This documentary produced and broadcast in October 1999 as part of Tahqiq program on Moroccan TV channel M2, addresses the issue of illegal immigration. The survey presented over two-50 minute episodes, directed by Mohamed Saad Alaoui, gives voice to those who decide to experience migration to Europe. Ever since the country’s independence in 1956, legal as well as illegal flows to France and other Western countries such as Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany or Canada, have been numerous. So much so that migration has come to be considered a necessary experience for the young generations of Moroccans willing to be successful in their lives.

 

Mohamed Saad Aloui decided to take the shots in Tangier, the doorway to Europe. In the manner of a sociological survey, the greatest emphasis is placed on personal accounts. Men and women of all ages, motivated by various reasons, share their migration experiences that pretty often come down to the adventurous illegal crossing of the sea.         

 

In its first part broadcast on October 20, 1999, the documentary gives voice, on the Moroccan side, to some would-be illegal migrants. From Tangier, they are driven by the desire to make it to the “rich” countries they perceive as an “Eldorado”, and they share their plans with us. The nearby Spanish coast exerts a formidable attraction, reflected in this “desire to leave” felt by many young Moroccans.          

   

Bibliography- Webography

M’hamed Laazar

“The Moroccan immigration in Spain”, in Men and Migrations, nᵒ1242, March-April 2003.

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