

interviews and in the interviews analysis but also through the complementary materials

that serve to justify, contextualize and enrich the data collected in the interviews.

Indeed, through the process of work we have been able to study the situation of

many African countries such as Togo, Chad or Senegal, in addition to Morocco, which

has turned out to be the main focus of our research. By documenting the whole process

until we got to interview two people from Morocco, we intend to give some insights

about the diversity in the continent, and the current situation of its diaspora in Spain,

particularly in Catalonia. In addition, we have been witnesses of the contrast between

different voices, which may also help to understand the inequalities and differences

existing in Africa, and sometimes within a country. Thus, while some subjects have

decided not to speak about their experience, others, on the contrary, have been quite

explicit in retelling their stories and denouncing the injustices they have had to suffer

throughout the way. However, we have tried to emphasize the fact that every single

experience – the ones that we have been told and the ones that we will never know –

means something and needs to be praised and recognized.

As regards Morocco and our interviewees, they represent a perfect example of

the dangers of generalizing and stereotyping. Indeed, both Karima and Ismaïl have been

able to develop a sense of belonging to both the Moroccan and Catalan societies,

making possible this encounter. Thus, through their statements in the interviews we

have been able to trace some crucial factors that intervene in the creation of a personal

identity, such as religion, language, gender, ethnicity and heritage. However, it can also

be easily deduced that most of their concerns are not culture-bound, but rather universal

and wide. Indeed, as it is said in the documentary (section 5.2) “conflicts are human”.

Moreover, due to the incidents that the Magazine Charlie Hebdo suffered in

Paris on January 7th, we decided to dedicate a significant part of our research to analyze


the impacts of this event on our social media and public opinion. We considered

relevant to look carefully at different sources of information in order to contrast what

the gutter press and other media were exposing and generate our own interpretations.

Thus, we were disappointed to discover that events like this (comparable to the US

9/11), instead of leading to collective reflection merely serve to fuel Islamophobia and

only a few public figures and critics are able to give a more broad vision on the

situation.

Concerning the format of the work, we wanted to exploit the idea of ‘poetics

disruption’ by equating form to meaning. That is, this portfolio takes the physical form

of a book full of diverse and varied narratives. Indeed, this layout symbolizes and

represents the focus of our project: the creation of an identity. Thus, this book stands for

the thousands of hundreds of pages that Ismaïl and Karima have had to write, revise,

discard and remember in order to define their identity in this world, or in this book.

Moreover, since the symbol of a book may also be related to ‘stories’ and History, with

this format we also wanted to account for the burden of history that still today, in 2015,

people such as our two interviewees carry with themselves, and have no way to do away

with it.

All in all, the content in this portfolio although diverse has a clear aim: to try to

debunk myths, build bridges and claim for the constant need to re-examine, revise,

change and even discard our ideas and notions about the world and the people that

surround us. Indeed, thanks to Karima and Ismaïl we have been able to understand the

complexities of creating a personal identity in their particular situation, which actually

can be extrapolated and related to all of us, since we all live in this changing and global

world.


7. Works Cited

Alejos, Nerea. “Dolors Bramon: "La prohibición del velo no es buena porque provoca

posturas más radicales”. El diario de Navarra. 18 February 2014. Web.

Bauman, Zygmunt. Community: Seeking Safety in an Insecure World. Cambridge:

Polity, 2001.

Bramon, Dolors. “Velo sí, velo no”. El Periódico de Cataluña. 4 Octover 2007. Web.

Carbajosa, Ana. “Estem tranquils. Aquí es distingeix entre uns musulmans i els altres”.

El País. 10 January 2015. Web.

Castells, Manuel. "Globalization and Identity A Comparative Perspective." Transfer 56

(2006): 56-67. Web.

Cebolla, Héctor & Requena, Héctor. “Marroquíes en España, los Países Bajos y

Francia. Gestión de la diversidad e integración” Elcano Royal Institute of International

and Strategic Studies, 2010.

"Cifras De Población a 1 De Julio De 2013 Estadística De Migraciones. Primer

Semestre De 2013." INE. 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

"Cifras De Población a 1 De Julio De 2014 Estadística De Migraciones. Primer

Semestre De 2013." INE. 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.

Crossing Borders. Dir. Arnd Wächter. Crossing Borders Films, 2011. DVD.

Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Benestar i Família, Inmigració: Acollida.

Nov 25, 2014:

http://benestar.gencat.cat/ca/ambits_tematics/immigracio/acollida/programa_integral_da

collida

Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de la Presidència, Secretaria d’Afers Exteriors i

de la Unió Europea, Pla Catalunya Marroc 2014-2017, Nov 25, 2014:

http://afersexteriors.gencat.cat/ca/comunicacio/publicacions/pla-catalunya-marroc-

2014-2017/

http://benestar.gencat.cat/ca/ambits_tematics/immigracio/acollida/programa_integral_dacollida/

http://benestar.gencat.cat/ca/ambits_tematics/immigracio/acollida/programa_integral_dacollida/

http://afersexteriors.gencat.cat/ca/comunicacio/publicacions/pla-catalunya-marroc-2014-2017/

http://afersexteriors.gencat.cat/ca/comunicacio/publicacions/pla-catalunya-marroc-2014-2017/


Gutiérrez D., José Antonio Je ne suis pas Charlie (Yo no soy Charlie). Anarkismo.net. 7

January 2015. Web.

Hall, Stuart. "Cultural Identity and Diaspora." Framework 36 (1990) Web.

"Notas De Prensa." INEbase. INE, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. Web

Rahola, Pilar. “Las delicias del velo”. La Vanguardia. 24 April 2010. Web.

Rahola, Pilar. “El velo islámico como perversión”. El Periódico. 26 January 2007. Web.

Seymour, Richard. “On Charlie Hebdo”. Jacobin Magazine. 7 January 2015. Web.

Spain. INE. Notas de Prensa. INEbase. INE. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

Pérez Reverte, Arturo. “Es la guerra santa, idiotas”. XLSemanal. 1 September 2014.

Web.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Picture an Arab Man by Tamara Abdul Hadi (2009) Available at:

http://www.tamarabdulhadi.com/

National Geographic Expedition Photo Gallery by Ken Geiger Available at:

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/morocco-photo/photos

National Geogrpahic: Travel Photo Galerry (Various Authors) Morocco

Photos Available at:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/morocco-photos/

Marruecos by Marcos Moreno, Available at: http://www.marcosmoreno.com/

http://www.tamarabdulhadi.com/

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/morocco-photo/photos

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/morocco-photos/

http://www.marcosmoreno.com/

crossing borders

Documents

interviews analysis

meaningful interviews

african country morocco

identities morocco contents

construction of identities

source document

foreign country

personal identities