Moroccan Migrants Research Articles

Community Education for a Dignified Last Phase of Life for Migrants: A Community Engagement, Mixed Methods Study among Moroccan, Surinamese and Turkish Migrants.

Community engagement and -education are proposed to foster equity in access to care and to ensure dignity of migrant patients in the last phase of life, but evidence is lacking. We evaluated nine community educational interactive meetings about palliative care (136 participants totally)- co-created with educators from our target groups of Moroccan, Surinamese and Turkish migrants—with a mixed methods approach, including 114 questionnaires, nine observations, nine interviews with educators, and 18 pre- and post- group- and individual interviews with participants. Descriptive and thematic analysis was used. 88% of the participants experienced the meetings as good or excellent. Educators bridged an initial resistance toward talking about this sensitive topic with vivid real-life situations. The added value of the educational meetings were: (1) increased knowledge and awareness about palliative care and its services (2) increased comprehensiveness of participant’s wishes and needs regarding dignity in the last phase; (3) sharing experiences for relief and becoming aware of real-life situations. Community engagement and -education about palliative care for migrants effectively increases knowledge about palliative care and is a first step towards improved access to palliative care services, capacity building and a dignified last phase of life among migrants.

Forced and Child Marriage at the Intersection of Health, Gender and Human Rights: Understanding the Determinants in Morocco and the Impact of the Migratory Context in Belgium


 
 
 With over 650 million women alive today already suffering the consequences of child marriage, the practice of forced and child marriage disproportionally affects girls and women. Given its impact on physical and psychological wellbeing, it is a serious form of violence against women.
 In view of the global magnitude of forced and child marriage, and the increasing numbers of international migrants, the general objective of this research is to ascertain the determinants of forced and child marriage in Morocco and the impact of the migratory context on the issue among Moroccan migrants in Belgium.
 Our research analysed forced and child marriage in both settings from two angles. First, we studied policies and the socio-cultural context in a top-down perspective through the analysis of legislation, public debates and through expert/stakeholder interviews. Secondly, we investigated the determinants of forced and child marriage in both research settings from a bottom-up perspective through Focus Group Discussions and household interviews, as well as investigating the impact of legislative conditions and restrictions on migrants and their families.
 KEY WORDS: CHILD AND FORCED MARRIAGE, WOMEN’S RIGHTS, SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, VIOLENCE, MOROCCO, MIGRATION, BELGIUM
 
 

Adultes “encore” jeunes, jeunes “déjà” adultes ?

Cet article étudie la construction sociale des âges, et notamment de la jeunesse et du passage vers l’âge adulte. À partir des résultats d’une recherche qualitative sur la sexualité et la masculinité chez de jeunes hommes marocains (20-30 ans), immigrés en Europe, le texte se propose d’interroger la transition vers l’âge adulte sous l’angle des processus d’identification de genre et des vécus sexuels des interviewés. L’article montre comment le pouvoir de l’hétérosexualité, dont l’action s’imbrique avec l’expression des rapports intra- et intergénérationnels et intra- et interculturels, façonne les représentations des âges chez ces jeunes hommes et participe à produire les significations attribuées à leurs expériences biographiques en milieu migrant. L’objectif est de montrer l’intérêt d’une approche en termes de genre et de sexualité des catégories d’âge afin de penser la jeunesse et la transition vers l’âge adulte en tant que rapports sociaux s’inscrivant au sein d’un ensemble plus large de relations de domination.

Transnationalism and Belonging: The Case of Moroccan Entrepreneurs in Amsterdam and Milan

Research on migrant transnationalism has mostly focused on particular transnational activities, their salience in various contexts and populations, and their relationship with migrant incorporation. Less attention has been paid to the interplay between the different domains of transnationalism (economic, political, and socio-relational) and to the way in which they affect migrants’ identity. This study investigates whether and how one domain of migrant transnationalism—transnational entrepreneurship—influences migrants’ (1) transnational involvement in other domains and (2) sense of belonging to different social groups and places. Focusing on the case of Moroccan entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Milan, Italy, we compare transnational migrant entrepreneurs, whose business is based on cross-border relationships and exchanges, with domestic migrant entrepreneurs, who are active exclusively in the destination country. Combining quantitative and qualitative data, we find that transnational entrepreneurs differ from domestic entrepreneurs mostly in terms of socio-relational transnational involvement. On the other hand, transnational entrepreneurship does not substantially change transnational practices in other domains or sense of belonging among Moroccan migrants.

