Category: Hallie in Rabat

As my program comes to a half way point our study of migration has expanded past the African continent. We took a trip to Amsterdam at the end of October with the hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of migratory patterns, the migrant experience of assimilation and integration and all the challenges that come with. As with any area of academia there are experts and opinions that one will want to counter of have differing opinions, myself and other students being no exception. After studying and living in a city that is a migratory hub, often not by choice we have a certain lens while learning and observing migratory patterns. For this reason there were some lecturers within the trip that I found difficult to listen to, experts who had studied out topics but never lived the experience themselves, having opinions and facts based on academic journals and data analysis, a sharp contrast to the personal experiences and real world situations we have gotten to listen to and observe.

That was in the first few days, the days that followed gave a sharp contrast. We had multiple site visits to community-centered NGOs, one specifically aimed at the integration of migrants into Dutch neighborhoods. The experience and perspective gained in that visit will stay with me forever. These families represent a minority-majority in Dutch neighborhoods, schools, and daily life, yet the process of acceptance as they shared with us is not always simple. We also had the opportunity to hear the life story of a migrant woman who had tried to make the journey from the south of Africa to Europe after being kicked out of her home and facing arrest after being outed as a gay woman. Her story was one of the most difficult recounts I have heard in my life. On her journey, she paid a smuggler to get her through the borders but was deceived and sex trafficked, unaware of where she was for months, all her freedom taken from her. In a miracle moment, she escaped, found the police, and came to the realization that she had been brought to Amsterdam. She now tells her story to spread awareness about the fine line between human smuggling and trafficking, transforming her trauma into her greatest tool. Her courage and fierce attitude have stuck with me in my research and the lens I take while learning about migration; as I’m sure it will continue to stay with me throughout my life.

This last week I had the opportunity to show some family members around Morocco! It was so interesting to observe them experience all the different foods, cultures, and customs that I had only a month and a half prior. Spending the first week in Marrakesh we explored one of the most decorated palaces, the Bahia. Getting to take in the extreme attention to detail in almost every area of the palace, you quickly realize why the monument has become so famous.

We then boarded a train for Rabat, the city I’ve been based in since September. Switching gears and taking a slightly less touristic avenue we explored some of the best restaurants I’ve been able to find while still squeezing in a couple historic monuments and walks around the city. Ending their stay with a quick 12-hour pal-around Casablanca however short, may have been the most worthwhile thing we did the entire trip. Although the city is much busier than Marrakesh or Rabat, being the top economic city in the country it seemed to add to the overall experience. What really stood out was the Hassan II, one of the only mosques in Africa and the only in Morocco that is open to be viewed by the public. Massive in size and reputation you could truly spend hours inside and out taking it all in. Built on a wall of the sea the entire architecture seems like something out of a dream.

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