By Mr. Abdellah Boussouf, Secretary General of the Council of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad (CCME)
Beyond figures and legal articles, the Moroccans living abroad are an immense part of the essential capital of Morocco in every part of the world.
Moroccans of the third and fourth generation have given in several European countries rise to a highly qualified and supervised elite. An elite which commands the languages of the host countries, is anchored in the traditions and civilizations of these countries and has been able to occupy fields of influence in politics, economics and finance, society and in scientific and academic training.
Every step made and success achieved by the Moroccans of the world in their host country is positive for Morocco’s image in the world. It is our duty to imagine the added value of all these achievements realized every day by the Moroccans living abroad.
Scientists in research centers ; professors in the most prestigious universities in the world ; physicians with diverse professions ; eminent lawyers, writer ; filmmakers, musicians, artists, sportsmen ; Journalists, Facebook influencers…
It is on this elite of Moroccans living abroad, that Morocco needs to strengthen its image in the world. This is the reason for which sociology researchers claim that Moroccans living away from their homeland, are the blueprint of their country abroad ; in the capacity to represent the history, geography and an exceptional country named Morocco.
The stars of the Kingdom shine in the heavens of tourism and investment ; the names of young Moroccans working in the centers and agencies of aeronautics and space in the United States, Japan and France : such as Kamal Oudrhiri at the NASA, Rachid Amrousse at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Jaxa, Ahmed Bachar at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, Nacer Ben Abdeljalil who carried the Moroccan flag at the top of the " Everest in the mountains of the Himalayas, or Merieme Chadid, astronomer and first woman from the arab world to set foot on the Antarctic during a scientific mission and exploration, Asmae Boujibar, the first Arab woman to integrate NASA ... And of course, the leader of the Moroccan scientists of the world, researcher Rachid Yazami, founder of the graphite anode for lithium-ion batteries.
As well of course, Khalid Rahilou, Badr Hari, Mustapha Lakhsem and many other martial arts champions, have all printed their names on an international level. Their victories were followed by the moroccan national anthem. As for Abdeslam Radi, race champion, and, Larbi Ben Barek, the outstanding footballer nicknamed « the black pearl ».
Moroccan names in various sports that gave victory to European, American and Asian teams, like Abdellatif Benazzi, captain of the national Rugby team of France.
Gad El Maleh, Jamel Debbouze, Said Taghmaoui and Red One are shining stars in the heavens of the seventh art, music and humor.
Rachida Dati, Najat Vallaud Belkacem, Myriam El Khomri, Ahmed Boutaleb, Samira El Aouni, Fatima Houda-Pépin, Mounir El Mahjoubi and all these deputies, advisers to ministers, mayors of European cities, international institutions, think tanks and survey institutes…
All these skills, these Moroccan numerous brains in the world are the vivid image of Morocco abroad. We must also pay tribute to two children of Moroccan origin : two brilliant skills victims of terrorism and hatred. The architect Mohamed Amine Benmbarek, who died in the Paris bombings in 2015 and the artist-photographer Leila Alaoui, killed in Ouagadougou in 2016.
An huge and major wealth that Morocco has, through media figures and distinguished writers who contribute to the development and evolution of the world and spread the values of living together. They are emblematic figures who speak for Morocco abroad and its image in the world.
In the case of defending "complicated national issues" such as the national sovereignty within the framework of "parallel diplomacy", they are able to claim territorial unity and a new vision of Morocco's associative network, since many of them are activists in non-governmental organizations and bodies.
This makes of the Moroccan diaspora "the strong and winning link" to the modus operandi of promoting the image of the Kingdom abroad.
