Citizenship and grievability in migration: policies and practices surrounding death and burial of Sub-Saharan African migrants in Morocco

Abstract

The limited focus on management and regulation of deceased migrants starkly contrasts with the considerable attention given to living migrants in academic scholarship, policy circles, and public debates. This disparity is especially pronounced within regions of the Global South. This paper focuses on policies and practices surrounding death and burial of Sub-Saharan African migrants in Morocco. It investigates the degree to which different communities address citizenship issues and recognise the lives and losses of migrants – a concept frequently termed as ‘grievability’. Predominantly Muslim, Morocco is a Global South country which is transitioning from an emigration to a residence-centric nation. As it aims for a prominent role in African migration management, it must address the long-term residency of non-Muslim migrants, both in life and in death. Our empirical and legal analysis reveals that, for various reasons, migrants often end up staying indefinitely in Morocco. Maintaining identity in death, however, is challenging and migrants often rely on civil society actors for financial support, family notification, proper death and burial registration, and adherence to religious burial practices. Without this support, migrants’ lives may go unnoticed, and instead of belonging their historical presence is at risk of being erased