Educational mismatches for second generation migrants. An analysis of applied science graduates in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Studies on overeducation and unemployment show that migrants are worse off in the labour market. In this study we focus on university of applied science graduates and compare second generation migrants and Dutch natives in order to look at a homogenous group. We furthermore extent the definition of educational mismatches by including horizontal mismatches. We find that migrants, and in particular non-western migrants, experience ethnic penalties in employment. Non-western migrants are more likely to experience a double mismatch, i.e. a horizontal as well as a vertical mismatch. Furthermore, western migrants are more likely to experience horizontal mismatches than natives. Analyses on whether ethnic penalties persist across the non-western minority show that Antillean migrants have relatively good labour market outcomes whereas Moroccan migrants are the worst off. Furthermore, we find a gender dimension in the educational mismatches for western migrants. While western male migrants only show slight differences in labour market outcomes, western female migrants are less likely to be correctly matched and more likely to be unemployed than their native counterparts. Comparing educational mismatches before and during the recent economic crisis shows that in times of economic downturns, the labour market position of non-western migrants is disproportionally negatively affected.

Forced and Child Marriage at the Intersection of Health, Gender and Human Rights: Understanding the Determinants in Morocco and the Impact of the Migratory Context in Belgium

With over 650 million women alive today already suffering the consequences of child marriage, the practice of forced and child marriage disproportionally affects girls and women. Given its impact on physical and psychological wellbeing, it is a serious form of violence against women. In view of the global magnitude of forced and child marriage, and the increasing numbers of international migrants, the general objective of this research is to ascertain the determinants of forced and child marriage in Morocco and the impact of the migratory context on the issue among Moroccan migrants in Belgium. Our research analysed forced and child marriage in both settings from two angles. First, we studied policies and the socio-cultural context in a top-down perspective through the analysis of legislation, public debates and through expert/stakeholder interviews. Secondly, we investigated the determinants of forced and child marriage in both research settings from a bottom-up perspective through Focus Group Discussions and household interviews, as well as investigating the impact of legislative conditions and restrictions on migrants and their families.

Migranten van het eerste uur: een verloren generatie op leeftijd?1

Abstract Scholarly attention for the position of older Moroccan and Turkish migrants has been rising in recent years. The focus lies on their relatively high vulnerability, as compared to non-migrant older Dutch their financial situation and living conditions are less comfortable and they have more physical and psychosocial health problems. Still, they have benefited from taking the step to migrate. Compared to age peers in the home country they are more prosperous and have access to better medical care, their (grand)children can look forward to a better future, and there is more space for personal freedom here. Moreover, the general picture of vulnerability does not do justice to the many older Moroccan and Turkish migrants who do have the right resources to grow old in a resilient manner. There is also increasing attention for the best type of care for those who need it the most. The dominant norm within the Moroccan and Turkish communities of children being their parents’ caregivers is increasingly clashing with the busy professional and family lives of the informal carers. One has to learn to accept that informal care is not always the only good or even the most suitable type of care. The current problem is that although there are culture-specific and multicultural (residential) care facilities, these are not enough to meet future care demands. Structurally fostering cultural sensitivity in regular care institutions is really needed too. A hallmark showing that migrant-friendly policies are being implemented can speed up this process.

Moroccan Family Law: Discussions and Responses from the Netherlands

Many Moroccans living in Europe maintain transnational ties with their country of origin. Maintaining such transnational relationships also has a legal dimension, especially in the field of family law. The ongoing significance of Moroccan family law for Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands and their children has fuelled a variety of projects from women’s NGOs, migrant organisations, as well as Dutch social work organisations. In addition to providing transnational legal aid, there have been many initiatives to educate women and, more recently, men, about their rights in Dutch and Moroccan family law and Dutch migration law. While these projects have been taking place since the 1980s, they gained new momentum after Morocco substantially reformed its family law in 2004, a reform explicitly framed to improve the legal position of women in the family. Taking a closer look at initiatives and activities in the field of transnational Moroccan family law, this paper will focus on two major issues: the introduction of the new Moroccan family code in 2004 and the issue of women left-behind in Morocco by their Moroccan-Dutch husbands.

Divorce in Turkish and Moroccan Communities in Belgium.

