Syrian Refugees in Morocco Hesitant to Return Despite Assad’s Fall

When questioned by the website Rue20 about the possibility of returning to their country after the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, several Syrian citizens who engage in "begging" at various road intersections in the capital Rabat and surrounding cities respond in the negative. They said they prefer to continue their lives in Morocco or try to reach Europe. Others, on the other hand, are considering returning to their country.

According to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Morocco has about 5,000 Syrian refugees on its territory. Some of them have managed to integrate into Moroccan society: they have opened their own businesses and obtained residence permits, thanks to the regularization campaigns carried out by the kingdom in 2014 and 2017.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, several Arab and European countries rushed to suspend asylum procedures for Syrians, going so far as to repatriate some to their country of origin. For now, Morocco has not taken any measures in this direction.