The virtual wholesale migration of post-pubescent males from the Igherm region of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas mountains to northern Moroccan cities and to Europe leaves women and young children to... Show moreThe virtual wholesale migration of post-pubescent males from the Igherm region of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas mountains to northern Moroccan cities and to Europe leaves women and young children to inhabit the mountain villages for most of the year. Migrants retain strong emotional and economic links to their home villages, which they reaffirm during the annual summer return. This scattering of people makes it difficult to circumscribe the boundaries of any given local community. But people try to do just that through collectively produced song: poetry sung in the local Berber vernacular, Tashelhit. Both the implicit rules that govern which individuals sing out and what they literally say articulate ideas about where community boundaries begin and end in the Anti-Atlas, and about how people make sense of the emotional and social ramifications of human movement. Show less
In the 1960s labour migration from Morocco and Turkey to Western Europe started to take place. This labour migration was incited by the shortage of manpower in the European market. Initially these... Show moreIn the 1960s labour migration from Morocco and Turkey to Western Europe started to take place. This labour migration was incited by the shortage of manpower in the European market. Initially these labourers had a shortterm goal in mind, to earn money and return to their countries of origin. This option of return soon changed into a myth. Spouses and children joined the working men and soon their children were born in Europe. Show less
