Seminar on expatriates' problems calls for creation of research observatory

Participants in a seminar on "legal and cultural problems of Moroccan expatriates" held here May 18-19 called for the setting up of an observatory to tackle issues and problems of the Moroccan community settled abroad.

They proposed the creation of the observatory in the faculty of "Charia" of Fez (central Morocco) in partnership with the concerned departments, namely the ministries of justice and of endowments and Islamic affairs, the Hassan II foundation for expatriates and the Oulema (theologians) Supreme council.

They also proposed the setting up of educational institutions in host countries and introducing of Arabic language in official education syllabi with a view to preserving the national and religious identity of Moroccan expatriates.

The seminar equally stressing the need to reactivate the European convention on protection of immigrants' rights and called for dispatching social attaches to Moroccan embassies abroad to deal with issues related to Moroccan expatriates.

In Madrid, Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Abdeslam Baraka, expressed Friday concern over the living conditions of Moroccan immigrant workers in Almeria, southern Spain.

The Moroccan diplomat announced that four consulates and a bureau of the Hassan II foundation would open shortly in Andalusia.