Transnational Mobility in a Post-Colonial Context: Visual Narratives of Immigrants in Morocco
Start Date
9-8-2010 3:30 PM
End Date
9-8-2010 5:00 PM
Description
Over the last decade, the increase in clandestine migration foregrounded the issue of migration and provided Moroccan media with regular stories on human trafficking, clandestine migration networks, underage and women migration and the tragic loss of lives in the Mediterranean. More recently, Moroccan media have also increased coverage of sub-Saharan African immigrants in Morocco. This presentation analyzes the visual construction of the im/migrants in Moroccan media. In particular, the focus is on visual representations of sub-Saharan African immigrants in Morocco and Moroccan emigrants in Europe. Morocco is no longer a mere sending country but has over the last decade moved from being a transit point for migrants coming from West African countries and heading to Europe to becoming a recipient country as thousands of sub-Saharan immigrants end up settling in Morocco. The argument I make is that visual construction of migrants must be viewed within the cultural field of ongoing changes affecting Moroccan society and which in great part relate to socialization processes into human rights culture. These include gender relations, underage labor and ethnic, intercultural and cross-cultural interactions. The point is also made that media representations of sub-Saharan African immigrants are very much embedded into power struggles which characterize the relations between the South and the North. Those representations tend to go along the promoted strategic orientations of government policies and which juggle Morocco’s interests in relation to the EU and the global geopolitical power balance which includes migration, terrorist networks and the relations around the Mediterranean rim. Throughout the presentation will outline the politics of transnational mobility in a post-colonial context.
Transnational Mobility in a Post-Colonial Context: Visual Narratives of Immigrants in Morocco
Over the last decade, the increase in clandestine migration foregrounded the issue of migration and provided Moroccan media with regular stories on human trafficking, clandestine migration networks, underage and women migration and the tragic loss of lives in the Mediterranean. More recently, Moroccan media have also increased coverage of sub-Saharan African immigrants in Morocco. This presentation analyzes the visual construction of the im/migrants in Moroccan media. In particular, the focus is on visual representations of sub-Saharan African immigrants in Morocco and Moroccan emigrants in Europe. Morocco is no longer a mere sending country but has over the last decade moved from being a transit point for migrants coming from West African countries and heading to Europe to becoming a recipient country as thousands of sub-Saharan immigrants end up settling in Morocco. The argument I make is that visual construction of migrants must be viewed within the cultural field of ongoing changes affecting Moroccan society and which in great part relate to socialization processes into human rights culture. These include gender relations, underage labor and ethnic, intercultural and cross-cultural interactions. The point is also made that media representations of sub-Saharan African immigrants are very much embedded into power struggles which characterize the relations between the South and the North. Those representations tend to go along the promoted strategic orientations of government policies and which juggle Morocco’s interests in relation to the EU and the global geopolitical power balance which includes migration, terrorist networks and the relations around the Mediterranean rim. Throughout the presentation will outline the politics of transnational mobility in a post-colonial context.