Solidarity and oppression in the border area of Oujda

The research employs an innovative methodology that combines traditional ethnographic methods with Theatre of the Oppressed (ToO) workshops, conducted with people on the move (PoM) and solidarity workers. This participatory approach enabled the creation of safe spaces for sharing traumatic experiences while facilitating access to dimensions of migratory and solidarity experiences not always verbalized through conventional interviews.
Oujda functions as a strategic crossroads for different migratory movements, serving both as an entry point for people seeking to reach Europe and as a settlement location for sub-Saharan migrants. The research documents how the border produces differentiated spatiality and temporality for different actors, creating hierarchies of access to public space and resources based on racial identity and legal status.
The study reveals how the border configures itself as a space where different systems of oppression intersect and overlap, involving various actors—including migrants and solidarity workers—in networks of asymmetrical relationships. The research demonstrates how border mechanisms extend beyond physical territorial demarcation, spreading through urban fabric and everyday life through forms of regulation subjecting bodies to strategic regimes of visibility and invisibility.
The study examines three solidarity associations operating in Oujda, revealing how solidarity practices must constantly negotiate with Morocco’s highly controlled civil society context. These organizations employ different symbolic references and political positioning, from critiques of European border externalization policies to broader human rights frameworks, demonstrating how migrant solidarity intertwines with other political struggles and claims.