Belgium: Moroccans choose mates from Morocco

A study by Antwerp University on request of the Equal Opportunities Minister, Kathleen Van Brempt, shows that young Moroccans choose more and more to marry somebody from their homeland. This translates into a rise in marriage-immigration, which is the largest form of immigration to Belgium.

In 1979, 41.4% of marriages in the Moroccan community were to somebody from Morocco. For marriages between 2000 and 2003 this went up to 65.4%.

According to the researchers the reasons are that Moroccans long for something "familiar" or for an "authentic culture". "But their future partners see the marriage simply as a step to a 'new' life". Both partners therefore have contrasting expectations. For many the marriage has become an instrument of migration.

"For many people this is about opportunity rather than love. They think to gain entrance to the "promised land" through marriage. But that is not always the case." Marriage immigrants are often dependent on their partner and in-laws, often have a low level of education and face social isolation because of their poor knowledge of Dutch.

In order to prevent such problems the researchers think is is essential for the involved countries to efficiently work together on the migration problem.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

See also: Lyons: Girl attacked for having non-Muslim boyfriend for more marriage statistics

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Let's make a simple calculation. We put 10 people (5 men, 5 women)on an island. They form couples and every couple gets 3 children when they're 25 years old.
If no brides are "imported", the population will have increased 8-fold after 50 years.
If two thirds import their partner there is a 30-fold increase.
If they get 4 children and 2/3 import their partner, there is a 50-fold increase.
If they get 3 children and everyone gets a partner abroad, there is a 116-fold increase.
Scared??????