To finish my previous entry on my nationality and the (lack of) rights coming with it.
The reason I wanted to give up my nationality is that I don’t do anything with it. I don’t need it and usually we throw stuff away we don’t need, right?
Of course my actions were also triggered by the discussion in the Netherlands concerning the dual nationality of the (junior) cabinet-member Ahmed Aboutaleb (about whom I blogged here)
Rightist politicians are questioning his loyalty. Is he loyal to the Queen of the Netherlands or to the King of Morocco? Of course this whole discussion was based on fear for the Other. It was surrounded with hatred and distrust of everything thats not 100% Dutch.
Ahmed Aboutaleb already proved himself to be a loyal Dutch politician.
Some people who initially complained about the dual nationality of Aboutaleb backed down when it came out that our future queen Maxima, an Argentinian, has a dual nationality herself. She can’t give up her Argentinian nationality as well, just like the 315.000 Moroccans in the Netherlands
But nonetheless, I kind of understood where the rightist politicians were coming from. It is weird to have a politician in your government who has two nationalities.
It ís different than a politician with only 1 nationality.
But this discussion wasn’t my main motive to give up my nationality. Something else motivated me. A discriminating law from the Moroccan state.
Just to clarify things, the Moroccan state won’t let you give up your nationality. Even if you took your Moroccan passport to your local embassy and whiped your tuches with it in public, you would just get a new one.
So all the Moroccans living, and probably born, outside Morocco are still Moroccan nationals.
Some people would say where the harm is in all this? In one of the comments in the previous post somebody asked if it bothers me in my day-to-day life.
My answer would be that it doesn’t bother my day-to-day life. But it does bother me on ideological, personal and political level.
The thing is that although I have my Moroccan nationality, I’m not allowed to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Morocco.
I see this as unfair. There are around 4 million Moroccans living outside of Morocco, approximately 12% of the population. Most of those Moroccans work their asses of to send money back to Morocco. They keep the country floating. We invest in the country, we spend our holiday-money there.
Every year the Moroccan state receives between 3-4 billion dollars from the Moroccan immigrants., thats around 10% of the national GDP.
And yet, the Moroccan state doesn’t allow us to vote. We have no right whatsoever to have a say in how the money is being spend. Or how the country should be run.
We are Morocco’s “greatest resource” but we are kept silent.
In a way, we’re second class citizens.
If I’m forced to be Moroccan, why not let me vote? And if I’m not allowed to vote, why not let me give up my nationality?
Isn’t this profiting from your own citizens? I know Morocco does that all the time (and to some extent, all states do that) but at least the citizens ín Morocco get to vote in half-rigged elections.
If we are the “greatest resource” of Morocco, shouldn’t you take our opinion in consideration? We’re not money-making machines. We are your citizens. Most of the Moroccans living outside Morocco care about their country. The first-generation suffered a lot so that they can build up their country and the lives of their relatives in Morocco. Is this how you repay them? By telling them to shut up, be Moroccan and send money back home? Is this your gratitude?
I just don’t get it! Why are you afraid of letting us vote or letting us give up our nationality?
Taking away a piece of paper doesn’t take away the sense of cultural and financial loyalty most Moroccans have towards the country.
Letting us vote doesn’t turn us into beasts trying to manipulate the country.
If Morocco pretends and tries to be a civilized, reforming country then it should let us vote or let us give up our nationality.
But don’t tie us down.