This paper focuses on divorce amongst Turkish and Moroccan Belgians, with a specific focus on the effect of partner-choice patterns. Divorce patterns of marriages established between 01 January 2001 and either 31 December 2003 (descriptive part), or 31 December 2005 (event-history analyses) are analysed and compared to marriages established between 01 January 1988 and 31 December 1990. We distinguish three marriage types: transnational marriages (i.e. marrying a partner from Morocco or Turkey), local intra-ethnic marriages (marrying another Moroccan of Turkish Belgian) and mixed marriages (i.e. marrying someone with a Belgian or other Western-European citizenship). To research divorce rates, we analysed population data from the Belgian national register, using piecewise constant log-rate event-history analyses with effect coding on all marriages taking place between 01 January 2001 and 31 December 2005 (N Turkish = 9631, N Moroccan = 17,786). First, the results reveal that in the past 15years, divorce rates have doubled within Turkish and Moroccan migrant groups. Second, divorce rates are much higher amongst the Moroccan group. Third, there are clear differences between marriage types. Local intra-ethnic marriages have the lowest divorce levels, mixed marriages the highest, and transnational marriages take up a middle position.

Caring for migrant older Moroccans with dementia in Belgium as a complex and dynamic transnational network of informal and professional care: A qualitative study

BackgroundDue to its labour migration history, Belgium is confronted with an increasingly older population of people of Moroccan background who have been diagnosed with dementia. These migrants came to the country during the labour migration wave of the nineteen-sixties and seventies to work in mines and other industries and they are now ageing. Yet little is known about how dementia care is provided to this older population. ObjectivesThis study explores how dementia care is provided to these Moroccan older people with dementia, and what challenges do caregivers face in providing care. MethodsA qualitative study including 31 informal caregivers of older Moroccan migrants with dementia and professional caregivers in the field of dementia care in several Belgian cities was conducted. After an initial focus group including 6 informal and professional caregivers, individual in-depth interviews were held with 12 informal caregivers of Moroccan decent and 13 professional caregivers. In order to be included in the study, informal caregivers had to have a recent experience in caring for an older family member with dementia. The professional caregivers had to be active in the field of dementia care (General Practitioners, nurses, psychologists,…) and have experience with older migrants with dementia. ResultsAnalyses of the collected data reveal that current dementia care is a challenging, complex and dynamic search process. This process is shaped by (1) multiple factors reflecting the changing care needs of the care recipient during the course of the dementia, (2) the individual (transnational) recourses of the informal caregivers and the (3) current (lack of) accessibility of professional dementia care (driven by the absence of an accessible migration-, culture- and religion-sensitive professional care). The limited professional service-use is predominantly compensated through the search for transnational external helpers. The limited migration, cultural and religious sensitivity of current dementia care is often overlooked by professional caregivers. ConclusionThe study provides a better understanding of the complex reality of dementia care for older migrants in which these different aspects intersect. This understanding enable health professionals and policy makers to develop a better suited care for older migrants with dementia.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam: cohort update 2019 and additional data collections

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) is a prospective cohort study of older adults in the Netherlands, initially based on a nationally representative sample of people aged 55–84 years. The study has been ongoing since 1992, and focuses on the determinants, trajectories and consequences of physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. Strengths of the LASA study include its multidisciplinary character, the availability of over 25 years of follow-up, and the cohort-sequential design that allows investigations of longitudinal changes, cohort differences and time trends in functioning. The findings from LASA have been reported in over 600 publications so far (see www.lasa-vu.nl). This article provides an update of the design of the LASA study and its methods, on the basis of recent developments. We describe additional data collections, such as additional nine-monthly measurements in-between the regular three-yearly waves that have been conducted among the oldest old during 2016–2019, and the inclusion of a cohort of older Turkish and Moroccan migrants.

West German-Moroccan Relations and Politics of Labour Migration, 1958–1972

In 1962, the Federal Republic of Germany (frg) agreed to negotiate a guestworker agreement with Morocco in order to create guidelines for handling 4,000 so-called illegal Moroccan migrants, most of whom lived in North Rhine-Westphalia. Unlike other guestworker agreements, this one was not about recruitment, but rather it was designed to restrict migration from Morocco, legalise the stay of Moroccans already in the country, and establish guidelines for future deportations. Looking at the history of the West German-Moroccan Agreement from its start until its termination in 1973, this article provides a discussion of Moroccan labourers access to and legal status in West Germany, demonstrating how international and economic interests as well as cultural stereotypes of both Moroccans and Arabs shaped West German migration policies. In so doing, the article emphasises the West German federal and the North Rhine-Westphalian state governments’ different goals, revealing that the West German government was not a monolithic entity; it was in fact defined by multiple, sometimes contradictory, viewpoints and pressures.

