Hello Hivers and Book Clubbers,
High time for another book review. I'm still working through a batch of books I ordered from Blue Tiger Media, a Dutch book publisher who could be considered on the more 'politically incorrect' side of things. The book I'm writing about today is called 'De Ontworsteling; in de greep van de Marrokkaanse overheid, geheime diensten en de islam' in Dutch. Translated it is 'The untangling: in the sights of the Moroccan government, secret services and the islam'.
The writer, Ali Larouchi, recounts his personal/autobiographical experiences in this book. Thus it is anecdotal, but it serves to give a wide impression of many aspects of mass migration and its corresponding issues in the Netherlands, in this case specifically that of the Moroccans.
Background
I feel like some background is necessary to get a feel for the Dutch setting here. Mass migration to the Netherlands started in the early 1960s with a so-called 'guest worker' program. Over the years, thousands of men from other parts of Europe and further away were employed here in mostly working-class jobs, with no education required. The two largest groups came out of Turkey and Morocco.
Where this program was presented to the Dutch public as being a temporary measure, and that the guest-workers would leave at some point, this did not turn out in actuality. Instead, many of the men brought their families over to the Netherlands to stay indefinitely. And so, this day, there are about 400.000 Turks and about 400.000 Moroccans in the Netherlands, of which many at this point are born here, and are even 3rd or 4th generation (meaning that is was their grandparents or great-grandparents that came here).
Onto the story
Larouchi came to the Netherlands illegaly in 2001. The first few chapters of the book recount many anecdotes and impressions of his first few years in the Netherlands. He lived at many adresses, mostly of other Moroccans and other illegals, and got work, among other things, as a janitor. He stayed in Amsterdam at the time.
Most of Larouchi's observations deal with how the Moroccans (and also other immigrant groups), both legal and illegal, have formed a distinct bubble within Dutch society over the decades. His work as a janitor wasn't legal; what I mean by this is that there were no taxes paid from the labour.
Yet there was an entire system which existed purely because of illegal work; they were able to under-cut legal labour in price, and paid the illegals pretty poorly. But 'poorly' of course is a matter of perspective. What is sub-par for a Dutch worker can be lot to a rural Moroccan. Much of the earned money is sent back to the home country, either to family or to keep it for themselves. This way, the 'illegal work'-scene is a literal drain on the Dutch economy, and undercuts the Dutch blue-collar class.
Except for the economic part of the story, there is another elephant in the Dutch room: that being that the vast majority of the Moroccans (among other ethnic groups here, like the Turks) are muslims, a religion unknown to the Netherlands until the start of mass-migration in the 1960s. This makes for a sharp contrast to the Dutch: while historically a Protestant nation, one could at this point rightfully call it a post-Christian country, seeing the amount of agnostic and atheist Dutch. And if there is one thing that is considered repugnant in the Quran in terms of personal religion, it is atheism.
On Morocco
In the next chapters Lahrouchi recounts his youth, which he spent in the south-east of Morocco. Lahrouchi recounts the ethnic tension in his hometown; he himself was a Berber. Berbers form a large minority in Morocco, though a majority in some areas, among them the south-east. He found the Arabs to be quite arrogant towards Berbers, and looking at Berbers as clear inferiors.
He recounts his father as quite typical in many ways for his time. His father was not a religious man, only spoke Berber (and not Arabic, the main language of Morocco), and was analfabetic. Thus he was left outside of mainstream Moroccan society, which suited him fine.
Lahrouchi, as he grew up, became vehemently opposed to the current Moroccan regime. Throughout the book he compares it very negatively to the Dutch parliamentary and judicial system. He describes the Kingdom as being corrupt to the bone, a place where bribery is common, education is lacking, and religion is holding them back (he considers education to be backwards in part because it is islamic).
Lahrouchi is an outspoken atheist. Combined with his critique of the government at home, which came through both membership of a party that became illegal, and his writings for journals and newspapers, it meant that he was almost a political refugee. Lahrouchi recounts being arrested three times, according to him all on bogus charges. It's a common tactic of secret police in any state these days: it's all about intimidation. It made Lahrouchi realize that there was no future for him in Morocco, so he made plans to leave, and ended up in the Netherlands through his contacts.
Personal opinions & Conclusion
While it might be interesting to comb through more anecdotes and specific examples given throughout the book, I'd like to keep an eye on the big picture for this one. More specifically on the issues of immigration and integration, which are both motifs throughout the book.
At the end of the book it is mentioned that about 10% of the Moroccan population, either Arab or Berber, lives in the EU. This amounts to around 4 million people. And these people will bring their problems with them to countries that are not used to them. At all.
Lahrouchi is a man that clearly does not fit in the current Morocco. Where Morocco is an authoritarian kingdom in which Islam is religiously (and thus culturally) dominant, and where Arabs are the dominant ethnic group, he stands out as a democratically-aligned, atheist Berber.
On the other hand, he seems to favour the Dutch parliamentary and multi-cultural system. But the crux of the matter is: is the Dutch democratic- and multicultural system working for the Dutch themselves? And my answer would be a simple 'no'.
This country is bursting at the seams, and it is becoming more clear by the day. The Dutch have had a complex political life for about a century, with compromises on every issue imaginable. And now this only becomes worse due to the many immigrant groups that arrive here in higher numbers every year. Because each ethnic and/or religious group will put a preference to their own issue, and this splinters the entire society.
As much as I sympathize with Larouchi, I don't deem his actions as a recommendation to anyone. What problem has ever been solved by fleeing halfway across the world. He argues for the fall of the current Moroccan administration, but in doing so he moved away, while creating more issues for his current place of living.
It's a complex issue, and the book does not really give a distinct feel for where it wants to go. In some places, it is mostly a tirade against the Moroccan regime. In others, it directs its arrows against Islam, both as a faith and cultural manifestation. Yet I would argue that the Dutch system is far from perfect, and that secularization in the Netherlands is a root cause of many of our current issues in the 21st century. And I do not feel like Larouchi really understands this, even though he has lived here for about two decades now.
I'd like to know your views on these issues, be it broadly or more specifically about these two countries. I hope you've enjoyed reading, and I'll see you all in the next one,
-Pieter Nijmeijer
(Image source: self-made photo of book cover)