Daily Mail
By Afp
He has stayed ever since, and sings in the choir at Rabat’s cathedral, a meeting point for the city’s small Catholic community.
Another choir member, Jean Baptiste Dago-Gnahou, fled war-ravaged Ivory Coast years ago and ended up in Rabat by “destiny”.
In his 40s, he is teaching French and currently has no plans to return to his homeland.
Papa Demba Mbaye left his job as a teacher in Senegal seven years ago to “live the adventure in Morocco”.
He was attracted by promises of work at a call centre, a growing sector in need of French-speakers.
He soon discovered that it was a “job with no future”, and has since established himself as a French teacher.
He has written two books — “The life of a Senegalese in Morocco” and “Seven reasons why I love Morocco”.
Keen to build links between sub-Saharan Africans and Moroccans, he also runs a theatre troupe on the outskirts of Rabat.
Despite Morocco’s new migration policies and the kingdom’s efforts to re-integrate with the African Union after decades outside the bloc, it is hard to gain permanent residency.
“I heard the king say on the radio that it would be a lot easier, but I have the impression that he was not heard,” Mbaye said.
The authorities are currently processing some 25,000 residency applications. A similar “regularisation” campaign in 2014 saw around 23,000 people gain renewable residency.
It is hard to estimate how many African migrants are living in Morocco, especially as many are clandestine.
Official statistics show that around 35,000 had residency in 2014, according to the OCP Policy Center.
That is slightly above the number of European migrants who came for work or seeking a retirement home under the Moroccan sun.