Keeping or changing? Two different cultural adaptation strategies in the domestic use of home country food plant and herbal ingredients among Albanian and Moroccan migrants in Northwestern Italy

BackgroundEthnobotanical field studies concerning migrant groups are crucial for understanding temporal changes of folk plant knowledge as well as for analyzing adaptation processes. Italy still lacks in-depth studies on migrant food habits that also evaluate the ingredients which newcomers use in their domestic culinary and herbal practices.MethodsSemi-structured and open in-depth interviews were conducted with 104 first- and second-generation migrants belonging to the Albanian and Moroccan communities living in Turin and Bra, NW Italy. The sample included both ethnic groups and genders equally.ResultsWhile the number of plant ingredients was similar in the two communities (44 plant items among Albanians vs 47 plant items among Moroccans), data diverged remarkably on three trajectories: (a) frequency of quotation (a large majority of the ingredients were frequently or moderately mentioned by Moroccan migrants whereas Albanians rarely mentioned them as still in use in Italy); (b) ways through which the home country plant ingredients were acquired (while most of the ingredients were purchased by Moroccans in local markets and shops, ingredients used by Albanians were for the most part informally “imported” during family visits from Albania); (c) quantitative and qualitative differences in the plant reports mentioned by the two communities, with plant reports recorded in the domestic arena of Moroccans nearly doubling the reports recorded among Albanians and most of the plant ingredients mentioned by Moroccans representing “medicinal foods”.ConclusionA large portion of the differences shown by the two communities are linked to different methods of procurement of home country gastronomic botanical ingredients, the different transnational informal exchanges that exist between Italy and migrants’ home countries, the presence of markets and ethnic shops in Italy selling these items, and the different degree of difficulty in accessing public health services. The observed divergences were also clearly related to very diverse adaptation strategies, i.e., processes of negotiating and elaborating Albanian and Moroccan cultural identities.

Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence and determinants in various study populations in the Netherlands.

BackgroundThe epidemiology of hepatitis E virus (HEV) is not fully understood. In this study, we assessed putative risk factors for HEV seropositivity in various study populations in the Netherlands.MethodsData and samples from five different study populations were analysed: (A) blood donors (n = 5,239), (B) adults reporting a vegetarian life style since the age of 12 years (n = 231), (C) residents of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with different ethnic backgrounds (n = 1,198), (D) men who have sex with men (MSM) (HIV positive and HIV negative) (n = 197), and (E) persons who use drugs (PWUD) (HIV positive and HIV negative) (n = 200). Anti-HEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) testing was performed using ELISA test (Wantai).ResultsHEV IgM seroprevalence was low across all study populations (<1% to 8%). The age and gender-adjusted HEV IgG seroprevalence was 24% among blood donors (reference group) and 9% among the vegetarian group (adjusted Relative Risk [aRR]:0.36, 95%CI:0.23–0.57). Among participants of different ethnic backgrounds, the adjusted HEV IgG seroprevalence was 16% among participants with a Dutch origin (aRR:0.64, 95%CI:0.40–1.02), 2% among South-Asian Surinamese (aRR:0.07, 95%CI:0.02–0.29), 3% among African Surinamese (aRR:0.11, 95%CI:0.04–0.34), 34% among Ghanaian (aRR:1.53, 95%CI:1.15–2.03), 19% among Moroccan (aRR:0.75, 95%CI:0.49–1.14), and 5% among Turkish (aRR:0.18, 95%CI:0.08–0.44) origin participants. First generation Moroccans had a higher risk for being IgG HEV seropositive compared to second generation Moroccan migrants. The statistical power to perform these analyses in the other ethnic groups was too low. In the MSM group the IgG HEV seroprevalence was 24% (aRR:0.99, 95%CI:0.76–1.29), and among PWUD it was 28% (aRR:1.19, 95%CI:0.90–1.58). The number of sexual partners in the preceding six months was not significantly associated with IgG HEV seropositivity in MSM. The association between HIV status and HEV seropositivity was significant in PWUD, yet absent in MSM. HIV viral load and CD4 cell count were not associated with HEV seropositivity in HIV positive MSM and PWUD.ConclusionsVegetarians were significantly less often HEV seropositive. Ethnic origin influenced the risk for being IgG HEV seropositive. MSM and PWUD were not at higher risk for being IgG HEV seropositive than blood donors.

Is healthcare consumption in the country of origin among Moroccan and Turkish migrants of older age (55+) associated with less use of care in the Netherlands?

