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Indiana University- Bloomington

Publication Date

Spring 2016

Program Name

Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Abstract

In an attempt to affiliate itself with the Europe, Morocco has aligned its policy closer to the desires of the European Union, including stricter migration borders. As a result, Morocco is becomingmore and more the interstice between a refugee’s past and dreamed future until one can manage the journey to Europe or meet their needs in Morocco and return to their country of origin. Under prevailing notions of space as it accommodates systems of power and thought, and with consideration of Asef Bayat’s theory of ordinary encroachment, I explore the experiences of Sub-Saharan refugees, economic and political, in Rabat, Morocco, as they occupy and claim space for their own goals. Exploring the opportunities present for Sub-Saharan refugees to access space and obtain private space reveals the spatial bounds put upon them, and consequently, the bounds of their power through financial, political, and social restrictions, which allows insight into the degree to which this population is welcome in Rabat. Gleaning information from reports and interviews with individuals and groups, I find that the understanding of this space as temporary is the largest factor affecting the refugee’s use of the space and treatment from locals while inhabiting it.

Disciplines

Demography, Population, and Ecology | Inequality and Stratification | International Relations | Near and Middle Eastern Studies | Peace and Conflict Studies

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