Choufouni.com :: Moroccan Immigrants in the Us

THE FIRST MOROCCANS IN AMERICA

Moroccan presence in America was quite rare until the middle of the twentieth century, but it is believed that Moroccans may have been present in the country from the earliest years of European exploration. Evidence indicates that Azemmuri, a Moroccan boat pilot from Azemmour, landed in America before Columbus. It is also possible that a few Sephardic Jews from Morocco made their way to the United States early in the twentieth century by way of South America. In the early 1800s, large numbers of young Moroccan Jewish men, seeking to escape crowded conditions and poverty in their native country, went to the Amazon region in South America. They settled in the cities of Rio de Janiero, Caracas, and Belem, where they established a synagogue in 1824. These young men were instrumental in developing the Amazon's rubber trade, and enjoyed substantial business success. Many returned home after making their fortunes, but others remained in South America. In 1910, however, the South American rubber industry collapsed, and the Moroccan Jews left the area, either returning to North Africa or moving on going to other opportunities in the western hemisphere. Although little documentation exists to trace their various routes, it is possible that some of them entered the United States.

Though the Moroccan American community is relatively new, America's relationship with Morocco dates from the very beginning of U.S. history. Morocco was the first country to grant official recognition to the newly formed United States of America after the country obtained independence from Great Britain.

SIGNIFICANT IMMIGRATION WAVES

Although the vast majority of Sephardic Jews who left Morocco after World War II went to Israel, sporadic waves entered the United States. Motivated by the desire to escape difficult social and economic conditions in North Africa, they tended to settle in areas where earlier Sephardic immigrants from Spain, Turkey, or the Balkans had established communities. Arabized Moroccans, however, did not begin to enter the United States in significant numbers until much later in the century, after American immigration laws lifted national quotas, based on data from the 1920 census, that had favored the entry of immigrants from northern and western Europe. Another factor that inhibited earlier Moroccan migration to the United States was the relative proximity of Europe. Until very late in the 1990s, Spain and France welcomed unskilled migrants from Morocco and other North African countries. It was easy, inexpensive, and quick to go back and forth across the Strait of Gibraltar, making this option attractive for workers who hoped to improve their earnings but then return to their homes and families. Furthermore, Spain's Moorish heritage and France's colonial dominance of the Maghreb had established strong cultural and linguistic connections between these countries and Morocco. This undoubtedly eased the transition for migrants who sought opportunities there.

While Moroccans who migrated to European countries were typically unskilled workers hoping to escape their country's high unemployment rate, those who came to the United States from approximately the late 1970s through the 1990s tended to have more education and better job skills. They settled in urban areas, especially in New York City, New England, the District of Columbia, California, and Texas, where they often established small businesses or entered professional fields. By the late 1990s, a large proportion of Moroccans in the United States were students or recent university graduates. In general, the number of Moroccan immigrants remains relatively low. The 1990 U.S. census counted only 21,529 foreign-born Moroccans residing in the United States; 15,004 census respondents listed Moroccan as their first ancestry, while 4,074 listed it as their second ancestry.

ACCULTURATION AND ASSIMILATION

Sephardic Jews who immigrated to the United States from Morocco were generally attracted to areas where other Sephardim lived. Within these communities, they shared religious, linguistic, and cultural traditions that both united them with the country's larger Jewish community but also set them apart. The vast majority of American Jews are of Ashkenazi descent, meaning that their ancestors had settled in Germany and Eastern Europe. These groups developed cultural traditions that differed from those observed by the Sephardim. Sephardic Jews, for example, spoke Ladino and Arabic rather than Yiddish or German, pronounced Hebrew words differently from the Ashkenazim, used different melodies in religious services, and served North African or Iberian versions of kosher foods during holidays. Some Sephardic Jews in America have felt that their culture is little appreciated, and resent the fact that Ashkenazi traditions have largely determined American conceptions of Jewishness. In addition, some have felt that their relatively dark skin has caused them to be treated with prejudice. Yet their shared Jewish identity still connected Sephardic immigrants with those of Ashkenazi descent and helped them adapt to life in the United States, where the Jewish community has worked hard to combat anti-Semitic attitudes and to achieve social and economic success.

Arabs in the United States have also had to deal with prejudice. Americans have been less exposed to Islam than to Judaism or Christianinty, and have sometimes been suspicious of Muslims. In addition, the country's strong political ties to Israel have also fostered mistrust of Arabic groups—in particular the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which for decades perpetrated terrorist acts against Israel. The activities of other extremist Islamic groups, such as the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, have created negative stereotypes of Arabs in the United States. Although Moroccans' history has differed dramatically from that of Middle Eastern Arabs, Americans have tended to view all Arabs as a monolithic group. Because Moroccans typically entered the United States with high levels of education and job skills, however, the Moroccan American community has generally encountered a positive environment.

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS

The experience of Arabized Berbers who came to the United States from Morocco has been similar in some ways to that of Moroccan Jews. Arriving in the country much later than the Sephardim, who made their way here after World War II, Moroccan immigrants found only limited common ground with the existing Arab American community, which, until the influx of Palestinians and other Middle Eastern Arabs after the creation of Israel, had been overwhelmingly Christian. These earliest groups of Arab Americans were the descendants of Syrian Christians, mostly merchants and traders, who had moved to the United States in the late 1800s. The newer Palestinian immigrants, however, were Muslim. Moroccans shared a linguistic tradition with both these groups, and shared a religious affiliation with the Palestinians, but much in Moroccan history and culture differed from the Middle Eastern Arab experience. Moroccan Americans have not been excluded from the many Arab American associations that emerged to counteract prejudice and advocate for better access to jobs and social services in the United States. However, few Moroccan immigrants have allied themselves with such organizations because their focus is emphatically on the conditions that affect Arab immigrants from the Middle East.

RELATIONS WITH MOROCCO

Many Moroccan Americans who have founded retail establishments maintain close business ties with Morocco, from which they obtain many goods for sale in the United States (these include rugs, other textiles, and crafts). Such trade is favorable to Morocco, and organizations in both Morocco and the United States facilitate increased reciprocal business between the two countries. In addition, many Moroccan Americans have close family members in Morocco and maintain frequent contact with them.