Asubstantial part of all Dutch people of Turkish and Moroccan origin use healthcare in the country of origin when travelling to their country of origin for ashorter or longer period of time (21% and 10%, respectively). If using care in the country of origin leads to avoidance of care in the Netherlands, this could threaten the continuity of care. We linked data of the HELIUS study to health insurance data. We examined the relationship between healthcare utilisation in the country of origin and the Netherlands, in the period of 2010-2015, adjusting for health status as an indicator of need. Contrary to our expectations, Dutch people of Turkish or Moroccan origin using healthcare consumption in the country of origin utilise more care in the Netherlands than individuals that do not utilize healthcare in the country of origin. Thus, our results do not provide any indication for avoidance of healthcare in the Netherlands among this group of older migrants in the Netherlands.

How key transitions influence school and labour market careers of descendants of Moroccan and Turkish migrants in the Netherlands

AbstractMost educational research examines school outcomes at certain stages or at the final stage of the school career. This article looks at the entire school career and the transition to the labour market. It focuses on key transitions to identify the educational institutional arrangements that either help or hinder school and labour market success among the most disadvantaged groups in the Netherlands: young people of Moroccan and Turkish descent. The Dutch educational system is one of the most complicated school systems in Europe. Consequently, parents and children have to make many ‘choices’ when navigating it. Many of these key ‘choice’ moments are selection points, either because they are not real choices but dependent upon a teacher’s recommendation or because parents and pupils need a great deal of information about the school system in order to make a choice. This usually results in inequalities for the most disadvantaged groups. Because selection is disguised as ‘choices’, the structural inequalities of the Dutch school system are not usually perceived as blocking mechanisms for disadvantaged students

Contextual factors and prejudice at the beginning of the migrant influx: The Moroccan case in Seville, Spain

AbstractStudies addressing contextual factors associated with anti‐immigrant prejudice have focused on out‐group size and rapid demographic changes in receiving locations. However, the territorial concentration and distribution of ethnic minorities at a local and intraurban level has received little attention. We analyse the relationship between emerging territorial concentration points—alongside other contextual variables—by Moroccans and receiving society's growing prejudice towards them in a city experiencing the start of a migrant influx. We combine survey and census data from five Seville districts (southern Spain). Our results show how rapid changes in the general population's ethnic composition, coupled with Moroccan and economic migrants' territorial concentration, correlate strongly with negative attitudes towards Moroccans at this early stage. However, a weaker relationship between the immigrant percentage and degree of prejudice by the receiving group is observed. We also discuss guidelines for ensuring good, local diversity management to prevent socioterritorial fragmentation in multicultural cities.

Ethnic Minority Health and Employment: Ethnic Differences in the Protective Effect of Close Social Ties

First- and second-generation Turkish and Moroccan migrants living in the Netherlands have a disproportionate incidence of health problems and relatively low employment rates. Health problems are an obstacle to employment, yet there is no one-to-one correspondence between health problems and capability to work. Social ties can reduce the negative impact of health problems on employment by providing social support and providing the comfort of feeling embedded in a close social circle. In this study, we examine whether the assumed negative impact of health problems on employment is reduced by the number of close social ties, the quantity of contact, and the proportion of co-ethnics among close social ties, and whether this protective effect varies across ethnic groups. Using survey data from the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (N = 3911), we find that close social ties reduce the negative impact of health problems on employment. However, this protective effect depends on both the aspect of social ties which is considered and ethnic background of the individual. Quantity of contact has a protective effect for native Dutch individuals; number of social ties and a higher proportion of co-ethnics had a protective effect for Moroccan individuals, and social ties have no protective effect for Turkish individuals.

Increased cardiovascular disease risk in international migrants is independent of residence duration or cultural orientation: the HELIUS study

BackgroundInternational migrants differ from host populations in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. It has been postulated that these disparities narrow with longer residence duration. Our aim was to determine whether CVD...

Invisible realities: Caring for older Moroccan migrants with dementia in Belgium.

The number of older Moroccan migrants reaching the age of high risk for dementia is increasing in Belgium. Yet no study has been performed to explore how Moroccan families facing dementia experience and manage the condition. The study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with 12 informal and 13 formal caregivers to answer this research question. Findings indicate that the experience of dementia includes several invisible realities that challenge the informal and formal caregivers: (1) the invisibility of dementia as a condition; (2) the invisible subtleties of the informal care execution; (3) the invisibility and inaccessibility of care services as explanation for these family’s non-use of available services; and (4) the overlooking of culture, migration and religion as invisible influencers of the overall dementia experience. A better understanding of these hidden realities of migrant older people with dementia and their caregivers could lead to interventions to provide effective and tailored person-centred care that is sensitive to the individual’s life experiences, culture and religious background.