Brussels to Open Museum Honoring Moroccan Immigration History in 2021

It is a project that is being cooked up in secret, without the slightest precision on the location of its establishment. But it is possible that the museum will be erected in the city of Brussels, believes Dernière heure.

"The first arrivals, now elderly, are disappearing. Each one carried a story that was unique to them, of which they were the only witness. If we want to keep these traces, these memories, now is the right time," estimated Aïcha Bacha, a doctoral student in social and political sciences at ULB, a stakeholder in the project. According to her, the interest of the project can be summed up in three points: to remember, to show and to share the history of Moroccan immigration.

She also recalled that the first waves of Moroccan immigration date back to the 1950s. But we already notice in 1920 the first North Africans looking for jobs in the Walloon region. "According to the latest available figures, the community counts more than 700,000 people. The need for a memorial space is clear, not only for the community, but also for the society we share, which has given so much and to which we would like to show our wealth," she argued.

To carry out this project, the ASBL Mémorial has set up a scientific support committee composed of academics, journalists, former first and second generation members and young people from diversity such as Khadija Mabrouki, Mohamed Bel Haj and El Mehdi El Abadi.