Zawaya

Maghreb expatriates participate in the evolution of their home societies

By: Mouhamed Lemine Kettab

The geographical adjacency of Europe and the countries of the Maghreb, the mutual colonisation by the peoples of both sides of the Mediterranean over the course of history and the more or less peaceful cohabitation of these peoples, the urgent needs of European countries for workers, particularly during the glorious thirties, and underdevelopment exacerbated by galloping population growth in the countries of the Maghreb are all factors that have sustained and encouraged increasing migration from the Maghreb to Europe.

This influx of workers from the Maghreb to Europe is certainly an outflow that has affected the population of working age, but it is also a multi-faceted inflow that has had a positive impact on the countries of the Maghreb.

Overseas workers from the Maghreb provide not only an income for thousands of families by sending money home, but also an important source of foreign currency that the economies of the Maghreb badly need.

In addition, expatriates who return to their countries of origin after having lived in Europe bring back technical expertise, know-how and skills that can aid the transfer of technologies and encourage the offshoring trend that Europe is witnessing for reasons that are universally known.

Another growing contribution that expatriates are making to their societies consists of mental development, political and civic awakening, the culture of citizenship and commitment to the democratic values that they adopted during their time in free, egalitarian and democratic European societies.

For some time now, an élite has been emerging within the expat community. While seeking to integrate into European societies, they also try to retain their spiritual and cultural identity, which serves as a kind of interface between the Judaeo-Christian and Arab Muslim cultures.

This makes them a vehicle and a consolidating factor for the Maghreb way of life in a Europe that is inherently open to plurality and diversity as long as it is not alarmed.

This means that expatriates from the Maghreb who live in Europe can make clear and varied contributions by being a driving-force for development in their own countries and a vehicle for the spread of an Arab Muslim civilisation that is tolerant and peace-loving.