Biographies of insecurity: labour migration from the Moroccan margins

This paper is an ethnographic investigation of Moroccan rural-urban migration, specifically focusing on labour migrants from the village of Matat in the region of Asni in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The economic, spatial, and structural constraints that bring about migrants' uncertain trajectories, insecurities, and risks are investigated in how they affect the migrants' aspirations, projects, and decisions related to creating and sustaining a family. While the entire region is affected by socio-spatial relegation, Matat occupies a marginalised position even within the area of Asni due to its geographic location, pushing people to search for work far from Asni. This tans local mobility creates a mismatch between different lived realities and zones of aspiration. Moreover, the transition from subsistence farming to commercial and wage labour results in uneven consequences for the different households in the douar (the village).