The globetrotters: These Moroccans here from elsewhere…

With the approach of the summer holidays, the discussions crystallize a lot around the return of those who are called MRE, all the speculations are emerging on the number of young people who will find their way back to the country of origin, on the families, on the influx which is proving to be significant after the Covid years. We hear everything and its opposite: those who rejoice in it, those who fear it, those who fantasize and, alas, those who utter contemptuous thoughts without perhaps even realizing it. We can sometimes believe ourselves in front of CNews where pseudo journalists compete with openly racist reflections! Personally, I would like to take you to a completely different field, one closer to the spirit of our Lions during the World Cup than to that of the eternal debates on the conflicts that would exist between Moroccans in Morocco and Moroccans around the world, or even the financial contribution of these, which weary everyone and turn out to be totally sterile. I would like to talk to you about these Moroccans who were born or grew up elsewhere: France, Belgium, Holland, Spain… and (re)entered Morocco as adults: they are in their thirties or forties and are mostly found in Casa, Marrakech or Tangier . They are business leaders, executives in large French companies, or even employees in multinationals. The reasons for their return to Morocco (which is not in fact a return because they did not leave it, since they were born abroad) are multiple: the attractiveness of Morocco, the living conditions, Islamophobia and the growing racism in Europe, the desire to live something else, the feeling of being useful to society… and of course quite simply the desire to benefit from a quality of life that they rightly seek. These Moroccans do not seek to deny their specificities acquired abroad, nor to deny their past, but have the sincere desire to find their place in Moroccan society – not entirely apart but well and truly in their own right. No feeling of superiority in them – and why would they have any – but the feeling that their specificities are a plus. They have traveled, they have traveled through many countries, today they have settled down, created their families and I would like to introduce you to some of them. At Casa, this group that they called Les Globe-Trotters has invested in several niches: professional life, social life (always ready to help – and I tell you about it knowingly, because I often call on them) and a area that makes them a real force of attraction: sport, more specifically football. I know them well and meet them every day – they are “the family” – in a small café-restaurant in Gauthier, Parisian-Bidaoui: the Class-Dish, which resounds with their loud voices and laughter. Led by a shock trio: Said Ryare, Anouar Mokaouim and Zakaria Affi, their team quickly rose to fame and their reputation spread throughout Casa. New recruits constantly seek to join them and sport has gradually become a real key to living together. They multiply sporting events by integrating compatriots of the Jewish faith, young sub-Saharan Christians or Muslims, young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods, etc. I attended the barbecue they organized and sincerely this moment of life, of conviviality, of mixing will remain engraved in the memories of all those who participated. They don’t hit the headlines, don’t seek the light, aren’t the subject of debates at conferences… they are life, on a daily basis, in our society for which they are a human tributary. Do they not perfectly illustrate the preamble of our Constitution… by Ahmed ghayet Associative and cultural actor