Moroccan Migrant’s Journey: From Truck Stowaway to Spanish Citizen and Nursing Assistant

Originally from Tangier in Morocco, Soufiane arrived in Spain at the age of 17, after a long journey under the chassis of a truck. The young man, who had dropped out of school in Morocco and spent his days wandering the streets of the kingdom, decided to immigrate to Spain to build a better future. After a brief stay in a migrant center, he traveled, after his 18th birthday, through several migrant centers before arriving at Punt de Referència, an organization that works for the emancipation of migrants aged 18 to 23. It placed him in a reception home.

It was in this way that Soufiane joined Pilar and Joan’s home. In this Catalan family very involved in social works, the young Moroccan regained self-confidence and felt the need to pursue his secondary education. "When I left Tangier, I didn’t know what I wanted, or what I wanted to do. In the children’s center, I was surrounded by Moroccans and it was only when I came here, to Pilar and Joan’s, that I started to see things differently, their children had studied, I opened my eyes, I changed my mindset and I was also able to improve my Spanish," he confides to La Vanguardia.

The young man recounts having found his vocation as a nursing assistant when Pilar stayed in a nursing home and he visited her every afternoon. "I realized that I felt empathy for the elderly and I obtained my intermediate diploma. I first did an internship in a nursing home in L’Hospitalet and I’ve been there since 2017," he explains. Soufiane also assists the elderly or disabled at home. Today, he is a fulfilled man. The young man has obtained Spanish nationality since 2023.

"Soufiane is part of the family, we have not stopped supporting him during these twelve years, we have traveled with him to Morocco, we have attended the engagement, the civil wedding and, in October, the religious celebration," declare Soufiane’s Catalan parents. For the Moroccan, Pilar and Joan played a decisive role in building his future. As a project, the young man plans to take a nursing assistant training course and find an apartment so that his wife can join him at the end of the year.

Currently, Soufiane lives in a rented room in Barcelona. Thanks to the income from his two jobs, he regularly sends money to his parents in Morocco. The Moroccan and his Catalan family have maintained good ties. He goes to have lunch with them on Sundays, when his schedule allows. With other families from Sant Fellu, Pilar and Joan have created an association to house young migrants like Soufiane. "With Soufiane, we discovered the problems these children suffer from."