The last few interviews I conducted have been with Moroccans have been with men who are married with non-Moroccan women. I completed one last interview and I chose someone who was going to be married to a Moroccan. I did this because I wanted to show a contrast between the different Moroccans. I wanted to show the similarities and differences and I thought it would be good to have a change (I was getting tired of speaking with con men). Another reason was that the last three men that I have interviewed were not really working. I believe the old man was working but it was a regular job. I believe he told me he worked in warehouse. I didn’t consider him a professional. I thought that an interview with a Moroccan Professional would be a great chance to see a different point of view. I think that you will this interview to be interesting.
With all these interviews, the intention is to give you a perspective of Moroccan men. I post these as reference for you so that you can determine if you are in a romance scam or not. Like everything else in life there is good and bad and hopefully these interviews will give you some ideas of how to determine who is good and who is bad. As a disclaimer, this interview with a Moroccan Professional is done with a friend of mine who I have known for around 8 years.
Interview with a Moroccan
Interviewee: Mr. 1
City of residence: Marrakech, Morocco
Tell me about yourself? (sounds weird to ask your friend this question but this was strictly for the interview)
Well you know my name is Mr. 1. I live in Marrakech for all of my life. I am working as a train driver for the past 6 years. When I’m not working, I like to pass my time with my friends. I like to play football. I do kickboxing also and sometimes I run when I am in Kenitra.
When I met you back in 2013, you were just a student. How long did you study for before working?
When we first met, I was just an engineering student. I studied for 2 more years before I got the job at ONCF. I have been working the same route now for 6 years. Just Marrakech to Kenitra.
Is your job difficult?
It can be difficult sometimes. Like I told you my route is Marrakech to Kenitra so some days I have to sleep in Kentitra. Also even though I am train driver, I still must do many things. I am like working 7 different jobs. For example if something is wrong with one of the wheels, I have to fix it. If something is wrong with a circuit board, I have to fix it. I wonder if this is the same for other drivers in other countries?
I really don’t know but would you consider leaving Morocco to work in a different country (as a train driver)?
Yes of course. If the money is better and the work is easier I would be happy to work in another country. The problem is that I don’t look for another work because I am so busy at my job and I make ok money. I am comfortable where I am now.
So outside of work, what are you busy with?
Right now, I am looking to buy a house. I hope to find a house soon.
Are you looking for a house in Marrakech?
Yes. I want to buy a house close to my families house in Daoudiate (a suburb in Marrakech). I just try to find a good price.
Have you looked at Tamensourt? I saw that the prices are cheap and it’s close to Marrkech
No I would not buy in city. Yes it’s close to Marrakech and it’s cheap houses but the problem is that it’s not safe. There is a lot of people who come to steal from your home (break into your home). I have some friends who went to buy in Tamensourt and after 1 year, they return to Marrakech because they got tired of people stealing. The police there don’t do anything. It’s better to stay in Marrakech.
So what else is new?
Well I also want to buy a house because I will marry soon.
Mabrook Khoya (congratulations brother). How did you meet your wife?
I was with my friends and I saw her with her mother. I went to speak with her mother about marrying her daughter. After speaking with her mother, her mother agreed and I went to her home with my family. After we all met, we both decided that we wanted to marry.
Is this how most people marry in Morocco?
In Morocco yes. We want to know about the family before marriage. This tells us if she is from good family because if she is from good family then she will be good.
So you never spoke with her before marriage?
I spoke with her but in Morocco you must speak with the girls family before you ask for marriage. After our family meet, we speak everyday.
So when will you be married?
Insha allah (god willing), in one month we will marry. You know how it take a long time to marry here. For me, it will not take very long because I am Moroccan.
Why did you choose Moroccan and not another girl?
For me I want to marry quick. With other girls, I know I will have to wait if I want to marry. To finish the paper (complete the paperwork), it takes a long time. I have to wait for them to come to Morocco. Maybe I wait 6 months, maybe 1 year. Then you have to wait again to get visa to travel. I don’t want to wait all this time.
So the reason you didn’t choose to marry a foreign girl is because of the wait?
It’s not only the wait. For me, I like the Moroccan woman because they are traditional. I want to keep my tradition. If I marry another girl, maybe she don’t want to accept my tradition. This is not good. I can’t accept girls who do like this. I know some men they don’t care about this but this is important for me.
I spoke with some men who don’t care about tradition or the girls they marry. They look just for the visa.
Yes I see these men too. This is their job. You see I am train driver and you work in informatique. These men this is what they do. They don’t want to work like other men. They want to only try to take money from girls. They say Morocco is so difficult, they can’t find jobs. Morocco is difficult country but you can find jobs. The problem is if you do not study and you do not have a profession, you must work hard and these men do not want to do this.
If you could speak to one of these girls who is speaking with one of these men. What would you tell her?
Do not give this man any money. In Morocco, the man is responsible for his family. The man must take salary. If he ask you for money then he is not thinking about your like you are his family. You must be careful with anyone who ask you about money.
Final analysis
Putting the feelings for my friend aside, I think it was quite clear that he was not scammer in any way. He is a responsible person with strong traditions. Between his job, his family, and his friends, he had no time to strike up a relationship online with another person. Even if he did find some time to have an online relationship, I believe his strong values would prevent him from asking anyone for money or trying to take advantage of them. I want to also point out that he wanted a quick marriage. With a foreigner, I think that he would have had to wait a few years before he could live with his wife. He was not willing to accept this. There is the possibility of his wife coming to live in Morocco. In the end he chose to marry a Moroccan.
Verdict: Non Scammer
This was very easy to assess. Mr. 1, didn’t have an online relationship nor did ask for money. Still, let’s look at some of his strong points.
- Education – Mr. 1 is an engineer. He studied for many years at university. If I wanted to, I could have asked him about his education and he would have spent the rest of the night speaking about it.
- Job – Mr. 1 is a train driver in ONCF, the passenger train line for Morocco. Not only that but he takes care of most the responsibilities in the train.
- Tradition – Mr. 1 is a very traditional man. One of those traditions it that he is responsible for providing for his family. The scammer might have the same idea but the scammer does not consider his victim as family and would continue to take money, perhaps to support his real family.
- Busy life – Mr. 1 is too busy to scam people. His life is filled with work, family, and friends. Adding scamming someone would require more time, which he does not have.
This will be my last post with interviews. If I am able to speak with Moroccans again maybe I will post more in the future but for now, this will be my last one. I will continue posting about the Darija language and my journey through it.
For Mr. 1, my friend. I want to congratulate you on your upcoming marriage and wish you the most happiness and bliss for you and your soon to be wife.